Will I have trouble entering Argentina?

[LeroyBrown]

Hello, I have a question. 3 years ago I entered Argentina via Chile. They took down me and my wife's laptop's serial number. We stayed for a few days and went back into Chile, but the bus didn't stop at Argentina immigration, so I never got an exit stamp. When we asked about it in Chile they said it didn't matter. We do have entrance stamps to Chile though.

My wife and I would like to meet friends in BA for Christmas. We're worried about this exit stamp issue (we still have the exact same laptops that they noted the serial numbers and can show them to prove they weren't sold). If we were to fly into BA - would this be a big issue? Is there some fine that would need to be paid or would this be a hanging offense and best not to re enter?

 

[earlyretirement]

Nah, they won't hassle you at all. Even with the locals my friends all say they are much more lax checking at customs vs. previous years. I come and go and always have laptops, several phones, etc. and never have any problems. I have a lot of friends from the USA coming and going and stay in my property and they all bring electronics and none of them have any problems.

You won't have any problems.

 

[LeroyBrown]

Thanks a lot for your response, earlyretirement. You don't think the lack of exit stamp of prior exit would be a problem though? Are they typically strict at EZE about those things? I asked some Argie friends and they said they Argentines don't typically get exit stamps when leaving by land to Chile, so perhaps an exit stamp is not needed? It's practically an open border so I'd imagine this is somewhat common?

 

[earlyretirement]

Thanks a lot for your response, earlyretirement. You don't think the lack of exit stamp of prior exit would be a problem though? Are they typically strict at EZE about those things? I asked some Argie friends and they said they Argentines don't typically get exit stamps when leaving by land to Chile, so perhaps an exit stamp is not needed? It's practically an open border so I'd imagine this is somewhat common?

You're welcome. No, I don't think you will have any problem at all. Just tell them if they ask you about it but I doubt they will even ask. I've had friends that have been in similar situations (except I don't think they had registered any electronics) but that won't matter at all and I wouldn't worry about it. Don't even worry about it.

 

[sts7049]

yeah, i'd be shocked if they even noticed a missing "exit" from 3 years ago.

 

[PoorSoul]

Was the bus an overnight bus? Why didn't they stop at immigration?

 

[Bajo_cero2]

Was the bus an overnight bus? Why didn't they stop at immigration?

Because it was closed.

 

[LeroyBrown]

I'm not sure if there even was an immigration, what I can conclude with certainty is that we were the only ones concerned with it.

@Bajo_cero2 - What's your take on the matter? Will they try to shake us down at EZE? Should we wear Sergio Dalma or Soda Stereo t shirts and carry a thermos of mate to increase probability of success? Any advice at all? We would have paid you but we couldn't find a way to contact you, so any information of your past experiences/expertise/etc on the matter would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Macanudo]

I took the ferry to Colonia in 2015 using my temporary DNI and didn’t get asked for my passport in either direction.

 

[PoorSoul]

Because it was closed.

Is that normal for the chile / ar border or was it just something special in this case?