Moving to Bs As soon... what do I need?

[AngelinBA]

MattSanTelmo - I agree with Gringoboy, the advice given was actually very objective, especially compared to some of the stuff that gets written on this site.
While you can find many posts in other threads that say "just don't bother coming, this place sucks!", the answers given to you here were helpful and full of good advice. I'm glad you're excited about coming here, there are a lot of great things about living in BA. I've been here 12 years and planning on sticking around for a lot more.
I just hope you don't ignore good advice because someone told you that people on BAEXPATS were really negative.

 

[syngirl]

DNI is not going to be a 2 month process. As a single British national with no job getting an Argentine DNI is about as likely as getting permanent residency in the USA. Pestering immigrations is not going to result in a DNI. Foreigners are not entitled to a DNI unless they fit into a pretty strict set of categories -- you can look on the migraciones site to see the full list.

Colombians are affiliated with Mercosur, easier for them. Also I'm assuming some of them are students, so probably came on a student visa. Or maybe they have a job who sponsored them for a work visa?

I'm Canadian, I lived here for 4 years before I was eligible for a DNI. I didn't fit any of the categories until after I married a local. Pestering them wouldn't have got me a DNI; however it probably would have got me thrown out of the country.

Marrying a Colombian won't work either unless they have full permanent residency in Argentina and be non-resident of Colombia.

Your best options to stay here are: a student visa, a work visa (slim chance of finding a company to sponsor you, but it can happen), or just staying illegally and paying a fine when you leave. On this forum you can find info for how to obtain your citizenship after a few years of living here without leaving. However, with the mess that we're in at the moment I don't know that citizenship here is so appealing...

 

[syngirl]

BTW -- I'm guilty of doing what everyone else does, mixing the meaning and use of DNI with Residency!

DNI is the documento nacional identity number that you will get once you fulfill requirements for a residency visa. Since I got mine via marriage I tend to link them as one and the same; when you marry an Argentine you are automatically eligible for permanent residency and a DNI in the same tramite. However there are other residency visa categories -- NONE of which I fit into prior to marriage. Your Colombian friends probably fit into one of these residency categories -- you however, likely will not.

You need to get yourself a visa here before you even think about DNI -- I wonder if maybe what your Colombian gf was pestering immigrations for was a visa and not DNI? She might have managed to get a student visa after being here? Because requesting a DNI just doesn't happen... probably she requested a student visa and qualified? Not sure...

 

[Ashley]

Hey guys,
thanks for the post replies and the helpful information.
Some of you certainly do live up the reputation on this site of being incredibly negative, which may well be justified given that you are the ones with the experience, but given my experience of Bs As (yes Im aware its different when you're not living there on a permanent basis) there is no need to be quite so pessimistic.

I have actually been to Bs As and a few times before on long multi-month trips and already have a strong group of local and international (south american) friends (as does my girlfriend who has now lived there for almost a year) based in Buenos Aires.

As for the DNI, i assumed it would be different for me than for my girlfriend, but she literally requested it and received it (albeit after about 2 to 3 months). Yeah she had to pester them a few times and go to the offices and queue all day and got quite frustrated, but that sort of stuff happens.... not the end of the world.

As for the dollars, Im not planning on getting by on dollars in any sort of exclusive manner or attempting at any stage to exchange dollars into pesos, quite the opposite. I just thought that, given the advise of my girlfriend regarding the difficulties of attaining dollars and their necessity for a limited set of transactions, such as paying rent for example in some cases, it would be sensible to bring some with me or to have some access to them for necessary times.

Regarding residency and the DNI issue I guess i don't really have a clue so the advise is really good, thanks. Im not sure how my girlfriend an her friends have attained their DNI and temporary residency statuses given that they do part time work in bars/hostels etc but I'm assuming it is to do with their Colombian nationality, which of course will be of no help to me. Right... so ill go and start searching the forum re: these issues.

Thanks again for the help guys...
and try and be a bit more positive yeah!

Hi Matt
Your girlfriend's visa/DNI took a couple of months (sometimes it can take a couple of months, sometimes longer) because there is an agreement between mercosur countries. There is nothing like this kind of agreement between Argentina and the UK. The only way that you can apply for a visa or DNI is if you fulfil one of the immigration categories (student visa, work visa, spouse visa)...For the student visa, you need to be a full-time registered student, for the work visa you need a company (registered at immigrations) that will sponsor your stay and for the spouse visa...you need a spouse. Most people in your circumstances end up living here for years on a tourist visa (which, of course, brings its own set of difficulties). If you search the forum, you will find this confirmed.
As for $, the only way to get dollars (without going the illegal route and paying through the teeth for them) is to physically bring them with you. Given that most US$ rents now are are US$1,000 for a monoambiente, this isn't going to be a long-term solution (so you'd be wise to do your best to negociate a deal in pesos). You will be able to draw money out of your UK account (at a limit of 1,500 pesos per day at most atms) but only in pesos.
Buenos Aires remains a beautiful city but life here has changed A LOT over the past year or so and policies regarding money, prices, taxes have been changing overnight in some cases since last November. I know that there is a lot of (oftentimes justified) negativity on this forum, but you'd be wise to do as much investigation as possible just so that you don't end up in problems once you get here...

 

[Napoleon]

Thanks again for the help guys...
and try and be a bit more positive yeah!

I am positive that you are in for a rude awakening.

P O S I T I V E ! ! !

 

[lamarque]

Hey guys,
thanks for the post replies and the helpful information.
Some of you certainly do live up the reputation on this site of being incredibly negative, which may well be justified given that you are the ones with the experience, but given my experience of Bs As (yes Im aware its different when you're not living there on a permanent basis) there is no need to be quite so pessimistic.

I have actually been to Bs As and a few times before on long multi-month trips and already have a strong group of local and international (south american) friends (as does my girlfriend who has now lived there for almost a year) based in Buenos Aires.

As for the DNI, i assumed it would be different for me than for my girlfriend, but she literally requested it and received it (albeit after about 2 to 3 months). Yeah she had to pester them a few times and go to the offices and queue all day and got quite frustrated, but that sort of stuff happens.... not the end of the world.

As for the dollars, Im not planning on getting by on dollars in any sort of exclusive manner or attempting at any stage to exchange dollars into pesos, quite the opposite. I just thought that, given the advise of my girlfriend regarding the difficulties of attaining dollars and their necessity for a limited set of transactions, such as paying rent for example in some cases, it would be sensible to bring some with me or to have some access to them for necessary times.

Regarding residency and the DNI issue I guess i don't really have a clue so the advise is really good, thanks. Im not sure how my girlfriend an her friends have attained their DNI and temporary residency statuses given that they do part time work in bars/hostels etc but I'm assuming it is to do with their Colombian nationality, which of course will be of no help to me. Right... so ill go and start searching the forum re: these issues.

Thanks again for the help guys...
and try and be a bit more positive yeah!

Ahhhggg don't pay attention to this people, who ever told you about how negative is people on this forum is totally right, i have live in this city for the las 9 years well actually 1 year i were in Dublin, so let say 8 years and the city is great, you are right the people in this forum is really negative, well at least the people that post, not all of us of course. If you want to do it just do it, you will really enjoy this city specially if you already know people here.

My girlfriend is from Germany and is now comming on august so we are in the same situation as you, but i already found work for her so she will stay with a working visa, after 2 years she will go for the residency we love this country.
Btw if your girlfriend have friend from here ask some of them that have a bussines, maybe they can help you with the working visa papers

Enjoy and hope you the best

 

[Crema Americana]

I cannot with good conscious tell someone "yea! come on in!! the water is GREAT!" when there's sharp rocks and jellyfish in the water... at least not without warning them first.

Giving practical realistic advice is not being negative. The people here try to give realistic expectations because a lot of us had the same illusions... and went through it the hard way. "Just get a business to do it!" isn't practical considering that the business has to meet certain requirements and needs permission to be able to hire foreign workers.

In any case, good luck and let us know how it goes. It's nice to hear when it works out for somebody and helps others follow suit.

 

[Gringoboy]

I started the tramite for my DNI in July 2005 in Barcelona, where I was living at the time.
I'm British and therefore had to have a Police record check for both Spain and UK.
Certified copies of birth and marriage certs, a health report from Spain to say I was both sane (I wonder now) and physically fit, a contract of employment from my employer in Arg, a cert of social security paid by the employer in Arg.
Most documents translated into Spanish and apostilled. I did all this through the Arg consulate in Barcelona. It took months to get everything together and I nearly came a cropper when the employment contract sent by Fedex from Arg to Spain with a big label saying DO NOT TAMPER WITH OR OPEN was kindly opened by US Homeland Security in Atlanta. I managed to blag that one in Bacelona, but I can honestly say that it was an effing soul destroying paper chase.
I was lucky though, as my future Argentine wife was able to pull many strings and expedite things.
On arriving at Eze, I had to hand over a brown envelope at passport control (Oct 2005).
I got my DNI in Nov 2005. That isn't the end of the story though as getting the DNI doesn't give you permanent residency, you get that three years later if you're a good boy. During those three years, the rules changed, which meant more running around to prove I actually existed, which in fact I was beginning to doubt.
More strings pulled, the right people seen and 'spoken' to and I finally got permanent residency in Dec 2008.
The permanent residency is vital (or at least it was then) if you want to run you own business and therefore by default, join the Great AFIP club.
My motives were personal and purely from the heart. If they hadn't been, I'm as sure as eggs are eggs that I would never have done it.
So, if anyone tells you that getting a DNI and permanent residency is a walk in the park, think again.

 

[Napoleon]

So, if anyone tells you that getting a DNI and permanent residency is a walk in the park, think again.

Speaking of taking a "walk in the park", on a positive note...

It may be mid-winter, and today it actually feels somewhat like it (for here), but I am positive that there are ROSES blooming in the Rosedal right now. Not a full bloom like October or November, but you can walk through there (everyday except Monday) and see roses blooming throughout. Pretty darned neat-o if you ask me.

...and now back to your regularly schedule D.N.I. purgatory*...

*I didn't write "hell", because I'm looking at it with a positive attitude that perhaps some day you may rise up for this level of netherworld rather than descend into that which shalt not be named.