Extension renewal experience. A warning.

[Oatmeal]

Sorry this happened to you. Argentina can be a disgrace when you have to deal with things like this. I wish I could say this kind of thing isn't common there but corruption is a big issue there. I've seen so many things in 22 years of working and living there.

Good for you @Oatmeal that you called them out on this and stood your ground. I do the same thing there and I always call people out when I spot it. Most Argentines are also against these types of things happening and a big reason why you saw the historic vote. People don't want to live with this kind of corruption. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thank you.

 

[Oatmeal]

I've been coming to Argentina for years. Both pleasure and also work and corruption like this is a fabric of society there. It's true they attempt it far more with non-residents there. I also have a friend from Venezuela and she lives in BA and she has to go through a lot of BS as well. It doesn't matter than they aren't white and speak Spanish fluently. She has experienced this same BS.

@Oatmeal what is your plan? You will extend this for another 90 days? Then will you just do border runs? A friend is moving there and he is asking me the best route to take. I read supposed crackdowns on border runs but I don't buy it. I'm curious what the best plan is these days to live in Argentina for a year or more. He has NO interest in getting DNI there for tax reasons.

Will most likely do a border run, i just checked online and I have another 90 days (Until 2nd week of October). Not sure if it will work but I will cross that road at that time. We do plan on traveling to EU or Asia so maybe it will not matter.

 

[import export]

Will most likely do a border run, i just checked online and I have another 90 days (Until 2nd week of October). Not sure if it will work but I will cross that road at that time. We do plan on traveling to EU or Asia so maybe it will not matter.

Thank you. OK, that's what I told him is the best option. No one I personally know has ever had any issues. Safe travels.

 

[BikeEnthusiast]

Thanks for the heads up @Oatmeal. Appreciate hearing about potential scams so I can avoid them. Is there some place where you can officially report attempts to scam you? Or is it not worth reporting?

I mean ... The guy just paid $15 for two visa renewals. Any other country in the world it would be $200 minimum

If this is the worst 'scam' that happens to you in Argentina I think you will be all right. Probably no need to be me making reports lmao

 

[import export]

I mean ... The guy just paid $15 for two visa renewals. Any other country in the world it would be $200 minimum

If this is the worst 'scam' that happens to you in Argentina I think you will be all right. Probably no need to be me making reports lmao

To me it's not so much the dollar amount of the scam. It's just the fact that people trying to lie and cheat you. It's annoying. But same thing happens here in Brazil.

 

[Vince]

I mean ... The guy just paid $15 for two visa renewals. Any other country in the world it would be $200 minimum

If this is the worst 'scam' that happens to you in Argentina I think you will be all right. Probably no need to be me making reports lmao

Well it's one thing if Argentina wants to raise the rates. I agree that price is not bad but are you saying @BikeEnthusiast it's ok for them to scam him and make him pay 100% more than the normal price? That is more the point. Now how much something costs. The people working in the government are hoping that they get tourists like you that just accept taking it in the ass because it's only a few bucks. That is wrong to me. Getting charged 100% more for anything is just wrong. Doesn't matter the price.

 

[Betsy Ross]

Well it's one thing if Argentina wants to raise the rates. I agree that price is not bad but are you saying @BikeEnthusiast it's ok for them to scam him and make him pay 100% more than the normal price? That is more the point. Now how much something costs. The people working in the government are hoping that they get tourists like you that just accept taking it in the ass because it's only a few bucks. That is wrong to me. Getting charged 100% more for anything is just wrong. Doesn't matter the price.

Agree Vince. @BikeEnthusiast agree with the others. I think scams like this are just very destructive for Argentina. Your point about the worst this happening isn't a big deal. The problem is that if people act like you that it's ok to accept little scams each day. When smaller scams like this happen each day it is impossible to have a good quality of life constantly feeling cheated.

From buying tomatoes, to having a rigged taxi to pay more, to the painter/plumber that charges you more. Where does it end? It's wrong to have the attitude that it's ok because it is not a big dollar amount. I do agree with you that they should charge more for a renewal of a visa. But that is another point. People can't be ok with someone charging 100% and pocketing the difference which sounds like that is what was going on.

 

[Wally]

I mean ... The guy just paid $15 for two visa renewals. Any other country in the world it would be $200 minimum

If this is the worst 'scam' that happens to you in Argentina I think you will be all right. Probably no need to be me making reports lmao

But other countries in the world don't need tourism dollars as much as Argentina does. The low price is probably a reflection of how badly Argentina needs these MEP dollars.

Probably not worth making yourself a target reporting it because who knows if they will make your life a living hell in the future coming back to Argentina. Not worth it but definitely worth an anonymous email to the tourist police if someone is inclined! Milei is NOT ok with people cheating foreigners.

 

[Digital Nomad]

Wow that's pretty amazing, under $15 to renew your visa I imagine would be the cheapest of any country in the world.

The fact the people working there don't even know the price and can seemingly make up anything they want shows how unprofessional it all is.

All the fear mongering posts about how they are getting serious and cracking down on perma tourists - yeah I'll believe it when I see it. I did a same day trip to Uruguay recently and the immigration officers couldn't have cared less if Osama Bin Ladens corpse was trying to enter the country

Agree that it's crazy cheap to renew the visa. I also did same day turn around to Colonia and no issues at all.

I mean ... The guy just paid $15 for two visa renewals. Any other country in the world it would be $200 minimum

If this is the worst 'scam' that happens to you in Argentina I think you will be all right. Probably no need to be me making reports lmao

Problem I see is that they start out with 100% mark up and if they have success go up and up. Imagine how comfortable they are cheating people on this. I met a few people that renewed and the rate always seems to be different. I guess I know why now. 😀

 

[Spend Thrift]

Many here are willing to cheat tourists or foreigners. I experience that all the time. @BikeEnthusiast makes a good point it won't kill you but more annoying than anything. I see it all the time at some markets or even sometimes at small markets. I have a local assistant and he will sometimes go to the same places within hours of me and price is less. Any time I need to get anything done for my apartment I have him get the quotes. As soon as they know a gringo is involved, the price gets inflated.

 

[Finance Prof]

It really surprises me that anyone in a government position right now would do anything that would get them fired. Just goes to show you that there is no fear at all and many people in that office must be in on it. This is a bad time to lose a job!

 

[BikeEnthusiast]

Well it's one thing if Argentina wants to raise the rates. I agree that price is not bad but are you saying @BikeEnthusiast it's ok for them to scam him and make him pay 100% more than the normal price? That is more the point. Now how much something costs. The people working in the government are hoping that they get tourists like you that just accept taking it in the ass because it's only a few bucks. That is wrong to me. Getting charged 100% more for anything is just wrong. Doesn't matter the price.

Honestly I have to say yes. If a native poor Argentine can scam you to make a little extra money while still charging you ok less than 20 percent what you would pay anywhere else in the world ...

I congratulate them. I applaud them. I wish them the best

 

[Blockchain]

Honestly I have to say yes. If a native poor Argentine can scam you to make a little extra money while still charging you ok less than 20 percent what you would pay anywhere else in the world ...

I congratulate them. I applaud them. I wish them the best

Damn dude that's some flawed logic. Are you ok with locals scamming you then? Are you ok with paying 100% more at meals? Or cafes or restaurants or laundromat?

So if you go out to a restaurant and they charge you 100% more with the logic that a bottle of wine in Dallas might cost $100 bucks and here in Argentina it's only $15 you're ok with them charging you more??

What is the biggest scam pulled on you in Argentina? You're the first person I've heard that is ok with getting scammed @BikeEnthusiast. It's annoying as hell to me to get scammed here or anywhere else I travel to.

 

[Finance Prof]

Honestly I have to say yes. If a native poor Argentine can scam you to make a little extra money while still charging you ok less than 20 percent what you would pay anywhere else in the world ...

I congratulate them. I applaud them. I wish them the best

Fortunately almost no one thinks like this. Of course you would probably think differently if someone was scamming you. I doubt you'd be so welcome to get cheated.

Aren't you the one that balked at getting cheated 3,000 pesos refilling your cellphone?

How do you buy credit or "saldo" for a pre paid cell phone ?

I have a pre paid plan with Movistar, every month I pay 3k pesos and get another month and a few gigas. I need to load the "saldo" into the Movistar app then pay. It won't let me put credit in with a foreign card and no DNI. I went to about 15 kioskos and all said they don't do it. Finally I...

www.expatsba.com

 

[Billy Goat]

Fortunately almost no one thinks like this. Of course you would probably think differently if someone was scamming you. I doubt you'd be so welcome to get cheated.

Aren't you the one that balked at getting cheated 3,000 pesos refilling your cellphone?

How do you buy credit or "saldo" for a pre paid cell phone ?

I have a pre paid plan with Movistar, every month I pay 3k pesos and get another month and a few gigas. I need to load the "saldo" into the Movistar app then pay. It won't let me put credit in with a foreign card and no DNI. I went to about 15 kioskos and all said they don't do it. Finally I...

www.expatsba.com

I guess it's ok when someone else is getting cheated but not if you are. 🤣

 

[Surfer]

Wow that's pretty amazing, under $15 to renew your visa I imagine would be the cheapest of any country in the world.

The fact the people working there don't even know the price and can seemingly make up anything they want shows how unprofessional it all is.

All the fear mongering posts about how they are getting serious and cracking down on perma tourists - yeah I'll believe it when I see it. I did a same day trip to Uruguay recently and the immigration officers couldn't have cared less if Osama Bin Ladens corpse was trying to enter the country

Are there many posts about expats and tourists having issues in Argentina? From everything I have read almost no one has any problems there. Talked to tons of people that just do border runs without problems. Some going on 2 decades there like that.

 

[LifeOnLead]

Good topic. Just arrived as a traveler, so haven't read up on basic regs of migration/extensions. May want to extend travel; its a really big and amazing country. So thanks for the heads up.

In many countries, fee schedules and other important items expats may need to know are published in the bulletins. There is an updated fee schedule from 5 Jul 2024:

BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA - DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONES - Decreto 584/2024

BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA - DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONES - Decreto 584/2024 - DECTO-2024-584-APN-PTE - Tasas retributivas de servicios.

www.boletinoficial.gob.ar

 

[Digital Nomad]

Good topic. Just arrived as a traveler, so haven't read up on basic regs of migration/extensions. May want to extend travel; its a really big and amazing country. So thanks for the heads up.

In many countries, fee schedules and other important items expats may need to know are published in the bulletins. There is an updated fee schedule from 5 Jul 2024:

BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA - DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONES - Decreto 584/2024

BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA - DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONES - Decreto 584/2024 - DECTO-2024-584-APN-PTE - Tasas retributivas de servicios.

www.boletinoficial.gob.ar

Thanks for the link @LifeOnLead. You'll definitely want to extend. I first came down for 30 days and haven't left yet several months later. Fortunately it's very easy to stay here. I don't want to leave.

 

[Vince]

Good topic. Just arrived as a traveler, so haven't read up on basic regs of migration/extensions. May want to extend travel; its a really big and amazing country. So thanks for the heads up.

In many countries, fee schedules and other important items expats may need to know are published in the bulletins. There is an updated fee schedule from 5 Jul 2024:

BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA - DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONES - Decreto 584/2024

BOLETIN OFICIAL REPUBLICA ARGENTINA - DIRECCIÓN NACIONAL DE MIGRACIONES - Decreto 584/2024 - DECTO-2024-584-APN-PTE - Tasas retributivas de servicios.

www.boletinoficial.gob.ar

It's very easy to stay in Argentina or extend your tourist visa. You can read this thread below @LifeOnLead. The search function on this website also works great if you want to look stuff up.

Extending a Tourist Visa in Buenos Aires to be a permanent-tourist in Argentina

I saw another thread about over staying your tourist visa. I along with many of my friends have over stayed many times or did border runs. I never had any issues. You can read this great website with tons of information and addresses. https://inlovelyblue.com/extend-argentina-tourist-visa/

www.expatsba.com

 

[StatusNomadicus]

I deal with the same thing on a smaller scale even buying fruits or veggies at the local corner store.

no prices shown at any store means i won't buy anything - too many places to shop in a big city to support those wankers who can't be bothered (prices haven't changed much in the past few months, no excuse to not label things now)

If a native poor Argentine can scam you to make a little extra money while still charging you ok less than 20 percent what you would pay anywhere else in the world ...

I congratulate them. I applaud them. I wish them the best

ah good, another dumbass commie to add to my Mute list. go f*ck yourself and your victimhood-marxist-bullshit worldview. feel free to never come back to this forum - no one likes you, and you add nothing but stupidity @BikeEnthusiast - hopefully you get scammed the rest of your life by other racists and fake "victims"

2nd week of October)

sorry the price went up, real or not, it was the accurate online price when i extended around Feb2024 in CABA. if you end up wanting to get Residency or Citizenship down the road, i'm not on this forum as much anymore, but i'll be your point-of-contact in Mendoza (not sure if anyone else here is in Mendoza Province - most are in BsAs)