Entering Argentina for more than 90 days

[Bitcoingirl]

Hi,

I am a european woman married to an Argentinian. We got married last year, then I went back to Europe. Now I am going back to Argentina to settle down with my husband (apply for residency etc.). I booked a return ticket with return date 8 months after date of arrival. I checked on traveldoc, there it says that I am not allowed to board the plane since the "travel" period extends the 90 days. Does anyone have experience with this kind of case? Will I have to change the return date to a date within the 90 days to be able to board the plane and get into the country? Thanks a lot in advance!

 

[Ronnie Hotdogs]

The only people who may check are the airline at check in. They do not check at the border.

 

[Bitcoingirl]

Ah ok, I will check with the airline then, thank you!

 

[gringoexpress]

The airline will use any excuse they can to deny you boarding and keep your money. You just need to show a reservation with a reservation code, not a paid ticket. Last time I flew, American Airlines allowed you to "reserve" a reservation and pay within 24 hours. You make the reservation the day of your flight for some date a month or two in the future and bring the reservation code with you to the airport, if the airline tries to give you a hard time, you show them the reservation and the code pops up in the system. You then never pay. I would double check that American Airlines still allows this (try to make a reservation and when you get to the payment step, see if "make reservation and pay later" is still an option, but don't confirm because they don't let you have multiple reservations active.) This works with other airlines too sometimes, which airlines allow it and don't changes frequently.

 

[lunar]

Ah ok, I will check with the airline then, thank you!

If your airline brings up this question at your departure, you should always be able to buy a fully refundable ticket on your credit card and eventually return it.

 

[Bitcoingirl]

The airline will use any excuse they can to deny you boarding and keep your money. You just need to show a reservation with a reservation code, not a paid ticket. Last time I flew, American Airlines allowed you to "reserve" a reservation and pay within 24 hours. You make the reservation the day of your flight for some date a month or two in the future and bring the reservation code with you to the airport, if the airline tries to give you a hard time, you show them the reservation and the code pops up in the system. You then never pay. I would double check that American Airlines still allows this (try to make a reservation and when you get to the payment step, see if "make reservation and pay later" is still an option, but don't confirm because they don't let you have multiple reservations active.) This works with other airlines too sometimes, which airlines allow it and don't changes frequently.

thanks a lot for this valuable information! I checked with Air France, they do offer this option that you make a reservation for 48 hours without paying. To be sure not to have trouble it is even possible to reserve a "flex" - fully refundable - ticket, which means that if at the airport they force me to pay, I will just do it and then ask for a refund. Problem solved!

 

[Bitcoingirl]

If your airline brings up this question at your departure, you should always be able to buy a fully refundable ticket on your credit card and eventually return it.

Sure - especially since there don't seem to be any clear rules about this - I called the airline (Air france), but they couldn't give me any clear guidelines, it is a question of luck

 

[earlyretirement]

Yes, I run into this problem with my mother in law before when she traveled sometimes. Often times she wouldn't know her full itinerary or when she was coming back. But sometimes the country she was flying into would ask to see a return ticket. What I would do is get a fully refundable ticket.

Or if you have miles or frequent flyer points in an account, just book a ticket and print it out or create a PDF and then you can cancel it. I doubt anywhere actually checks the tickets. It's more of a matter of red tape.

 

[Jtee125]

You could also book an onwards ticket to Uruguay and later cancel it. I flew to Uruguay with over 90 days between return flight and had my onward ferry to Argentina in case the airline or immigration asked, they didn’t though

 

[Bitcoingirl]

You could also book an onwards ticket to Uruguay and later cancel it. I flew to Uruguay with over 90 days between return flight and had my onward ferry to Argentina in case the airline or immigration asked, they didn’t though

I suppose you mean a flight ticket to Uruguay? Do you know which airline offers tickets to Uruguay with the full refund option?