Renew rentist visa - whats the current procedure ?

[gunt86]

I have been in and out of the country maybe 4 times since i got this and never had a problem, so i guessed i didnt have to do anything else..

The problem of not having a DNI or a bank account comes up when you try to renew the rentista visa after the end of the first 12 months. There is no special or different method for New Zealanders. You have simply messed up the process and will now have to find a way to fix it fast. I suggest you call Lorena @ ARCA.

In order to renew you rentista visa, you will need to have:
- proof of your income in your home country (same type of proof you used for initial visa), must be notarized & apostilled in your home country, then later translated into Spanish by a certified translator in Argentina
- proof of the monthly transfers of money (US$900 minimum i think) from your home country into your bank account in Argentina.
- You valid passport with with more than one year till expiry on it
- you must apply for renewal no more than 2 months before your visa expiry. If you visa expires, you cannot apply for renewal.
- application fee
- photocopies of all pages of your passport.
- police records from ARG
- proof of domicile

You see, unless you have a bank account in Argentina, there is no way you will be able to renew your rentista visa. AND without a DNI, it is basically impossible to open a bank account. So you should get your DNI yesterday!! Also to open a bank account, you will require some proof of domicile in Argentina, like a utility bill... ABout the 6 months of proof of wire transfers to a bank account in argentina, you may not need to have exactly that. I was able to renew my visa with only one bank statement from my ARG account that showed i had a balance of AR$10000. I just deposited the money into the account a few days before the statement date ( end of month) at a local branch in BsAs - no need for a wire transfer.

 

[davonz]

The problem of not having a DNI or a bank account comes up when you try to renew the rentista visa after the end of the first 12 months. There is no special or different method for New Zealanders. You have simply messed up the process and will now have to find a way to fix it fast. I suggest you call Lorena @ ARCA.

So i guess i should go see them ASAP and see what has to be done. I will be a bit annoyed if i have to have had a DNI and Bank account as i was never told this or any documentation i had from embassy never stated this as a need.

Is there a long wait, do i need to go early, and is there a special office i need to go to - number. ?

 

[gunt86]

So i guess i should go see them ASAP and see what has to be done. I will be a bit annoyed if i have to have had a DNI and Bank account as i was never told this or any documentation i had from embassy never stated this as a need.

You should be annoyed, but you shouldn't be surprised. What has happened to you, happens all the time when dealing with Argentines - very few people give you the straight answer. Everytime you do something official in ARG, you must check it 10x with as many people as possible.

I am pretty sure that your problem will only escalate into something worse if you try to handle this yourself (and you don't speak spanish). You absolutely need a good immigration lawyer to guide you through this. It is not easy at all. With a good lawyer, you will get your DNI in a matter of minutes....remember how things work in ARG, the palm must be greased...Without a lawyer you will have to line up at 2am and hope you get to see an official before they close for the day at 1pm. Most likely you will have to line up for a few days until you get lucky to see an official. Then after you make a successful DNI application, you will have to wait up to a year to get the actual DNI. This is all assuming that you have all the correct documents with you when you see the official, otherwise, start from beginning again. The official may also just decide not to serve you as you can't speak spanish and it is too much trouble to communicate with you.

Call Lorena @ ARCA. She will be able to help you fast. Given how bad you have messed this up on your own so far, you shouldn't trust yourself to fix it. www.argentinaresidency.com

 

[davonz]

When I went to renew for the third year, however, I was told I needed an Argentine bank account. I was able to go to a nearby bank, open one with $100 pesos, return to migraciones, and get the renewal.

does this mean the 3rd time you went you got perm residency ? As i was told, i after this renewal, i can then apply for perm residency here, which must be more paper work..

If you can't speak Castellano very well, just go with someone who does. Hopefully, you brought your birth certificate and other necessary docs with the seal of the Apostille with you, but you may need to have them retranslated here if you start again from the beginning.
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The embassy has given me a photo copy of the apostille birth certificate in the envelope.. so maybe this is all i need.. plus a piece of paper with finger prints on, plus a form (2 pages) with finger prints on.

Yes i will try to get a local friend to go with me, but they are so unreliable, when they have said they would do stuff before they never do.. this is one argentina trait i hate..

I will go along, tomorrow maybe, to find out what the story is.

 

[gunt86]

You need three years of temporary residency with a rentista, then on the expiry of the third visa, you can apply to have your status changed from temporary to permanent. It it not clear that this option is available for people who got their first rentista visa after May 1, 2009. There were some legal changes on that date. It certainly is that case that people who had rentista's before May 1, 2009 are able to convert to permanent after 3 year of temporary.... Again, only a lawyer will know this for sure as they deal with immigration officials daily as the whims of what is required and what is not required change frequently.

You don't need a birth certificate to renew a rentista, though you do need one to get the initial visa.
How many days do you have until your current visa expires? If less than 2 months, i would call ARCA. Despite what steveinbsas says, doing all of this visa stuff by yourself is only manageable if can speak spanish, know what to ask, know who to ask, have lots of time, and are pretty familiar with what sort of things to do. I have gone through immigration processes in 3 countries, and ARG is the only one i have ever paid a lawyer to help me. Yes it was expensive, but i would have been spinning my wheels for months without the help of a lawyer. The reason using a lawyer is expensive is that palms must be greased to get things done in a reasonable amount of time. Dealing with this stuff in Argentina is nothing like dealing with officials in NZ. As for using the information on this forum as a source of what exactly is the correct process and necessary documents, forget it. Most of the people on this forum have no idea what they are talking about regarding this type of stuff. Steveinbsas does know what he is talking about, but I feel strongly that unless you are a savvy as he is, this process will erupt into something much worse for you if you try to do this by yourself. I was able to get my DNI on the same day with the help of a laywer.