Visas Student visa requirements

[EliasArg]

Hello all,

I'm going to apply a student visa inside Argentina.

There are some requirements that I'm not sure if understand it correctly. Hope someone with experience here could give me some ideas.

1. It says on the website that "Certificados Analíticos, Títulos obtenidos y toda documentación académica legalizada y apostillada".
It means that I need both of the documents or just one of them?
If just one of them, I suppose it's better to provide Certificados analiticos?

2. Since my documents are not in Spanish, which I'll have them translated by "private" translators and later legalized and apostilled by the government. In this case, would it still match the requirement "En caso de tener documentación emitida en idiomas diferentes al español, deben ser acompañados de una traducción oficial"? As the translation is certificated and legalized?



I've been checking on all threads, some of them are very useful (thanks for all the expats)!
Thus I appreciate any experience sharing for the above!

Thanks!

 

[MikeDos]

My understanding from talking to local universities is that it's both your diploma and transcript that get apostilled, translated, and certified.

The translator has to be an official translator, so you'd have them apostilled first in your home country, then translated by the official translator, then certified in Argentina. (Links to official translators, depending on your geography: https://cnyor.cancilleria.gob.ar/es/node/2827)

 

[earlyretirement]

I don't know if it's the same but 21+ years ago when I first came to Argentina, I wanted to enter in on a student visa as I didn't want to be a "perma-tourist". I wanted to do everything legally. The student visa was fairly easy. Yes, I had to get my high school transcript and my University Transcript. I had to get an official translation (although there are tons of places now you can get it online that will email it to you notarized). Then I just sent them in to the State Department (https://www.sos.ca.gov/notary/request-apostille ) And sent in a self-addressed paid overnight envelope back. It took about 3 weeks to get it back. Super slow in California. But it was super easy after that.

Then after that I got my DNI and then renewed 2 more years to get permanent residency.

 

[RealLit]

I have applied to both graduate and undergraduate programs here in BA within the past two years.

For Graduate school, it depends on the school. When I studied at UNA I had both my BFA diploma and my transcript apostilled in the USA ( I am from the USA) , translated here in BA and then certified. The University did not require me to have these documents verified by the Ministry, they merely suggested it. I was accepted to the university, I attended the program and I had no trouble getting my student Visa. ( I did have a lawyer help me with this process for the Visa as the school does not provide this service).

For Undergraduate I applied to UNTREF.

You are required to have your High School Diploma, the physical diploma. I had a very difficult time with this ( I graduated in 1996 and have no idea where this diploma is). You must have the diploma apostilled in your home country. Then you must have it translated here and the translation must be official and certified. After this you must present this diploma to the Ministry of Education for them to verify it. I tried to do this with just my high school transcript (no diploma) and it was not accepted by the Ministry.

Needless to say I did not attend the undergraduate program as the school would not accept me without the verification from the Ministry of education.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

@RealLit and @EliasArg any findings for 2024? i can't find anyone, Migraciones or University of Belgrano or otherwise, who can answer this question:

do i need to have a declared Degree Program for a 1-year student visa? i am interested in taking one class at a time at UB in its "PALAS" selection. is there a need to be accepted into a Bachelor/Master degree, or can i just take single courses every semester? a minimum of credits for student visas?

i was trying to find out how hard it would be to get a student visa here, to link these threads: https://www.expatsba.com/threads/un...ht-in-english-are-there-any-in-bsas-2024.217/

 

[StatusNomadicus]

@BowTiedGypsy once you register here, i still have no info on the specifics of 1-year temporary residency via Student Visas. via email, Migraciones was kind enough to respond with a link, but i've been unable to get them to give specific information about what is required. the site and text are:

Obtener una residencia temporaria como estudiante

Regulado en el artículo 23 inciso j) de la Ley N° 25.871, reglamentada por el Decreto N° 616/2010 y Disposición 2.802/2023.

www.argentina.gob.ar

"Requirements to prove the status of temporary student. According to your category you must present: Full career student of the official education system: Who is enrolled as a regular student in a public or private educational establishment belonging to the official education system, in order to pursue officially recognized studies at the secondary, tertiary level, university or postgraduate. Electronic Registration Constancy" (google-translated)

so, questions not quite answered:

1. is a university acceptance enough, or do you need to show an actual declared/approve Degree Program? ("full career student" is pretty vague)
2. is taking 1 class per semester enough? "a regular student" might mean something very specific in Argentine law.
3. has anyone actually done this, other than @earlyretirement 20 years ago? (no doubt the laws and visa stuff has changed). if anyone has a blog or reference for someone who recently got approved (preferably from the USA) into an Argentina university (i'm aiming at University of Belgrano, for English-taught classes like the PALAS program), i'm interested and will document it all for the next people

 

[EliasArg]

@BowTiedGypsy once you register here, i still have no info on the specifics of 1-year temporary residency via Student Visas. via email, Migraciones was kind enough to respond with a link, but i've been unable to get them to give specific information about what is required. the site and text are:

Obtener una residencia temporaria como estudiante

Regulado en el artículo 23 inciso j) de la Ley N° 25.871, reglamentada por el Decreto N° 616/2010 y Disposición 2.802/2023.

www.argentina.gob.ar

"Requirements to prove the status of temporary student. According to your category you must present: Full career student of the official education system: Who is enrolled as a regular student in a public or private educational establishment belonging to the official education system, in order to pursue officially recognized studies at the secondary, tertiary level, university or postgraduate. Electronic Registration Constancy" (google-translated)

so, questions not quite answered:

1. is a university acceptance enough, or do you need to show an actual declared/approve Degree Program? ("full career student" is pretty vague)
2. is taking 1 class per semester enough? "a regular student" might mean something very specific in Argentine law.
3. has anyone actually done this, other than @earlyretirement 20 years ago? (no doubt the laws and visa stuff has changed). if anyone has a blog or reference for someone who recently got approved (preferably from the USA) into an Argentina university (i'm aiming at University of Belgrano, for English-taught classes like the PALAS program), i'm interested and will document it all for the next people

I found something similar for 2024:

Obtener visa de estudios

##Visa para estudiar en Argentina La República Argentina concede dos tipos de visa, acorde con la extensión temporal de permanencia en nuestro país que demandan los estudios a cursar: * por menos de un año; * por más de un año. ####Por menos de un año: Visa de estudiante -365 Estas visas son...

www.argentina.gob.ar

 

[Patrickhags]

@BowTiedGypsy once you register here, i still have no info on the specifics of 1-year temporary residency via Student Visas. via email, Migraciones was kind enough to respond with a link, but i've been unable to get them to give specific information about what is required. the site and text are:

Obtener una residencia temporaria como estudiante

Regulado en el artículo 23 inciso j) de la Ley N° 25.871, reglamentada por el Decreto N° 616/2010 y Disposición 2.802/2023.

www.argentina.gob.ar

"Requirements to prove the status of temporary student. According to your category you must present: Full career student of the official education system: Who is enrolled as a regular student in a public or private educational establishment belonging to the official education system, in order to pursue officially recognized studies at the secondary, tertiary level, university or postgraduate. Electronic Registration Constancy" (google-translated)

so, questions not quite answered:

1. is a university acceptance enough, or do you need to show an actual declared/approve Degree Program? ("full career student" is pretty vague)
2. is taking 1 class per semester enough? "a regular student" might mean something very specific in Argentine law.
3. has anyone actually done this, other than @earlyretirement 20 years ago? (no doubt the laws and visa stuff has changed). if anyone has a blog or reference for someone who recently got approved (preferably from the USA) into an Argentina university (i'm aiming at University of Belgrano, for English-taught classes like the PALAS program), i'm interested and will document it all for the next people

Yeah trying to find this stuff out online is nearly impossible!

I have not actually applied yet (current plan is so try to extend the tourist visa by 90 days and then apply) but can try to answer with my current knowledge.

The biggest thing I realized is that the schools are most involved in the process than you might think so they can be a great resource.

Personally I’m looking at taking Spanish courses, at a Spanish school (not a typical college).

1) I have no idea on this, I could see it being either way. Personally I would want to go in knowing the degree program.

2) highly doubtful! After talking to several Spanish schools it seems they all have different requirements (some require group in-person classes 20+ hours a week while some require 10 hours of online classes). I would talk to the schools your looking at and see what the requirements are and they should be able to help you. If your single class is 2 hours a day 5 days a week it may be okay, but if it’s like most typical college courses where it’s ~5 hours a week it probably isn’t going to cut it.

3) I did get connected with a girl on Facebook who had recently gone through this and was a huge help. Happy to share her contact if you DM on Twitter.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

I found something similar for 2024:

@EliasArg i wonder how common the +1year visas are, versus the 1-or-less year Student Visas. interestingly, in that 1+year link, the cost of $250 USD for the Visa just says "You must present a copy of the Studies program." - so i wonder if they actually will verify someone is enrolled/registered. i wonder if anyone has gotten a Student Visa just with planning to attend a specific university, but not actually being accepted yet (like right now, i can't register/enroll/anything at UBelgrano because they are out of the office until 29Jan!

current plan is so try to extend the tourist visa by 90 days and then apply

same; wanna go together? my Spanish is about 70% if it will help you. i'll be going around 12-15Feb. are you @BowTiedGypsy on X?

Personally I’m looking at taking Spanish courses, at a Spanish school (not a typical college).

this didn't seem to work when i was looking into it for my gf. she wants to do an immersive Spanish program, but this is what an email from cui.com.ar said:

"Regarding Visa information, at this moment it is not possible to apply through CUI. If you want to apply for formal study (student visa) you should look for a university career or so, as language studies in Argentina are considered as non formal studies (Transitory visa Art. 24, Immigration law). Also, all our Spanish courses are still online, so they aren't valid as proof of stay to apply for a visa. As we don't offer on site Spanish course at this moment, we suggest you also contacting the other UBA language centers and ask about their Spanish courses options:
----
Laboratorio de Idiomas de la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
Dirección: 25 de Mayo 221- Capital Federal
Teléfono: +54 (11) 4343-5981 / 1196
Web: http://www.idiomas.filo.uba.ar/
E-mail: idiomas@filo.uba.ar
-----
Centro de Lenguas Extranjeras de la Facultad de Ciencias Sociales
Dirección: Marcelo T. de Alvear 2230, 5º piso, oficina 508- Capital Federal
Teléfono: +54 (11) 5287-1532
Web: http://lenguasextranjeras.sociales.uba.ar/
E-mail: cle@sociales.uba.ar
-----
Hope you find the best option for you."

a girl on Facebook who had recently gone through this and was a huge help

oh sh*t, tell her it would help lots of people of she joined us here and put it public! that way more than just you and i can benefit.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

The biggest thing I realized is that the schools are most involved in the process than you might think so they can be a great resource.

following-up on this, i've been emailing University of Belgrano for about 5 weeks and they have been horrible. i finally got an email back that their virtual staff start working 22Jan, and their in-office staff start 29Jan. so, after not receiving responses, i walked the 30 minutes to UB campus in Belgrano (it's really just one tall building, looks like!) and finally found "ingresos" staff. the guy basically said 99.9% of classes in Argentina are in Spanish, including oral exams and papers, and i'd have to wait until 01Feb to meet with a Movilidad staff member who knows about visas and the entrance process for foreigners. basically, no one knew anything.

i tried to express how doing everything from applying to getting a visa to taking the first day of class, in less than 5 weeks, is crazy! in the US, you can be on waitlists and accepted into programs 3 years ahead of time. my online school allows me to register, and usually know who the professor is, pay, order books, 6 months ahead of time...but the employees at UB didn't seem to be alarmed.

at this point, tomorrow i am going to try the 12th floor and ask someone in the PALAS/Movilidad department if it's even possible to get a Student Visa. in summary: classes begin 04Mar and it's now 31Jan, so in 31 days supposedly it's possible to do everything. but the website and staff and emails have been of zero help, and no one can even say how likely it is to get a visa in 4 weeks. @Patrickhags @EliasArg

 

[Billy Goat]

following-up on this, i've been emailing University of Belgrano for about 5 weeks and they have been horrible. i finally got an email back that their virtual staff start working 22Jan, and their in-office staff start 29Jan. so, after not receiving responses, i walked the 30 minutes to UB campus in Belgrano (it's really just one tall building, looks like!) and finally found "ingresos" staff. the guy basically said 99.9% of classes in Argentina are in Spanish, including oral exams and papers, and i'd have to wait until 01Feb to meet with a Movilidad staff member who knows about visas and the entrance process for foreigners. basically, no one knew anything.

i tried to express how doing everything from applying to getting a visa to taking the first day of class, in less than 5 weeks, is crazy! in the US, you can be on waitlists and accepted into programs 3 years ahead of time. my online school allows me to register, and usually know who the professor is, pay, order books, 6 months ahead of time...but the employees at UB didn't seem to be alarmed.

at this point, tomorrow i am going to try the 12th floor and ask someone in the PALAS/Movilidad department if it's even possible to get a Student Visa. in summary: classes begin 04Mar and it's now 31Jan, so in 31 days supposedly it's possible to do everything. but the website and staff and emails have been of zero help, and no one can even say how likely it is to get a visa in 4 weeks. @Patrickhags @EliasArg

This sums up how inefficient Argentina is in a nutshell! Everything is like this!

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Everything is like this!

man, my gym membership at Megatlon was so not like this, nor my service at cool places like 7167 Burger! for my gym, i used WhatsApp and haggled a monthly price, paid with Visa on their payment page, got the app and QR code, then used it immediately after without having to sign any physical papers or take a tour! i was swimming laps in the Nunez pool the next day, loving life!

and 7167 Burger has great service (albeit a Colombian server/barman) and prices, and i've been back 3 times.

but yes, CABA 80% of folks seem allergic to work and customer service. very strange culture, but not unlike when i was traveling for 10 days in Iceland and every restaurant felt like i was annoying the staff by being there

i think just overall when you interact with Peronists, you lose. but i meet more and more people who are working their butts off and offering awesome service! it's the usual 20%/80% rule i suppose (Pareto Principle)

 

[StatusNomadicus]

@Patrickhags and @EliasArg i applied to UBelgrano yesterday:

INCOMING STUDENTS - Semester Programs - Academic Offer | Universidad de Belgrano

ub.edu.ar

the phrases you need are "Free Mover" (no 'home' university, and no degree plan) as well as "Residencia por RADEX de 6 meses" (you are already on a Tourist Visa, so now you need to apply from within Argentina for a residency for 6 months, which requires the university to vouch for you)

University of Belgrano has one guy running the Migraciones liaison section and he's not willing to do +365 residencies or visas, but he's willing to do this:

1. you apply for free in-person on the 12th floor of the UBelgrano tower (office name is Movilidad Internacional)
2. you pay the $1025 USD per class, and yes you can take one class, from the PALAS program, taught in English.
3. he submits your verification to Immigration, so you can go online and submit a RADEX application for temporary residency.
4. you find out in 3-4 weeks if you're approved, but in the meantime you have a "precaria" which essentially is an interim residency (bring it with you like a copy of your passport).
5. take classes March through July, then re-submit for more classes Aug-Dec if you want (and he'll submit another 6-month verification if you passed your class/es and paid again).

1025 bucks, twice a year, for 2 years, is $4,100 USD and if you take 5 classes with the PALAS program you get a Certificate. doesn't mean much, but could be cool to get. there are some application fees, but they sound low, like $10 USD each time with RADEX. not sure.

anyway, could be a way to get residency for 2 years, then apply for citizenship, and you can leave the country while on a residency permit.

the only unknown is the gap between December and March...i stumped the UB guy with this question. how can i live here if he won't submit me for longer than 6 months, and there might be a gap during Jan/Feb? he said he would ask in 10 days when he goes. he said just to overstay, but i told him i'm not risking my next application, or risking my dog has any issues (it was hard enough importing him here).

to be continued! @earlyretirement the saga continues in Belgrano. air cleared-up today to 40 AQI pollution, and i can see the river again. been raining/windy still. overall not too hot, but humid. Chinese New Year party today in Belgrano's ChinaTown!

 

[GraceH]

@Patrickhags and @EliasArg i applied to UBelgrano yesterday:

INCOMING STUDENTS - Semester Programs - Academic Offer | Universidad de Belgrano

ub.edu.ar

the phrases you need are "Free Mover" (no 'home' university, and no degree plan) as well as "Residencia por RADEX de 6 meses" (you are already on a Tourist Visa, so now you need to apply from within Argentina for a residency for 6 months, which requires the university to vouch for you)

University of Belgrano has one guy running the Migraciones liaison section and he's not willing to do +365 residencies or visas, but he's willing to do this:

1. you apply for free in-person on the 12th floor of the UBelgrano tower (office name is Movilidad Internacional)
2. you pay the $1025 USD per class, and yes you can take one class, from the PALAS program, taught in English.
3. he submits your verification to Immigration, so you can go online and submit a RADEX application for temporary residency.
4. you find out in 3-4 weeks if you're approved, but in the meantime you have a "precaria" which essentially is an interim residency (bring it with you like a copy of your passport).
5. take classes March through July, then re-submit for more classes Aug-Dec if you want (and he'll submit another 6-month verification if you passed your class/es and paid again).

1025 bucks, twice a year, for 2 years, is $4,100 USD and if you take 5 classes with the PALAS program you get a Certificate. doesn't mean much, but could be cool to get. there are some application fees, but they sound low, like $10 USD each time with RADEX. not sure.

anyway, could be a way to get residency for 2 years, then apply for citizenship, and you can leave the country while on a residency permit.

the only unknown is the gap between December and March...i stumped the UB guy with this question. how can i live here if he won't submit me for longer than 6 months, and there might be a gap during Jan/Feb? he said he would ask in 10 days when he goes. he said just to overstay, but i told him i'm not risking my next application, or risking my dog has any issues (it was hard enough importing him here).

to be continued! @earlyretirement the saga continues in Belgrano. air cleared-up today to 40 AQI pollution, and i can see the river again. been raining/windy still. overall not too hot, but humid. Chinese New Year party today in Belgrano's ChinaTown!

This is very helpful. Thanks for sharing. Wow $1,000 USD per class sounds expensive for local standards. Are all classes this expensive? Or just the English language classes?

 

[StatusNomadicus]

$1,000 USD per class

well, some programs are 5,000 - 15,000 USD per year: https://www.educations.com/study-guides/south-america/study-in-argentina/tuition-fees-19835

it just depends on the program (medicine versus cinema) and private/public (basically free, versus thousands for International Program options).

but math-wise, paying the cheapest lawyer is $500 USD per submission of a residency (not guaranteed on your first submission, and incentivized in a way to get paid for more submissions, economically-thinking). paying the next-cheapest is $2,000 USD for residency/citizenship attempt. then, $7,000 USD for citizenship, allegedly.

so, $1,025 USD per semester, if you only want to take one 300/400-level college class, is 1025 x 4 before you can submit for citizenship, or $4,100 over two years, and you get college credits and it seems the chances of denial are pretty low (we shall see).

it might be the only option for those who don't have Pensionista, can't get Rentista approved, don't want to overstay, etc.

public universities have been 'free' in Argentina, and the national debt shows the cost of this privilege. kids from Brazil/etc. are coming here and sucking-up resources, then leaving with no contribution to the country. @BowTiedMara covered this here:

1

https://twitter.com/x/status/1740095947613622358

2

https://twitter.com/x/status/1740798580200296589

3

https://twitter.com/x/status/1741100483157131391

4

https://twitter.com/x/status/1716807393114497235

5

https://twitter.com/x/status/1740806909609795975

6 https://twitter.com/BowTiedMara/status/1750972680784740493

Argentina has been subsidizing middle-class folks from other countries with free university degrees, then those graduates mostly leave to their home countries. what a stupid idea, that only Socialism could come up with. education certainly isn't a 'human right' so i don't mind paying for classes. sometimes Public universities have problems that don't exist in Private ones, since there is less government bureaucracy. though i have heard great things about UBA here

a quick google search shows $1,025 may not be too bad after all: "University of Chile, Santiago: tuition fees (https://www.unipage.net) For foreign students, the minimal tuition fee at UC is 4,999 USD per year."

 

[Wally]

I agree Argentina shouldn't be offering these classes free to non residents. It just can't afford it.

 

[Betsy Ross]

I agree Argentina shouldn't be offering these classes free to non residents. It just can't afford it.

Totally agree. It is so beyond crazy that Argentina would provide tuition free to Mercosur countries. This needs to stop ASAP.

 

[earlyretirement]

@Patrickhags and @EliasArg i applied to UBelgrano yesterday:

INCOMING STUDENTS - Semester Programs - Academic Offer | Universidad de Belgrano

ub.edu.ar

the phrases you need are "Free Mover" (no 'home' university, and no degree plan) as well as "Residencia por RADEX de 6 meses" (you are already on a Tourist Visa, so now you need to apply from within Argentina for a residency for 6 months, which requires the university to vouch for you)

University of Belgrano has one guy running the Migraciones liaison section and he's not willing to do +365 residencies or visas, but he's willing to do this:

1. you apply for free in-person on the 12th floor of the UBelgrano tower (office name is Movilidad Internacional)
2. you pay the $1025 USD per class, and yes you can take one class, from the PALAS program, taught in English.
3. he submits your verification to Immigration, so you can go online and submit a RADEX application for temporary residency.
4. you find out in 3-4 weeks if you're approved, but in the meantime you have a "precaria" which essentially is an interim residency (bring it with you like a copy of your passport).
5. take classes March through July, then re-submit for more classes Aug-Dec if you want (and he'll submit another 6-month verification if you passed your class/es and paid again).

1025 bucks, twice a year, for 2 years, is $4,100 USD and if you take 5 classes with the PALAS program you get a Certificate. doesn't mean much, but could be cool to get. there are some application fees, but they sound low, like $10 USD each time with RADEX. not sure.

anyway, could be a way to get residency for 2 years, then apply for citizenship, and you can leave the country while on a residency permit.

the only unknown is the gap between December and March...i stumped the UB guy with this question. how can i live here if he won't submit me for longer than 6 months, and there might be a gap during Jan/Feb? he said he would ask in 10 days when he goes. he said just to overstay, but i told him i'm not risking my next application, or risking my dog has any issues (it was hard enough importing him here).

to be continued! @earlyretirement the saga continues in Belgrano. air cleared-up today to 40 AQI pollution, and i can see the river again. been raining/windy still. overall not too hot, but humid. Chinese New Year party today in Belgrano's ChinaTown!

Thanks for posting this great info! It's very solid and helpful information. Hopefully this route works for you. When I moved to Argentina over 20+ years ago, I went the student visa route initially to stay in the country legally. Then before that expired, I started several corporations SRL and SA's and employed myself and gave myself a salary and then that company sponsored me. I was told that the student visa method wasn't a viable method long-term to get permanent residency. I'm not sure if that has changed today.