Past 90 Days, What Happens If Stopped in the Street, In An Accident, etc?

[Argento]

No, haven't passed that yet but just wondering.
Some say don't bother to do the tourist renewal and just pay the fine when leaving (still recommended?).
Aside from possibly having some mark against your name for doing that, I can see the logic otherwise.

What I wonder then is if past the 90 days and get randomly stopped in the street, or in an accident, etc, what happens?

Normally I wouldn't mention the getting stopped as I never see it here, but it did happen to me when I was in BA before. Within the 90 days all was fine.
I found it very odd them stopping me because I never seen it, but so be it.

Is the fine only collected at the airports or at all borders crossings (ferry, land)?

Thanks.

 

[Iznogud]

Pretty much nothing.
Cops aren't there to enforce migration laws.
Gendarmería or Prefectura COULD be more picky but no uniformed guy will joyfully entertain the idea of doing the extra paperwork or having his/her ass chewed for bringing that problem to their precinct.

There are no random stops in the streets, if they were foreigners would get an immediate pass. There are ramdom car stops but that's about it.

 

[Montauk_Project]

You could walk into a police station, declare that you are in Argentina illegally, and they would ask you to leave most likely (leave the police station).
BTW, I heard a story once:
Guy kills his wife. Runs away from the cops. His lawyer talks him into turning himself in. He is in Mar del Plata and goes to the nearest police station, which is in the casino. Presents himself as a confessed murderer. Cops inform him that they don´t have any handcufs, and if he could be so kind as to walk himself to the nearest police station. Which he does.
you are not high on their "to arrest" list.

 

[Hop]

At most, they can tell you to get your papers in order, but that's it. The police are not immigration officers. If they say otherwise, they're looking for a bribe. Plus, there is no such thing as being illegal in Argentina, only "irregular." If your visa has expired, you have an "irregular immigration status" that needs to be corrected by getting a proper visa, but having an expired visa is not illegal and definitely not something under police jurisdiction.

If you have a long expired visa or many stamps to Uruguay, or a lot of prorrogas of your tourist visa, you'll get hassled and get warnings only at ports of entry (ferry/air) but nothing else. If you plan on staying in the country for a long time, don't bother renewing the visa. If you travel in and out frequently, it's nice to have a "regular immigration status."

 

[Neilcampbell31]

It may invalidate your medical / travel insurance.

 

[Canick]

don't carry your real documents, just a colour photocopy. If you just copy the photo page of your passport it won't have any entry dates on it. Even if you had your whole passport, it would be very very rare for police to notice (or care). I understand you are looking at a worst case possibility, but the probability of it being an issue is almost nil. I'm a resident now, but most of my friends are still in and out having overstayed years with no issues except the 300p fine.

 

[Gringoboy]

Depends what you mean by being 'stopped'.
Stopped whilst driving a car? Or whilst ambling along the street?
As others have said, it's highly unlikely that you will be stopped whilst walking around like a normal citizen.
I was stopped several times whilst driving a car before my status had become 'regular', so to speak.
All the policemen wanted know was why I was living here and what I thought about the Falklands/Malvinas or simply put, were more than happy to have a chat.

 

[Argento]

Thanks for the replies! Very helpful. Puts things more at ease. Don't have to stress so much about it if the time comes.
I should have clarified, stopped while walking.
Yes, that happened when in BA before. Like I said, I found it very odd as I never seen it and still don't. It was an officer on the corner, at French and he asked me for ID while I was waiting to cross. Showed the passport, within 90 days still and no issues. Still can't figure out what that was about.

What you all have said makes a lot of sense. Was just double-checking.