Argentina Increases Immigration Fees
As many of you already know, the Argentine government in late March increased a range of immigration and travel fees paid by foreigners who visit the country as tourists or live in it as expats.
Some of you have noticed the higher, 300-peso fee now charged for 90-day tourist visa renewals. Renewing the 90-day tourist visa used to cost a mere 50 pesos. For Mercosur citizens the renewal now costs 100 pesos. (You can see some expat reaction to the new fees over at Discover Buenos Aires.)
The new fees, which were published in the Official Bulletin on March 26 and can be seen here in detail (in Spanish), also include a new 1,000-peso fee for getting authorization to change a tourist visa into a work visa.
Renewing a temporary residency visa now costs 600 pesos for non-Mercosur citizens and 300 pesos for Mercosur citizens. The same fees apply to people seeking permanent residency.
Permanent residency isn’t really all that permanent, however, in some cases. It can expire if you remain outside Argentina for two years. But immigration officials say that in this case, residency can be extended through Argentine consulates overseas.
Finally, reports have appeared in numerous online forums and in emails to The Argentine Post claiming that anyone who repeatedly overextends their visa or fails to pay the appropriate fees will be banned from reentering the country. Immigration officials say this is not the case.
“This was just a decree updating immigratrion fees,” said Hugo Moujan, a spokesman for the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones.
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Thanks for the update, Taos!
My pleasure, Maya.
[...] Durero a Picasso. Cinco siglos de grabado” (From Dürer to Picasso. Five Centuries of engra… Argentina Increases Immigration Fees[The Argentine Post] As many of you already know, the Argentine government in late March increased a [...]
The fees were artificially low for years. $300 pesos is around $90 U$D at the current exchange rates, which is not a hefty price to pay for esentially breaking the law. As lax as the laws may be here regarding tourist visa renewals, the law is still the law and any person visiting a foreign country should be respectful of that government´s laws. Most people who come to Buenos Aires enjoy themselves immensely in all kinds of ways (cheap alcohol, plentiful food, interesting culture and art scene, architecture, sexy men/women everywhere) all at a very low cost, therefore it is only fair that people follow the rules and those who don’t should and are required to pay something additional. In terms of work visas, the companies who arrange those for their employees should be paying the $1000 peso tab, as they are enjoying a huge cost savings by employing overseas employees and paying their salaries in Argentine pesos. For example, a mid-level computer programmer with about 5 years professional experience in Buenos Aires is paid an average salary of $4,000 pesos per month (which translates to about $1,080 U$D). The same position in a major US city would pay an average of $5,000 U$D per month. You can see how much the employer is saving in salary EACH MONTH, so an extra $1,000 pesos is not a big deal for the employer.
Anyone know if you can pay the visa fine at the port in Retiro or Tigre, instead of at the airport? Thanks.
It is cheaper to cross over to chile and re enter with a new visa if you are in Mendoza or in the Cuyo area or you can cross to Carmelo from Tigre if you are in BA – than paying that fee….
How’s the employment scene in Argentina?
What kind of ‘high-tech’ employment is available (if any)?
What conditions are there to starting/relocating a business?
Is there any Gov/private support for entrepreneurs whose businesses could provide emploment?
What is the Internet situation like (Broadband with at least 1mps download access)?