End of Argentina border crossing fee for Canadians

[jfman]

We will wait a few more days before crossing as Jan 1st 2018 there is no more fee to enter Argentina.

Entry / Exit Requirements - Argentina

[Dmwbmw]

I crossed over Chile to Argentina near Futaleufu on Jan 1.


The border guard asked for my reciprocity paper but the supervisor quickly came over and said not any more...effective today.


Then they complained a bit about how Canada still treated Argentineans rather badly when they wanted a Visa so I listened and nodded my head sympathetically.

[Tony LEE]

Dropped for Australians recently too, but too late for us to save the $400 we spent on two entries. Was waiting for Chile to introduce the fee on Land borders instead of just at the airport but thankfully not so far.

[jfman]

We crossed jan 3rd ish and no fees.

[mollydog]

Anyone researched which countries currently charge reciprocity entry/exit fees? .... and who are not charged and who are?

I know Bolivia has (or had?) reciprocity fees for US citizens. Others affected?

Interesting policy. Looks like Argentina realized the absurdity of charging such fees ... they certainly do more harm than good in countries that desperately need tourist dollars. REAL Cash MONEY. Most American travelers skip Bolivia entirely.

The US does not need Tourist dollars so reciprocity fees don't effect economy. The US sadly gouge certain applicants badly who apply for Visas. They mostly only let in the wealthy figuring they won't stay forever. Doesn't work.

This has been the deeply racist US policy for decades. And now with Trump, Americans are despised everywhere ... easy to see why!
American Travelers will pay I'm sure.

IMO, reciprocity fees against Americans simply make certain powers that be even more vindictive towards non favored nations ... But keep in mind tourists from Latin America are mostly from the "Plaza Alta" as the poor could never afford the Visa and can't wait years to get it. They simply WALK in.

Tourists with money scrape up the money for US Visa, come as tourists ... and never go back. Can take 10 years to complete this process. No one would believe the number of backlogged applications.

Is it really worth it? I met 6 guys and two women on my last Baja trip. They ALL were Walking to USA. Mostly from Southern Mexico, two Salvadorans. About a 2000 mile walk. Met walkers who stopped on the way to take casual labor. Stayed and year, then walked on.

About 50 million examples of legal and illegal entries over last 30 years. Of that 50 mil all but about 10 mil are from Mexico. For years they could easily pass back and forth across the border. Now? Not so much.

Anyone know what cities have the most Mexicans? TIP: number one is Mexico City.

What are the next four after that? The answer may surprise non US citizens and US citizens as well.

[jfman]

We had a little problem at Paso Robellos, a remote crossing on the south end of the Carretera Austral. The border Agents were unaware of the change and were requesting we pay the fee and come back. They had to make some phone calls as they would not take our word for it.

We were the first Canadians thru, in mid February.

[mollydog]

Originally Posted by Cholo

So does that mean that Argentines can go to Canada visa free?

Visa free? I doubt it. You would for sure still need a Visa ... But a Visa "free of charge" may now be the case. Free as in NO MONEY paid for it.

I don't know what Argentines (or anyone) paid for a Canadian Visa previous to this retraction of their reciprocity policy. Anyone know? Is it just for Canadians or all nationalities?

Also, anyone know what various Nationalities paid to enter Argentina before the change? IIRC, US citizens were paying like $150 usd. (???)

[Tony LEE]

These countries generally impose these fees in retaliation for our countries charging fees so complaints should be directed at our own countries.

We forked out for a lot of such fees to Argentina and Brazil - close to $1000 in total over several visits - but decided not to bother paying another $300 for the privilege of visiting Paraguay mainly because every internet list of "10 must see places to visit in Paraguay" seemed to struggle to get past 4 or 5 entries, none of which sounded very interesting

[markharf]

Relax, Cholo. Tony is saying exactly what you're saying (but in a more mellow tone).

I paid fees of one sort or another in Bolivia, Paraguay, Suriname, and Brazil--none of which seemed like a bad deal. The Argentina fees went into effect after I'd left for the last time. And nothing I've ever had to deal with anywhere in the world came close to being as difficult as applying for a US visa from, say, sub-Saharan Africa. No matter where you're from, someone's got it worse.

Mark

[Tony LEE]

You probably need to read what I said -

These countries generally impose these fees in retaliation for our countries charging fees so complaints should be directed at our own countries.

- which was some countries charge fees simply because western countries also charge fees. Was that not clear. Reciprocity Fees always sounded quite fair to me. Doesn't mean I have to like paying it though. Which came first I have no idea, but Australia has probably always charged.

I suspect a lot of the visa charges imposed by first world countries are because they got sick of people coming in on visitor visas and never going home, but for poor countries relying on tourism dollars to even a limited extent to retaliate doesn't make a lot of sense. A typical tourist spend per day double or triple what the once-off reciprocity fee would bring in so it is a dumb move to impose it and discourage visitors. Bolivia for instance charges us nothing so its economy benefits as a result. Why it charges those from the US is a mystery to me, but there is no doubt that Bolivia has a very good reason and it probably isn't just because the US charges Bolivians because I'd be very surprised if Bolivians don't have to pay to come to Australia yet we don't pay.

As for Paraguay not being worth paying $140 to visit (and not being able to get a visa at the border which is more to the point) - I can't help that and I guess neither can the Paraguayans. Maybe they will wake up eventually like Argentina and scrap the reciprocity charge and / or introduce on-line visas like Brazil has so even though they still charge for the visa, at least there is not the added expense of having to hang around in a city for several days to get the paper visa. Chile has never introduced the fee at land boders and now that Argentina has seen the light, I doubt whether Chile will go ahead with extending their fee and may well withdraw the one imposed on visitors flying in.

I did do a lot of research on Paraguay in the beginning and I decided - based on a few blog reports - that even if there was no charge to enter, there was no good reason to visit anyway and the high entry fees were just the clincher. Uruguay was similarly uninspiring but at least did have the huge advantage of giving 12 month TVIPs plus had a well established network of places to leave vehicles stored.