Permanently overstaying in Argentina because we can't afford to live in the United States

[agua]

My husband and I are both in the early 60s and we would like to wait another 2-3 years before we start drawing from our US social security. We are very seriously considering coming to Argentina as tourists and just overstaying and living in Argentina illegally.

Once we start taking our security security payments we cannot afford to live in the United States. Even in Argentina we are not sure if our income will be enough for official penssionado visa. We should have enough for now to be in Argentina for about 2-3 years just using our savings until we start drawing on our social security payments.

We would like to know what kind of trouble will we get ourselves if we just basically overstay permanently but without any official residency. Be would just enter on tourist visas as we heard no visa is needed as Americans. It looks like it would be better to just stay and not even do border runs so we do not bring any attention to ourselves. So what is the possibility of getting caught or deported? What are our chances of getting pension visa if we overstay 2-3 years?

We don't want to break the law but we read it is very difficult with paperwork to get residency in Argentina. We don't have the money to pay an attorney and we don't speak Spanish. Help.

 

[Betsy Ross]

My husband and I are both in the early 60s and we would like to wait another 2-3 years before we start drawing from our US social security. We are very seriously considering coming to Argentina as tourists and just overstaying and living in Argentina illegally.

Once we start taking our security security payments we cannot afford to live in the United States. Even in Argentina we are not sure if our income will be enough for official penssionado visa. We should have enough for now to be in Argentina for about 2-3 years just using our savings until we start drawing on our social security payments.

We would like to know what kind of trouble will we get ourselves if we just basically overstay permanently but without any official residency. Be would just enter on tourist visas as we heard no visa is needed as Americans. It looks like it would be better to just stay and not even do border runs so we do not bring any attention to ourselves. So what is the possibility of getting caught or deported? What are our chances of getting pension visa if we overstay 2-3 years?

We don't want to break the law but we read it is very difficult with paperwork to get residency in Argentina. We don't have the money to pay an attorney and we don't speak Spanish. Help.

Sorry to hear about your dilemma. That is one that I believe many Americans will face in the future. You may want to do some searches on this forum. There are a lot of posts about overstaying and the pension visa. I never think it is a good idea to stay in a country illegally. Argentina is probably the easiest country in the world to stay in and live for long periods of time.

You should be ok staying here without leaving. Currently you can just pay an overstay fee. But you really should look into getting the pension visa once you qualify. That is better if you plan to be here for the foreseeable future.

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[James Bond]

My husband and I are both in the early 60s and we would like to wait another 2-3 years before we start drawing from our US social security. We are very seriously considering coming to Argentina as tourists and just overstaying and living in Argentina illegally.

Once we start taking our security security payments we cannot afford to live in the United States. Even in Argentina we are not sure if our income will be enough for official penssionado visa. We should have enough for now to be in Argentina for about 2-3 years just using our savings until we start drawing on our social security payments.

We would like to know what kind of trouble will we get ourselves if we just basically overstay permanently but without any official residency. Be would just enter on tourist visas as we heard no visa is needed as Americans. It looks like it would be better to just stay and not even do border runs so we do not bring any attention to ourselves. So what is the possibility of getting caught or deported? What are our chances of getting pension visa if we overstay 2-3 years?

We don't want to break the law but we read it is very difficult with paperwork to get residency in Argentina. We don't have the money to pay an attorney and we don't speak Spanish. Help.

Have you been to Argentina recently? Have you been here before? There are much cheaper places in the world to live vs. Argentina. Many locals as well as expats are leaving Argentina now not entering. Inflation has been punishing and it isn't cheap like it was last year. And reality is prices can go up much higher.

If you do go, look at smaller towns and stay away from Buenos Aires as it is much more expensive. There are many towns that have a lower cost of living. Argentina is a great country but just keep in mind it isn't affordable like it was before. But compared to the States yes it is still a bargain.

You shouldn't have any issues overstaying your tourist visa. Many people have been living here for years and just pay the overstay fee when they exit. I know friends that have been doing this for 15 years. No issues.

 

[Wally]

How much will your SS payments be @agua? The bar is very low right now. That could change in the future. The government could make the minimum much higher than now. It is very low right now so you might want to start taking it and applying. But I get you wanting to wait a few years so your payments are higher.

You shouldn't have any issues overstaying. There are constant rumors with each new President that they will make it more difficult but that has never happened. I doubt the government cares much about that. They have a fairly open border policy with Mercosur nations so I don't think they will care about retired Americans living in Argentina. Good luck.

 

[agua]

Thank you everyone! I will use the search feature and read some older posts. That is helpful. Many of our friends are in a similar situation. We have not been to Argentina before which may sound ridiculous but we have researched potential places and either they are too expensive to qualify for a retirement visa or dangerous or we don't think we would fit in well. From friends that have traveled around the world they told us Argentina would be a good option.

Our nephew stayed in Argentina for 2 years during the covid epidemic and got stuck there. He told us how great the country is and that it is very easy to overstay and the government does not care.

Have you been to Argentina recently? Have you been here before? There are much cheaper places in the world to live vs. Argentina. Many locals as well as expats are leaving Argentina now not entering. Inflation has been punishing and it isn't cheap like it was last year. And reality is prices can go up much higher.

If you do go, look at smaller towns and stay away from Buenos Aires as it is much more expensive. There are many towns that have a lower cost of living. Argentina is a great country but just keep in mind it isn't affordable like it was before. But compared to the States yes it is still a bargain.

You shouldn't have any issues overstaying your tourist visa. Many people have been living here for years and just pay the overstay fee when they exit. I know friends that have been doing this for 15 years. No issues.

It is a relief to know we won't get into any legal issues. We don't want to get extorted by anyone and our nephew said that many of his friends overstayed and lived in BA for a long time and just pay an overstay fee. We don't plan to travel one we arrive because of our very limited budget.

We did read about the increase in prices but we read that there are towns in rural areas that are affordable. We don't need anything fancy. Just a clean roof over our heads and 3 meals a day. If the local salaries are low we figure we can fit in. We heard Mendoza might be a good option. I saw some posts on Youtube about an American family that moved to that area and enjoy it.

How much will your SS payments be @agua? The bar is very low right now. That could change in the future. The government could make the minimum much higher than now. It is very low right now so you might want to start taking it and applying. But I get you wanting to wait a few years so your payments are higher.

You shouldn't have any issues overstaying. There are constant rumors with each new President that they will make it more difficult but that has never happened. I doubt the government cares much about that. They have a fairly open border policy with Mercosur nations so I don't think they will care about retired Americans living in Argentina. Good luck.

If we wait 2 more years my husband's SS payment will be about $1,975 dollars/month. Mine should be about $1,750 per month. We can't do anything with that anywhere in the US. It has gotten expensive here. And the costs here keep going up. Is that enough to live in Argentina? We can't afford to buy a place so we will be stuck renting but I think we can save up enough to pay 1 year ahead of time on the rent. We read most people will ask that. Hopefully after that they will trust us enough to pay month to month because it would be difficult to prepay a year up front. We will count on each and every dollar we get from social security.

I don't think we will pay for healthcare since I read it is expensive now. We will cross our fingers nothing happens to us.

We do want to try to get our pension visa there. We read some information on this website.

Argentina Retirement Visa: The Ultimate Guide 2024

Plan your golden years in Argentina with confidence using our ultimate 2024 guide to the Retirement Visa. Discover eligibility, requirements, benefits, and expert insights to make your retirement dream in Argentina a reality.

goldenharbors.com

Thank you all for the information.

 

[JonJLA]

Thank you everyone! I will use the search feature and read some older posts. That is helpful. Many of our friends are in a similar situation. We have not been to Argentina before which may sound ridiculous but we have researched potential places and either they are too expensive to qualify for a retirement visa or dangerous or we don't think we would fit in well. From friends that have traveled around the world they told us Argentina would be a good option.

Our nephew stayed in Argentina for 2 years during the covid epidemic and got stuck there. He told us how great the country is and that it is very easy to overstay and the government does not care.


It is a relief to know we won't get into any legal issues. We don't want to get extorted by anyone and our nephew said that many of his friends overstayed and lived in BA for a long time and just pay an overstay fee. We don't plan to travel one we arrive because of our very limited budget.

We did read about the increase in prices but we read that there are towns in rural areas that are affordable. We don't need anything fancy. Just a clean roof over our heads and 3 meals a day. If the local salaries are low we figure we can fit in. We heard Mendoza might be a good option. I saw some posts on Youtube about an American family that moved to that area and enjoy it.


If we wait 2 more years my husband's SS payment will be about $1,975 dollars/month. Mine should be about $1,750 per month. We can't do anything with that anywhere in the US. It has gotten expensive here. And the costs here keep going up. Is that enough to live in Argentina? We can't afford to buy a place so we will be stuck renting but I think we can save up enough to pay 1 year ahead of time on the rent. We read most people will ask that. Hopefully after that they will trust us enough to pay month to month because it would be difficult to prepay a year up front. We will count on each and every dollar we get from social security.

I don't think we will pay for healthcare since I read it is expensive now. We will cross our fingers nothing happens to us.

We do want to try to get our pension visa there. We read some information on this website.

Argentina Retirement Visa: The Ultimate Guide 2024

Plan your golden years in Argentina with confidence using our ultimate 2024 guide to the Retirement Visa. Discover eligibility, requirements, benefits, and expert insights to make your retirement dream in Argentina a reality.

goldenharbors.com

Thank you all for the information.

That is plenty of money to live well in Argentina between the two of you. Even in Buenos Aires which is the most expensive city in Argentina you can get by on $3,725 USD per month. Easily.

 

[Digital Nomad]

That is plenty of money to live well in Argentina between the two of you. Even in Buenos Aires which is the most expensive city in Argentina you can get by on $3,725 USD per month. Easily.

Agree with Jon. That is a lot of money for Argentina. It is much cheaper outside of BA. But even in BA if you don't have any kids that is a healthy budget. I think many Americans will be in the same situation as you are. I have some relatives that are in the same spot and not sure how they will make it in the United States. It's getting too expensive. The dollar doesn't go too far here but in Argentina you can live ok if you're not going out to eat all the time. Groceries are cheaper in Argentina vs back home except a few things.

 

[Larry]

My husband and I are both in the early 60s and we would like to wait another 2-3 years before we start drawing from our US social security. We are very seriously considering coming to Argentina as tourists and just overstaying and living in Argentina illegally.

Once we start taking our security security payments we cannot afford to live in the United States. Even in Argentina we are not sure if our income will be enough for official penssionado visa. We should have enough for now to be in Argentina for about 2-3 years just using our savings until we start drawing on our social security payments.

We would like to know what kind of trouble will we get ourselves if we just basically overstay permanently but without any official residency. Be would just enter on tourist visas as we heard no visa is needed as Americans. It looks like it would be better to just stay and not even do border runs so we do not bring any attention to ourselves. So what is the possibility of getting caught or deported? What are our chances of getting pension visa if we overstay 2-3 years?

We don't want to break the law but we read it is very difficult with paperwork to get residency in Argentina. We don't have the money to pay an attorney and we don't speak Spanish. Help.

You should take a trip here before deciding to move here. It is never a good idea to just uproot and move to another country never even visiting. Argentina is not affordable. Are you reading the reports on how expensive it is getting? Take an exploratory trip first to see if you like it.

 

[Betsy Ross]

You should take a trip here before deciding to move here. It is never a good idea to just uproot and move to another country never even visiting. Argentina is not affordable. Are you reading the reports on how expensive it is getting? Take an exploratory trip first to see if you like it.

I think it's a good idea to make a visit first before moving anywhere. While some things are expensive it's all subjective and depends where you are moving from. Argentina is going to be at least half the cost of almost anywhere in the USA for things like rent, and utilities. It's not fair to say everything is as expensive as the States. Some things yes.

 

[agua]

I think it's a good idea to make a visit first before moving anywhere. While some things are expensive it's all subjective and depends where you are moving from. Argentina is going to be at least half the cost of almost anywhere in the USA for things like rent, and utilities. It's not fair to say everything is as expensive as the States. Some things yes.

We do plan to make an initial trip but our problem is funds are tight and we don't have a lot of savings for airfare and plane tickets. I was shocked with how much it was for tickets. Mexico is also a considering for us. It is much closer to the States which would be easy if we need to visit our kids. We ruled it off our list as it got expensive but now the dollar is going up again but we worry about violence and crime.

Our nephew who we trust knows us well and assures us we will like it. We did see inflation has been very high but from our research it is slowing down. Rentals are very affordable. We will try to come in March but it will be a one way ticket. It will have to work because I don't think we will want to spend money traveling around. Until we get our social security payments things will be tight.

 

[Uncle Wong]

We do plan to make an initial trip but our problem is funds are tight and we don't have a lot of savings for airfare and plane tickets. I was shocked with how much it was for tickets. Mexico is also a considering for us. It is much closer to the States which would be easy if we need to visit our kids. We ruled it off our list as it got expensive but now the dollar is going up again but we worry about violence and crime.

Our nephew who we trust knows us well and assures us we will like it. We did see inflation has been very high but from our research it is slowing down. Rentals are very affordable. We will try to come in March but it will be a one way ticket. It will have to work because I don't think we will want to spend money traveling around. Until we get our social security payments things will be tight.

Mexico is getting cheaper by the day! The peso is devaluating there after the new president got elected. Agree Mexico is easy as it is so close to the USA.

 

[import export]

We do plan to make an initial trip but our problem is funds are tight and we don't have a lot of savings for airfare and plane tickets. I was shocked with how much it was for tickets. Mexico is also a considering for us. It is much closer to the States which would be easy if we need to visit our kids. We ruled it off our list as it got expensive but now the dollar is going up again but we worry about violence and crime.

Our nephew who we trust knows us well and assures us we will like it. We did see inflation has been very high but from our research it is slowing down. Rentals are very affordable. We will try to come in March but it will be a one way ticket. It will have to work because I don't think we will want to spend money traveling around. Until we get our social security payments things will be tight.

You should be ok overstaying and then applying once you are eligible. You should be ok on applying even waiting a few years. It is typically 5 X the minimum wage in Argentina so you both should qualify when you are ready in a few years.