I’m quite willing to reveal my naivete in exchange for some collective knowledge and wisdom, here. It’s quite possible that my list of items / questions is more than any one person or even all who do will choose to tackle, and it’s also possible that I may simply confirm my own suspicions of how things are. Despite my extensive research before arriving here, I’ve actually only been here for less than one month, now… so I hardly have accurate bearings on everything, yet!
For one thing: I just returned from a short, multi-day trip to Montevideo. That will be the context for everything that I ask, here.
I noted in that capital city, there, that the exchange-rate for ARS to UY pesos is ~1.24 or 1.25 or so… which indicates to me that the values are somewhat similar… I think… yet, the UY to US peso-to-dollar rate was ~25:1… which is almost 3 times the official rate here, in Argentina. At least, that's what I THINK I was seeing, there...
So, either my mathematics is – again – challenging me (I never could do quadratic equations and got a ‘D’ the last time that I took math, 45 years ago in my Grade 10 Algebra I high school class with Mr Wignot… yes, that was his name…) or I’m just not getting something. My SUSPICION is that there is some agreement between Argentina and Uruguay? However, that doesn’t quite work out in my mind, politically, so I’m really at a complete loss and willing to look the fool publicly, here. Perhaps I simply do not get the math… or the politics?
My second item has to do with immigration procedures:
When I first arrived, at AEP, of course I had a stamp put into my passport. That stamp did NOT indicate ANY indication of 'tourism' OR of 90 days (I just assumed 90 days) it simply was an ENTRADA stamp with the date-of-entry included - and I have looked at it very, very carefully... more than once (plus, I now have a point of comparison – please read further down).
At AEP, I showed my copy of the proof of Reciprocity Fee payment, and it was noted and returned to me.
However, at Montevideo’s BUQUEBUS terminal, there was no such request for, search for (it’s in the back of my passport) or discussion of that Reciprocity Fee (number one, here) and I had 2 extra copies with me just in case... as I’ve read it’s wise to have on hand and to keep; and (number two) I’m now a bit confused about procedures: I had read on this Forum that if you are CLOSE to (usually within 5-10 days, or so) concluding 90 days in country, you can get 90 days more upon re-entry, but since I had spent only 20 days in Argentina, at the point when I left for Montevideo earlier this week, I expected no such thing and was NOT seeking it: However, what I got was a stamp that’s SIMILAR to the one that I first received at AEP, only this time it specifically includes a clear TOURIST remark (within a space not written or filled in, originally, at AEP) AND a 90 days indication, neither of which my original stamp included when I first landed earlier in October. In addition, there is an apparently very common MERCOSUR form that came with the BUQUEBUS boarding pass, already completed via computer with my particulars, and that ALSO got stamped with the same indications by the immigration officials (90-days…) with a copy given back to me.
So, my question is two-fold, in that regard: Do I need to keep that new MERCOSUR form in the passport, as well, or is the PASSPORT stamp sufficient (and what about that RECIPROCITY FEE thingy); and secondly, here… did my 90-day clock just start re-ticking, again?
Please forgive if my questions seem elsewhere answered because I have read somewhat extensively throughout this Forum for about1.5 years, now, and I haven’t noted this item mentioned… though I’m sure some helpful soul will point me to what I probably missed…
Thank you, all, again – as always,
Paul
PS: When I referenced my own ‘suspicions’ at the outset – I was wondering if this is just the vagaries of different officials at different points-of-entry who operate somewhat differently on different days of the week… or what folks remember to do in their performance of duties, or something... ?
For one thing: I just returned from a short, multi-day trip to Montevideo. That will be the context for everything that I ask, here.
I noted in that capital city, there, that the exchange-rate for ARS to UY pesos is ~1.24 or 1.25 or so… which indicates to me that the values are somewhat similar… I think… yet, the UY to US peso-to-dollar rate was ~25:1… which is almost 3 times the official rate here, in Argentina. At least, that's what I THINK I was seeing, there...
So, either my mathematics is – again – challenging me (I never could do quadratic equations and got a ‘D’ the last time that I took math, 45 years ago in my Grade 10 Algebra I high school class with Mr Wignot… yes, that was his name…) or I’m just not getting something. My SUSPICION is that there is some agreement between Argentina and Uruguay? However, that doesn’t quite work out in my mind, politically, so I’m really at a complete loss and willing to look the fool publicly, here. Perhaps I simply do not get the math… or the politics?
My second item has to do with immigration procedures:
When I first arrived, at AEP, of course I had a stamp put into my passport. That stamp did NOT indicate ANY indication of 'tourism' OR of 90 days (I just assumed 90 days) it simply was an ENTRADA stamp with the date-of-entry included - and I have looked at it very, very carefully... more than once (plus, I now have a point of comparison – please read further down).
At AEP, I showed my copy of the proof of Reciprocity Fee payment, and it was noted and returned to me.
However, at Montevideo’s BUQUEBUS terminal, there was no such request for, search for (it’s in the back of my passport) or discussion of that Reciprocity Fee (number one, here) and I had 2 extra copies with me just in case... as I’ve read it’s wise to have on hand and to keep; and (number two) I’m now a bit confused about procedures: I had read on this Forum that if you are CLOSE to (usually within 5-10 days, or so) concluding 90 days in country, you can get 90 days more upon re-entry, but since I had spent only 20 days in Argentina, at the point when I left for Montevideo earlier this week, I expected no such thing and was NOT seeking it: However, what I got was a stamp that’s SIMILAR to the one that I first received at AEP, only this time it specifically includes a clear TOURIST remark (within a space not written or filled in, originally, at AEP) AND a 90 days indication, neither of which my original stamp included when I first landed earlier in October. In addition, there is an apparently very common MERCOSUR form that came with the BUQUEBUS boarding pass, already completed via computer with my particulars, and that ALSO got stamped with the same indications by the immigration officials (90-days…) with a copy given back to me.
So, my question is two-fold, in that regard: Do I need to keep that new MERCOSUR form in the passport, as well, or is the PASSPORT stamp sufficient (and what about that RECIPROCITY FEE thingy); and secondly, here… did my 90-day clock just start re-ticking, again?
Please forgive if my questions seem elsewhere answered because I have read somewhat extensively throughout this Forum for about1.5 years, now, and I haven’t noted this item mentioned… though I’m sure some helpful soul will point me to what I probably missed…
Thank you, all, again – as always,
Paul
PS: When I referenced my own ‘suspicions’ at the outset – I was wondering if this is just the vagaries of different officials at different points-of-entry who operate somewhat differently on different days of the week… or what folks remember to do in their performance of duties, or something... ?
