Working, But Not In Argentina...

[Arronius]

Good day all. My name is Aaron. I am a newcomer here in these forums and so have not built up a great familiarity with previous topics here. I have done some searching both here and out in the general web, but my situation is a bit unique, so I have some specific questions on immigrating to Argentina.

I am an American with plenty of experience (6 years) living abroad in Mexico. Therefore, I know Spanish and I know the frustrations of legal processes and the joys of everything else that comes with expatriate life. I am therefore not overly intimidated by the idea of figuring out and doing this myself. I plan to go to live in Argentina around March of this year, which gives me some time to prepare. Buenos Aires is the destination.

Now, I am currently self-employed. I work as a contractor, writing, editing, and proofreading for international publishing companies' offices in Mexico City (plan to expand my business to other countries soon, but that's another topic). The point is, I want to live in Argentina and work . . . just not work for Argentine companies. I plan to continue my work for my current employers. Even if I do get similar-type work for publishers in Buenos Aires, I guess that doesn't really change things because I still would not be an employee.

As I said, I have done some of the requisit research. I know that as a tourist, I will be able to obtain a CDI and open a bank account in BA. The companies I work for are used to paying international contractors (writers, illustrators, etc.), and have no problem depositing my payments in such an account. The only problem is, these are aboveboard companies and I want to do everything aboveboard anyway, so I may still need to bill them for these payments with facturas.

In order to obtain facturas, I will need a CUIT. I have caught passing metions here and there on visa information websites about CUITs being useful for "self-employed" people, though in contacting the Argentine consulate, I confirmed that no one can get a work visa who is not employed by a company, so . . . . The only solution I can think of is to go to Argentina as a "tourist," start a company there, hire myself as the only employee, and obtain a visa through this company. There . . . doesn't seem to be a whole lot of information floating around out there about this process and the complications it might create. My questions:

• Is there any other way?
• How much would this cost?
• How long would all of this take: starting a business, getting my work visa, getting a CUIT, and getting facturas? I have some money saved for my arrival, but I can't afford to not get paid longer than a few months.
• What documents and things will I have to bring with me and what can I be doing right now to get started on all of this from the U.S.?
• What else should I know about this idea?

I bow to the experience and wisdom of the community and thank you in advance.

 

[Sleuth]

First of all, you NEVER want to deposit international payments into an Argentine bank account. Those would get converted at the official rate, and if you've done some reading you'd know that's off from the blue rate. Keep your accounts outside of Argentina and bring the money in through Xoom or as cash and get the blue rate.

I assume you're American? Why not have a US account and business that people pay to?

As far as getting a "legal" visa here, as far as I know, there is no simple way to do it. You need to meet certain requirements - none of which you seem to meet. There are some paths to citizenship, but I'm not an expert in that area. Most people in your situation come as tourists and stay illegally. While it's admirable to want to pick the proper path, you'll find there are a lot of obstacles to overcome.

 

[Davidglen77]

As far as getting a "legal" visa here, as far as I know, there is no simple way to do it. You need to meet certain requirements - none of which you seem to meet. There are some paths to citizenship, but I'm not an expert in that area. Most people in your situation come as tourists and stay illegally. While it's admirable to want to pick the proper path, you'll find there are a lot of obstacles to overcome.

Sleuth, I've seen your postings on the board for years, and I find them extremely useful. But I feel the need to correct something here. This is the only time I ever enter in any conflict (and a very pacific conflict, at that) is when I see someone mention "illegal" when the subject of residency and citizenship come up. I must repeat once again.....there is NO SUCH THING as an illegal immigrant in the Argentine Republic. You may have an "irregular" immigration status, but that is NOT illegal by any means. You can not and will not be deported for overstaying a tourist visa, EVER (under the current law, which has been in effect for the past 76 years, since 1937). And, if you stay on Argentine soil, without leaving, irregular immigration status or not, you will be automatically eligible for citizenship (check carefully if this is the right path for you, because there are tax implications that go along with it). There is no immigration prison, no fines, no arrests, nothing, for overstaying a tourist visa. Period. A unprecedented policy that every country in the world should emulate.

 

[Arronius]

Sleuth, thank you for the information! I was searching visas and visa types, so I have not seen anything about conversion rates and blue rates (what is that, by the way?). I am an American, but I cannot get paid in my American accounts because I am working for Mexican companies. As an American earning income from Mexico in a U.S. account, you will be taxed in both Mexico and the United States unless you fill out IRS form 8022 to apply for a United States Residency Certificate.

You know, when I investigated this form three years ago (living in Mexico) I didn't try this because I saw a provision in form 8022 where I would basically have to declare that I reside in the United States and intended to do so for the year for which I was filing. I thought the better of committing perjury against the U.S. government. However, in looking again today (thanks to your question), I do not see that provision. I don't know whether it has changed, whether I was wrong about it three years ago, or whether I am just not seeing it right now. If I do not actually have to be living in the U.S. to sign this form, I don't see why I couldn't fill it out and get my Mexican companies to pay me in the States. Would have to figure out how to do U.S. taxes again after so many years, but this would probably be ideal. I don't suppose you know what conversion rate they would use for a deposit in a U.S. account?

Does anyone know about this United States Residency Certificate and IRS form 8022?

Thanks in advance, this is a lot of looking but I am up for exploring every avenue.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Before you get a CUIT you need to get a DNI number. You wont be able to open a bank account on a tourist visa. NO WAY. Banks a weary of money laundering scams.
To open an account, banks will ask you for a utility bill that has your name & address. I went through this when I landed here in 2008.
In 2010 I went to work for an American co. doing business here. They set me up with the CUIT/CUIL and opened a bank accnt for me where my salary was deposited.
Here's a link to the craigslist BA. check out the jobs page. Good luck.

http://buenosaires.en.craigslist.org/

 

[Jaredberryman]

Under no circumstances should you try and set up bank accounts and charge here if all your clients are in another country. You should setup all of that in another country where the banking system actually works well. There is no reason that you have to charge your clients here just because you reside here. If you clients are abroad, charge them abroad. That is not illegal and is completely aboveboard. Once you start residing here, you might have to pay income tax, or maybe not, depending on which accountant you consult. It's not clear cut in that respect.

If you are planning on having clients in this country, then you would need to set up a bank account. It's difficult to do that without getting a DNI. It takes at least a year to get a DNI, but you could conceivably get something temporary if you went through the visa process (see posts about visas) that might possibly allow you to get a cuit and open a bank account, but there are no guarantees. Once you have a cuit, you would then need to get a monotributo "factura" that would allow you to emit receipts for clients. Monotributo is definitely the way to go (kind of like sole proprietor in the US). If you open a pyme (small business), it will probably be a nightmare for you and in order for you to make money, you will probably not be able to do everything "aboveboard" and still make any profit due to the amount of taxes that are required in Argentina. To do all of that, you will have to find a good accountant.

 

[Montauk_Project]

To get the factura to accept payments from abroad (factura de exportacion) you need first to be IVA inscripto, which means you need to make so much money you cannot be considered "self employed" but a uni-personal business.
Long story short, most Argentines cannot get facturas de exportacion because most don´t make enough money to be IVA inscripto. So they cannot get transfers from abroad without doing a lot of paperwork, like showing a signed contract that has gone through the consulates, etc.

 

[mellowshipslinky]

my advice is
a) be a perma tourist & live off the grid here.
B) get paid in dollars in your US account
c) when you need pesos, find an expat on here who will sell you them. You can pay into their US account / Paypal / Xoom etc

Maybe that goes against your nature of doing things by the book, but the way this nuthouse of a country is set up it's helpful to leave first-world behaviours back in the first world.

 

[Irelander]

I am self employed here in Argentina and all my clients are in Europe. In order to get paid (at the official rate), your invoices would have to be cleared by the bank in the category of "Servicios empresariales profesionales y técnicos". If you aren't registered for tax, social security, etc. they won't liquidate the payment into your account. Every time an invoice payment is made from abroad, you have to go to the bank with a "solicitud de liquidacion" form signed by you, with a copy of the invoice and the tax authority's 'talon factura E' form corresponding to the invoice (which you won't be able to get printed until you have a CUIT etc.). Unless you are quite definitely moving to Argentina permanently, it would be crazy to even think about setting yourself up to do this.

 

[lucha54]

Arronius,
If you are an American earning money from another country but earning less than ~$80K/year (in USD) and you won't be in the states for more than 35 days/year, you won't owe any tax money to the US (except maybe 15% self-employment tax). I'm not sure what's your situation but that's something to consider if you fit that rubrik.