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Red Tape and Visas |
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Citizens of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa,
Britain, Ireland and other Western European nations do not need a visa
for tourist trips of up to ninety days - which can be extended by a
further sixty days - at the time of going to press, but always verify
this in advance with your local consulate, as the situation can change.
You will need a valid passport and will have to fill in a landing card
on arrival and you will be given a stamp for stays of thirty, sixty or
ninety days. Staple your duplicate of the landing card into your
passport, next to your entrance stamp, as you'll need it to leave the
country and police may check it. If you do lose it, it's rarely a
serious problem, but you'll have to fill in a new form at the border
control. On entering the country, you will also be given a customs
declaration form . Duty is not charged on used personal effects, books,
and other articles for non-commercial purposes, up to the value of $300.
Make sure you declare any valuable electronic items such as laptop
computers, as customs officers can be suspicious that you may be
bringing them into the country to sell.
You can extend your stay for a further sixty days by presenting your
passport to the main immigration department: Dirección de Migraciones ,
at Av. Antártida Argentina 1350, Retiro, in Buenos Aires (tel 011/4312
3288 or 4311 4118).
Alternatively, you could try leaving the country (best to do so for at
least 24 hours, perhaps by making the short hop to Colonia del
Sacramento) and returning to get a fresh stamp. This usually works, but
is frowned upon if done repeatedly, and the provision of an extra stamp
is totally at the discretion of the border guards. Some people manage to
stay for a year on tourist visas alone, by using a combination of these
brief trips abroad and extensions ( prórrogas ).
When leaving the country, you must obtain an exit stamp . At certain
controls (particularly in the north of the country, where there is a lot
of cross-border Mercosur traffic), it is often up to you to ensure that
the bus driver stops and waits while you get this - otherwise drivers
may not stop, assuming that all passengers are Mercosur nationals, who
don't need stamps. Not getting your proper stamps will leave you facing
fines and considerable hassle later on in your trip. Be aware that in
some places (for example, Clorinda), your Argentine exit stamp is
actually given on the far side of the border, but check this with the
driver.
Visas for work or study (both valid for a maximum of twelve months) must
be obtained in advance from your consulate. Students will first need to
obtain a letter from their proposed place of study, which offers a place
on a course and has been legalized by the Argentine Ministry of
Education. This must be presented to your respective consulate, along
with medical and birth certificates and three photos. The visa costs
approximately $100, plus around $50 for additional paperwork fees (processed
in approximately a week). For a working visa , you can either get your
prospective company to approach immigration in Argentina with the
contract and arrange for an entrance permit to be sent to your
respective consulate, or take your work contract, authorized by an
Argentinian public notary, to the consulate yourself and the consulate
will obtain the work permit from Buenos Aires. Expect the process to
take at least a month. Work permits cost $200, and the visa itself
another $100. Both student and working visas can be extended only in the
Dirección de Migraciones.
Visitors are legally obliged to carry their passports as ID . You might
get away with carrying a photocopy, but don't forget to copy your
entrance stamp and landing card as well. In the majority of cases, this
is acceptable to police, but getting a copy certified by a public notary
increases its credibility. |
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