Staying In Bsas

[JonnyJonny]

Hey - I landed on Tuesday and am going to stay. I'm canceling my return flight. How should I inform the officials of my intention to stay? I'll likely want to do the 3 month extension in 3 months, so I want to make sure I'm doing things right. Any suggestions?

 

[estebandepraga]

Hi no need to inform them about your cancelling the flight but remember flights out of here are $$$
Just extend your visa as the date gets closer

 

[steveinbsas]

You can get the prorroga de permanencia (90 day extension) at the office of migraciones in Retiro up to ten days before you current tourist visa expires. I believe the current fee is $600 pesos.

If you miss the expiration date, you can still get the extension within 30 days but that will cost an additional $300 pesos.

You can also overstay and pay the $600 pesos when you leave the country. That would be something to consider if you are already planning on overstaying the prorroga. That might not fit your definition of "doing things right" but it would not be a crime, either.

PS: Do NOT overstay your tourist visa if it was issued by an Argentine consulate prior to your arrival in Argentina. If you do (according to Ceviche) you will never get another tourist visa. A


Also: After your first six months you may be tempted to make "visa runs" to Uruguay to get a new 90 day visa (which will not be renewed at migraciones). I suggest you use the advance search feature of the forum to read more on the subject before you do, and if you do go to Uruguay to get a new visa, be sure you do not return before the prorroga has expired as the border agents cannot override the prorroga.

 

[JonnyJonny]

ok so it sounds like it doesn't matter that i told the customs agent that i was staying for a week. do i need to inform customs that i've changed my mind? this is my first trip to argentina.

 

[steveinbsas]

ok so it sounds like it doesn't matter that i told the customs agent that i was staying for a week. do i need to inform customs that i've changed my mind? this is my first trip to argentina.

The agent of migraciones (not customs, aka the Aduana) should have stamped your passport and written the date of your entry on the stamp. That gives you 90 days from that date, regardless of anything you told the agent.

 

[Dada]

Argentina is quite unique when it comes to legal possibilities of staying here, overstaying and so on. Rather than cancelling flights or informing migraciones, if you decided to stay, the next thing to do is to get your papers ready for a residency application. Depending on where you are from and how long your embassy's procedures take, this might take months. You will need some criminal background check, birth certificate, all that apostilled by your embassy and officially translated into Spanish, a combination of which can easily become a nightmare. In the meantime, finding a job would be a good idea. Or decide which one of the alternative options suits you best. It could be studying, rentista etc.

 

[steveinbsas]

Rather than cancelling flights or informing migraciones, if you decided to stay, the next thing to do is to get your papers ready for a residency application. Depending on where you are from and how long your embassy's procedures take, this might take months. Depending on where you are from and how long your embassy's procedures take, this might take months.

If you are from the USA, the US Embassy in Argentina won't have anything to do with the process of getting residency in Argentina. The office of the Secretary of State in which the document was created and notarized will make the Apostille. Birth certificates are no longer required to obtain temporary residency. The criminal background report from the FBI will be "authenticated" (their version of the Apostille) by the State Department of the US. You can find additional details if you enter "FBI report" in a search here in the forum.

PS: Cancelling the return flight was probably a good idea if there is a possibility of getting a refund (if you already paid for a round trip ticket), and, as previously noted, there is simply no need to inform migraciones of your desire to stay longer than ten days.

 

[JonnyJonny]

great! thanks for the info.