Got deported

Denied entry is not the same as deportation. Anyone who is not a citizen or legal resident of Argentina can be denied entry for any reason at the discretion of the Immigration officer. Deportation for a person already legally inside the borders of Argentina is an entirely different process that is subject to judicial review.
The immigration officer gets a computer readout of all your entry and exits from Argentina upon scanning your travel document. Illegal immigration or abuse of tourist visas is not an admired action around the world these days. Read the Zeitgeist and govern yourself accordingly.
 
For some reason, they were held at the airport for days, not just hours. That gave the lawyer enough time to take action - if I remember correctly, basically on humanitarian grounds. In any case, as illustrative as the pregnant women's situation was, it's probably unreasonable to expect to be treated the same way.
Yes these folks were basically the precedent. Nowadays you can have the lawyer on standby while you're coming back, if you get let in fine. If not, the lawyer is ready to go and will get you released within a few hours. Of course these types of situations are not as salacious as the pregnant Russian women so you won't read about it in the newspapers, but it happens all the time.
 
Out of curiosity, has anyone heard of being denied entry for someone that didn't overstay?
Yes - like any country on earth - it happens all the time and I often see them heading back on the same plane they came in on. If migraciones simply suspect you are not here for what you say you are and don't like the look of you (this last part perhaps is most important as some people will face more politically incorrect scrutiny here at the border just based on their appearances alone than others...) then it is chau chau and return to sender.

It is not quite as bad / strict as say Brazil, where there are practically refugee camps of people denied entry being contained in cordoned off areas of the airport awaiting flights home or the USA where European countries have recently issued travel advisories against travel to the US due to the high risk of being detained at the border and deported/ denied entry even if in possession of valid travel authorisations... but it still happens often.
As there are currently quite a few cases of Argentines being denied entry to the US (despite holding visas) circulating on social media etc, I suspect US citizens may start to face tit-for-tat scrutiny by some Argentine immigration officers and others around the world.
 
Sorry that you ended up in this unpleasant situation.

Why didn't you just register your relationship with your Argentine partner (you can do it online at the CABA government website) and thus get legal residency here with Migraciones to avoid all this mess and risk from overstaying/ trying to fly under the radar? Unless you're trying to do something illegal or are a criminal who can't pass the residency application requirements or simply didn't have grounds to stay in Argentina, then I really can't understand what you'd have to gain by not doing things correctly.

Perhaps it is still an option for you to first register your relationship and then apply for the correct visa from the nearest Argentine consulate. Then when you arrive you should be able to get a temporary residence visa (DNI) that will become permanent after some years giving you the freedom to stay, come and go when you want.

Every country has rules and if you choose not to follow them then you choose to accept the consequences when and if discovered. It is always a little disappointing when foreigners from more "developed" countries think (or come to expect from online opinions or cultural bias) that Argentina (or any foreign country) is some wild wild west or banana republic where they can just do whatever they want by gaming or flouting the system. I would question if they also think about the foreign nationals being deported or facing lengthy procedures just to visit their country as tourists and treatment of those who game or flout their own immigration and border protection systems.
Could you post a link to where you can register a relationship with CABA? I'm coming back in three months and overstayed my visa and payed the fine when I left in November but do not want to run into OP's issue. Thanks!
 
So yeah, now I’m flying back to my family’s home, a little numb and still reeling over everything. This turned out contrary to everything I read up about people living here and the illegality of the irregular status of those paying habilitación de salida. Not sure if it’s because of the change in government or whether it was always like this.

My partner can’t easily come to the states, and all my belongings are in Argentina, where I am now apparently banned from lol. Not sure what I can do now, if anything, but it sucks. Writing this as a warning to others who might be doing the same, but if you have any advice, I’ll also gladly hear it.
This is literally a nightmare. I’m so sorry to hear how you're going through this. It’s incredibly cruel to be separated from your partner like this, especially while facing so many unknowns.

Many years ago, I was in a similar situation (minus the deportation)—Argentine partner, overstaying my visa, making Uruguay runs, which were the go-to move back then. Getting my partner to the US was also extremely difficult.

Eventually, I went through the DNI process, after an immigration official at Ezeiza kindly convinced me not to put myself at risk anymore. She was compassionate and even said, “We are a country of immigrants. It is not our custom to deny entry.” But that was a different time, before the world became crueler.

Good luck, hermano. I really hope it all works out for you both and that you're reunited soon. True love will endure. And with a good lawyer and steady progress at the embassy, it's very unlikely you'll have to wait three years.
❤️
 
I’m an American citizen who has been living in Argentina with my Argentine national partner for the past 2.5 years. I returned to the states about every 5-6 months and paid the habilitación de salida every time.

The last time I left (about a month ago), I made the mistake of putting the paper/receipt confirming I paid the habilitación de salida into my check-in luggage. There was a bit of a hassle at migrations, but ultimately the supervisor looked at my record (and that I’d always paid the hds), was understanding that I was staying with my partner, and let me off with a warning that next time I needed to bring the papers (pretty much verbatim).

I’d read online that sometimes when returning to Argentina, migrations wouldn’t let you through if you hadn’t previously paid the hds. I wasn’t sure if the supervisor had just let me go or marked me as having paid, so I figured when I returned, I’d show them the papers just in case.

I’d also read - and maybe misunderstood this part - that it might be better to just be honest and tell migrations that you live here and are returning.

I flew into Argentina yesterday, gave my passport along with hds papers, and when asked if I was here for tourism, I said I live here with my partner. The officer took everything back to his supervisor (a different man), who came to me after some time and was indignant that the hds was supposed to be a one- or two-time occurrence and that what I was doing was illegal. He didn’t care that I lived with my partner and made it to be a whole separate thing as to why I was in Argentina for those periods of time. He left and came back to yell at me about all this again at least one more time.

I was there for about half an hour when they had me go into the office and wait another 10-15 min. The supervisor came and had me sign an Acta de Incidente that said “Sospecha fundada - falso turista,” which I just did since they still had my passport and I honestly wasn’t sure what my other options were. He said next time I come, I need to have a visa and then kicked me out, leaving me with an airline agent and another migrations officer. I asked them what the requirements were for my reentry, and they told me this was a 3 year ban and to re-enter during this period, I would need to go to Argentine embassy and get an appropriate visa.

So yeah, now I’m flying back to my family’s home, a little numb and still reeling over everything. This turned out contrary to everything I read up about people living here and the illegality of the irregular status of those paying habilitación de salida. Not sure if it’s because of the change in government or whether it was always like this.

My partner can’t easily come to the states, and all my belongings are in Argentina, where I am now apparently banned from lol. Not sure what I can do now, if anything, but it sucks. Writing this as a warning to others who might be doing the same, but if you have any advice, I’ll also gladly hear it.
Curious because I plan to be here for 2 years. If you had for example took a weekend trip to Chile every 80days and returned to Buenos Aires could this have been avoided?
Or is there a limit to this as well? And if so does anyone know what that limit is?
 
Curious because I plan to be here for 2 years. If you had for example took a weekend trip to Chile every 80days and returned to Buenos Aires could this have been avoided?
Or is there a limit to this as well? And if so does anyone know what that limit is?
Multiple "border runs" to get a new 90 day visa are no better than múltiples of overstays.

One overstay of two years is really no worse than an overstay of two months. The more often you try to leave and renter on a tourist visa (once or twice is OK), the more likely you will be denied reentry.

You are highly unlikely to have any problem with migraciones if you just come and can stay for two years without leaving...at least the way things are at this time.

PS: if you plan on staying for two years, I don't suggest getting a 90 day extension of your tourist visa, either.
 
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I’m an American citizen who has been living in Argentina with my Argentine national partner for the past 2.5 years. I returned to the states about every 5-6 months and paid the habilitación de salida every time.
Hey OP. Too many of the commenters above are unfortunately enjoying reprimanding you and kicking you in the face while you’re down. But the truth is there are plenty of people living here 5+ years doing what you did who never had a problem. What happened to you is extremely rare and boils down to a zealous migraciones officer. It was bad luck.

If you need a recommendation for a lawyer you can fix it, PM me.
 
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