visa renewals, Patagonia

[soulskier]

i've lived in puerto madryn for the past 7-8 months so i have a different perspective i'm sure than those in the cordillera. puerto madryn is a large town with about 100,000 people (wouldn't call it a city though) and some nice beaches nearby. then, as with all of patagonia, there is a lot of nothing when you leave here, and a lot more brown, and less scenery than in the west. none the less, it grows on you...

Did you have any cool marine animal encounters?

 

[madrynite]

playa doradillo is really cool in the spring to stand on the beach and see the whales less than 50m from you. i've been on whale-watching boats before, but this was somehow much more personal for me. then in march i was on peninsula valdes and saw 4 orca. they were pretty far away and didn't come up onto the beach, but the first time i have seen orca, so it was muy impresionante. and frequently, like yesterday and at least once a week for the past month, whales come into the gulf to feed and you can see their tails and fins slap the water and hear them when they breathe. in general, one of my favorite things is riding my bike along the beach in the mornings and around sunset on my way to/from work.

 

[soulskier]

playa doradillo is really cool in the spring to stand on the beach and see the whales less than 50m from you. i've been on whale-watching boats before, but this was somehow much more personal for me. then in march i was on peninsula valdes and saw 4 orca. they were pretty far away and didn't come up onto the beach, but the first time i have seen orca, so it was muy impresionante. and frequently, like yesterday and at least once a week for the past month, whales come into the gulf to feed and you can see their tails and fins slap the water and hear them when they breathe. in general, one of my favorite things is riding my bike along the beach in the mornings and around sunset on my way to/from work.

Sounds awesome, thanks for sharing!

 

[nehalecky]

Hey you all.
I had a question.

I am living in Buenos Aires right now, and am about a month over my now-expired tourist Visa. This weekend, I am heading to Bariloche for a 2 week seminar in sustainable energy then planning to stay for an additional month. I was thinking it would be best if I head to the migraciones offices in Retiro to pay for an extension before I go, as suggested in previous threads -- just to keep things tidy.
However, coming across this thread, and specifically, this post, I am now wondering if I should do that:

You can extend your 90 day tourist visa once at the prorrogas de permanencia sector in the office on migraciones on Av Antardida and you must do so before it expires. If you go there after that you will be charged $300 pesos and given 10 days to get out of the country. You can come right back (probably without any trouble), but if you don't leave the country with the ten days you will be charged another $300 pesos when you leave.

So, does this requirement to leave the country always exist for extending an expired VISA? If so, being that I am leaving in only a few day to Bariloche, I cannot do this. What are my options? Should I wait to return to BsAs to extend from here? I don't like the idea of going much longer on an expired Visa but am unsure to what the actual consequences of doing so are.

It seems it might be best for me to head to Bariloche, and then when I return, extend my Visa on a trip to Uruguay (where I would then pay the fine AND fulfill the obligation of leaving the country).

But really, I would love to hear you suggestions/thoughts?
Thanks. A lot.

 

[jez]

OK, I don't follow the laws / requirement of the the visas etc as I am now a permanent resident but:

It seems it might be best for me to head to Bariloche, and then when I return, extend my Visa on a trip to Uruguay (where I would then pay the fine AND fulfill the obligation of leaving the country).

If you are in Bariloche why not take a the beautiful journey across the Samore pass to Chile and spend a day there before coming back. There is a great grass roofed chalet with views over the Volcano Osorno.

 

[nehalecky]

It sounds lovely, jez, thank you so much, I will look into it. Do you know what might be the process at the border there with my expired Visa? Would I be able to pay the expired Visa fine there and enter?
Thank you again.

If you are in Bariloche why not take a the beautiful journey across the Samore pass to Chile and spend a day there before coming back. There is a great grass roofed chalet with views over the Volcano Osorno.

 

[jez]

It sounds lovely, jez, thank you so much, I will look into it. Do you know what might be the process at the border there with my expired Visa? Would I be able to pay the expired Visa fine there and enter?
Thank you again.

That I don't know, but someone will hopefully post of the procedure...

 

[steveinbsas]

You pay the fine when you leave.

As I previously posted, if you go to migraciones now they can fine you $300 pesos and give you ten days to leave. You may also have to pay when you leave if you wait past the ten days.

An expired visa cannot be "extended" or renewed. You will get a new 90 day visa when you return, but you might not be granted an extension of that visa at migraciones if it is within a year of your first entry into Argentina.

Welcome to the ferry-go-round.

 

[citygirl]

You pay the fine when you leave.

As I previously posted, if you go to migraciones now they can fine you $300 pesos and give you ten days to leave. You may also have to pay when you leave if you wait past the ten days.

Where did you get the info on the 10 days thing? I have yet to hear of anyone (after 3 years here) being asked/told to leave.

 

[steveinbsas]

Where did you get the info on the 10 days thing? I have yet to hear of anyone (after 3 years here) being asked/told to leave.

I just found this thread using the search engine: clamping down on perma-tourists

The number of days cited in this post was actually five, not ten, but I think there was also a post by someone who actually went to migraciones to renew an expired 90 day visa and had to pay the fine and was given ten days to leave the country or pay again upon departure..

Guys/Girls,

I found this page in Google after searching my problems.

I just wanted to confirm what others have been saying. I have been told my visa will not be extended at the terminal in Uruguay this morning. I only have one stamp from a trip 85 days ago to Colonia. The officer said he is not authorised to extend my current visa and I have been told I have to leave the country: it is forbidden to live here on a tourist visa and we are only allowed one extension by law.

I had to sign some document promising to leave in 5 days before I could board the ferry. I had to give my address in Argentina (that was somehow verified after a 20 minute wait) and my passport number was taken. I was also warned my passport number was now entered into a database and I would have serious problems if I tried to exit the country beyond my current visa.

I am sad that my time in Buenos Aires will be ended. But all good things come to an end. And I respect Argentina and its laws. If I am no longer welcome, then I don't want to be here anyway.

Please be careful folks!!!