Starting A Business In Buenos Aires

[steveinbsas]

You do have to pay a fee when coming in with animals. I don't know if it's usually that much though.

Yes, I also paid the fee which was required by law. It might have been a bit higher, but if I remember correctly it was $14 pesos.

I did make a huge mistake in telling my first Argentine girlfriend about the $100. At the end of our short relationship she told me she was going to have me deported for paying the vet the $100 if I stopped seeing her. That kept me in he clutches for less than another week.

She also told me I would go to jail if I transfered money from the US (to buy an apartment) through a casa de cambio (as opposed to transferring it into the account of her lawyer!!!!). Though I made the transfer about two months after the last time I saw her, I was happy to see (on the receipt for the money) that the transfer had been made through the Banco Nacion and the escibano checked for this at the escritura.

 

[steveinbsas]

You brought a chihuahua with you? That, alone, is worth an extortion!

Hahahaha! At least I didn't bring a dog that ever made big stinkin' piles of poo on the sidewalks...and I always picked up after her in any case.

PS: Stella was a beautiful, long haired chihuahua that everyone fell in love with instantly...even chihuahua haters...and she was never yappy, just happy.

She died in my arms at the age of fifteen on July 10, 2011 in the same chair and in the same room in which I am sitting at this moment...and is buried next to a eucalyptus tree on my property (sigh).

 

[Alicia karr]

I don't think your average Joe has direct access to bribes in immigration. If you hire an attorney, for example, they usually have someone who works everyday in immigration who knows everyone and has "special relationships" there. When I first came to Argentina, the attorney my company used hired someone who went with me to all of the initial tramites. I rarely had to wait in line, and in fact only had to show up for appointments that required my signature or fingerprints. Processes that were supposed to take 3 months took 1 or 2 days.

Fast forward a few years. When it came time to get my permanent residency, the company that bought my old company hired a different group of people. Although they worked in immigration, they obviously did not pay bribes. I waited hours in line, often had to come back due to lack of x, y, z, and in the end, the process was delayed 6 months due to a typo in the original declaración. This is all with someone who was "helping" me with the process.

Totally agree with this. I have been using the same lawyer for the last three years for my DNI. Happy to say I will now be eligible to apply for my PERMANENT residency in September. Never an error, rarely a wait, and bribes left in the men's room by my lawyer for his contact there. .REALLY altho I know one can do the whole thing on your own, if you are on the anxious, insecure or nervous side, are not confident with language and or are here alone it is IMHO so much less stressful to have a knowledgable lawyer helping you..I would be happy also to share his name. His firm specializes in immigration and he's fluent in English. He's also a nice guy.! Just let me know if you want his contact info.