I am moving to argentina soon, I have about 15 cubic meters of household goods. I have been talking to a dozen shipping companies to do it by ocean freight from Illinois. charges range from six thousand and up. I h ave heard some bad stories about customs and the port of Buenos aires. Depspite paying the thousands of dollars can I be somewhat certain my goods may not be delayed and stuck in customs in ba and not get to cordoba without a lot of hassle? I have looked into getting a permanent visa or residence from the usa via the consulate argentina in Chicago. but they seem to want 800 dollars in fees which seems exorbitantly high. And I have been advised by an American where I am going it is harder to get a long term visa for argentinas while in America then applying for one while in argentina? Any suggestions?
If you have temporary residency you can bring your used stuff into Argentina duty free but you will have to post a bond. If and when you get permanent residency you will be allowed to keep the goods in Argentina and the bond will be released. If you don't have at least temporary residency you will "probably" be charged 50% duty on all of the stuff you bring in and the value will "probably" be based on their cost if purchased new today. In any case, the aduana will tell you how much your stuff is worth and then you will have a choice...pay what they say or forfeit the goods.
You can find a lot of information by using the advance search here. Click on the sprocket next to the magnifying glass and enter the terms bringing (or importing) household goods (or furniture) to Argentina in the find words space. Search only in titles and display the results as topics. You will also find "bad" stories about the experience of other expats in the results of your searches.
It is much "easier" to get a temporary resident visa to live in Argentina once you are here, but you
still have to qualify for it. The only fee you will actually have to pay to migraciones when you apply for your visa here is $1200 pesos (about $100 dollars at the "blu" rate) but you will also incur the costs of getting all of the required documents. I doubt the $800 in fees that you have been asked to pay at the consulate is to pay these costs. It would be interesting to know exactly what "fees" the $800 dollars are supposed to cover.
You mention a "long term" visa in your post. In addition to the tourist visa, there are two types of resident visas (granting residency) for foreigners in Argentina: temporary and permanent. Unless you are married to or the parent or the offspring of an Argentine citizen or married to someone who already has permanent residency in Argentina you will have to get a temporary resident visa (valid for one year) first. On the third renewal your residency can become permanent and then the bond for your imported household goods will be cancelled and they can stay in the country duty free.
Despite paying the thousands of dollars, you
cannot be absolutely certain that your goods will not be delayed and stuck in customs in BA and not get to Cordoba without a
lot of hassle. If you don't have temporary residency you can be absolutely certain that you will pay 50% of their value (according to the aduana) in duties (on top of all of the other costs).
A good customs broker is a must, but so is having temporary residency before you ship your stuff.
