Newcomer Introduction

[K2times]

Hi Everyone! Introducing myself after lurking in the community for the past month.

My family and I (US citizens, wife and I mid-40s + 6-year-old twins) arrived in BsAs three weeks ago. We had made a leap at the beginning of the year to launch a sabbatical, traveling around the world for a year (great timing, huh?). I am semi-retired after working in tech for the last 20 years, and my wife has taken a one-year leave of absence from her US government career. We started in Costa Rica, then Peru, then Chile and now Argentina. Our plan for the end of this month was to launch into Europe, but that plan is obviously scrapped now.

Over the last few days, we debated heading back to the States after the announcement last week that flights to/from the US will be suspended for a month, but decided that we are likely better off sheltering in place here in BA than we are trying to travel. That decision is also compounded by the fact that we rented out our house in Seattle, so we would need to secure housing, insurance, etc. in the States, after planning to travel for the next nine months. We have a nice AirBnB in the Retiro/Recoleta area, and met with the owner last week who was happy to extend our stay for another 30 days.

So, we are BA Expats for at least the next 45-60 days, perhaps longer. We love it here, so I'm not concerned about the need to stay in one place. However, I'm cognizant of the fact that we have a 90-day limit before visa requirements kick in, and with the current uncertainty due to the pandemic convinced that 'business as usual' likely won't apply to immigration rules anyway. So, while we are happy to be in a beautiful city to try to weather the storm, we're also a little anxious about how things will proceed as foreigners.

We're learning quickly about how the monetary system works (or, perhaps more accurately, doesn't work). We're also getting the hang of the 'cash-is-king' economy, and how to be savvy shoppers. Mostly, we're learning how to keep ourselves and our daughters occupied as we do our best to practice social distancing and avoid making a spectacle out of ourselves as Americans.

Anyway - wanted to introduce myself, and say thank you to all of the folks who contribute really useful information on the forums. We've benefited from posts about the 'Western Union roulette' and local etiquette, experienced expats' takes on the evolving situation related to Coronavirus and the government response, and even some of the salty posts about the 'peculiarities' of the Argentinian government and bureaucracy. It's all been really helpful - especially during an anxiety-inducing time like this one.

Looking forward to being more of a part of the community, and happy to take any 'newcomer advice' that hasn't already been posted, but mostly just wanted to say hi, and thanks.

Buenos tardes y gracias.

 

[cbbsas]

A very warm welcome to you and sorry to hear that you haven’t been able to fully experience the joys of this beautiful city just yet. I’m in the same situation as you regarding the 90 day stay... I just don’t think there’s much we can do, it’s an exceptional time and the fine is around 45k pesos from what I remember so if worst comes to worst we just pay the fine.

keep calm and weather the storm with your family, and I hope that we can continue to be of help and support to you should you have any questions or comments on your new temporary residence.

 

[K2times]

Thanks cbb - fortunately we had a chance to see some of the beauty of the city over these past few weeks, but certainly not as much as we wanted to.

Happy to see that President Fernández didn’t announce a countrywide quarantine today, but it’s obviously going to be important to hunker down to help reduce the chance of further COVID spread. I expect the next 30 days to be very interesting, and hopefully a successful slowing of the virus’ growth.

Thanks for the welcome - this is a really cool group!

 

[steveinbsas]

The fine for overstaying the 90 day entry permits is $4.500 pesos each (not 45K). At this point it´s impossible to say for sure if the fine will be waived for an overstay caused by the lack of outbound flights, but I think it´s quite possible, though migraciones could tell you that you should have gone to their offfice and asked for a prorroga de permanencia (which would cost $2.700) if there was no quarantine in effect during the last ten days of your initial tourist permit.

 

[K2times]

Thanks Steve - really helpful. Sounds like a worthwhile investment (~10k ARS) to stay on the right side of the law if we’re still in BsAs in 60 days...

 

[cbbsas]

The fine for overstaying the 90 day entry permits is $4.500 pesos each (not 45K). At this point it´s impossible to say for sure if the fine will be waived for an overstay caused by the lack of outbound flights, but I think it´s quite possible, though migraciones could tell you that you should have gone to their offfice and asked for a prorroga de permanencia (which would cost $2.700) if there was no quarantine in effect during the last ten days of your initial tourist permit.

lol sorry you're completely right - 4.5k not 45k! Thanks for clarifying

Would you mind explaining to us the process for the PDP - where do we go etc? Thanks so much in advance

 

[steveinbsas]

Would you mind explaining to us the process for the PDP - where do we go etc? Thanks so much in advance

You can get the prorroga at the office of migraciiones in Retiro. Don´t forget to take your passport with you.

I got my one and only prorroga in 2006 and I know they give them in a different building now.

I don´t think you can ask for a turno online, but I´d check on that if I were in your shoes.

If advance turnos aren´t available, you should go as early as possible. They may still limit the number of prorogas per day.

I don´t know for sure if you need to bring a photocopy of the info page and the page with your entry stamp.

Hopefully, someone else will know the answer to that question and also how early you should go.

PS: If you are able to correctly pronounce the words "prorroga de permanencia" you will probably get a big smile from the migraciones employees.

 

[Pipitayoga2018]

You can get the prorroga at the office of migraciiones in Retiro. Don´t forget to take your passport with you.

I got my one and only prorroga in 2006 and I know they give them in a different building now.

I don´t think you can ask for a turno online, but I´d check on that if I were in your shoes.

If advance turnos aren´t available, you should go as early as possible. They may still limit the number of prorogas per day.

I don´t know for sure if you need to bring a photocopy of the info page and the page with your entry stamp.

Hopefully, someone else will know the answer to that question and also how early you should go.

PS: If you are able to correctly pronounce the words "prorroga de permanencia" you will probably get a big smile from the migraciones employees.

Great info. Thanks!

 

[Bajo_cero2]

You can get the prorroga at the office of migraciiones in Retiro. Don´t forget to take your passport with you.

I got my one and only prorroga in 2006 and I know they give them in a different building now.

I don´t think you can ask for a turno online, but I´d check on that if I were in your shoes.

If advance turnos aren´t available, you should go as early as possible. They may still limit the number of prorogas per day.

I don´t know for sure if you need to bring a photocopy of the info page and the page with your entry stamp.

Hopefully, someone else will know the answer to that question and also how early you should go.

PS: If you are able to correctly pronounce the words "prorroga de permanencia" you will probably get a big smile from the migraciones employees.

No.
He has to send an e mail with scan of the first page of the passport and the entry stamp to [email protected].
However, there is a suspension of administrative activity, the times do not run, that is, it is as if not a single day had passed.