Tourist visa renewal and renewal and renewal....

[smaggi]

I am an immigration lawyer and it is a waste of time to worry about extending tourist visas. There is no overstay penalty which would make you inadmissible in the future upon attempted re-entry like US immigration law. As long as you can show that you are economically responsible then there will be no legal assumption that you are working illegally, which by default makes you just a tourist investing money in the local economy. Every time you extend a visa with the prorroga you are calling immigration's attention to your status. When you pay a fine every six months if calls a lot less attention to you then 4 stamps a year over year after year.....And if you are thinking about being a resident, you must be here at least six months out of the first year before moving on to the permanente....so think this out...until then stop stressing...no one will ever stop you from coming into Argentina as a tourist unless you are a known criminal!

 

[Bill]

Something I've always meant to do in this forum was to start a thread about border crossings so that people could compare what happens. Why you may ask? Because when I crossed into Chile from Mendoza, I never paid a fine for having an outdated tourist stamp and they never entered info into a computer. The guy asked for the "paper" (a slip included from when I went to colonia) but I said I didn't have it. He just shook his head and rolled his eyes but let me through anyway. Coming back in at the crossing up there in the mountains was a rubber-stamp affair basically.

I've taken the ferry over to Colonia and come back and know that's strict regarding the visa and the security compared to other border crossings is much stronger. They also added a small exit/entry fee, which didn't happen at other crossings. Coming down from Bolivia into Arg, I was ushered into a tourist line so I didn't have to wait and had my stamp within seconds of walking up to the window. Immigration at the BA airport wasn't difficult but they are going to catch you with an outdated visa and NO, it doesn't help to get a new passport since all your border crossing come up on the computer screen. At least the ones at computerized crossings.

I crossed borders and came back to renew my Visa 2 times before deciding this isn't worth the hassle. For me, it came down to if I wanted to stay permanante or not. If you're serious about staying or want to own property, then get legal. If it's less than 5 years and you don't need the resident papers to survive (work, apt) then it's not that hard to hide away and fly under the radar.

And sorry if this sounds racial, but foreign people from wealthy countries DO get treated better than natives from local countries. Those are the ones that the immigration cops are looking to bust. And no offense to Argentina, but it's often easier to do things illegally than legally. They have a pretty easygoing attitude towards personal corruption, like it's normal or expected.

 

[Fettucini]

Has anyone crossed the border to Uruguay up at Colon/ Gualyguachu? I imagine it's a bit nicer as they are not so prepared to rip off foreigners. I might go there to avoid the hassle of the ones on the ferry to Colonia.

 

[Quickroute]

Has anyone crossed the border to Uruguay up at Colon/ Gualyguachu? I imagine it's a bit nicer as they are not so prepared to rip off foreigners. I might go there to avoid the hassle of the ones on the ferry to Colonia.

Yes - I crossed up there and it was 1 guy in a little hut - no lines - no forms - no charge - no hassle

 

[Fettucini]

Do you know if you can walk over the border easily? I was planning to drive my car over to Uruguay whilst paying the fine on my expired tourist visa & getting a new one on my way back, but I thought maybe they will take my car or something if the visa is expired, so perhaps i could walk over the bridge instead.

 

[shay]

How long ago did all of this happen? At the least it shows how unpredictable "enforcement" of the laws can be.

And it underscores the fact that making multiple round trips to Colonia to get a new tourist visa isn't legal in the first place.

A new US passport comes with a new number.

That (hopefully) would mean you were starting with a clean slate. If enforcement becomes common, however, that would only work for a short time (perhaps a year).

Steve,

My friend had been given one month to get himself legal two years ago. And yes, I agree, if you get a new passport you don't have an unlimited time to remain illegal in the country. It just buys you some time to find a way to get legal.

Shay

 

[shay]

And just as aside folks .. I've been here long enough to realize that if even there are rules or laws regarding being an American living illegally here they are enforced at the whim of the agent.

On more than one occasion I had an agent tell me that if the roles were reversed (an Argentine in the States illegally) he would NOT be able to live illegally as we do. And yes, it was said with a clear tone of resentment.

 

[steveinbsas]

On more than one occasion I had an agent tell me that if the roles were reversed (an Argentine in the States illegally) he would NOT be able to live illegally as we do. And yes, it was said with a clear tone of resentment.

Isn't that amazing! It probably wouldn't be helpful, though, to point out that there are about 15 million foreigners living "illegally" in the US...including the aunt of the president elect.

 

[soulskier]

Do you know if you can walk over the border easily? I was planning to drive my car over to Uruguay whilst paying the fine on my expired tourist visa & getting a new one on my way back, but I thought maybe they will take my car or something if the visa is expired, so perhaps i could walk over the bridge instead.

Cuidado, I don't think you can drive into a bordering country unless you are a permanent resident in your car. You can rent a car, or an Argie can drive your car, but you can't drive it in.

 

[Fettucini]

Just got back from a long drive to Colon (Argentina) and managed to get my visa no problem by crossing the bridge over to Uruguay and back. I had to pay a 50 peso fine as it had expired but they were generally very easy going about it, unlike crossing over by boat between buenos aires and colonia where i find it can be quite an unfriendly vibe at the customs. There was not much to see or do in Paysandu so we crossed back over to Argentina within the hour and stayed around Colon which is a pretty nice place.
My car was also missing a number plate but the customs didn't mention it.