Tourist Visa
If you're just coming to Argentina for a visit then it is very easy as citizens from most countries do not require visas, all you have to do is provide a valid passport. However, there is an entry fee for some countries such as the USA, the fee is USD140, although once you've paid this it is valid for 10 years. The term for a tourist visa is 90 days, and if you plan to stay in Argentina for longer it is quite straightforward to renew your tourist visa by leaving the country and re-entering. The easiest and quickest way from Buenos Aires is by crossing the Rio de la Plata to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay with BuqueBus, which provides ferries across the river and can all be done in one day.
Some places to keep in mind for a long weekend or short break are: Montevideo and Punta del Este for some incredible beaches in Uruguay; Foz do Iguaçu in Brazil to see the amazing waterfalls; The Andes which borders with Chile.
If you want to work as an Engish teacher, you will find many institutes who will give you classes to teach and not require a visa, they pay cash in hand. This is because the process for foreigners to get residency and working visas is quite long and arduous, and by the time they get them foreigners are usually ready to go home. Therefore institutes have become more flexible. They pay a rate calculated with the tax they pay for you to the government, so this is not illegal.
Temporary Residence (2 Years)
If you are quite intent on staying in Argentina for a long time, then it will be worth your while to apply for residency. This is a long process which involves a lot of queueing up and going to many different offices in the early hours, but once you have this it opens a lot of doors. These are the requirements for a non-mercosur citizen for a working visa.
- Identidad (form of identification, typically passport)
- Certificado de Antecedentes Penales Argentinos (criminal background check from Argentina)
- Certificado de Carencia de Antecedentes Penales (criminal background check from your home country)
- Declaracion Jurada
- Ingreso (the visa stamp in your passport when you last entered the country)
- Certificado de Domicilio o Factura de Servicio Publico a su nombre (certificate proving where you live, or a bill in your name)
- Dos Fotos (two 4cm x 4cm passport photographs)
- Tasa de Radicacion no Mercosur (Fee for non-mercosur citizens) - AR$600
The certificate to get first is the Criminal Background check from your home country or the previous country where you resided for more than 3 years, because it takes longer to get. You should be able to get this by post and with help from family members or friends in your home country. Ensure the certificate you apply for can be used to apply for a visa abroad. For example, in the UK you have to contact your local Police station to send you a form for you to fill in that requests any information the Police hold on you on the National database, if any information at all. Within 40 days they send a certificate to the UK address you state on the form.
Once this is done you have to get this certificate legalised or apostilled because it is for use in another country. This means sending the same certificate to the Foreign Office, the FCO in Milton Keynes in the UK. This should only take 2-5 days to receive back by regular post or by courier. Check that your country is part of the Hague Convention 1961, if it is then the certificate is ready, if not then the certificate must be presented and stamped in the Consulate representing Argentina in your home country.
With this done have the certificate posted to you in Argentina, prefereably tracked or to be signed for so it doesn't get lost in transit. Now, because the certificate is in a foreign language you need to get it translated by a Ceritified Public Translator in Argentina, unfortunately you can't ask a local friend to do it for you! You can easily find a Public Translator by searching Google or Mercado Libre. The cost is usually AR$100 per page, and your certificate will be 2 pages minimum (certificate and apostille) so AR$200 is roughly what you're looking at.
The final step is to get the translation of the document legalised, to make sure the person who translated the document is who s/he says s/he is. This requires you to go to the Colegio de Traductores Públicos on Avenida Corrientes 1834 with your certificate and request a legalisación. You can request this to be done urgente for $80 or to pick up in 24 hours for $75.
Once this is done you'll be thankful to know that this certificate is finally ready to be rpesented at migraciones! Be aware that Argentina places a period of validity of 1 year on these certificates, furthermore you must apply for residency within 1 year of leaving your home country, or the previous country where you resided for more than 3 years.
Certificado de Antecedentes Penales Argentinos (criminal background check from Argentina)
The place to get this is the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia, which is located on Tucumán 1353. This office opens at around 07:15 and gets filled with people very quickly, so it is advisable to start queueing at around 06:00. Take your passport and a photocopy of your passport photo page, and make sure it is valid, if not you will be turned away. Take a pen also as you have to fill in a form upon arrival. There are 3 prices to choose from, depending on how urgently you need the certificate: 6 hours AR$80, 24 hours AR$55 and in 5 working days AR$30.
So, you pay the price you want to pay, get ALL of your fingerprints digitally printed, and then receive a slip to collect your certificate when it is ready. Luckily this certificate doesn't have to be legalised or anything, but bear in mind that it is valid for 3 months, so make sure you get an appointment at migraciones within this timescale.
Certificado de Domicilio
Since you need a DNI (National Identity Card) to have any form of contract with a company that provides services, the thing you will have to do is request a certificado de domoicilio which can be obtained by visiting your local Police Station; it has to be the comiseria that covers the area where you live. Go there with your passport and AR$10 to ask request this certificate. A policeman then goes to the address where you said you live to give you the certificate, to make sure you actually live there, within 1 to 3 days later. Make sure to request this not too far in advance of your appointment at migraciones as it has only 10 days of validity.
Identidad
This is your passport. Make sure it is valid and have a photocopy made of every single page on A4 paper; one double-page on your passport on one A4 sheet.
Ingreso
This is the last stamp you got in your passport when you entered Argentina.
Fotos
Take at least two photos which are 4cm x 4cm and include your head and shoulders, one of just your head will not do.
Declaracion Jurada
This is completed at Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM) by the agent confirming all your documentation is correct.
Tasa de Radicacion no Mercosur
The fee for a 2-year temporary residency visa for a non-mercosur citizen is AR$600, and for a DNI (National Identity Card) it's AR$30 on top of that.
Getting your appointment
This is done online, click here and fill in the form, you need the number on your Certificado de Antecedentes Argentinos so you will have to get this first. You should be able to get an appointment in a little over a week. Make sure you have all the documentation above before you go.
Types of Residence
Once you have completed all of the steps above that's not all...you have to decide what type of residence you require! There are 14 different types of residency, of which the most common are: migrant worker, student, homeowner, pensioner, academic.
For a migrant worker visa you will need help from the company you are working for or are planning to work for. You will need:
Pre-contract of employment: this is a contract of employment from the company who is employing you, there is a strict guideline to follow on how the pre-contract must look, click here for the guidelines. The company has to formally offer you a job stating amount of compensation
Your employer or a representative of your employer must accompany you to DNM on your appointment date and sign the pre-contract in front of an agent.
Certificate of the company's registration with AFIP (constancia de inscripción ante AFIP): the company will know what this is and how to get a copy of the certificate to show they are registered with AFIP (Argentina's head tax office).
Certificate of the company's registration with DNM to employ foreigners (constancia de inscripción en el Registro Unico de Requirentes de Extranjeros en DNM): the company must apply to DNM to prove they require to employ foreigners in their line of work. Ensure this certificate is up-to-date otherwise it could take a week longer to get it done after your appointment.
Once you have done all of this you will be given a Notification to give to your employer to present their documentación constancia de alta temprana within 30 days of the date of your appointment.
Click here for all the information on applying for a migrant worker's visa in Spanish.
Permanent Residence
In order to do this you have to first have applied for the Temporary Residence and it has to have expired or be close to expiry. The procedure that you have to go through is the same as above.
For more information on visa requirements check out this site
