The Rentista Visa On An Alternative/unique Work Situation

[zabazaba]

Hey BA friends,

I'm American, 30 years old, and currently employed at an American company. All my work is done on the internet/ my laptop, so I can work from anywhere in the world, and my company's managers are totally fine with me doing that.

In the past I've lived in Asia teaching English and so had work visas, etc. Now, I want to live in Latin America. However, I don't want to bounce around and have to leave places after 90 days - I want to stay somewhere long-term, as a base, to have that stability, really soak it up and get the most out of it. After a lot of research, I've homed in on Buenos Aires.

So, Argentina has this 'Rentista' visa which seems to be aimed at retirees and those with private sources of income (investors/landlords). I saw another thread here where you were talking about getting your landlord leases apostilled and things like that, showing proof that you are really a landlord in your home country. Well, obviously, I don't have such things.

But looking at the website for the Argentina Embassy in New York (my home and where I currently reside), it looks like I might qualify, based on their description. (http://cnyor.mrecic....ar/en/node/2256) However, I'd be concerned that there are catches and other requirements not listed there... they state 2500 pesos/month to qualify, so I wonder if their website isn't up to date on the full requirements.

So I'm here to ask, any chance they would grant me this visa? I do computer programming/IT type of work... not a landlord or stock investor. Depending on projects and bonuses, I take home around $2100-$2500+ a month after US taxes - not a huge amount, but comfortably within the 8000 Argentine peso monthly requirement, which the XE currency site says is USD $1349 as of today (Nov 3).

This would be quite an ordeal to go through -- getting all the documents translated, getting police records from Japan and Taiwan (lived there within the last 5 years) which will not be simple at all, but possible. I'm totally willing to go through all this and pay whatever it costs, if it means getting that Temporary Resident visa. But I'd rather not start the whole process it if it's totally impossible, obviously.

So, any insight on this? Chance/no chance in hell? Recommend a lawyer dealing with Argentina visas in the New York area? Your insights/experiences would be greatly appreciated, thanks very much

 

[Sleuth]

The rentista visa requires "passive income" therefore any work related activities do not qualify. In addition, it has required $8000 pesos per month since July 2010, so their website is way out of date.

Just overstay the visa and pay the $300 peso fine when you leave like everyone else does. You'll find countless threads about that.

 

[internationalguy]

You could study anything you want and get temporary residence. I don't know how many hours are required or what areas are covered by it but I think there are a lot of options. I don't think it has to be full time, basically a course that would require more than 6 months to complete might do the trick. I already explored several options.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

Just come with a tourism visa and overstay. Pay the fine when you live. Argentina has a unique immigration system, you are not going to be an illegal.

 

[zabazaba]

Thanks for the replies, really appreciate it. I had a feeling they might be strict about exactly how the income is generated. Oh well.

As for studying, I'd be up for Spanish courses if that gets me a visa -- I don't know about Argentina but typically student visas are fairly rigorous, requiring 4-8 hours a day of classes, 5 days a week, plus homework. Since I am basically working a Mon-Fri 9-5 schedule, that would be exhausting. If schools in Arg give visas for shorter classroom hours, I'm game.

I'm wary of overstaying as well. The idea would be to have an apartment and possessions to come back to (i.e. from traveling to other SA countries), and if there's a chance I wouldn't get back in to the country, that would be a huge, scary problem. Plus, on a tourist visa, things like joining a gym and opening a bank account are probably impossible. But if expats in similar working situations are managing to stay there and do all these things without incident, maybe I need to research more.

 

[rapunzeljoy]

Hey zabazaba,

I'm in the same situation and I'd like to do what you're describing. I'm wondering if you ever did and and how it worked out. Did you do it on a tourist visa?

Thanks!

 

[khairyexpat]

This might help you make your own informed decision. >>>>>> http://baexpats.org/...es/page__st__60

And thank you for referencing the website of the AR consulate in NY.
It answered the question of Pensioner Minimum Income.
The question has been outstanding with no answers for the longest time !

 

[lucha54]

Thanks for the replies, really appreciate it. I had a feeling they might be strict about exactly how the income is generated. Oh well.

As for studying, I'd be up for Spanish courses if that gets me a visa -- I don't know about Argentina but typically student visas are fairly rigorous, requiring 4-8 hours a day of classes, 5 days a week, plus homework. Since I am basically working a Mon-Fri 9-5 schedule, that would be exhausting. If schools in Arg give visas for shorter classroom hours, I'm game.

I'm wary of overstaying as well. The idea would be to have an apartment and possessions to come back to (i.e. from traveling to other SA countries), and if there's a chance I wouldn't get back in to the country, that would be a huge, scary problem. Plus, on a tourist visa, things like joining a gym and opening a bank account are probably impossible. But if expats in similar working situations are managing to stay there and do all these things without incident, maybe I need to research more.

I think minimum for the student visa with Spanish classes (through the UBA's language institute, CUI?) is 4 hours of class / day. Everyone overstays. they say they are gong to start cracking down on it, I don't think so. Wait 3 months and see if it happens. You'll probably get tired of it after a year or two. if not, you find some way to make yourself official.

No you can't get a bank account, but you really don't want one, trust me. Research the economic situation and you'll see. Gym membership is fine but you have to go to a doctor for tests within the first month (or just change gyms every month - not hard depending if there are a lot in the area where you live).

 

[ElQueso]

Your biggest problem living here and earning money outside the country (whether it be with residency or not) is getting your money here to spend. You don't want to use ATMs, debit/credit cards because of the big difference in the official rate (artificial) and the blue rate (black market, fluctuates, still not really the real value of the Dollar).

Even if you had a bank account, you would not easily be able to get your money down here. You couldn't just transfer your money down to any account here; bank accounts have to be approved to have money coming in from the outside and that's not necessarily an easy thing, particularly if you live here and don't claim an income and don't pay personal taxes. There are ways, some more expensive (in both time and money) than others. Compared to most countries in the world, where you may able to go to the ATM and get your money out from anywhere in the world, those of us who live here and earn in currency outside the country spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about getting money here. Something to think about.

As many are saying, you could stay here as a "false", or "perma" tourist. There would be a chance that you'd have problems at some point re-entering, but it would probably depend on how much you're leaving the country to go see other sights. So far the percentage of people who have had problems are miniscule compared to how many do it. And for some reason, it seems the majority of people who are having problems are not US or European citizens - at least the last two incidents I've heard and read about were 12 Colombians and a couple of the Dominican Republic. Not sure what that means yet.

You can stay here up to 6 months completely legally, by renewing your status with immigrations after the first 90 days. It would take you at least that long to figure out if you would even like to stay, I'd imagine. It took me a good year before I started really realizing the drawbacks of living here (I've been here a bit more than 8 years now).

Beyond bank and currency controls, you have to think about a place to stay. You can find temporary apartments that can give you various lengths of time - legally 6-12 months, although there are owners who will rent for longer under temporary contracts. Long term rentals (set at a minimum of 2 years) mostly require guarantees in the form of a property title signed against the rental agreement to ensure that you don't occupy the long term apartment without paying and/or go beyond the contract limit. It is possible to rent property long term without the guarantee, but not easy and only becomes easier the longer you're here and the more contacts you make.

I'm a developer who works down here exclusively, or wherever I want to (if I wasn't tied here in other ways - Paraguay, a country that is starting to boom and doesn't have so many currency and price and labor controls, is looking better and better and that's where my married-into family is from). I did the permatourist thing in a time that was a bit better for that kind of thing, and after about a year decided to stay here and got married.

There are drawbacks and there are benefits to living here that you can't "feel" without really being here for some time. Being here for a time, working and figuring things out, is much better than making a plan on a long-term stay without really understanding what you're up against. I'd come down, find a temp apartment somewhere and start working and taking in the city and see if it's really something you'd want to press on with. There are even possible ways to get a rentista visa if you're clever enough