Hello, I've Only Posted In The Newcomer Forum Before

rpkerston

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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... ?
 
I cannot help about the reciprocity fee since it is something for North Americans (I am European). On the first stamp there are a few checkboxes, one reads "TA" and they might have just crossed just that one without any additional hand written text or stamp such as "90 dias" or "turista".

With you latest stamp and the diciture "90 dias" you now can stay legally for another 90 days, yes - the clock was reset on that day.
Some people go on purpose abroad close to the end of the 90th day to get another 90 days stamp. Of course they go on purpose abroad, with the sole purpose to have their passport stamped, so they go as late as legally possible. You went after 20 days, but that's no issue.
They will start questioning you if they see that every 90 days you go away on a daily trip to Uruguay but this is not hard science: some people have been doing so for years without a glitch, some people did this three times and they got a warning.
 
On http://www.cotizacion-dolar.com.ar it says that $1 pesos uruguayo es $0.415 pesos argentinos. Are you sure they gave you ARS to UY pesos is ~1.24 or 1.25?
 
Interesting. I didn't exchange any money, and I got no quotes: I simply noted two of the ubiquitous signs in the windows of such places and made a mental note of it. However, if the quote you indicate works at all well with my skill in simple arithmetic, then it would still account for only roughly a DOUBLING of the rate-of-exchange between UY pesos and the US dollar, not a virtual tripling... compared with ARS pesos... would it not?
 
So, it's back to my very rough and poor mental math skills in making comparisons between the ARS peso and the UY peso relative to the US dollar...

I'm VERY open to a simple explanation, even an equation - just not a quadratic one, please.

THX !
 
Every time you get a new Tourist Visa stamp your 90 day clock starts over. The only time that would not happen is if you renew your tourist visa without leaving Argentina and instead by visiting the immigrations offices. Then your Visa would be for a fixed 90 days and you would have to leave the country at or before the 90 days was up and re-enter after the 90 days had passed. If you did that and entered before the 90 days passed you would be given a visa for the remaining days, be it 1-89.

You should always bring your reciprocity payment receipt with you, it is legally required at all entry points, I have traveled to Uruguay and had to show it, better to be safe.

The mercosur form you were given is not necessary for any future trips.

Note government officials do not always follow the rules or procedure but that does not mean you will have the same experience each time or as someone else did.
 
Thank you, BaltRochGirl - and particularly: "[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]You should always bring your reciprocity payment receipt with you, it is legally required at all entry points, I have traveled to Uruguay and had to show it, better to be safe. [/background][background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]The mercosur form you were given is not necessary for any future trips"[/background]


Your mention of the variances between different persons, ports-of-entry and even just different days and personnel is well-taken. That difference may be what threw me.

Now, if I could just get my head around that math...

MANY thanks!

Paul
 
I guess my somewhat wordy OP gets my real math question lost within... The value of UY-ARS pesos-to-pesos rate may be useful information for many, here, but my own question is actually about the US dollar rate in each country and why THAT is so disparate if the peso-to-peso rate seems so (roughly) similar.

What I struggle to comprehend is that if the similarity between the peso-to-peso rate is such that ~1.25 is the difference (whether from one currency to the other, or vice versa) then how is it that the US dollar rate, by comparison, is so wildly different as to be ~9 versus ~25 to the dollar in the 2 different countries? THAT is what continues to stump me.

Again, maybe if I know how to work it out in longhand, it would make sense to me... but I have only the basest arithmetic skills and in my mind's eye... it seems very tricky to comprehend this.

AGAIN, MANY THANKS!

Paul
 
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