Pensionado Visa Peso requirement

[charlesfradley]

Sorry, I am not trying to sidetrack the thread. Soon I will qualify for the Pensionista visa, but not sure that it is the best option for me now that I am hearing about the need to convert at the official rate for 2+ years..... immediate citizenship application is sounding more attractive....but I am all ears to learn the details....

 

[Alby]

but I am all ears to learn the details....

All the details you will find on the relevant citizenship threads. Good luck looking through them. Spoiler alert: the consensus seems to be that while it is technically possible (and lawyers specialize in the method), it is a hard, long and expensive road to citizenship if you don't separately have a residency issued by Migraciones.

 

[charlesfradley]

Thanks for the summary. But I actually did not mean details of citizenship (I already have been following those discussion). I meant I am interested in the details of the new Pensionado visa currency conversion requirements.

You say that the citizenship is expensive, yes I am aware of that, but the new Pensionado currency conversion rules also sound very expensive.

 

[Alby]

the new Pensionado currency conversion rules also sound very expensive.

Indeed. Under the worst-case scenario (i.e., despite the ambiguous wording of the June 1 disposicion, Migraciones are (i) requiring existing and future temporary residency pensionistas to to bring in their pension, (ii) do so at the minimum monthly salary for employees--as opposed to the lower minimum rate for pensioners--with a multiplier of 5 that gives a number way higher than is really necessary for meeting living expenses, and (iii) do so in a way that pessifies the funds at the official rate and thus creates unspendable peso balances that will be quickly devoured by inflation) the change largely eliminates the Pensionista category and the route it provides to permanent residency. It's a very big issue, it's been around for nearly six months, and it's time now to try and get clarity on whether this worst-case scenario is indeed the one Migraciones are imposing.

 

[Alby]

(iii) do so in a way that pessifies the funds at the official rate and thus creates unspendable peso balances that will be quickly devoured by inflation)

Correction: the worst-case scenario doesn't create unspendable peso balances that get eaten by inflation; rather, it turns hundreds of pension dollars to dust each month (while probably for some people at the same time leaving some unwanted peso balances accumulating each month to be quickly devoured by inflation).

 

[Alby]

That was never raised by my attorney or migra. FBI, SS income verification that's it. The one question my migra interviewer asked was how I could be sure my SS income would continue. Lol. Fairly soon that could be a legitimate concern.

That's a very interesting and hopeful piece of information. Thanks. It is consistent with the way the disposicion reads but inconsistent with what the OP and others say they have been told by their lawyers.

Was it raised by either the attorney or Migraciones that the monthly SS income needs to be, at minimum, a specific amount--the equivalent of 5XArgentina's official minimum monthly salary?

If so, did they also say at what point in the assessment process of your application will Migraciones check the amount showing on the SS income verification to confirm your pension does indeed convert to at least the minimum level (given that the assessment usually takes some time and Argentina's minimum monthly salary goes up each month, sometimes more rapidly than the official value of the peso against the dollar goes down)?

 

[kai420]

Good Morning,

I've been in Buenos Aires for a few months now and love it. I am retired military and can live quite comfortably here on my pension. I had a consultation with an immigration lawyer who said that while I meet the requirements for the Pensionado Visa, I would have to transfer my entire pension to an Argentinian account at the official rate. Are there ways to avoid doing this? I would lose too much money doing this to justify moving here. Please help it make sense.

Jon

Hi there, I cannot speculate on whether or not pensionados are required to bring their money to Argentina, or will be required to in the future, but I can only tell you of my own experience since no one else who has responded to this thread has indicated they have gone through the process since this new guidance that is being talked about was put into effect.

I have.

I am 41 and receive a combined pension income of $5205 a month, which next year increases by 3.2% thanks to the COLA.

I started the pensionado visa process while in Argentina on 11 July, and finalized my application on 14 August with the required documentation, which in my case was a valid passport, fingerprinting and an Argentine criminal record check (through the Registro Nacional de Residencia), a criminal record check from the United States (which was provided by my local police department and not the FBI), a domicile certificate (which the local police precinct in Buenos Aires issued on the spot while I waited), as well as copies of my proof of benefits from the two federal agencies in the US.

I did not use a lawyer.

I had my criminal record check and income documents with apostilles issued by the Secretary of State's office in my home state, and then had those documents translated in Beunos Aires and legalized by the College of Public Translators in Beunos Aires.

I submitted all of this documentation through Radex, including a picture for my DNI.

In that moment, because I had already paid the fees on 12 July (26.000 pesos paid online with my Mastercard, which I received the tourist rate adjustment for, as well as 300 pesos paid in-person at a bank with a payment voucher for DNI processing or something), the system then immediately issued a temporary pensionado precaria as of 14 August, as well as an in-person appointment time at Buenos Aires immigration on 16 August.

I attended the appointment where I was fingerprinted again (despite having already done so at RNR) and had my picture taken (despite already uploading a picture to Radex).

There was no mention of income requirements, proof of bank statements, or a requirement to bank in Argentina.

I then signed a bunch of stuff I was not given time to read, and was then given a website address (https://www.migraciones.gov.ar/accesible/consultaTramitePrecaria/ConsultaUnificada.php) and told to check my status at the end of the day for an updated precaria.

That was it. Easy peasy.

All in all, the appointment lasted 5-10 minutes after waiting awhile.

In and out.

From that day onward, my status on the website showed awaiting supervisor approval.

My post-immigrations appointment precaria expired 23 October and I applied to renew my precaria through the online portal on 8 October. It was renewed on 12 October until 10 January 2024.

Sometime at the end of October, I noticed that I had moved out of the awaiting supervisor approval status and am now awaiting issuance of the disposition of residency protocol.

All prior steps are in green, while my current status of disposition of residency protocol is still color-coded blue, which means it is still in-progress.

Simple and easy process.

Let me recap, there was never a mention during the appointment about income requirements, banking my income in Argentina, or all the other stuff everyone else is mentioning.

I hope that my experience helps you, since I seem to be the only one who has recently gone through the process since the updated requirements.

 

[kai420]

Hi there, I cannot speculate on whether or not pensionados are required to bring their money to Argentina, or will be required to in the future, but I can only tell you of my own experience since no one else who has responded to this thread has indicated they have gone through the process since this new guidance that is being talked about was put into effect.

I have.

I am 41 and receive a combined pension income of $5205 a month, which next year increases by 3.2% thanks to the COLA.

I started the pensionado visa process while in Argentina on 11 July, and finalized my application on 14 August with the required documentation, which in my case was a valid passport, fingerprinting and an Argentine criminal record check (through the Registro Nacional de Residencia), a criminal record check from the United States (which was provided by my local police department and not the FBI), a domicile certificate (which the local police precinct in Buenos Aires issued on the spot while I waited), as well as copies of my proof of benefits from the two federal agencies in the US.

I did not use a lawyer.

I had my criminal record check and income documents with apostilles issued by the Secretary of State's office in my home state, and then had those documents translated in Beunos Aires and legalized by the College of Public Translators in Beunos Aires.

I submitted all of this documentation through Radex, including a picture for my DNI.

In that moment, because I had already paid the fees on 12 July (26.000 pesos paid online with my Mastercard, which I received the tourist rate adjustment for, as well as 300 pesos paid in-person at a bank with a payment voucher for DNI processing or something), the system then immediately issued a temporary pensionado precaria as of 14 August, as well as an in-person appointment time at Buenos Aires immigration on 16 August.

I attended the appointment where I was fingerprinted again (despite having already done so at RNR) and had my picture taken (despite already uploading a picture to Radex).

There was no mention of income requirements, proof of bank statements, or a requirement to bank in Argentina.

I then signed a bunch of stuff I was not given time to read, and was then given a website address (https://www.migraciones.gov.ar/accesible/consultaTramitePrecaria/ConsultaUnificada.php) and told to check my status at the end of the day for an updated precaria.

That was it. Easy peasy.

All in all, the appointment lasted 5-10 minutes after waiting awhile.

In and out.

From that day onward, my status on the website showed awaiting supervisor approval.

My post-immigrations appointment precaria expired 23 October and I applied to renew my precaria through the online portal on 8 October. It was renewed on 12 October until 10 January 2024.

Sometime at the end of October, I noticed that I had moved out of the awaiting supervisor approval status and am now awaiting issuance of the disposition of residency protocol.

All prior steps are in green, while my current status of disposition of residency protocol is still color-coded blue, which means it is still in-progress.

Simple and easy process.

Let me recap, there was never a mention during the appointment about income requirements, banking my income in Argentina, or all the other stuff everyone else is mentioning.

I hope that my experience helps you, since I seem to be the only one who has recently gone through the process since the updated requirements.

I am no longer able to edit my post, but I am age 43, not 41 as I indicated in my post. I keep forgetting my real age because I celebrated my 40th and 41st birthdays alone during the pandemic quarantine.

 

[charlesfradley]

Hi there, I cannot speculate on whether or not pensionados are required to bring their money to Argentina, or will be required to in the future, but I can only tell you of my own experience since no one else who has responded to this thread has indicated they have gone through the process since this new guidance that is being talked about was put into effect.

Thank you Kai, that is great information!

 

[Reversegate]

In that moment, because I had already paid the fees on 12 July (26.000 pesos paid online with my Mastercard, which I received the tourist rate adjustment for, as well as 300 pesos paid in-person at a bank with a payment voucher for DNI processing or something), the system then immediately issued a temporary pensionado precaria as of 14 August, as well as an in-person appointment time at Buenos Aires immigration on 16 August.

....

My post-immigrations appointment precaria expired 23 October and I applied to renew my precaria through the online portal on 8 October. It was renewed on 12 October until 10 January 2024.

Sometime at the end of October, I noticed that I had moved out of the awaiting supervisor approval status and am now awaiting issuance of the disposition of residency protocol.

Hi, thanks for writing up your experiences. Did you get any email notification of the change from awaiting supervisor approval to disposition of residency protocol?