Go to Uruguay every 90 days.. or just stay in AR and pay a fine later?

[rcmedia]

Hi,

My apologies if this question has been definitively answered in this forum somewhere previously (*I have read many, many threads on this here.. but none seemed to unequivocally answer this question).

Should I go to Uruguay every 90 days to get a new tourist visa... or is it better to just stay here in BA for an extended period of time (*let's say 6-12 months as an example)... and then pay the fine to AR migrations when I eventually leave?

I've heard many opinions and different answers, cautions etc. to these questions... just trying to get a definitive answer.

Muchas Gracias

 

[RobinsonGO]

Stay here, pay the fine, dont go to Migraciones. After a year, a job, spanish, and maybe a wife your options will open.

Slds

 

[rcmedia]

Thanks for the reply.

So let me get this straight....
If I decide to stay here in BA for years even as a perma-tourist... don't bother going to Uruguay every 90 days for the visa renewal... if/when I finally decide to leave Argentina... they just ask for the fine and don't arrest you for breaking immigration laws by overstaying your 90 days by a long time?

I just want to make sure I'm not going to get thrown in an Argentine prison for pulling a move like that
..and what kind of fine would I be looking at... let's say for overstaying my 90 days by 12 months or whatever?

Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

 

[French jurist]

If I decide to stay here in BA for years even as a perma-tourist... don't bother going to Uruguay every 90 days for the visa renewal... if/when I finally decide to leave Argentina... they just ask for the fine and don't arrest you for breaking immigration laws by overstaying your 90 days by a long time?

For you to be reassured = no problem at all. You'll pay the fine and bye-bye.

 

[steveinbsas]

I just want to make sure I'm not going to get thrown in an Argentine prison for pulling a move like that

As Perry Como once said in song, "It's impossible."

Yes, I'm that old.

 

[mcaffa]

Just pay the fine. It is 300 pesos, whether you've overstayed by one day or by five years. You just pop over to the migraciones window in Ezeiza, and whip out your passport and the cash.

I've done it before and so have most of the perma-tourists I know. You won't get hassled or locked up.

 

[DelphineSF]

Unless things have changed in the last few months, there´s nothing to worry about. I´ve been in BA for 2 years. My first year, I went to Colonia after my first 90 day stay, then stopped. Seven months later, my parents visited and we headed for Colonia for a day trip. Immigration at Buquebus said nothing.... no questions. Nothing at all. All I had to do was go upstairs, wait inline behind 2 other foreigners, then when my turn came up, hand the Immigration person 300 pesos. I thought it so strange that absolutely no questions were asked....but I figure that they´re just used to it; and probably happy to collect the fee.

As for what you should do, it´s a personal decision of what you´re comfortable with. I have friends who go to Colonia religiously every 90 days; and others who don´t.

Best of luck

 

[rcmedia]

Thank you so far to everyone here for all the helpful advice.

Here is one more scenario I am concerned about regarding all this.

Let's say I stay here in BA for a year or whatever without ever setting foot in Uruguay... and I want to go back to Canada for a visit, but then return to BA again in say a week or two after my visit up north.
I leave BA, pay my $300 fine and fly back...
Does Migraciones not have you 'flagged' at that point as an immigration offender... and will they allow you BACK into Argentina to do it all over again?

 

[steveinbsas]

You may be "in the system" as having paid the overstay fee, but unless there is a major change in policy between now and then, you will be able to come back without any problem.

 

[rcmedia]

Wow.. ok that almost seems too good to be true (*like the saying goes "If it sounds too good to be true... it probably is").
But I'm starting to actually believe this could be an exception to that old saying!
If that's the case then I'm in a situation where I can stay here basically forever if I wanted to... amazing