Do you get temporary residency by studying in a university (Masters degree) ?

[the7uda]

Hello , I'm exploring the idea to study in BA and I'm not quite nailed down on the procedures yet , Do you get a student visa to study in a master's degree or do you get a temporary residency?

 

[autoluminescent]

Hey there, I'm currently finishing my master's degree here - yes, depending on the program, you would be given temporary residency to study here for a year with the chance to renew each year. You must apply for the temporary residency while in Argentina. There are certain documents you would need legalized and apostilled in your home country to apply for the residency, however. Happy to answer questions you have!

 

[steveinbsas]

Hello , I'm exploring the idea to study in BA and I'm not quite nailed down on the procedures yet , Do you get a student visa to study in a master's degree or do you get a temporary residency?

I believe a "student visa" actually conveys temporary residency for one year.

This list contains info posted by someone (secretshopper) who got one:

Search

baexpats.org

PS: His "student visa" was real, but he was, essentially, a fake student.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

I always suggest to do not apply for a visa that is not going to be a permanent residency because a deportation order needs a file to be enacted. You can just overstay and you do not become illegal in Argentina.
You can also apply for citizenship with passport right away.

 

[the7uda]

I always suggest to do not apply for a visa that is not going to be a permanent residency because a deportation order needs a file to be enacted. You can just overstay and you do not become illegal in Argentina.
You can also apply for citizenship with passport right away.

How do you exactly suggest it should be done coming from my home country?

 

[the7uda]

Hey there, I'm currently finishing my master's degree here - yes, depending on the program, you would be given temporary residency to study here for a year with the chance to renew each year. You must apply for the temporary residency while in Argentina. There are certain documents you would need legalized and apostilled in your home country to apply for the residency, however. Happy to answer questions you have!

Thank you for replying , that was helpful!
I have a couple more questions if you don't mind:
1) How's the quality of education for postgraduates in Argentina ?
2) What are the tuition fees for foreigners for these programs on average in public universities? ( I couldn't find exact figures online and I haven't gotten responses yet)
3) How's the best way of going about to obtain temporary residency ? Like I read a comment below that said don't do a visa as it might hurt your permanent residency status later.

Thank you!

 

[autoluminescent]

Thank you for replying , that was helpful!
I have a couple more questions if you don't mind:
1) How's the quality of education for postgraduates in Argentina ?
2) What are the tuition fees for foreigners for these programs on average in public universities? ( I couldn't find exact figures online and I haven't gotten responses yet)
3) How's the best way of going about to obtain temporary residency ? Like I read a comment below that said don't do a visa as it might hurt your permanent residency status later.

Thank you!

Sure thing.

1) It 100% depends on what your area of study is and what university you study at. I studied at UBA in the Facultad de Derecho and would give my experience a 3.5/ 5. Not going to lie, it was difficult. Out of 40 classmates only about half finished the program. I would highly suggest working with a tutor whatever the case. Not sure what your level of Spanish is but it better be good.. and by good I mean advanced B2/C1 or you will not make it.
2) I can't remember exact numbers but I probably paid around $1,800 in total for my master's degree here. Obviously, private universities will cost more. No idea now with Milei in charge how much the cost has gone up, but I'd expect the price to be a bit more.
3) Ok, this depends on what your end goal is here. Are you planning to seek permanent residency or citizenship here in Argentina, or are you just here for a couple of years to study then return home? I wouldn't worry about getting a visa. As Steve mentioned above, it doesn't really exist here the way you think it does. If you are a formal student, pursuing a degree for more than +365 days you would arrive to Argentina as a tourist then apply for a Temporary Residency under the Student category on the DNM website. The process is really simple actually.

You would need to bring with you legalized/ apostilled:
- Criminal background check from your home country
- Criminal background check from Argentina
- Constancia de Alumno Regular (the university will issue this)
- Constancia de Inscripcion (the university will issue this)
- Certificado de Domicillio (basically proof of accomodation in Argentina)
- Your diploma (apostilled/ legalized and then translated here by a professional translator)

And that's about it for the first year. Upon renewing your temporary residency in year two, you'll also need to provide legalized copies of your grades, as well as provide new copies of the documents you provided in year one. The "fake student" thing would only hypothetically work for one year.. not sure why anyone would bother going through all the trouble when you can just stay here as a tourist and pay the overstay fine when you leave.

I'm currently on year three of my temporary residency. There's some debate on this forumn whether or not temporary residency given to students qualifies for permanent residency after three years (two years if you are from a MERCOSUR country). I was at Migraciones a couple of weeks ago and they mentioned I can apply for permanent residency next year but who knows. I'm not confident that anyone really knows the rules.

Anyways, that's just been my experience so far but your results may vary. Best of luck!

 

[Bajo_cero2]

Well, if you think that the masher was difficult, to get the lawyer degree is a lot more difficult. 30.000 begins and 300 finish every year.

I would like to add that the DNM double checks if you are going to classes.

According to Roman Law, to study does not entitle to citizenship where the PR is a second class citizenship.

 

[srpez]

According to Roman Law, to study does not entitle to citizenship where the PR is a second class citizenship.

Apologies, I'm not a lawyer so it's not obvious to me what you mean by 'Roman law' - is that the system of law that is used by Argentina? Are you saying that someone living in Argentina with a student visa can't apply for citizenship even after two years of living in the country?

 

[steveinbsas]

Are you saying that someone living in Argentina with a student visa can't apply for citizenship even after two years of living in the country?

I have previously asked this question and the answer was that the two years physical presence in Argentina required for citizenship was not tied to the residency status with migraciones....also that seven months of each of the two years would suffice.

There is still the question if temporary residency based on having a studemt visa can become permanent residency on the third renewal.

The obvious advantage to having a "student visa" is that will mean having a DNI and, hopefully, that also means being able to apply for citizenship without a lawyer.

I am not sure if and when a DNI is required for enrollment in an educational instition. I assume most but I am not certain. In either case, life would be a lot easier for any student to have one while they are living in Argentina with a desire to obtain citizenship.