Visa run being a dual national

[Quilombo]

I want to stress this as someone whose background is in International Relations (not specific to OP, just people in general) that it's never a good idea to mix passports. Keep the following in mind to avoid problems:

- ALWAYS use the same passport to enter and exit a country, not just Argentina, any country. This is often the law in many countries, and in less liberal ones you could be accused of anything from flouting immigration laws to being a spy for having multiple passports/mixing them up
- Use the passport of the country you would call 1st if you needed consular assistance
- Use the passport of the country you would prefer to be deported to in case you are denied entry for some reason
- Remember, your country of citizenship may require you to enter the country with your passport from there, and airlines don't always know this (IIRC Brazil is one of these countries, and as such won't allow you to enter on say an Argentine passport even though you have visa free access/residency on demand)

 

[steveinbsas]

According to a lawyer I had contacted a while ago for a consultation, student visa should lead to permanent residency, but on the other hand he had told me that the rentista visa is just for people who have an income from renting a real estate property, and nothing else, but if I have interpreted the many posts in this forum correctly, also investments that lead to a constant stream of revenue could be used (although it might be more difficult to prove)

There is one lawyer who often posts here. He has said both that the student visa cannot be converted to permanent residency and that the rentista visa is only for individuals who have an income from renting a real estate property,

Both lawyers cannot be right about the student visa and both could be wrong or right about the visa rentista.

I have suggested many times here that it might be possible to qualiify for the visa rentista by creating a bank trust account which is funded with CD's that mature every 30 days, providing sufficient funds to satisfy the income requirement for the visa rentista, but I am not aware of anyone who has actually tried to do so.

If migraciones would accept such a plan, the total invested in the CD's "should" only have to equal the amount of income required to be approved for the visa for one year. For example, If the monthly income requirement is $2000 USD, the total invested in the CD's would have to be $24.000,

This sounds a lot more "doable" (at least to me), and undoubtly more "provable" (to migraciones) than having assets like a rental property that generates $2000 USD of (net) income per month, but whether or nor migraciones would go for it is yet to be determined.

If migraciones approves of such a plan, you would only have to repeat it until you apply for permanent residency on (in my case) the thrid renewal (the start of the fourth year), though the monthly income requirement is always subject to change.

I applied for the visa rentista in 2006 based on income generated by an irrevocable trust, I did not own any rental property at the time.

 

[arvest]

There is one lawyer who often posts here. He has said both that the student visa cannot be converted to permanent residency and that the rentista visa is only for individuals who have an income from renting a real estate property,

Both lawyers cannot be right about the student visa and both could be wrong or right about the visa rentista.

I have suggested many times here that it might be possible to qualiify for the visa rentista by creating a bank trust account which is funded with CD's that mature every 30 days, providing sufficient funds to satisfy the income requirement for the visa rentista, but I am not aware of anyone who has actually tried to do so.

If migraciones would accept such a plan, the total invested in the CD's "should" only have to equal the amount of income required to be approved for the visa for one year. For example, If the monthly income requirement is $2000 USD, the total invested in the CD's would have to be $24.000,

This sounds a lot more "doable" (at least to me), and undoubtly more "provable" (to migraciones) than having assets like a rental property that generates $2000 USD of (net) income per month, but whether or nor migraciones would go for it is yet to be determined.

If migraciones approves of such a plan, you would only have to repeat it until you apply for permanent residency on (in my case) the thrid renewal (the start of the fourth year), though the monthly income requirement is always subject to change.

I applied for the visa rentista in 2006 based on income generated by an irrevocable trust, I did not own any rental property at the time.

I do know of another expat from the meetups who applied with the CDs inside a trust method and received a rentista visa with DNI etc

 

[steveinbsas]

I do know of another expat from the meetups who applied with the CDs inside a trust method and received a rentista visa with DNI etc

Thanks for this information.

This is the first post I've seen indicating that the income from CD's as they mature is acceptable to migraciones and the visa rentista can be based on a source of income other than rental income from real estate.

We still need to know if the tempoorary residency based on being a student can be "upgraded" to permanenrt.

 

[lunar]

This is the first post I've seen indicating that the income from CD's as they mature is acceptable to migraciones ...

My guess it is more about the trust fund than CDs. If a trust just holds cash and pays you a required amount during your lifetime, that would also create an uninterruptible source of income.

 

[arvest]

My guess it is more about the trust fund than CDs. If a trust just holds cash and pays you a required amount during your lifetime, that would also create an uninterruptible source of income.

Yes it was a trust created for the persons sole and exclusive benefit that would pay him out each month for a few years

 

[steveinbsas]

Yes it was a trust created for the persons sole and exclusive benefit that would pay him out each month for a few years

So, it looks like it is possible to fund the trust with a pile of cash that is paid out in monthly increments for a few years, but I would also condsider the ROI. CD's may offer just that, and the difference may be worth the effort, especially if anyone is going to "tie up" enough cash to fund the visa for two or three years.

Nonetheless, if the visa rentista has to be renewed each year, I would re-fund the trust account each year, especially if I had an alternative investment that offered an even better ROI than CD's.

In any case, if the trust account that provides a $2000 USD monthly income (if that's how much migraciones is looking for) is all anyone needs to get the visa rentista, that could (if not should) mean you won't have to reveal anything else about your foreign income or assets to migraciones.

While it wouldn't have made any difference to me when I applied for the visa rentista in 2006, I am sure it will make a difference to many others.

 

[lunar]

Nonetheless, if the visa rentista has to be renewed each year, I would re-fund the trust account each year, especially if I had an alternative investment that offered an even better ROI than CD's.

"Uninterruptible" implies that you cannot withdraw money from the fund at your will or make investments that can generate losses.

 

[steveinbsas]

Nonetheless, if the visa rentista has to be renewed each year, I would re-fund the trust account each year, especially if I had an alternative investment that offered an even better ROI than CD's.

"Uninterruptible" implies that you cannot withdraw money from the fund at your will or make investments that can generate losses.

That is understood. Perhaps I could have been more clear.

If I understand correctly, it is only necessary to have enough funds in the trust account for one year at a time, and I have, for years now, only suggested having CD's in the trust account for the visa rentista as opposed to a large amount of cash that may earn less interest.

I never advocated having any other form of investment in the trust acount that is created soley for the purpose of getting the visa rentista when I first created and advocated this strategy, even though my trust account had neither when I applied for and received the visa rentista and renewed it three times between 2006 and 2009 .

If I was applying now, for the first time, I would hope I could find an investment with a better ROI on the additional funds that I might use in the future if I wanted to renew the visa.

I have also suggested that, like mine, the trust be irrevocable. This way migraciones will know that it can't suddenly be canceled by the beneficiary, thereby interrupting the income, but I am not sure if that is an "absolute" requirement.

To summarize:

I am assuming that the trust account can be funded each year with the appropriate deposit, based on migraciones current income requiremen for the one year term of the visa..

I would not want to overload the account with the two or three times the required amount to get the visa for one year.

If the trust has to be funded with $24,000 USD (for example) for one year, that's all I would put into the account each year.

I would hope I could find an alternative investment with a better ROI than CD's for the funds that I would deposit in the trust in future years, and move those funds into the trust account, if and when the time comes.

 

[steveinbsas]

The trust that I used when I applied for the visa rentista was never funded with cash or CD's.

Withdrawals (reduction of principle) were(and still are) possible at any time, but I had to request the trustee to make the withdrawal and deposit the funds in the bank account of my choice. I cannot make the withdrawals myself.

Those withdrawals from the trust were actually reduction of the principle, but they were treated as an advance on future income distributions.

All I had to show migraciones was that I was receiving the required amount each month (deposited into my US bank acount) to satisfy their requirements.

I did this with a notarized letter from an officer of the bank where I had the savings account and the ATM card I was using to withdraw funds in Argentina. The letter received the Apostille and I had it translated in Argentina before submitting it to migraciones.

I did not have to show migraciones any bank statements or anything that showed the balance in the trust account., which would have been enough at the time to qualify for the visa rentista for more than ten years.

I did, however, show migraciones a copy of the turst with a cover letter written by the lawyer who created the trust in the first place.

That letter was notarized and attached to the copy of the trust, I had that receve the Apostille and then translatedin Argentina before submitting it to migraciones with the other docs.

I wrote every word of the letter than was signed by the lawyer as well as he letter that was signed by the bank officer.

This was my own strategy and was not suggested by an Argentine "immigration lawer" or by anyone else.

Although my "irreovcable" trust will pay out for the duration of my lifetime (and it is funded with an annutity that pays a higher rate than CD's), it is not necessary to have a trust that will pay for a "lifetime" to qualiify for the visa rentista, only for the duration of the temporary resdiency.

PS: My trust was not set up to satisfy the requirements of the Visa Rentisata and was in force more than five years before I set foot on Argentine soil for the first time.

PS2: I developed the strategy of funding a bank trust account with CD's a number of years ago and wrote about it in this forum, but it wasn't until a few days ago that anyone indicated that it actually worked for them or someone they know,