Visa run being a dual national

[Stephano]

Hi everybody,
I am new to this community, this is my first post, even though I have been lurking for a few days and trying to absorb as much information as possible.
I am still living in the Unites States but am considering moving to Buenos Aires in the near future. I have already been there a couple of times and, despite the many problems, love this city and I would like to live there, at least for a period of time.
I have read about the various ways to gain permanent status, but as I am not ready to commit yet, I would like to ask a very specific question: I have read that the visa run to Uruguay now is potentially risky, given that you might be denied entry and banned from entering for an extended period of time, but I was wondering if for a person like me that holds two passports (USA and Italy) I could enter with one, extend to six months, then go out of the country for a few weeks and then re-enter with the other (then potentially rinse and repeat). Is this doable? Legal? Risky?
Thank you to all that will give an answer.

 

[Cordoba]

Wouldn't it be easier to just pay the fee for overstaying?

 

[medialuna]

Hi I have dual citizenship too and I've previously used one main passport for the visa run. If I took Buequebus I always got warning. If I went to Chile and returning to EZE airport I didn't have any problems. This year I'm applying for residency and somehow at the final stage the immigration found out I have 2 passports and asked me to submit the information of other passport. I can confirm that border control has the ability to identify if you hold 2 passports. (Name and date of birth matching).

 

[Stephano]

Hi I have dual citizenship too and I've previously used one main passport for the visa run. If I took Buequebus I always got warning. If I went to Chile and returning to EZE airport I didn't have any problems. This year I'm applying for residency and somehow at the final stage the immigration found out I have 2 passports and asked me to submit the information of other passport. I can confirm that border control has the ability to identify if you hold 2 passports. (Name and date of birth matching).

Thanks. That makes sense.

 

[steveinbsas]

Hi I have dual citizenship too and I've previously used one main passport for the visa run. If I took Buequebus I always got warning. If I went to Chile and returning to EZE airport I didn't have any problems. This year I'm applying for residency and somehow at the final stage the immigration found out I have 2 passports and asked me to submit the information of other passport. I can confirm that border control has the ability to identify if you hold 2 passports. (Name and date of birth matching).

Hopefully, you always used the same passport for the visa runs and never used the other passport to enter and exit the country.

According to Bajo_cero2, visa runs constitute perpetration of a fraud by abusing the tourist visa (living here as a "fake tourist" without the appropriate legal residency):

5 Americans rejected at the border yesterday

Yesterday 5 Americans were rejected at the border with Chile. 2 of them were living here for long time, 2 renewed the tourist visa once before, the last was in her first renewal. They were trying to renew the tourist visas The immigration agent was super nasty and he rejected them for fake...

baexpats.org

Migraciones seems to be very forgiving of previous overstays and visa runs for those who are finally trying to regularize their immigration status, but, if for any reason you are not approved for the temporary residency, and you want to be able to stay in Argentina if that happens, I suggest you already have a lawyer ready to submit you application for citizenship ship (if you are able to pay the $6000 up front fee). Then your lawyer should be able to prevent your deportation (which can be ordered after your temporary residency is rejected).

 

[lunar]

I can confirm that border control has the ability to identify if you hold 2 passports. (Name and date of birth matching).

Isn't there a mandatory fingerprint check when you are crossing the border? Or it is implemented only at the airports?

According to Bajo_cero2, visa runs constitute perpetration of a fraud by abusing the tourist visa (living here as a "fake tourist" without the appropriate legal residency):

Has anybody actually ever been charged for a fraud?

 

[steveinbsas]

I have read about the various ways to gain permanent status, but as I am not ready to commit yett...

Focus on temporary residency first.

It takes three years (some say two) of temporary residency to "gain" permanent residency, and I don't know if the student visa can lead to permanent residency (I seriously doubt it).

I would like to ask a very specific question: I have read that the visa run to Uruguay now is potentially risky, given that you might be denied entry and banned from entering for an extended period of time, but I was wondering if for a person like me that holds two passports (USA and Italy) I could enter with one, extend to six months, then go out of the country for a few weeks and then re-enter with the other (then potentially rinse and repeat). Is this doable? Legal? Risky?

You would still be a "fake tourist" and using different passports would provide migraciones with "glaring" evidence of your crime (abuse of the tourist visa)

It could result in an instant denial of entry when you try to ente rusing a different passport than the one you just used when you left a few weeks earlier...as well as a ban on re-entry that could be indefinite.

It may be one thig to have two passports, but to allternate using them to try to fool migraciones probably isn't a very good idea.

 

[steveinbsas]

Has anybody actually ever been charged for a fraud?

If you are asking if anyone has ever been criminally charged and prosecuted for the "crime" of being a fake tourist, I have never heard of even one instance of that happening.

The worst that ever happens appears to be that the individual who has been "judged" by any immigration official to be a "fake touriist" is denied entry and banned from reentry, either for a number of years or permanently.

 

[Stephano]

Hopefully, you always used the same passport for the visa runs and never used the other passport to enter and exit the country.

According to Bajo_cero2, visa runs constitute perpetration of a fraud by abusing the tourist visa (living here as a "fake tourist" without the appropriate legal residency):

5 Americans rejected at the border yesterday

Yesterday 5 Americans were rejected at the border with Chile. 2 of them were living here for long time, 2 renewed the tourist visa once before, the last was in her first renewal. They were trying to renew the tourist visas The immigration agent was super nasty and he rejected them for fake...

baexpats.org

Migraciones seems to be very forgiving of previous overstays and visa runs for those who are finally trying to regularize their immigration status, but, if for any reason you are not approved for the temporary residency, and you want to be able to stay in Argentina if that happens, I suggest you already have a lawyer ready to submit you application for citizenship ship (if you are able to pay the $6000 up front fee). Then your lawyer should be able to prevent your deportation (which can be ordered after your temporary residency is rejected).

Luckily I have been to Buenos Aires twice, always using the US passport to enter. Mine was just a hypothetical question, and I see the consensus is that alternating passports is NOT a good idea.

 

[Stephano]

It takes three years (some say two) of temporary residency to "gain" permanent residency, and I don't know if the student visa can lead to permanent residency (I seriously doubt it)

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)