Ultima Prórroga, Expired Visa. Safe To Travel Domestically?

[thelonghaul]

So clearly I've been here a few months... and now I seem to be one of the few lucky ones with the kiss of death...Ultima Prórroga. But I would like to travel internally.

And it seems things have gotten much stricter August 2013.

Does anyone have any anecdotal or concrete information about traveling domestically on an expired visa and/or with an Ultima Prórroga?

I really appreciate whatever thoughts any of you may have on the subject.

 

[Don Alberto]

So clearly I've been here a few months... and now I seem to be one of the few lucky ones with the kiss of death...Ultima Prórroga. But I would like to travel internally.

And it seems things have gotten much stricter August 2013.

Does anyone have any anecdotal or concrete information about traveling domestically on an expired visa and/or with an Ultima Prórroga?

I really appreciate whatever thoughts any of you may have on the subject.

There are people who can show you both two, three and four 'ultima prórrogas' yet leave and enter Argentina on a regular basis.

And it seems things have gotten much stricter August 2013.

How?

 

[EricLovesBA]

In April 2011 came back into Argentina from the US with an ultima prorroga in my passport. All I had to do is pay a fine (a few hundred pesos as I recall?), and I was merrily on my way like nothing happened. I got my residency about a year later.

 

[thelonghaul]

Thank you for your replies. I do hope/believe that if I leave the country that they will allow me to re-enter. And I also hope I don't have to stay away for longer than two weeks.

But my current concern is traveling WITHIN Argentina by plane - on an expired visa (and an Ultima Prórroga). Will they deny me boarding and/or give me the Habilitacion de Salida?


[background=rgb(242, 242, 242)]thelonghaul, on 18 March 2014 - 11:57 PM, said:[/background]

And it seems things have gotten much stricter August 2013.
How?

Don Alberto, perhaps I wrote too quickly (I was tired and quite disappointed from a litany of troubles). In fact it's not quite relevant to my situation nor that big a deal but it does seem they've gotten stricter as well:

"as of August 1, 2013, Disposición 899/2013 came into effect and states that the fine may only be paid on departure at the Ezeiza airport. Anyone else needing to pay the fine must do so in advance at Banco de la Nación Argentina or online. In typical Argentine fashion, the online payment system is not currently working." http://www.discoverb...sa-overstay-fee



BUT, if you read further there, someone in Mendoza was denied boarding on a bus -- I guess to get to Ezeiza because they hadn't paid the overstay fee!?! And that is a concern of mine. I don't want to be turned away from the flight or kicked out of the country.

 

[ARbound]

No one is ever illegal in Argentina, you must have forgot to "tip" the immigration guy.

As for domestic travel it's a non issue. I can think of a few ways around it, and with all due respect they're bus drivers, they don't care. Try using you drivers license saying it's an EU/UK/USA DNI

The only time I've heard of this being a problem with over staying is mainly with people who have a darker complexion (yes I'm accusing Argentina of being a racist country).

My friend from Colombia got hassled at EZE and straight up asked if he's moving here because he used his Colombian passport instead of his Italian one.

Good luck either way!

 

[Don Alberto]

.,.. someone in Mendoza was denied boarding on a bus -- I guess to get to Ezeiza because they hadn't paid the overstay fee!?! And that is a concern of mine. I don't want to be turned away from the flight or kicked out of the country.

Undoubtedly a bus to nearby Chile. Having travelled extensively by bus in Argentina for some 12 years, I have had no one looking at my passport before, during or after any domestic bus ride - with the rare exceptions when you leave a free trade area in the north or the police is looking for a criminal.

 

[lucha54]

I recently flew to Cordoba, I noticed that they did look through my passport, but they didn't seem to be looking for anything. I think the guy was just curious as he was waiting for his computer to process my reservation. Like, they didn't look and look until they found my most recent visa. They just flipped through the stamps. The reservations people for domestic flights really have no authority to say anything about your visa, if they do it's because someone's in a bad mood or on a power trip. It's really not their "department".

 

[thelonghaul]

Thanks again all. I'm with you ARBound - unfortunately I wouldn't question being targeted for racism if I had a dark complexion -- in many parts of the world. But when I have gone in and out of Argentina in the 1.5 years I've been here (to US and Europe), they certainly have scrutinized my passport. For the sake of the conversation, I look decent and law-abiding and pale, pale, pale.

And this trip I have been planning (to Mendoza) seems to be running into a string of bad luck - so I may just meet the guy in the bad mood or on a power trip.

I already ran into a guy on a power trip working for Aerolineas Argentina who cancelled my first flight reservations. I booked two tickets using the same reservation - one for my partner with an AR DNI and one using my US passport.

After that escapade, I purchased the tickets on despegar (or so I thought). They cancelled our tickets and rejected our payment. I am guessing it is because of the US passport again. Why they even allow a person to choose Country of Origin for passport I have no idea.

Now I am thinking even if I book one ticket for him using his DNI and one for me through the American site of Aerolineas - they may give me a hard time for the Ultima Prórroga/expired visa.

As it stands, I am leaning toward not going and unfortunately not traveling anywhere in the country that requires me to fly. Which is truly a pity. I would like to see more of this place other than BsAs and wherever I am willing to go by bus.

 

[Don Alberto]

...Now I am thinking even if I book one ticket for him using his DNI and one for me through the American site of Aerolineas - they may give me a hard time for the Ultima Prórroga/expired visa.

As it stands, I am leaning toward not going and unfortunately not traveling anywhere in the country that requires me to fly. Which is truly a pity. I would like to see more of this place other than BsAs and wherever I am willing to go by bus.

To Mendoza, fly LAN or take the night sleeper bus (called 'cama suite' or 'primera clase'). http://www.plataforma10.com/ AR$ 860 each way/person.

 

[lucha54]

I second the sleeper bus... it's only 12 hours so you can do it overnight. Cama suite is fun and you save on a night's accommodation.