What are the residency/visa options for the permanent tourist who wants to be able to exit/re-enter freely?

[intrude-tahoe-wouldest]

Hello everyone,

I've read plenty of threads but it seems like most questions and answers are oriented towards people who have passive income and/or retirees.

My situation is as follows:

• aged mid-30s, American
• low 6-digit net worth and high 5-digit liquid assets (cash/taxable portfolios)
• Currently on indefinite sabbatical
• Whenever I work again it will be through self-employment, which I believe is the same kind of employment status that is permissible for those who pursue retirement visa

I would like to eventually pursue true residency/citizenship and buy property, but that is not an immediate priority. The thing I am most concerned about is being able to freely enter/exit the country. Right now I have been doing long-leaves after the 90 day mark, so I haven't done a "true" (same-day) visa run, but I may be doing that shortly. (My thought process is that staying out of the country for longer (~1 week) has a lower chance of raising flags and eyebrows with migraciones, but maybe that's an unnecessary precaution to take given that all of this, as I've read here, is always up to the discretion of the migraciones officer.) There may come a time where I will simply overstay my 90 days, but will want to leave at say day 130 and pay the fine; I would want to be able to re-enter the country some time after without problems.

Is the time and $ spent on attorneys worth it for someone like me in my situation and with my one sole concern?

 

[intrude-tahoe-wouldest]

I should also add that my US passport expires in July 2024

 

[carride]

I would like to eventually pursue true residency/citizenship and buy property, but that is not an immediate priority. The thing I am most concerned about is being able to freely enter/exit the country. Right now I have been doing long-leaves after the 90 day mark, so I haven't done a "true" (same-day) visa run, but I may be doing that shortly. (My thought process is that staying out of the country for longer (~1 week)

There are people who have done similar travels for more than 10 years, without residency DNI. Long stays in argentina, with long 1-3 month stays outside Latin America, along with the occasional long weekend or week in Chile or Uruguay. Never an overstay. Average 3-5 trips per year through immigration, to average 8-9 months total per year in Argentina. a few times immigration will state false tourist, with some stressful delay until let pass with a warning. In general there will be stress every trip. This was not the recommended way in the past, and perhaps, or not, more difficult now. Your question has been discussed many times in the forum, even if you feel somehow the longer exits are different than the discussions.

You will never remove your highlighted concern about “being able to freely enter/exit”. There is always the possibility of denied entry with your described scenario.

I should also add that my US passport expires in July 2024

Should be renewed soon or before. Should be easy if you plan a long enough stay anywhere.

 

[earlyretirement]

Nah, don't bother with getting permanent residency in Argentina based on what you described. JMHO. But if you're not being buying real estate than I wouldn't rush to get your DNI. And heck, these days the government got rid of their old policy of making you get a permit as a foreigner to sell. So I wouldn't bother. I know people that have been living in Argentina for 10-20 years and just a "perma-tourist".

Argentina border officials are some of the laziest on the planet. They aren't going to bother to see how long you've been staying out. Many of the people I know have just overstayed and always pay the penalty. The only one that had an issue was one guy that kept doing it for many years. He made a run to Uruguay and then he did have issues and was refused but then he just went back the next week and was let in.

Definitely get your passport renewed NOW. Start the process as they are back-logged. Even paying the expedite priority fee it took 4 months to get my daughter's passport. We had to end up filing an emergency appointment to expedite it as we had a trip coming up and they rushed it. So there is that option but I'd just make sure you are up to date on your US passport.

You won't have ANY issues freely entering and exiting Argentina. I agree it's best if you just do a border run to Uruguay or Brazil every 90 days vs. over-staying but NO need to try for permanent residency in your situation.

 

[Jtee125]

Hello everyone,

I've read plenty of threads but it seems like most questions and answers are oriented towards people who have passive income and/or retirees.

My situation is as follows:

• aged mid-30s, American
• low 6-digit net worth and high 5-digit liquid assets (cash/taxable portfolios)
• Currently on indefinite sabbatical
• Whenever I work again it will be through self-employment, which I believe is the same kind of employment status that is permissible for those who pursue retirement visa

I would like to eventually pursue true residency/citizenship and buy property, but that is not an immediate priority. The thing I am most concerned about is being able to freely enter/exit the country. Right now I have been doing long-leaves after the 90 day mark, so I haven't done a "true" (same-day) visa run, but I may be doing that shortly. (My thought process is that staying out of the country for longer (~1 week) has a lower chance of raising flags and eyebrows with migraciones, but maybe that's an unnecessary precaution to take given that all of this, as I've read here, is always up to the discretion of the migraciones officer.) There may come a time where I will simply overstay my 90 days, but will want to leave at say day 130 and pay the fine; I would want to be able to re-enter the country some time after without problems.

Is the time and $ spent on attorneys worth it for someone like me in my situation and with my one sole concern?

I think your 4th bullet point is problematic. Nowhere in the world is passive income/pensionista equivalent to self-employment

 

[darksider415]

Definitely get your passport renewed NOW. Start the process as they are back-logged. Even paying the expedite priority fee it took 4 months to get my daughter's passport. We had to end up filing an emergency appointment to expedite it as we had a trip coming up and they rushed it. So there is that option but I'd just make sure you are up to date on your US passport.

You won't have ANY issues freely entering and exiting Argentina. I agree it's best if you just do a border run to Uruguay or Brazil every 90 days vs. over-staying but NO need to try for permanent residency in your situation.

Speaking to the passport bit, I went into the US embassy on Thursday to renew mine, and as of Friday, the new passport is already printed and on its way to the embassy in Buenos Aires, according to the DoS status page. So, if you're already in Argentina, it's much faster to renew it at the embassy here than it is to renew from the US. It probably helped that I actually do have travel plans to Brazil in a few weeks, but normal, non-expedited wait times are within 6 weeks, according to the person I talked to on Thursday.

Life hack: Even if you're eligible for the shorter renewal form, the DS-11 appointments are a lot easier to get, and the form isn't that much worse. Spend the extra five minutes filling in the DS-11 and cut about 3-4 weeks off your wait time for an appointment.

As for issues entering and exiting... The only time I had an issue was when I left for a few days after my first overstay, and the guy at the immigration booth tried to give me the fifth degree on the way out. Then, when I came back in a few days later, the clerk went to talk to their boss for a few minutes before giving me another 90, but my other overstay had zero issues.

 

[intrude-tahoe-wouldest]

I think your 4th bullet point is problematic. Nowhere in the world is passive income/pensionista equivalent to self-employment

Sorry for any confusion, I wasn't referring to the passive income, but rather was trying to say that I believe "self-employment" is the only kind of employment that retirees are allowed to have here (of course, I am not sure of this and could be wrong).

 

[intrude-tahoe-wouldest]

Speaking to the passport bit, I went into the US embassy on Thursday to renew mine, and as of Friday, the new passport is already printed and on its way to the embassy in Buenos Aires, according to the DoS status page. So, if you're already in Argentina, it's much faster to renew it at the embassy here than it is to renew from the US. It probably helped that I actually do have travel plans to Brazil in a few weeks, but normal, non-expedited wait times are within 6 weeks, according to the person I talked to on Thursday.

Life hack: Even if you're eligible for the shorter renewal form, the DS-11 appointments are a lot easier to get, and the form isn't that much worse. Spend the extra five minutes filling in the DS-11 and cut about 3-4 weeks off your wait time for an appointment.

As for issues entering and exiting... The only time I had an issue was when I left for a few days after my first overstay, and the guy at the immigration booth tried to give me the fifth degree on the way out. Then, when I came back in a few days later, the clerk went to talk to their boss for a few minutes before giving me another 90, but my other overstay had zero issues.

Did you go on Thursday with an appointment or without one? I have an appointment for late September but was hoping to see if I could show up in person earlier to luckily "catch" someone else's cancellation.

 

[darksider415]

Did you go on Thursday with an appointment or without one? I have an appointment for late September but was hoping to see if I could show up in person earlier to luckily "catch" someone else's cancellation.

With appointment. I just checked and the DS-11 appointments are around a week or a week and a half out, versus a month for the DS-82 ones.

 

[intrude-tahoe-wouldest]

Nah, don't bother with getting permanent residency in Argentina based on what you described. JMHO. But if you're not being buying real estate than I wouldn't rush to get your DNI. And heck, these days the government got rid of their old policy of making you get a permit as a foreigner to sell. So I wouldn't bother. I know people that have been living in Argentina for 10-20 years and just a "perma-tourist".

Argentina border officials are some of the laziest on the planet. They aren't going to bother to see how long you've been staying out. Many of the people I know have just overstayed and always pay the penalty. The only one that had an issue was one guy that kept doing it for many years. He made a run to Uruguay and then he did have issues and was refused but then he just went back the next week and was let in.

Definitely get your passport renewed NOW. Start the process as they are back-logged. Even paying the expedite priority fee it took 4 months to get my daughter's passport. We had to end up filing an emergency appointment to expedite it as we had a trip coming up and they rushed it. So there is that option but I'd just make sure you are up to date on your US passport.

You won't have ANY issues freely entering and exiting Argentina. I agree it's best if you just do a border run to Uruguay or Brazil every 90 days vs. over-staying but NO need to try for permanent residency in your situation.

So if I continue doing my visa runs, is it advisable to try and add some official 90 day extensions to the mix? Or should I just stick to leaving every 3 month?