By jtmanley
I finally got my student visa this week! After two months, I finally received the document that gives my time down here a little bit more legitimacy. In Argentina, exchange students enter into the country as tourists and get their student visa later. The tourist status is good for 90 days and can be renewed. When I returned from Chile, my tourist status started again. As an UCA exchange student, the UCA International Office helped up through the lengthy process, and I am grateful that it is all over.
The first step involved getting a background check (you can't be a criminal and study in Argentina). When I went to the first Migrations office to complete this step, I gave the official my original passport, a copy of the passport page with my personal information, and $40 pesos. The official then gave me a document (a Comprobante del Trámite de Antecedentes) that I had to hold onto for eight days. After those eight days were up, I had to print out my Certificado Digital de Antecedentes Penales to begin the second step of the process. The second step involved me bringing my original passport and a photocopy of all the pages in it, my certificado, a 4-by-4 photo (it was a little bit hard to find places that made these), $300 pesos, and an official note from UCA detailing my status there.
Once I had all of these documents, I went to a different Migrations office and waited for around three hours to give two different officials everything that they needed. At the end of the second step, I received a temporary student visa that was good for 21 days while the permanent one was being issued. The final step was the easiest. After the 21 days ended last week, I just had to bring my passport and the temporary visa to the another Migrations office (yes, three different offices for three different steps!) and the official gave me two stapled pages that constitute my student visa. It is good until September, although I don't think I'll be extending my stay here by two months!
So 2 months, 3 steps, 3 offices, and $340 pesos later, I am an official exchange student in the eyes of the Argentine Government. Thanks go to the UCA International Office for guiding me through the process. If you study here, remember that patience is a virtue.