Visa Reciprocity fee to start December 20, 2009
 

The US Embassy has confirmed, that beginning December 20, 2009, US citizens entering Argentina only at EZE, will be charged a reciprocity/visa fee of US$131 upon entry. The visa will be good for multiple entries, and valid for 10 years. (Note the Argentine government is not calling this a "visa", merely a reciprocity fee).

This confirms the information that was posted on the web site of the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones today.

http://www.migraciones.gov.ar/

In addition, Canadian citizens will be charged US$70 for a single entry visa, and Australians US$100. Payment can be in Argentine pesos, US dollars, by credit card, or by traveller's check (at the current exchange rate if paying in other than with a US$-denominated instrument).

This is the culmination of a new law that was passed some time ago, but had not been implemented until now:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/argen...ee-likely.html

Note, there is currently no ATM prior to immigration (although this may change), so travelers will need to have the appropriate form of payment handy.

John

The good news is that its valid for 10 years.....

Great move to boost tourism! (Sarcasm.)

I myself have shunned the rest of Latin America for these ridiculous fees. Sad that Argentina has jumped on their ship. So, fly to MVD first and then Buquebus-it across the river.

Valid for 10 years, or valid for up to 10 years if in the unlikely position of arriving into Argentina on the day a US passport is issued?

If this functions in the manner of Chile's visa reciprocity fee for US citizens, it will almost never be valid for 10 years.

This is the text of the email message from the US Embassy in BsAs:

Airport Entry Fee
December 11, 2009

This warden message is being issued to alert U.S. citizens that on December 20, 2009, the Government of Argentina will begin charging American Citizens visiting Argentina for business or tourism an entry fee of $131 U.S. dollars. The fee will be collected only at Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport. Once paid, the fee permits multiple entries into Argentina for ten years in accordance with United States visa reciprocity. Americans may pay in dollars, by credit card, or with travelers checks.

U.S. citizens may also call the Office of Overseas Citizens Services in the U.S. for the latest travel information. The Office of Overseas Citizens Services can be reached from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time, M-F, at 1-888-407-4747, or if calling from outside the U.S., at (202)-501-4444. For any emergencies involving American citizens, please contact the American Citizens Services (ACS) Unit of the U.S. Embassy’s Consular Section, located at 4300 Avenida Colombia, 1425 Buenos Aires;
telephone+54-11-5777-4354; after hours emergency telephone +54-11-5777-4873; ACS unit fax +54-11-5777-4293; e-mail [email protected]; web page http://argentina.usembassy.gov.

Americans living or traveling in Argentina are encouraged to register with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate through the State Department’s travel registration website, https://travelregistration.state.gov/ibrs/ui so that they can obtain updated information on travel and security within Argentina. Americans without internet access may register directly with the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

This email is UNCLASSIFIED.

Airside transit at EZE is a possibility, but even then how likely is it that the combined cost of an EZE-MVD flight + ground transport costs to Buenos Aires is going to be much cheaper than simply paying the visa recirpocity fee + ground transport costs to the center of the city?

Given the cost in time and money of going via MVD instead of just to EZE, I just don't see this being a very good option.

This will too often be yet another collection of long lines to make a lousy impression upon visitors.

.......s. My passport expires in 2011, and I'll be there in 3 weeks.

Lucky to dodge this though my partner would have just used her other passport.

On our recent 2 week jaunt around Argentina, our casual and random observation was that outside of Buenos Aires, there appeared to be be scant few tourists from the affected countries anyway, and most of whom we saw were from the European Union and Switzerland. In Bs As, I would say most of the non-domestic tourists we saw were from latin countries of the Americas.

That's pretty much reflective of the destinations there. But on a per day expenditure basis, I would be surprised if the average US citizen visiting Argentina spends less money on a per day basis there than the average EU citizen visiting Argentina.

So speaking of the visa reciprocity fee and the validity of its duration:

Sorry to hear that in your case this may -- if it works out like Chile -- be valid for less than even 3 years.

Well, fortunately my Chile one is 8 years old and has gotten a lot of use, and will again in a couple weeks. Unfortunately, the timing is going to be an Argentina fee in a few weeks and then an Argentina and a Chile fee in 2011.

Even if your passport expires, why cant you use the still valid Argentina stamp and the new valid passport....???? The same does work with a US Visa in a no longer valid Argentina passport.

Let's see if it's actually implemented this time. When the fee was first announced a firm implementation date was set for January 1 2009 but it never happened. Christina does have problems with decision-making - she couldn't even decide whether the clocks were going forward an hour for summer until a couple of days before :D I guess it's more likely this time round though given the information on the migraciones and US Embassy websites.

Wow.... more than 100 hits to this thread in a few hours... this must be a record for this forum... :D ^

But this isn't a visa. If it works like Chile, it is a "life of the passport" receipt. So, anyone wanting to visit the A/B/C countries for the first time on the same trip will now encounter $393 per person in fees.