Marriage and the Road to Permanent Residency in Argentina

I had coffee with a group of expats recently, all married to Argentines, and I realized that there are a bunch of us...and perhaps there will be more. So I thought that I'd go ahead and post my Argentine marriage experience for anyone who's interested.

To get married in Rosario, I (as a foreigner) had to provide the following to the Registro Civil:

• Neighborhood police certificate (Certificado de Vecindario) - This is basically to prove that you live in Rosario (you must have an address - I showed my 'certificate of cohabitation' which I got from Tribunales a while back in order to be on Guille's insurance. The certificate is easy to get - you need 2 witnesses with DNIs and have to pay a fee).
• Copy of passport - If you find that you've stayed beyond the legal 3 months and didn't renew your entry into Argentina, then you'll need permission from immigration (expensive - I think the price just went up but it was 100 dollars) issued before the wedding (and it only lasts for 10 days so you have to hurry up and get hitched!) This basically provides permission to marry, but the form is for permission to leave 'Habilitacion de Salida.' You have to request this from immigration, take their form to the bank and pay the fee there, then return to immigration on the same day and finish the process.
• Copy of spouse's DNI
• Fees
• Blood test results

You can only be married by a judge in Argentina. You either have to go to the courthouse (bring your whole family!) or pay the judge 500 pesos to go to your wedding site, if her schedule allows. Of course, you have to make an appointment for this civil wedding - but not more than 30 days out (this is for the reg. civil on Wheelwright). Some provincias require more information, like medical history and such. Of course, if this isn't your first marriage then you have to provide additional documentation.

Here's the list of information that I had to provide to immigration in order to apply for permanent residency:

• Valid passport (and a photocopy of the entire passport)
• Birth Certificate (not a copy) with Apostille
• Good Conduct Certificate from country of citizenship (issued by the FBI)
• Good Conduct Certificate from Rosario
• 4 passport photos
• DNI of spouse (and a photocopy of the entire DNI)
• Marriage certificate AND a copy of the signed page in the marriage book from Registro Civil - another fee that you'll have to stand in line at the bank to pay
• Fee - AR$600 at the time

Seems like a simple enough list, right? HA! Well, the Argentine Consulate that I consulted before leaving the US didn't mention the apostille and they also said that the good conduct certificate needed to be issued by your city of residence in the US - so I schlepped to the downtown NYC precinct for no reason. Fun times.

The US does not issue apostilles outside of the country so I had to request it from my state of birth. The requirements and fees are different for each state but you need to send at least the birth certificate and a letter of request, and probably a self-addressed stamped envelope (which may prove tricky if you need to buy US stamps outside of the US!). This US Embassy link provides the links for each state's apostille office.

The FBI wouldn't accept the digital printout of my fingerprints taken in NYC so I had to be fingerprinted (with sticky ink) at a police station here using the FBI's fingerprint card and then I sent that to the FBI with additional info. It's a good idea to send two or more sets of fingerprints to ensure that they're all readable. Another small fee - $18. This FBI link shows how to request it.

To get a good conduct certificate in Rosario, you need to go to the police station at Catamarca and Entre Rios to be fingerprinted, then wait 15 days to pick them up. And then you take these to the Tribunales to the department of Registros Universales. They give you a form to take to the bank to pay a fee, then you go back and give it to them. Then you wait a week or 2 to pick it up.

All English documents have to be translated and stamped by the Translators' College.

Once the immigration office had everything they needed, they issued me temporary permanent residence (a paper with my picture stapled to it). That was 2 months ago. Now I have to keep checking with the office to see if they've received something (not sure exactly what) that will allow me to proceed with permanent permanent residence and my DNI (which is another enduring process, I'm told).

Really, I can't complain though. It's nothing compared to the US immigration process. The annoying part is having to wait in line after line in order to answer a question or pay a 2 peso fee. The running around is also exhausting and confusing. Though, in the end, it seems that I'll never be more than a permanent resident. I'm not sure if this is officially true, but the immigration office told me that I can't become a citizen without giving up my US citizenship. So...yeah. Resident alien sounds nice.