Do we need a roundtrip ticket on a Tourist Visa?

[Alby]

It's pretty clear you DO need to make provision for this possibility.

But there are other possibilities you need to make provision for. Did you mention to the Argentine consulate your intention to use a tourist visa to move to Argentina for a year and, if so, what was the reaction? People, of course, do what you are proposing all the time, and the rights and wrongs of it (what would we think of an Argentinian simply deciding to move to the US for a year on a tourist visa with a coffee machine and then drive to Canada at the end and what would the US consulate here have to say about it if forewarned?) are debated on other threads on this website. You can find those, if you're interested.

The point being that whilst there are ways of sliding under the radar, or taking formal steps to do it legally, each of them requires a degree of planning and preparation, for the simple reason that this is a sovereign country that, like any other, has travel and immigration procedures. This business of potentially being asked for a return ticket is just the first of many issues you will face if you are to pull off the plan and not find yourself in some strife at some point during the 12 months.

 

[elhombresinnombre]

I have probably entered Argentina 30 or 40 times in the last fifteen years. Never once been asked to show a return ticket. Maybe they have some way of checking online, dunno, but its never come up.

Not only checking online but probably some form of profiling too. I have never been stopped or asked to show a return ticket - but then I've always had a return or onward ticket and they will know this already. I have seen people stopped and turned back at land borders and I would guess that the very experienced staff can easily recognise people who just don't behave like tourists.

On one occasion, I saw a woman who was claiming to be visiting family for just two weeks trying to cross the border with four enormous trunks of luggage. On another a man failed to explain why, as a "tourist" he had no personal possessions but had a suitcase packed with what looked like fifty or more mens suits in different sizes. They know - and the airline staff who check you before you board know too.

To the OP: have you checked out the feasibility of leaving the country as a tourist in a car which you did not bring into the country in the first place? Or for that matter, the rules in the countries along your way? For the first question, begin with a forum search on the terms (no quotes) "tourist" "border" and "car."

 

[Reply Guy]

I've flown into Argentina 25 times or something around there as a tourist before I became "legal", and I was asked at the airport I was departing from maybe once or twice. Immigration will sometimes ask until when you're staying, but they never asked me for proof.

You can always book a one way and then cancel it as a backup. Expedia and those websites have a 24 hour period where you can cancel for free.

 

[Medialunas]

Hey there. We are leaving our home in the US next week to spend a couple of weeks in Chile and then flying into BsAs. We had planned on living in Argentina for about a year before coming home and living off savings while there. By reading this forum it seemed just fine to show up on a tourist visa and then apply for some kind of visa after we arrive in BA. (Perhaps like a rentista visa.)

Here is my concern. My wife just got off the phone with the Argentinian consulate here in the US and the consulate mentioned that we may be denied entry onto the plane from Santiago to BA because we only have a one way ticket.

Does anybody have anything to say if this is a real concern? I am willing to buy a flight ticket out at a later date if that is needed to satisfy boarder control/ airline gate attendant. Perhaps even cancel the ticket as soon as I land in BsAs. But we intend on leaving Argentina by car when we do finally leave.

Any thoughts?

I agree with Frank Pintor, I am always asked by the airline to show my return ticket or proof of residency in Argentina. Anyway a return ticket is usually cheaper than just a one way.

 

[twoshoes]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I think I'll try buying a ticket out and then either cancelling or taking a trip with the family.

 

[DK72]

I wouldn't worry about a rentista visa if you plan to live here only for one year. I would rather do some visa runs (or simply have an overstay then here, which costs close to nothing when you leave the country at the end). There are some voices here (mostly lawyers .... ) who say that visa runs are a thing of the past. It might be that this is not a solution anymore for "long-term tourists", but one year? The chances that this does not work are almost nil.

I have come to Argentina probably 15 times without having a return flight out of Argentina. The last time I had indeed a problem, so this was new to me. But as it was said here, this is not a thing that Argentina requires necessarily, but more some over-cautious airlines. I believe if you could show them a Buque-Bus ticket to Uruguay within three months of your arrival that should be sufficient (tell them you plan a South America trip to Brazil etc). This way, you can also plan your first visa run (and if you have never been there, it is nice to spend a weekend in Colonia

 

[Alby]

A rentista residency is not something one can simply apply for on arrival. It requires reams of hard-to-obtain apostilled documentation, collected and prepared at home before the applicant arrives in Argentina. Without it, one has to rely on visa runs (how many people advocating them have made them work travelling as a family?) or overstaying. Do overstayers confidently drive around the country in a private vehicle when all it would take to be detected and deported would be a random police road check?

 

[DK72]

A rentista residency is not something one can simply apply for on arrival. It requires reams of hard-to-obtain apostilled documentation, collected and prepared at home before the applicant arrives in Argentina. Without it, one has to rely on visa runs (how many people advocating them have made them work travelling as a family?) or overstaying. Do overstayers confidently drive around the country in a private vehicle when all it would take to be detected and deported would be a random police road check?

Exactly, the paperwork is quite extensive, so I would just avoid applying for a visa (if you are unfamiliar with country and language, you will also need a lawyer, so good luck with that). If the risk of an overstay is deemed too high, I would still go to Uruguay before the three month period is over. Then three months later a two weeks vacation in Brazil at the beach (which is nice anyway) and head back to Argentina. Then do one last visa run to Iguazu or Montevideo. So you are perfectly legal here, without having to do the visa paperwork, without having to worry about AFIP etc. And the risk of being denied entry to Argentina is very, very low.

NB: yes, I am confidently travelling around being overstay. Not saying that the risk is zero, but is in my view very low. The above is probably not a strategy I would recommend long-term, but for one year certainly.

 

[Alby]

Agreed. At this late stage this family has no prospect of staying legally for 12 months using the residency solution. They can stay legally for 6 months, applying for a 90 day tourist visa renewal at the 90 day mark, without having to leave the country. At day 180, they must either do the first of two visa runs, or opt to chance their arm at remaining illegally under the radar for the remainder of their travels; either option could work, but travelling as a family would surely increase the risks, particularly for the remain under the radar option--you never know when you might need help from your friendly local police officer, or come into contact with him or her for totally unexpected reasons.

 

[twoshoes]

Hey there,

I thought I would give an update for anybody in the future reading this thread. I landed in Santiago for a week. The gate attendant in Atlanta didn't ask for anything besides our tickets and passports. The passport control didn't ask for exit tickets (although we had them already). He just wanted birth certificates for the kids.

From Santiago to BsAs, gate attendant didn't ask for anything and passport control didn't even ask for birth certificates. I did ask him a little about boarder crossings and he said what I expected, they don't care much about visa runs until the time in country adds up to about 6 months, but he was super relaxed and very friendly.

We still don't have an exit plan for Argentina and nobody cared, but thanks to this forum I had a plan to quickly buy a ticket if it came to that. So for that I'm thankful.

Although I appreciate the forums, I think I read them too much and get over worried about every possible problem. Just my nature I guess.

Next week I think we look into getting our visas before our FBI background check time elapses.

Thanks again everyone.