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

[jrflink]

I have somewere read that you can only pay the fee 3 times and then it becomes a problem?? have anyone pay this fee more than 3 times, in in that case, was there any problems?

 

[lexilein]

A friend of a friend always overstayed without ever having problems leaving or re-entering the country. She (German) only faced problems once she applied for a working visa and would get rejected based on her bad visa history. So, you gotta opt for marriage or child then ;-)

 

[michaelc]

I can only offer advice per my personal experience(s). While the likelihood of anything serious happening is unlikely, it is possible. Per Argentine law, I believe you are only allowed to be in the country for no more than 90 days per year -legally that is. What you, me and many others do is technically illegal but as it has been said, they tend to look the other way. I have been living between BA and the US for 4 years now. I always renew my VISA every 90 by either traveling, going home or doing the VISA extension (the latter I do not recommend as it costs almost as much as a trip to Colonia and takes about the same amount of time, plus I have done it 3 times in 4 years and the last time I was handed the 3rd degree along with my entire history of entry/exit on a computer screen - she may just have been in a foul mood but...). Yes you can overstay, go to the office at the airport and pay the fine, fill out a simple form and get told don't do it again and 9/10 times you will be ok. I have done this once (overstayed and paid the fine), but this was 2 years ago. If you plan on coming back, overstaying probably is not the best option as yes, do it once, you may get on their radar, as to how serious that is, I don't think anyone can truly say. If you were to apply for permanent residency, work visa, etc, it could impact your approval. Truth be told, getting hassled is a 50/50 chance. Lately, I have been harassed about where I live, what I am doing and so on - it's possible I have extremely bad luck or in fact they are getting more serious about this - end point to know is that I have yet to be denied entrance (knock on wood). The irony is that I usually get harassed on the exit and not the re-entry and almost always by the younger immigrations personal, the older ones are more relaxed.

To sum things up, if you are planning on only staying here a year, not traveling outside the country (Argentina) between now and then, and have not foreseeable plans to return anytime in the near future once you do leave, I would't be bothered with renewing every 90 days, unless of course you need a good excuse to get outside of the city/Argentina even if for only a day. Understand, as most us long timers do, anything and everything can change here in Argentina with little to no notice.

I personally have yet to find that the government prefers foreigners to take their currency elsewhere rather than pump it into their economy.

Hope you find this insightful, if not a bit helpful.

 

[elclandestino]

or apply for citizenship after two years

 

[rcmedia]

I'll probably never give up my Canadian citizenship based solely on the fact I am guaranteed a good pension and free medical coverage for the rest of my life.

 

[globaljet]

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

Yep you got it right. However be aware "the system" i.e. beautiful Argentina will kick you in the ass somewhere along the line as some crazy karmic deal they have with Indian deities..

 

[steveinbsas]

I'll probably never give up my Canadian citizenship based solely on the fact I am guaranteed a good pension and free medical coverage for the rest of my life.

Does free medical coverage also mean you wil receive it in time to save your life (when neded)?

 

[rcmedia]

I always renew my VISA every 90 by either traveling, going home or doing the VISA extension (the latter I do not recommend as it costs almost as much as a trip to Colonia and takes about the same amount of time, plus I have done it 3 times in 4 years and the last time I was handed the 3rd degree along with my entire history of entry/exit on a computer screen - she may just have been in a foul mood but...)

Do you mean 'the latter' as in doing the VISA extension you did 3 times in 4 years?
Does that imply they would prefer a person to do the Uruguay trip instead?

Thanks for helping out... much appreciated of course.

 

[rcmedia]

Does free medical coverage also mean you wil receive it in time to save your life (when neded)?

Here's what I do... this probably only applies to Canadians and people from certain European countries (Scandinavia for example) that have 100% free full medical coverage.
I buy a special kind of travel insurance that is about as all-encompassing as it gets... if I need to see a doctor or go to the hospital here in Argentina in the (god forbid) event of a serious medical emergency... it's already covered.
In addition to that... if I were ever to need some kind of surgery, and was able to travel, my insurance also covers 100% of a medical airlift back to Canada, at which point my surgery or whatever would be free of charge compliments of the Canadian taxpayers.

The travel insurance I'm talking about can be renewed on the internet while I'm here (*it's through a Canadian company.. not sure if this is available to others however) and it's only aprox. $50 USD per month.
It also covers all the usual trip cancellations, theft etc.

So I use both of those things together.
It's the best I could do and if someone else has a better way please let me know

 

[steveinbsas]

I believe you are only allowed to be in the country for no more than 90 days per year -legally that is.

It is 100% legal to extend a 90 day tourist visa once for an additional 90 days if you receive the prorroga de permanencia at the office of migraciones.