Stolen passport and renewing visas??

[lauBA]

Hi all,

My passport and everything was stolen last week. I am in the process of renewing everything.

Does anyone know what I have to do to renew the $131 argentine reciprocity fee?

Any idea if it is possible to renew visas I had in my passport to Bolivia and
Chile?

Thanks!

 

[KarlaBA]

you do not need to repay the Argentina reciprocity fee. that fee is only for entrance to Argentina via EZE airport.
You also can not get a replacement visa for Bolivia. You must purchase a new visa for your new passport.
As for Chile, Chile does not issue visas for US citizens. So you never had a visa to begin with. But you did have a stamp in your passport of reciprocity fee for entrance to Chile via the International Airport in Santiago. If you fly to Chile again with your US passport, you will have to pay this fee again as you no longer have evidence that you paid it already. Alternatively you can enter Chile by land and not pay the fee.

 

[surfing]

This is a good warning to all that it is wise to keep a photocopy of your passport and all its pages. LauBa, sorry that you had to go through this.

 

[jenndean]

Chile does issue visas to American citizens... but doesn't require tourist visas. I had my passport stolen with my Chilean student visa in it last year, and was able to have it transferred to my new passport without a fee. (If this is the tramite you need, PM me and I'll explain the requirements. It's a very bureaucratic process that took me weeks to figure out.)

As for the reciprocity fees, in Argentina the fee is valid for 10 years, even when you change passports, so you can definitely get the stamp in your new passport. I don't know about Bolivia or this stamp in Chile (but I imagine the Chilean policy is similar to Argentina.)

However, for all of these processes it is necessary or at least extremely helpful to have a photocopy of the visa pages from your old passport or the receipt of your payment.

 

[MikeandPat]

Just for info purposes;

We've been here for a couple of years ( as snow birds that is).
We never, never, ever carry our original passports with us.
Photocopies will suffice in most cases - except when getting a Sube card for the buses
or when crossing the borders somewhere.

Carry only your real cash money (only what you need for the day), maybe a credit card (1 only) and the colour photo copy of the passport for ID. That's it. The rest can stay in the safe in your flat, apt, hotel room ,whatever.

 

[steveinbsas]

The OP said everything was stolen.

I wonder what that means.

Were you the victim of a burglary or a robbery?

Did you actually lose all of your personal property in your residence (clothes, camera, computer, etc. ) or just what you had with you at the time?

I hope additional details will help other expats avoid the same thing happening to them.

 

[lauBA]

Hi everyone, just wanted to let you all know that I traveled last week and was able to get a new piece of paper stapled to my passport showing that I had paid the reciprocity fee. I went to the immigration office in Ezeiza before my departing flight and they were able to give me the paperwork I need. It was quick and had no problem!

 

[Crema Americana]

Well that's certainly good news.

I wonder if they'd do the same for new passports. I have to renew soon and would like to avoid carrying both the old and new if I can avoid it.