Moving To Ba To Marry And Stay.

[hamlet76]

I have read a few posts about getting married to an Argentina Citizen. On this page it seems like it is so easy. Marriage then citizenship, boom. On other sites, they say it is close to impossible. Is it really that simple?

 

[ElQueso]

You don't just become a citizen in a snap once you marry an Argentine. That takes some time (I think at least two years here) and the process can have a lot of pitfalls, but it's absolutely possible. I know guys who have become citizens just from having permanent residency as solteros, so being married to an Argentine and having permanent residency would probably have a better chance (at least even) when it came to getting citizenship.

I can attest to it being a relatively simple straight-forward process to get permanent residency once you're married to a citizen or someone who is a foreigner and has permanent residency. The latter is how I got mine - and the process can have a lot of pitfalls too, but it's just a maze of red tape to get through.

What's much more difficult, probably impossible, to do is get citizenship as a perma-tourist (even if you're married to an Argentine), with no legal help. Maybe that's what's people on other sites have mentioned is impossible?

 

[ben]

Getting residency once married to an Argentine is a snap, which means to say as little bureaucratic headache as you can expect from any tramite here, which means to say a good deal of headaches. To quote my response on an earlier thread:

• You will need:
  • your birth certificate (assuming you were born in the US)
  • a background check from the FBI, and the police of any other country where you spent time (6 months or over?)
  • and your marriage certificate.
• All of the above must bear an apostille stamp (or if from a country like Canada with no apostille, must to check with local Arg. consulate re requirements to legalize the documents).
• All of the above documents - plus your passport - must be translated to Spanish by a traductor publico, and the translation must be legalized by the Colegio de Traductores Publicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
• Photocopies of everything, including all pages of your passport (blank ones as well).
• Some amount (3?) of photos, don't remember measurements now.

All of that is taken to the immigration office in Retiro, you are given a paper granting provisional residency on the spot, and your DNI comes in the mail a short while later.

That is all for residency: once you are a legal resident with legal 'on the books' income for 2 years here, you should be able to get citizenship here with no legal advice. Again, any bureaucratic process here can be expected to involve lots of time and aggravation even when rules are followed to a T. In this country, 'long and vexing' does not at all mean 'impossible'.

There are excellent threads on the subject on this forum, bajo_cero in particular is the resident expert here and has given lots of great advice. He is also said to be able to get around some of the roadblocks when retained.

 

[hamlet76]

Will I be able to work legally, while waiting for all the red tape to clear or am I cursed to working off the books? And is working in the black as horrible as people say? Thanks for your feedback.

 

[Gringoboy]

Personally speaking, I would stay below the radar.
Dealing with AFIP is akin to pulling teeth.

 

[hamlet76]

Gringoboy: Is it a nightmare to find undocumented work in BA?

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Gringoboy: Is it a nightmare to find undocumented work in BA?

Well, if you want to become a cartonero...but even that has its own guild.

 

[steveinbsas]

That is all for residency: once you are a legal resident with legal 'on the books' income for 2 years here, you should be able to get citizenship here with no legal advice.

There are excellent threads on the subject on this forum, bajo_cero in particular is the resident expert here and has given lots of great advice. He is also said to be able to get around some of the roadblocks when retained.

Citizenship requires two years of "residency' before it may be granted. In some case, depending on the judge, the process may be started after you have been living in the country for one year, even without temporary residency (granted by migraciones) and a DNI.

Legal "on the books" income is not a requirement for citizenship. A means of making an "honest living" (without being a criminal) is.

Getting citizenship without a DNI (and having residency which was granted by migraciones) is virtually impossible without legal representation (which is significantly more expensive than legal advice. Expect to spend over $5000 USD in attorney's fees.

If you want to search for more information provided by Dr. Rubilar on the subject you can enter his exact user name (bajo_cero2) in an advanced search. What I have posted here is based on posts he made in the thread about Argentine citizenship for foreigners.

http://baexpats.org/topic/10071-argentine-citizenship-for-foreigners/page__hl__%2Bargentine+%2Bcitizenship+%2Bforeigners

I have read a few posts about getting married to an Argentina Citizen. On this page it seems like it is so easy. Marriage then citizenship, boom. On other sites, they say it is close to impossible. Is it really that simple?

If you get married to an Argentine citizen or even a foreigner with permanent residency you will be immediately be eligible for permanent residency. I believe that you still must be an Argentine "resident" for two years (regardless of you status with migraciones) before citizenship can be granted, but if you have permanent residency granted by migraciones you would have a DNI and you should not need legal representation (especially of you are married to an Argentine who can go to the court with you to make sure the process proceeds as it should).

 

[ajoknoblauch]

If you get married to an Argentine citizen or even a foreigner with permanent residency you will be immediately be eligible for permanent residency. I believe that you still must be an Argentine "resident" for two years (regardless of you status with migraciones) before citizenship can be granted, but if you have permanent residency granted by migraciones you would have a DNI and you should not need legal representation (especially of you are married to an Argentine who can go to the court with you to make sure the process proceeds as it should).

Then again, if your beloved is a deceased schlock "novelist," no paperwork at all is necessary.

 

[steveinbsas]

Then again, if you simply pine for a schlock "novelist," no paperwork at all is necessary.

Hey, Mr. Ed (Rooney), I hope you and your wife were enjoying this thread...

If that sounds like the first line of a song, perhaps pauper can provide additional lyrics.