What is the latest word on this reciprocity fee in Argentina?

[OnTheJourney]

Hi,

 

I am booked on an Antarctica cruise with Celebrity, and my TA just informed me that I will not need to pay the fee unless I take a private tour not with the ship. I'm not sure this is correct though. From everything I can find- including Dept. of State websites, it seems that cruise ship passengers WERE exempt from the fee up to 2013, but then after than you have to pay. I can't find anything that seems to indicate this policy was changed. Does anybody know for sure? My cruise starts in Buenos Aires but also visits other ports in SA. There is one stop in Uruguay....but I can't find anything about visa requirements for that. It's funny that the Celebrity agent used the term 'visa' instead of 'reciprocity fee'.

 

Thanks,

Keith

[PeterW00]

Hi Where are you traveling from? I assume you are flying to BA. Argentina has had the reciprocating fee in place for about 5 or so years now. The fee varies from which country you come from. Argentina was not charging anything before, and you do not need a visa to go there. So they started to charge the fee that each country charges for Argentinian travelers have to pay to visit their country!... all makes sense!..

IMO and from past experience you only pay the fee once, so you should have to pay it at Ezeiza airport. They will stamp your passport.

I also assume that the ship is stopping in other Argentinian ports. If this is the case then I think you will have to show your passport to prove you have payed the fee.

 

regards Peter

[NancyIL]

Hi Where are you traveling from? I assume you are flying to BA. Argentina has had the reciprocating fee in place for about 5 or so years now. The fee varies from which country you come from. Argentina was not charging anything before, and you do not need a visa to go there. So they started to charge the fee that each country charges for Argentinian travelers have to pay to visit their country!... all makes sense!..

IMO and from past experience you only pay the fee once, so you should have to pay it at Ezeiza airport. They will stamp your passport.

I also assume that the ship is stopping in other Argentinian ports. If this is the case then I think you will have to show your passport to prove you have payed the fee.

 

regards Peter

You need to pay the reciprocity fee and print your receipt before you arrive in Argentina: https://reciprocidad.provincianet.com.ar/ComoFunciona.aspx; http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/country/argentina.html

Edited August 20, 2015 by NancyIL

[OnTheJourney]

We fly into BA from the US, but then also visit Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn, and Montivideo, Uruguay. Do I get hit up for another fee for Uruguay?? What about Chile? All I'll be doing is sailing around the Cape..I can't imagine that qualifies as visiting Chile.

 

It seems that there is an unfair component associated with this reciprocity fee...which is that there appears to be no difference in the fee whether I stay for a few weeks or a few hours. That doesn't seem right..but I guess if that is what the US does to the Argentinians, then I don't blame them for doing it to us.

 

I assume my wife and I both have to pay the fee?

Edited August 20, 2015 by three4rd

[Northern Aurora]

In February 2015 we had to show our reciprocity fee receipt in Miami before boarding our flight to Buenos Aires. We also had to show the receipt to immigration officials once we landed in Buenos Aires. We didn't have to show it again in either Ushuaia or Puerto Madryn.

 

We did not have to purchase the equivalent of a reciprocity fee for either Uruguay or Chile.

 

And yes, both you and your wife will pay the fee as it is per person, not per family.

 

.....

 

It seems that there is an unfair component associated with this reciprocity fee...which is that there appears to be no difference in the fee whether I stay for a few weeks or a few hours. That doesn't seem right..

 

....

 

Please remember that while the reciprocity fee may seem high for your type of visit the fee is good for ten years.

[Floridiana]

Correct: As an American citizen, you pay the fee online per person BEFORE you fly to Argentina. Print out the proof and bring it with you.

 

We didn't have to pay anything for Uruguay, but check on a government website if this is still the case.

 

Chile has been accepted into the ESTA program by the USA. ESTA is a non visa program for the citizens of certain friendly countries. I don't know whether Chile requires an online preregistration the same way the US does of the citizens of those countries. The US charges $ 14 if I am not mistaken. Valid for 2 years. Again, check a government website for Chile.

[OnTheJourney]

Northern Aurora and Floridiana....thanks for the additional info. I realize the fee is valid for 10 years, and yet probably have no plans to go back to Argentina following the completion of the cruise. I am surprised that the Celebrity agent did not seem to be aware of all this when my TA asked her on my behalf about whether or not I need to acquire a visa.

[scluvsrain]

What about cruising in reverse? From Chile to Argentina? I'm pretty sure when you fly into Santiago, Chile, you have to pay a fee of $100 or $120 at the airport before you get to Immigration/Passport control.

 

If we disembark in Argentina, would they not let you leave at the airport unless you'd paid the reciprocity fee to them? How would that work if you didn't know about getting the fee paid online prior to entry to Argentina? Would we not be able to embark on the cruise in Chile, then?

[VidaNaPraia]

If we disembark in Argentina, would they not let you leave at the airport unless you'd paid the reciprocity fee to them? How would that work if you didn't know about getting the fee paid online prior to entry to Argentina?

 

If you disembark a cruise in Argentina? I suspect the cruise line would not let you board in Chile without the receipt showing that you could get off in Argentina. Or perhaps they would assist you to go online while on board, to get it all settled before your arrival.

If you got off a plane in Argentina without having the printed receipt, you would be denied entrance to the country, and the airline would be liable for returning you to your point of departure at the airline's expense. Therefore, you probably would not be allowed to board in the first place.

[VidaNaPraia]

I am surprised that the Celebrity agent did not seem to be aware of all this when my TA asked her on my behalf about whether or not I need to acquire a visa.

 

Possibly because it is not a "visa", it is a "reciprocity fee". Terminology. The 'correct' question may not have been asked or understood, perhaps because of this.

 

:-) The difference lies in the amount of paperwork involved in getting a "visa" for Brazil for example. Not just a fee, but exactly following the rigorous procedure demanded of Brazilians seeking a visa to the US.

Consider yourself lucky that you can simply pay your money and be done. :-)

[Floridiana]

What about cruising in reverse? From Chile to Argentina? I'm pretty sure when you fly into Santiago, Chile, you have to pay a fee of $100 or $120 at the airport before you get to Immigration/Passport control.

 

 

Outdated information like this is why I write that you have to check government sites yourself. Chile is now an ESTA country for American passport holders, no fee any more when you arrive.

 

As to Argentina, you need proof of having paid the reciprocity fee when you arrive at airports and at land crossings. Better check whether this applies to cruise ports as well, probably does. I would certainly check that before I take a cruise to Argentina again.

[Northern Aurora]

Correct: As an American citizen, you pay the fee online per person BEFORE you fly to Argentina. Print out the proof and bring it with you.

 

....

 

 

I forgot to include in my post yesterday that we paid the reciprocity fee online using the link on the American Airlines website, which took us to a site in English. There are also sites in Spanish.

 

And three4rd: Don't assume you won't ever use your reciprocity fee again -- we simply fell in love with Buenos Aires. We were on a B2B2B on the Infinity, and had so much fun that we have booked the Infinity Buenos Aires to Valparaiso and then onto Florida legs again for 2017. And I suspect that won't be the second time we fly into Buenos Aires! Great city!

[cruisetilidrop]

sorry wrong section

Edited August 21, 2015 by cruisetilidrop
wrong link

[OnTheJourney]

Northern Aurora,

 

Nice thought and certainly a possibility that I'd make additional use of the fee, but I deem it unlikely. Somehow SA was never very high on my list of places I had a desire to visit but now that it's part of the Antarctica cruise I'm really looking forward to BA as well as the other ports. What puts me off a bit are these fees and visas needed in different places, as well as dealing with foreign currency. The situation on the Serenade with people waiting in line to get Russian rubles during my Baltic trip got to be ludicrous. The guest relations desk kept running out of them..it was pretty frustrating for many guests who waited in line for over an hour and then didn't get any. As it turned out, you really didn't even need them! Traveling in the states is so easy. One thing we need to make things better though is some consistent form of turnpike 'easy pass' that would be good throughout the country. Then again, I doubt if I'd ever do a B2B2B anywhere. Even if each leg of that journey is only 7 days, I don't think I'd care to be on a ship for 3+ weeks! I'd do a land tour that long, but after 2 weeks in the same room on the same ship during the Baltic, I was more than ready to go home.

Edited August 21, 2015 by three4rd

[Merlinite]

when my TA asked her on my behalf about whether or not I need to acquire a visa.

 

any TA worth their salt should know this. not have to ask :confused:

[Floridiana]

any TA worth their salt should know this. not have to ask :confused:

 

Friends of ours relied on their TA who had not noticed that the fee had to be paid in advance. The rule was changed on January 1 and they travelled in February of the year when it happened. They now have a different TA.

[mljatsea]

We paid the fee in 2012 and I recall that we paid it on arrival and it was stamped in our passports. Now it is done ahead online. Since then we have been been issued new passports. Does anyone know how we can show that this was paid? Bring our old passports?

 

Many thanks for advice.

[Merlinite]

We paid the fee in 2012 and I recall that we paid it on arrival and it was stamped in our passports. Now it is done ahead online. Since then we have been been issued new passports. Does anyone know how we can show that this was paid? Bring our old passports?

 

Many thanks for advice.

 

I'm pretty sure you're going to need a receipt #, altho they MIGHT have your name on file. good luck with that...

[maryann ns]

I believe I read on Trip Advisor that your could bring your old passport. I would do a search there.

[dr__dawggy]

We paid the fee in 2012 and I recall that we paid it on arrival and it was stamped in our passports. Now it is done ahead online. Since then we have been been issued new passports. Does anyone know how we can show that this was paid? Bring our old passports?

 

Many thanks for advice.

 

When you paid your fee in 2012 you should have had a stamp glued into your passport. This is a stamp, like a postage stamp, in addition to the entry/exit rubber stamp. It is valid for 10 years and survives your old passport. I don't believe back then the immigration people even issued a separate receipt.

 

Bring both your new and your old passport with you and you will be fine. We used our old passport with the stamp and date we purchased it affixed in February of this year and had no problem at all with entry. The cruise line or airline you use to enter the country should be aware of this rule.

[dr__dawggy]

I believe I read on Trip Advisor that your could bring your old passport. I would do a search there.

 

That is correct. Bring your old passport with the reciprocity fee stamp affixed to it along with your current passport. That's all you need.

[OnTheJourney]

Is there typically an additional processing fee besides the reciprocity? My TA just sent me info she got from the cruise line that shows an additional $40 "processing fee" besides the $160. Seriously? This is the website X gave my agent - https://www.argentinareciprocityfees.com/ It does show a fee. I didn't go very far in the other website that everyone suggests using, but I don't recall any extra service fee. Let me know. Thanks.

Edited August 25, 2015 by three4rd

[daddyo]

We just paid the fee for our Cruise next February. We paid the $160. There was no $40 additional fee. We went to the American Airlines website and were directed to URL for the fee. Hope this helps.

[OnTheJourney]

I think what is going on (and I believe I read this on one of the threads while researching reciprocity fees here) is that some of these outfits are Visa agencies that have no affiliation with the Argentinian Government and so are charging whatever they want extra. Rip off.

[Northern Aurora]

We had a very active roll call for the February 15th cruise, and the Argentinian reciprocity fee was discussed a number of times. To my memory no one on that roll call mentioned any additional processing fee. Many of us, including me, used the link on the American Airlines website. My husband and I paid US$140 each.

 

I suspect you are looking at a website which charges a processing fee, such as those companies who will charge extra for an expedited Visa transaction.