Deposit for Rentista Visa

[steveinbsas]

According to your replies Rentista seems impossible so i would like to inquire about Investor visa, i saw the requirements of 1.5million pesos, if i came as tourist and opened the tourist bank account and got 10k Usd with me on arrival and transferred another 5k from my home country account so total 15k Usd, in black Market rate those 15k usd will get 1.5 million pesos, can this guarantee me investor visa ( some websites say 37.5k usd but i want to apply with 1.5 million pesos)

The 1.5 million peso requirment for the investore visa was set eight years ago, in 2014.

That was when the official rate was eight to one and that meant that an investmen of ONE HUNDRED, EIGHTY-SEVEN THOUSAND, AND FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS was required to get the investor visa.

I don't know what websites you found the $37.5K USD requiment on, but I doubt that would be enough now to get the investor visa.

A big chunk of money (in the thousands of dollars) would have to be paid to lawyers and accountants to set up a qualifying business
.

PS: Bajo_Cero2 already gave you the best advice.

Find out what you need to do to get a student visa and go from there.

I suggest you read SecretShopper's posts on that subject and ask him specific questions.

 

[SecretShopper]

Thanks for your reply, when i first found this website and searched for Rentista i saw you been helping and replying to most of Rentista inquiries and your replies been helpful and was happy you replied to my question

According to your replies Rentista seems impossible so i would like to inquire about Investor visa, i saw the requirements of 1.5million pesos, if i came as tourist and opened the tourist bank account and got 10k Usd with me on arrival and transferred another 5k from my home country account so total 15k Usd, in black Market rate those 15k usd will get 1.5 million pesos, can this guarantee me investor visa ( some websites say 37.5k usd but i want to apply with 1.5 million pesos)

All i want to live and open small business in Argentina so please suggest possible and easy way that i can start business there with maximum of 20k Usd

Thanks for your help again

How is your Spanish? You won't be able to study Spanish and receive a study visa unfortunately. You're in a tough situation. Your only hope would be to find a university that doesn't require a test of your fluency. I don't know of any that exist. You're whole goal is dependent on getting a DNI but if you don't speak Spanish and you're not legally retired then it's a real uphill battle to get legal residency in Argentina.

 

[Dani80]

1, The "green card" is the DNI (national identity doccument) with the CUIL/CUIT. You get it soon after the student visa is approved

2. Two years after your arrival

3.You can start a business as soon as you have the DNI CUIT/CUIL

4. Yes

5. Others can answer this one

PS: AFIP is the tax authority with whom you will have to register when you start your business. The CUIT/CUIL is your tax ID number

Thanks for your answers

I just need to confirm one last thing please

With your experience with Argentinian law, is it allowed for international student visa holder to start his own business in Argentina?
I don't how things work for student visa in Argentina but i was a international student in Europe and i was only allowed to work part time and not allowed to start any business at all, if you please can give me a link to read everything i will be very grateful

If students are allowed to start business in Argentina then that is the solution and i even can apply for student visa straight from my home country or may be come as tourist and switch later, please give me your suggestion which way is better?

Thanks for your help

 

[Dani80]

How is your Spanish? You won't be able to study Spanish and receive a study visa unfortunately. You're in a tough situation. Your only hope would be to find a university that doesn't require a test of your fluency. I don't know of any that exist. You're whole goal is dependent on getting a DNI but if you don't speak Spanish and you're not legally retired then it's a real uphill battle to get legal residency in Argentina.

Thanks for your reply

My hope now is to find a university that teach in English,if you please can give me link for recommended university

And can you please tell how much average cost for international students (of course it depends on the course, duration and different things i just want to know the average)?

Thanks again for your help and according to suggestion from steveinbisas if you please allow me to ask you more specific questions in the future

 

[Dani80]

You sound both eager and in a bit of a rush. Are you, by any chance, Ukrainian, looking to start again at short notice in a new country?

Thanks for your excellent notice

You are absolutely right i am both eager and in rush to start in new country

I am not Ukrainian but my business suffered a lot last 2 years due to Covid and now deeply affected by the inflation in the world and will permanently close this month with huge loses so after finishing everything with business, expenses, taxes ......etc i will be left with around 20000 -25000 USD where i would like to have fresh start in new country in next few months as i will have no job after closing business and don't want to waste my money sitting few months without income

I been searching a lot and Argentina seems ideal according to the amount of money i have that will be enough to start a small business with that money and also the culture in Argentina is very close to what i am looking for

If you can suggest another country similar to Argentina that might be a new solution as well

Thanks for your great observation

 

[SecretShopper]

Thanks for your reply

My hope now is to find a university that teach in English,if you please can give me link for recommended university

And can you please tell how much average cost for international students (of course it depends on the course, duration and different things i just want to know the average)?

Thanks again for your help and according to suggestion from steveinbisas if you please allow me to ask you more specific questions in the future

Ok I understand your situation a little better after reading your last 2 posts. You're not going to be able to find a course that's taught in English here. According to a couple other forum members, there is the option of getting a 3 month visa for studying Spanish. It's not a long time but it will get you a DNI which will allow you to legally work and obtain the required status to start a business.

Because it's such a short term visa, and because starting a business does not automatically give you residency, you would have 2 options. Find any job that would qualify you for a work visa. If you're really desperate you could be honest and just say you need the visa. I'd probably offer a few hundred bucks just to get someone to hire me.. unless that's illegal, who knows. But accept any job just to get the visa.

The other option would be to immediately apply for citizenship after getting a short term student visa and DNI. This would provide you protection from deportation and since you'd have a DNI you could start your business still.

Generally, I wouldn't come without a visa first.. but your situation is different and apparently a race against the clock.. soooooo.. if I were you I'd contact the University of BA and get the info needed and VERIFY requirements and possibility of getting the visa. After that verification I would come and start the process from within the country AND at the same time look for any old job that meets the requirement for a work visa. Take whichever route (student or job) that comes first. After you have a DNI you can easily register to set yourself up to start a business. Now the actual process of starting a business is a whole different matter.

 

[Dani80]

Ok I understand your situation a little better after reading your last 2 posts. You're not going to be able to find a course that's taught in English here. According to a couple other forum members, there is the option of getting a 3 month visa for studying Spanish. It's not a long time but it will get you a DNI which will allow you to legally work and obtain the required status to start a business.

Because it's such a short term visa, and because starting a business does not automatically give you residency, you would have 2 options. Find any job that would qualify you for a work visa. If you're really desperate you could be honest and just say you need the visa. I'd probably offer a few hundred bucks just to get someone to hire me.. unless that's illegal, who knows. But accept any job just to get the visa.

The other option would be to immediately apply for citizenship after getting a short term student visa and DNI. This would provide you protection from deportation and since you'd have a DNI you could start your business still.

Generally, I wouldn't come without a visa first.. but your situation is different and apparently a race against the clock.. soooooo.. if I were you I'd contact the University of BA and get the info needed and VERIFY requirements and possibility of getting the visa. After that verification I would come and start the process from within the country AND at the same time look for any old job that meets the requirement for a work visa. Take whichever route (student or job) that comes first. After you have a DNI you can easily register to set yourself up to start a business. Now the actual process of starting a business is a whole different matter.

Thanks for the new information

Now everything seems to getting clear in my head

I will prefer to go with the student route as i don't want to do anything illegal, if i am offered a job then that will be great but that is rare probability so i will not make it my first plan

What i understand from your last reply that:
First: i travel as tourist
Second: apply for that short term student visa to learn Spanish (can you please recommend the place or institute i will apply for that course and guarantee me the visa)
Third: once i get that short term visa i apply for DNI and open bank account
Fourth: i apply immediately for Citizenship once i got that short term Visa ( did i understand that correctly? Even i didn't spend 2 years in the country?)
Fifth: i can start the business immediately and will not be deported after investing money in the business?
Sixth : i will apply for new student visa or job parallel to the citizenship route and parallel to running my business

Did i understand the process correct in the 6 points or i misunderstood something?

Can you please cofirm?

I am exactly as you said in a race against time and really can't afford any more loses and many thanks for your patience and understanding

 

[SecretShopper]

Thanks for the new information

Now everything seems to getting clear in my head

I will prefer to go with the student route as i don't want to do anything illegal, if i am offered a job then that will be great but that is rare probability so i will not make it my first plan

What i understand from your last reply that:
First: i travel as tourist
Second: apply for that short term student visa to learn Spanish (can you please recommend the place or institute i will apply for that course and guarantee me the visa)
Third: once i get that short term visa i apply for DNI and open bank account
Fourth: i apply immediately for Citizenship once i got that short term Visa ( did i understand that correctly? Even i didn't spend 2 years in the country?)
Fifth: i can start the business immediately and will not be deported after investing money in the business?
Sixth : i will apply for new student visa or job parallel to the citizenship route and parallel to running my business

Did i understand the process correct in the 6 points or i misunderstood something?

Can you please cofirm?

I am exactly as you said in a race against time and really can't afford any more loses and many thanks for your patience and understanding

First, you need to contact the university to confirm that they will help you obtain the visa and the requirements. Contact the university of Buenos aires. You should be able to chat with them online. After confirming the process then go to Argentina.

After you arrive and start the student visa process, look for a job at the same time. A work visa is a million times better than a 3 month student visa. Long term student visas requires a real career path.

After obtaining the student visa go to immigrations and apply for the DNI. After receiving the DNI register yourself to get a CUIT which allows you to open a business.

Only apply for citizenship if you do not find a job to get a work visa. Applying for citizenship immediately requires a lawyer and will cost between 5-7k. But it will provide you protections. Only do that if you can't get a job.

If you find a job and get a work visa you can be in the country legally 2 years and then apply for citizenship without a lawyer.

 

[steveinbsas]

I am planning to start small business and will hire few persons but i can't afford investor visa and Rentista visa suitable for my savings

If you do get the student visa (as SecretShopper did) and you also want to open a small business serving pr preparing food for take away, I suggest you read this thread:

Starting a business in CABA

Does anyone have experience starting a business in Argentina? Since I'll be around for a little bit I might as well do something interesting. I'm looking for a starting point.

baexpats.org

It will be very difficult to lease a suitable place without a guarantee, Just having $20,000 USD, a large portion of which you would have to spend to start the business, will not be of any use to you when it comes to renting a space.

Just having money won't make it possible to rent a spance, even a very small one.

From the thread:

I just imagined if you had money it wouldn't be a problem.

This is antipodean's reply:

"If that were the case the economy would be booming. Unfortunately, Argentina insists on making problems.

You can always get lucky and find ways around any obstacle like this, but it would be naive to think you will always end up with exactly what you need. Maybe for your personal life here it will work more often than not, but for a business... that’s another story.

Once you have an idea/ business in mind you need to think how you will make it work (eg as a monotributista or set up a local persona jurídica like an SA or similar) Having a local entity could be the solution to getting guaranties etc. I’m not sure with a student visa and thus temporary residence you would be allowed to be an executive director of the company to be able to register it - perhaps you’d need a lawyer or local partner to appear on the papers.

The beaurocracy is a real pain in the ass for everyone and not something that can just be ignored altogether by businesses.
When suppliers (Beverage distributors, Coffee, Importers etc) set you up in their system you will need to provide a lot of documents etc. When you want to set up a POS or ML or bank business account to get paid you will need to provide a lot of documents etc. When you want to set up the company or get that all important CUIT, you will need to provide a lot of documents etc. When you want to hire someone you will need to provide a lot of documents etc. When you want to receive a dividend or salary you will need to provide a lot of documents etc. When you want to connect the electricity to your business, you will need to provide a lot of documents etc.

In short, not sure how far a student visa and bag full of cash will get you if going it alone unless your idea of a business is just peddling trinkets from a blanket on the sidewalk or simply working from home on a very small scale."

And bdk1 wrote:

"In a nutshell, the pros are it is not a very mature market so the opportunities are endless. You don't have to come up with anything new, just replicate a product, service and/or business model from abroad that does not yet exist here. Also people are not in their wildest dreams expecting "American style" customer service - so if you can provide that, it is very easy to stand our from your competitors and you'll have very happy customers who will keep coming back.


The cons are you will get sued by your employees and/or contractors, and you will need to bribe government officials. These are not "maybes," they are facts - most businesses budget for this in advance (and also for theft, a friend of mine who owns a factory says they budget for getting robbed once a year). Also, as a rule of thumb you should only declare and invoice a maximum of 60% of your sales, with the rest being under the table. Otherwise there's just no way a business can be viable in Argentina with all the taxes you'll have to pay."

 

[steveinbsas]

I will prefer to go with the student route as i don't want to do anything illegal, if i am offered a job then that will be great but that is rare probability so i will not make it my first plan


First: i travel as tourist

Yes

Second: apply for that short term student visa to learn Spanish (can you please recommend the place or institute i will apply for that course and guarantee me the visa)

Yes, if that is possible

Third: once i get that short term visa i apply for DNI and open bank account

I don't think you have to make an acutal application to get the DNI after the student visa is approved. The DNI sould be delivered to your domicile in about a month.

I don't think you have to have the DNI in hand to open the bank account.

You will reeive a precaria when the student visa is approved and you may be able to open an account at Banco Nacion before you actually have the DNI in hand.As soon as you have the bank account you can begin using Western Union to receive pesos in argentina from your foreign account at almost double the official rate.

Fourth: i apply immediately for Citizenship once i got that short term Visa ( did i understand that correctly? Even i didn't spend 2 years in the country?)

Yes, but if you want to apply for citizenship immediately with a student visa, I doubt the court would accept the aplication unless you had legal representation (which woud come at a cost,in the thousands of dollars, give or take a couple thousand).

Fifth: i can start the business immediately and will not be deported after investing money in the business?

You can take the steps to "start" the business as soon as you have the DNI with the CUIL/CUIT, but you will probably have to pay an accountant to help insure you do everything to be in compliance with the tax regulations.

You will face serious fines if you open a business and hire employees without being in compliance with all of the regulations.

Sixth : i will apply for new student visa or job parallel to the citizenship route and parallel to running my business

If your student visa is for one year. it might be "wise" to wait a year to apply for citiznship. It won't speed up the process if you apply earlier than that and, as long as you have a valid student visa, you have nothing to worry about as far as migraciones is concerned.

You may still need legal representation at that point (after one year) for the court to accept your application for citizenship.

I am exactly as you said in a race against time and really can't afford any more loses and many thanks for your patience and understanding

My final conclusions:

It will be very difficult to find a job in Argentina if you do not speak Spanish very well,

It will be costly to legally set up the business in the first place and a daunting task if you don't speak Spanish well.

It will be very difficult to lease a space to operate your busines without a guarantee or a "partner" who can provide one.

It will be costly to apply for citizenship until after you have been living in Argentina for two years if you have to hire a lawyer to represent you before then.

It will be very costly to operate your business, even if you comply with all of the legal requiremest as officials demand "other payments" and your employees file lawsuits against you.

My final suggestion:

Think of a busines you can operate on line that does not entail renting a "retail" space or having any employees