Legal Any risk to constantly overstaying on tourist visa? How many times can you do border runs in Argentina?

[Che Vos]

I still can't understand why you want to stay in my country for long long time and not get legal. It is very easy in Argentina unlike the USA or UK or other places where my Argentine friends moved. Even in London if you marry a citizen it's not so easy from what my friend told me.

I have many American friends that are expats living in BA and they they applied quickly and they received their temporary residency permit to stay legally. It isn't difficult and you all have the money to pay this small amount to get legal. I would have to do the same thing if I went to your country and if I tried to overstay they would deport me!

 

[Betsy Ross]

I still can't understand why you want to stay in my country for long long time and not get legal. It is very easy in Argentina unlike the USA or UK or other places where my Argentine friends moved. Even in London if you marry a citizen it's not so easy from what my friend told me.

I have many American friends that are expats living in BA and they they applied quickly and they received their temporary residency permit to stay legally. It isn't difficult and you all have the money to pay this small amount to get legal. I would have to do the same thing if I went to your country and if I tried to overstay they would deport me!

@Che Vos it isn't as easy as you make it seem. Maybe you don't understand the process but you can't just apply and then get a DNI or even temporary residency. There is a list of categories you fall in to become a resident. Not every one fits into these categories.

You can get a retirement visa, student visa, have kids born here or a work visa and a local company needs to sponsor you. You can hire an attorney like Dr. Rubilar - https://www.rubilarcitizenship.com/ but that is about $7,000 USD so it's not just chump change and that is for citizenship. It's not as easy as you make it seem.

 

[Che Vos]

@Che Vos it isn't as easy as you make it seem. Maybe you don't understand the process but you can't just apply and then get a DNI or even temporary residency. There is a list of categories you fall in to become a resident. Not every one fits into these categories.

You can get a retirement visa, student visa, have kids born here or a work visa and a local company needs to sponsor you. You can hire an attorney like Dr. Rubilar - https://www.rubilarcitizenship.com/ but that is about $7,000 USD so it's not just chump change and that is for citizenship. It's not as easy as you make it seem.

Yes, I admit I don't understand the process well. I'm not sure what category my American friend qualified. I will ask her. But she applied, paid a lawyer and then she was legal a few months later. I admit I don't know anything about this. I just know if the situation was reverse and I was in your country, I couldn't just break the laws and expect to be ok.

$7000 k is a lot of money but it doesn't seem so much to get citizenship in my country forever. I am sure if I wanted to do the same thing in your country it would be more money and probably impossible.

 

[overstayed]

Thanks to everyone that posted their experiences! It's educational to read about so many different situations. It seems clear that there is no set rule and things seem to be changing in Argentina. I'm not sure how the bad economy will affect expats moving into the future. I honestly don't want to go back to the USA.

I work remotely and I'm a digital nomad. I couldn't afford to go back and live there now with the same lifestyle that I have here. Plus my girlfriend and all my new friends are here. I can't imagine having to go back to the USA after so many years.

I don't have the money but I will ask my parents for a loan and will contact this lawyer above. (Thanks for posting the link). $7,000 is very steep for me but if I can live here forever without worrying it seems worth it to me. Thanks again!

@naked, what was the experience like when they made you leave? How was that? What happened?

 

[naked]

@naked, what was the experience like when they made you leave? How was that? What happened?

@overstayed - It was pretty horrible. I got stuck in a room for about 3 hours. They only gave me some water and I begged for a coffee and they finally brought me some. Then I had to wait for the next flight out. They had me in a room and took my passport. Then to board I had to be escorted by 2 police officers. Or maybe they were airport officials. They had uniforms on. They didn't give me my passport until everyone boarded. I was the last to board. And they told the flight attendants not to give me back my passport until we landed. It was all pretty humiliating.

 

[FuturoBA]

If you're overstaying and staying, as in not travelling outside, less risky than if you're overstaying and constantly leaving and returning.

 

[IrishLad]

@overstayed - It was pretty horrible. I got stuck in a room for about 3 hours. They only gave me some water and I begged for a coffee and they finally brought me some. Then I had to wait for the next flight out. They had me in a room and took my passport. Then to board I had to be escorted by 2 police officers. Or maybe they were airport officials. They had uniforms on. They didn't give me my passport until everyone boarded. I was the last to board. And they told the flight attendants not to give me back my passport until we landed. It was all pretty humiliating.

I'm sorry this happened to you. It DOES sound humiliating but the same thing happens the other way. I had lunch with a female friend recently. She told me a very sad story. She is from a prominent family in Argentina. She and all her family have a tourist visa to go to the USA and visited many times and never overstayed. In fact, no stays over 1 month even though she could come 90 days at a time.

COVID was devastating for her and her American friend was helping her financially. He paid all her bills and he paid for her trip to the USA. He just sent her several thousands of dollars. She didn't have a credit card other than her Argentine cards and because of the crazy exchange rate she just brought cash. In the USA no one uses cash but for Argentines it's normal. She was going in to visit him but he couldn't join her for 5 days in another city. He sent her money for the trip.

She never in 10 years had any problems visiting the USA but she was flying through Houston and the immigration officer stopped her and pulled her out of the line. He asked her what she was doing and she explained visiting her friend. They asked her what hotel and she gave all the details. Then they asked her how she was paying and she explained she brought cash. She explained that Argentine credit cards are worthless outside of Argentina due to crazy exchange rates. The agent didn't understand and thought she was lying. They made her open up her WhatsApp where she she was showing them her friend was helping her. They called him and he confirmed everything. He explained he was paying for it all and explained the situation in Argentina.

The US customs agent accused her of being an escort! He said if she had cash on her. She was ENTERING the USA. They wouldn't let her in and they banned here for 5 years. It's totally crazy but true. She said the same thing. She got escorted on the plane even with a female officer. They took her passport and didn't give it to her until she landed. So these types of things happen but it sounds like it's a power trip from the customs/immigration officer! You are at their mercy. She is trying to fight it at the USA embassy but her appointment isn't until November 2024!

I suspect this happens to lots of perma-tourists but most of them don't post online. Most don't even know about these forums. And most are probably so embarrassed they just don't want to tell anyone they were illegal aliens. I think this happens much more than you think.

 

[LongIslander]

@Che Vos it isn't as easy as you make it seem. Maybe you don't understand the process but you can't just apply and then get a DNI or even temporary residency. There is a list of categories you fall in to become a resident. Not every one fits into these categories.

You can get a retirement visa, student visa, have kids born here or a work visa and a local company needs to sponsor you. You can hire an attorney like Dr. Rubilar - https://www.rubilarcitizenship.com/ but that is about $7,000 USD so it's not just chump change and that is for citizenship. It's not as easy as you make it seem.

Wow popular topic! I figured it was the question on everyone's mind because I don't know too many expats and they are all perma tourists! I knew once biometrics started eventually it would probably get more regulated.

I'm just confused why they make it so difficult. If you can't quality for a category to stay in the country legally and can't get a DNI what are you supposed to do? I'm not trying to imply it makes it right. But just wondering as it seems like tourists love Argentina so much they want to stay.

 

[Che Vos]

Wow popular topic! I figured it was the question on everyone's mind because I don't know too many expats and they are all perma tourists! I knew once biometrics started eventually it would probably get more regulated.

I'm just confused why they make it so difficult. If you can't quality for a category to stay in the country legally and can't get a DNI what are you supposed to do? I'm not trying to imply it makes it right. But just wondering as it seems like tourists love Argentina so much they want to stay.

Many people love your country too but that doesn't mean it's ok for them to over stay their tourist visa right? I'd look at it the same way. I guess I do have friends that go back to the USA a few times a year but none of them are living there and just doing border runs. I'd guess the USA would watch that very carefully.

I am not an expert on this matter but it seems like perma tourist = illegal alien. That's the same whether you are in NYC, Buenos Aires or London. Do we agree?

 

[Betsy Ross]

I am not an expert on this matter but it seems like perma tourist = illegal alien. That's the same whether you are in NYC, Buenos Aires or London. Do we agree?

Yes, technically speaking you are correct. A permanent-tourist is NOT a real tourist that comes to Argentina for a maximum period of 90 days with the intention to leave after their vacation.

An illegal tourist is an expat that has been living in Argentina for a long period of time and leaves the country every 90 days in order to get a new tourist visa every 90 days. Or one that constantly pays a penalty to overstay their tourist visa. Some for many years in a row. One that does not have plans or the intention of leaving back to their home countries.

Yes, I think everyone should be clear on that matter.

 

[Man on the Moon]

All great info and fascinating reading about the deportations both from the USA to Argentina and vice versa.

It sounds like from both cases discussed here much depends on the discretion of the customs agent at the border and their mood for that day. Argentina is very easy compared to almost anywhere in the world I go to. I used to go to Brazil a lot and overstayed and I got turned away there once as the computer showed I already hit too many days for that year and it was only October. I had to come back to Buenos Aires.

None of you have a right to complain if you're here illegally. When you break the law sometimes you have to pay the piper and know going in what the consequences might be.

 

[Huge Hurry]

Like many of you fellow expats many years ago I also overstayed my tourist visa. In fact, for years before I finally applied. I did under the retirement category. Does anyone know how much you need to quality under that category now? I'm not sure if it would be more or less. BA is much cheaper now.

You should also note that many customs officials when you're leaving are racist. There are documented cases of people from the Caribbean and also Peru with darker skin getting singled out and deported for over staying visas for many years. People always assume Mercosur countries won't have issues but some do that don't do paperwork correctly.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Yes, I admit I don't understand the process well

and this is the trend for your posts: uninformed, speculative, resentment to people coming to Argentina, and thinking all Expats are malicious/law-breaking and have unlimited money. i've tried reasoning with you, and you don't even respond to anything https://www.expatsba.com/threads/ne...llarization-is-a-fantasy.406/page-2#post-2695

what would help in this forum is to share info that you can personally vouch for, with cited sources. i can tell you have traveled very little, are very young, and think you know everything because your small circle of family and friends told you so. if getting a DNI and residency was easy, people wouldn't be risking getting deported to overstay and take the ferry round-trip. duh! i would just go get a DNI and residency now. but like others have said, it's actually kinda hard, and you need a lawyer for most stuff. and you can't blame people for violating the immigration law if the fine is a couple bucks and they permit it. if you incentivize something, people will do it more often (economics 101). and no, the USA is not really deporting people right now; again, you have no clue what's going on inside of the USA (have you even ever been there??), and from the few posts i've read, you have no clue how the legal system in Argentina works, either. people in this forum would benefit from you speculating less and filling these threads up with your made-up claims

 

[StatusNomadicus]

lawyer

@overstayed hablas español?

my backup plan is to apply for a student visa, and attend university. the only problem is that all universities in CABA teach only in Spanish, even the private ones like University of Palermo. i'm not quite good enough to do a Master in another language, but if you've been here for years, try the free route - apply for a program (free tuition from what i hear at public places), get approved and apply for a 1-year (more?) student visa at Migraciones without a lawyer needed, and then just take a small amount of classes part-time as your work allows. i can't find any info of anyone actually doing this, so if anyone knows anyone, i'd love to do a write-up about it for those that can't sh*t-out 2k-7k for residency.

 

[Cardiac Arrest]

Great website! I used to post many years ago on another forum. I found this site from X.

I was a former "perma tourist" in Argentina. First time I overstayed 4 months and was really scared. I didn't know if I should do a border run and take the ferry over to Colonia but many other Americans told me to just pay a fine. This was many years ago about 7 years ago. I'm not sure if things are different now. My logic was better not to have too many passport stamps. I can't remember if I did fingerprint back then. But they stamped back then the passports.

I was very nervous going to the airport and just paid the fine. They didn't care back then. I think I paid about 350 pesos. I went to the immigration desk and was still nervous. They scanned my passport and it did make some alert and asked me for the paperwork on the fine. He told me to keep all paperwork because I may have issues when I came back to Argentina. I was nervous but entered OK when I came back.

I overstayed again my second time but this time by 1 full year and at the airport at EZE I paid the fee again. But this time when I went through passport control the computer beeped again and I showed him the paperwork but he called a supervisor over. I wasn't clear if he could see how long I overstayed. But they took my passport and I was very nervous. The supervisor came over and told me that I was illegally living in Argentina on a tourist visa. He asked why I stayed so long and told me the tourist visa wasn't meant for staying there.

I didn't know if I should make something up or just tell the truth. I just told him the truth that I loved Argentina and I joked I had a lot of "novias". The guy that was angry mustered a smile. But he told me that if it happened again they wouldn't let me in. He said they would note my file.

Let's just say there wasn't a third time. After that I never overstayed.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

and can't get a DNI what are you supposed to do?

on top of that, you can't use MercadoLibre without a DNI, and even buying groceries at the supermarkets they ask for a DNI to type in (i usually just give a random 8-digit number). it's fucking weird that someone needs my ID# to buy groceries; i'm not sure how many countries do that, but it feels very BigBrother when it happens here

 

[StatusNomadicus]

passport stamps

and now in Nov2023 i didn't get any stamps! not sure when it changed, but they grilled me pretty good at the Immigration window, not sure why since i've never been before, and then they scan your fingerprints and take a photo.

i was mostly bummed because my dog's passport doesn't have an Argentina stamp! how am i supposed to show people his countries??

good to have ya from that censored forum...i had the same name, but i was only on there for a couple months, mostly lurking/reading. you still in BsAs? hopefully no old-timers start getting deported/rejected. the gov't could just force-initiate a DNI and force a penalty fine, rather than SUDDENLY enforcing what they've been encouraging for years. yes, it's illegal, but so is me smoking weed in my apartment. those who say "YOU SHOULD GO TO JAIL FOR BEING A CRIMINAL" are dumbasses, and probably have way more skeletons in their closet. i'm hoping Milei gets Congress to make some better (and more clear) laws, especially regarding the constitutional part about "2 years of continuous residency" - bro, what does continuous mean?? use specific wording! you're killing me, smalls.

 

[Cardiac Arrest]

@overstayed hablas español?

my backup plan is to apply for a student visa, and attend university. the only problem is that all universities in CABA teach only in Spanish, even the private ones like University of Palermo. i'm not quite good enough to do a Master in another language, but if you've been here for years, try the free route - apply for a program (free tuition from what i hear at public places), get approved and apply for a 1-year (more?) student visa at Migraciones without a lawyer needed, and then just take a small amount of classes part-time as your work allows. i can't find any info of anyone actually doing this, so if anyone knows anyone, i'd love to do a write-up about it for those that can't sh*t-out 2k-7k for residency.

I would argue if you can't afford $2-7k in legal bills to be here legally you probably can't afford to live here long term anyway.

No, you never have to give a real DNI it's just the computer system asks for it but you don't have to. Some supermarket there are huge discounts for the elderly. My then girlfriend's mother would get amazing discounts as she was retired. When we went with her she gave her DNI and she got some big discount. I don't know if they still have that program.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

if you can't afford $2-7k in legal bills to be here legally you probably can't afford to live here long term anyway.

eh, maybe for some. but for someone coming from Venezuela, for example, it's probably just not possible unless they have wealthy family (and they probably got the hell out of Venezuela long ago, if so)

so for a Venezuelan 18-years-old or in 20s/30s wanting to live legally in Argentina, the process could be just a few dollars to apply for school, get an extendable temporary Student visa, then apply at the Federal Courts for citizenship after 2 years of residency.

we have to remember that not everyone is coming from USA/EU with lots of extra money. the Expat life can be very frugal. and for me, if i can do a little more digging and save $2,000 USD by being a cheap-ass and waiting in lines for 20 hours, to me that means i'm getting paid 100 bucks an hour to read a book. so, thus why some people are looking for documented success cases that don't involve lawyers taking federal judges out to dinner, etc.

 

[Cardiac Arrest]

eh, maybe for some. but for someone coming from Venezuela, for example, it's probably just not possible unless they have wealthy family (and they probably got the hell out of Venezuela long ago, if so)

so for a Venezuelan 18-years-old or in 20s/30s wanting to live legally in Argentina, the process could be just a few dollars to apply for school, get an extendable temporary Student visa, then apply at the Federal Courts for citizenship after 2 years of residency.

we have to remember that not everyone is coming from USA/EU with lots of extra money. the Expat life can be very frugal. and for me, if i can do a little more digging and save $2,000 USD by being a cheap-ass and waiting in lines for 20 hours, to me that means i'm getting paid 100 bucks an hour to read a book. so, thus why some people are looking for documented success cases that don't involve lawyers taking federal judges out to dinner, etc.

Yes you're correct. I dated a girl from Venezuela when I was coming her more frequently. She came in with Mercosur to study free but she easily got residency here. She didn't hire a lawyer. She did it herself. But to be fair I think it's much easier for Mercosur vs. gringos.

I think if you can document it and do it yourself that will be great. I wouldn't recommend going through the process until you know for sure you want to stay. I met lots of gringos that thought they wanted to stay but got too frustrated with everything and left.