Rentista Visa

[matthewclarke585]

My wife an I are interest in moving to Argentina. Got so many mixed msg from many different sites and hope to clear a few thing up. I currently work overseas in Oman and would continue to do so if we moved to Argentina. Does the 2500 a month have to be guaranteed income our can it be income made annually? Do we have any other options? Are they still being easy on the border jumpers? Where planning on living near barilouch if we were to do a border run where is the best place to go from there? any insight on any of the questions would be much appreciated thanks...

 

[cafeamericano]

Income has to be passive, so your salary from your job wouldn't qualify. It has to be from investments, pension, real estate, etc. Search rentista visa and there are some threads elaborating on the "guaranteed" part.

 

[steveinbsas]

My wife an I are interest in moving to Argentina. Got so many mixed msg from many different sites and hope to clear a few thing up. I currently work overseas in Oman and would continue to do so if we moved to Argentina. Does the 2500 a month have to be guaranteed income our can it be income made annually? Do we have any other options? Are they still being easy on the border jumpers? Where planning on living near barilouch if we were to do a border run where is the best place to go from there? any insight on any of the questions would be much appreciated thanks...

If you continue to work overseas and spend more than six months outside Argentina you won't need "temporary residency" (the visa rentista) in Argentina and even if you initially do get one based on passive foreign income, you won't be able to renew it if you aren't in Argentina at least six months of the year.

If your wife is going to be in Argentina more than six months of the year she might be able to get temporary residency (based on passivle/investment income) and border runs would never be an issue. If you get temporary residency, your active foreign income might be taxed in Argentina. As a "tourist" who is not in Argentina more than six months of the year, you won't have that problem. You may even be able to spend more than six months per year in Argentina without having to apply for temporary residency. Leaving the country three times per year to work in Oman is not the same as "border jumping" to get a new tourist visa. Migraciones officials at ports of entry have been known to count the exact number of days to determine if there has been an overstay of a 90 day visa, but I haven't heard of them counting up the days to see if someone who leave Argentina for extended periods has exceeded six months in country.

Right now the monthly income requirement for the visa rentista is $8000 pesos (NOT $2500) but at this time that's less than $600 per month! When the monthly income requirement was $2500 the exchange rate was between three and four pesos per dollar. Don't confuse the guarantee (guarantia) required for getting a residential two year lease with anything regarding the income requirement for the visa rentista. The word "stable" as applied to the visa rentista means that the income will continue uninterrupted while the visa is in effect.

If you are getting information from a website that indicates the monthly income requirement for temporary residency is $2500 pesos or that visa runs are necessary or desirable, I'd say they haven't updated their information in a long time. Although the official website for migraciones Argentine won't answer all of your questions, it does have the latest requirements for the various categories of temporary residency.

http://www.migraciones.gov.ar/accesible/indexP.php?mercosur_temporaria

 

[steveinbsas]

PS: While an annuity with $100,000 invested might provide enough monthly income to satisfy the monthly income requirement, it might also be possible to create a trust account with as little as $7,500 that would make the required monthly payment. It might be a good idea to initially fund the trust account with $15,000. At the present income requirement for the visa rentista, $15,000 would provide about two years of "uninterruptible" income. That might make it easier to get the visa in the first place, as well as renew it.

The funds in the trust could be invested in certificates of deposit that mature (for example) in 60 days as well as one year (the extra $7500). The only function the bank would perform is making a monthly deposit to the beneficiary's checking account (from which withdrawals may be made at ATMs in Argentina or funds transferred to Argentina via XOOM or RIA (etc). It doesn't matter if the funds in the account actually earn much (if any) income.

At the end of the first year, an additional $7500 could be deposited, keeping the one year "surplus" in tact. When I first applied for the temporary residency in 2006 I was told that showing migraciones that the income would continue for two years was a good idea, but it might not be necessary. What is important is that the funds cannot be depleted suddenly and will continue for at least the same amount of time for which the visa is granted.

If and when your wife applies for temporary residency, she would provide migraciones with a copy of the trust agreement with the seal of the Apostille of the Secretary of State in which the bank is located (if you are from the USA). It would have to be translated by a licensed translator in Argentina and the translation would have to be"legalized" here as well. It could be revocable if you are not granted temporary residency (and you would regain control of the funds in that case). Otherwise, except for the monthly distributions, the funds would be "untouchable"while the residency is in effect.

If you try to get a visa rentista this way it would be necessary to set up the trust account in advance and have the monthly payments begin in time for you to be able to provide migraciones with "proof" of the two most recent monthly distributions from the trust. If you are not originally from the USA this might not be possible, but anyone from the USA who has at least $7500 (perhaps as much as $15,000) and has no other way of getting temporary residency might want to give it a shot.

PS: The trust would be in the benefactor's (the husband's) name : "The Justin Extranjero Revocable Trust" and the wife would be the income beneficiary (of the monthly payments). She could also be the beneficiary of the principle in the event of the demise of the benefactor. The bank could be the trustee, with the only duty of issuing the monthly checks. In the USA here is are requirements to file form K-1s for the IRS and the state in which the trust is established, but a trust like this would have only a very small (interest) income to report and it should only take a few minutes to complete the forms. Unless she starts working in Argentina, the beneficiary probably wouldn't be subject to any income tax in Argentina while receiving the passive income from the trust.

 

[basemdawod]

good morning
I am a citizen of the Middle East (Egypt), owner of a shipping, import and export company. I will be in Argentina in November and want to establish a company in Argentina.
I read the options for Argentina visas and found that the best for me are:
1- Investment
2. Negative income (Rentistas)

My questions:
1- How long does it take to change the visa?
2- The negative income comes from the country of Egypt or Argentina?
3- Can I buy a fixed-rate deposit in an Argentine bank (2 million pesos) and interest to meet the visa requirements?
4- Are there taxes on interest deposits?
5- How much interest rate now? Can I buy a deposit and am still a foreign visitor? And with which bank?
6- If successful in the past Can I establish a company for import and export without the trap of Argentina?

Thank you so much and waiting for your feedback

 

[steveinbsas]

I am a citizen of the Middle East (Egypt), owner of a shipping, import and export company. I will be in Argentina in November and want to establish a company in Argentina.
I read the options for Argentina visas and found that the best for me are:
1- Investment
2. Negative income (Rentistas)

If you are planning to live in Argentina more than six months of the year, I suggest you apply for the visa rentista. You can decide whether or not to establish a company after you have spent some time here. That being said(and assuming you are coming in November (officially) as a tourist, I suggest you first come as a tourist with the option of extending your 90 day visa for 90 days while you determine if either option is in your best interest. You can also overstay your visa and pay the fee either when you apply for annual residency or when you leave the country.

1- How long does it take to change the visa?
2- The negative income comes from the country of Egypt or Argentina?
3- Can I buy a fixed-rate deposit in an Argentine bank (2 million pesos) and interest to meet the visa requirements?
4- Are there taxes on interest deposits?
5- How much interest rate now? Can I buy a deposit and am still a foreign visitor? And with which bank?
6- If successful in the past Can I establish a company for import and export without the trap of Argentina?

1. What do you mean by the phrase "change the visa?" Do you mean change from one category to another (tourist visa to a visa rentista (temporary residency based on passive (and satble) foreign income) or how long it takes to get one? If you apply for the "visa rentista" (residencia temporaria based on passive foreign income and all you paperwork is accepted, you will immediately be granted a "precaria and you should receive your DNI in two or three months).
2. The word "negative" is not accurate. The income must be generated by passive foreign sources (and that should tell you that the answer is Egypt).
3. No.
4. Are there taxes in Argentina on the interest income earned in Argentina or abroad? I'm not sure. It's not a question I've ever had to ask. If you "fund a visa rentista with withdrawals of funds you have on deposit in a foreign bank (CD's in a trust as suggest in my post of April 3, 2016), those withdrawals (of your own money) should not be taxed in Argentina.
5. Apparently, there is an online bank that is now paying 20% interest on savings deposits. Argentine bonds are paying more than that. You can probably buy bonds in the international market but it will be difficult if not impossible to open an Argentine bank account until you have temporary residency.
6. If you "establish a company" in Argentina for import and export to and/or from Argentina you will be subject to all the applicable laws and regulations (traps) that apply to an Argentine export/import company. If you apply for an "investor" visa, I don't think your previous "success" won't carry much weight with Argentine migraciones. You will have to meet the investment requirement (I don't know the current amount) and you will have to "prove" that the funds were acquire legally.

If you are granted temporary residency in Argentine your worldwide income will be taxable in Argentina. If (eventually) you are granted permanent residency in Argentina (optional on the third renewal and "mandatory" on the fourth, your worldwide assets (except cash on deposit in banks) will be subject to the bienes personales (personal property) tax.

If you are already have an established import/export company in Egypt why would you want to put yourself thorough the agony of trying to establish the same in Argentina? Unless your goal is living in Argentina year round and temporary residency is (somehow) in your financial best interest, I suggest you investigate the ins and outs of dealing with customs brokers in Argentina. Of course that depends on what products you want to import and/or export and how they will be sold and delivered to your wholesale or retail customers. You didn't indicate that you were the manufacturer of the products. Hopefully, that means you don't have to warehouse a lot of inventory you may not be able to sell in another "downturn" of the economy and, unless the products you want to import are items that people continue to buy in hard times, now is probably a good time too import them.

PS: Since my post of April 3, 2016, the monthly income requirement for the "visa rentista" has increased too $30,000 pesos. This increase took effect when the exchange rate was about 15 to one, so the new requirement was about two thousand dollars. I suggest you keep the dollar figure in mind if and when you apply for a visa rentista, regardless of the "current" exchange rate.

 

[steveinbsas]

Hopefully, that means you don't have to warehouse a lot of inventory you may not be able to sell in another "downturn" of the economy and, unless the products you want to import are items that people continue to buy in hard times, now is probably a good time too import them.

The above sentence should read as follows:

Hopefully, that means you don't have to warehouse a lot of inventory you may not be able to sell in another "downturn" of the economy and, unless the products you want to import are items that people continue to buy in hard times, now is probably a good time NOT to import them.

PS: We are presently experiencing a downturn of the economy and it's likely to get worse before it gets better, and, since imports are heavily taxed, it will be difficult to compete with any "domestic" products, unless you can offer something consumers "must have" and can do so at a competitive price, and don't have any "unforeseen problems" with the Aduana that will add even more to the total cost of the goods you want to sell in Argentina.

 

[zinetx]

The above sentence should read as follows:

Hopefully, that means you don't have to warehouse a lot of inventory you may not be able to sell in another "downturn" of the economy and, unless the products you want to import are items that people continue to buy in hard times, now is probably a good time NOT to import them.

PS: We are presently experiencing a downturn of the economy and it's likely to get worse before it gets better, and, since imports are heavily taxed, it will be difficult to compete with any "domestic" products, unless you can offer something consumers "must have" and can do so at a competitive price, and don't have any "unforeseen problems" with the Aduana that will add even more to the total cost of the goods you want to sell in Argentina.

Hi!
First, it's nice seeing you replying to threads that are over 2 years old.
Second,
For someone [i.e., me.] who's looking to become a non-resident for tax purposes, but a legal resident in Argentina with the Rentista visa, pretty much to treat it like a something that rhymes [not] with fax heaven.
Would I be able to renew my Rentista visa if I purposefully leave the country for 6+ months so I don't become a tax resident?
If I can't renew, on what basis? Can I "apply" for a new one after a while, like a fresh, new start? or is there some kind of a restriction that prevents you from doing so?
Thanks.

 

[Alby]

There is no way around the problem. You become a tax resident after 12 months as a temporary migration resident. If you don't renew that migration residency at the 12 month mark, and leave the country for 12 months, your tax residency then lapses (but you were still a tax resident during those 12 months of absence).

The tax law talks about a mechanism for presenting yourself before the tax authority and claiming exemption from tax residency if you only plan to be a migration resident for two years (i.e., you have no intention of proceeding to permanent residency). But accessing that mechanism seems highly risky and possibly never used. It could go very bad on you.

Depending on the country where you pay tax, you may get some protection from a double tax treaty.

You should get professional tax advice if you are contemplating anything. But, in broad brush, the above is the situation. There is no way to finesse the tax laws.

 

[zinetx]

There is no way around the problem. You become a tax resident after 12 months as a temporary migration resident. If you don't renew that migration residency at the 12 month mark, and leave the country for 12 months, your tax residency then lapses (but you were still a tax resident during those 12 months of absence).

The tax law talks about a mechanism for presenting yourself before the tax authority and claiming exemption from tax residency if you only plan to be a migration resident for two years (i.e., you have no intention of proceeding to permanent residency). But accessing that mechanism seems highly risky and possibly never used. It could go very bad on you.

Depending on the country where you pay tax, you may get some protection from a double tax treaty.

You should get professional tax advice if you are contemplating anything. But, in broad brush, the above is the situation. There is no way to finesse the tax laws.

Really appreciate the reply. I've read in another thread that:

in order to keep your "residency" as a rentista, you need to spend a minimum of 183 days INSIDE Argentina in the 365 days that your residency lasts.

Clear updates about residencies in Argentina

How much time can the person stay outside Argentina every year so that he would be able to apply to the citizenship without problems? And does the person with rentista visa have to pay taxes? What are these taxes and how much is it? You need to put your first question more clearly. You seem to...

baexpats.org

So the minimum requirement to renew residency is 183d, and the minimum stay period required to be considered a tax resident is 1y, Isn't this a clear way to say live in the country for 183 days, leave, and come back later to renew your residency so you don't become a tax resident or am I missing something?