Reciprocity fee for Argentina

For all those going on the Antarctica tours, don't forget to go on line and pay by credit card the $160.00 reciprocity fee for Argentina. You need the on-line receipt with your passport or they won't let you enter Argentina.
Sheila

Comments

  • Just to be clear on what you should do, since I just did it, go to this site. You must register with this site before you can pay for and get the documents. Registration entails providing a name, address and e-mail address and creating a user name and password. Confirmation will be e-mailed to you, but activation is immediate after registration. Unless you have problems (I did, more in a moment) you should not need to log into the site more than once. Also, only one person needs to register for a party.

    Now the fun part. Not everything on the site seems to work, but don't fear, it is still fairly painless. What you want to do is "Add documents" once you have logged in. This means name and passport number for each person who will be traveling, done one at a time. Once completed the info/traveler is added to your shopping cart and you can then "Add" again for the next traveler. When the process is completed you go to "Pay". Prior to this you are shown the information, one person at a time. If correct, you move to the next person's info for review. In my case, my wife's passport number was appended to mine, so it was incorrectly displayed. There is a "Modify" button which takes you back to the data entry page, where I could and did re-enter her number, but upon submitting the newly entered number, I was told this number already existed. There was no way to modify it. So I went back to the shopping cart to delete her entry and retry. The "Delete" doesn't work on the cart.

    To make a long story short, with the problem reoccurring numerous times, the good news is when you log out your cart is emptied and you can do one person at a time; log in, do it, log out, do it again for a new person, etc. But wait, there is more!

    Now you get to pay. When you click on the "Pay" button a new window opens asking for credit card information, etc. Very normal. Once entered, you click the "Send" button and nothing happens. No visual graphic feed back of a button being pushed, no change in the window, it just sits there. Did it go through, was I charged? Who knows? So…log out, log in. There is an option to view your documents, which I did and lo and behold, mine was processed! PRINT IT OUT and bring this with you. I then went through the same process for my wife's document and this time upon pushing "Send" (still no visual feedback) the payment window did change after awhile and things went well.

    The only question left to be answered is how many times was I charged on my first attempt. Oh well, that's what disputing charges can be used for!
  • Excellent How To instructions, Calguy. Thank you for taking the time to post this info.

    One thing I will point out is that the fee varies, depending on the nationality of the traveller. For Australians planning on making a trip to Argentina, take heart! Our fee is currently US$100. Even given the whims of the FX gnomes … it's still a good deal!

    Cheers,

    Jan
  • Thank you for the instructions, Calguy! :)

    -Tim
  • Did I miss seeing the actual website?
  • This is the site that our Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade (DFAT), the equivalent of your State Department, links to:
    http://www.migraciones.gov.ar/accesibleingles/?doc_viaje

    The links to the visa system are down the right hand side of the page.

    Cheers,

    Jan
  • We used http://m.argentinareciprocityfee.org/visa-to-argentina/ and it was remarkably simple. No need to register.
  • Is this in the fine print of tauck instructions
    I had no clue to do this...
  • I answered this question on the other page you went to.
  • edited December 2014
    If you go to the page for your trip here on the Tauck site, you will see, under the tab Before You Go, you will see the heading Travel Documents Required.

    As a very basic part of any I Want to go Somewhere Else project you need to find out about other countries and their rules. They make their own rules about who they want to visit them and the procedures for entry. Identification is the basic building block of the international visitor/access process. You need an appropriate identification document (normally a "passport") issued by your country of citizenship to leave and then enter another country. You may also need extra documents (visas & possibly other documents) to enter other countries. It is always the responsibility of the individual traveller to find out what they need then to get it. As an individual, your situation is unique. But there is a lot of help available ... from the internet, your travel agent and from Tauck ... as mentioned above.

    Cheers,

    Jan
  • ndvb wrote:
    I answered this question on the other page you went to.
    While I was typing, slowly, you were typing faster! Yay! The more the merrier!
  • I always say that if you need some information this forum is the place to come....some smart-ass (like me; not you Jan or AlanS) will put the information in here quickly.
  • ndvb wrote:
    I always say that if you need some information this forum is the place to come....some smart-ass (like me; not you Jan or AlanS) will put the information in here quickly.
    :))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
    The whole thing was a most excellent, Monty Python "moment". I took a long time to type out my reply. Some questions are like that and some answers just ... um ... take longer to ... compose, really. Composure is not always readily at hand.
  • Now I am interested in knowing if Bjhhh615 actually got to Argentina without the proper paperwork and was denied entry. That would limp in your giddyup.
  • ndvb wrote:
    Now I am interested in knowing if Bjhhh615 actually got to Argentina without the proper paperwork and was denied entry. That would limp in your giddyup.

    Yes, me, too.

    Quite some years ago now, there was a change in the rules for Australians visiting France. We needed it get a visa! There were all sorts of horror stories about Aussie backpackers being turned back.:-0 .... Thankfully the usual EC rules now apply for Australians visiting France. At least one thing you don't have to check before you go. Still .... I always do check with DFAT because immigration rules often change. I know there is a facility with the US State Department that does a similar job of keeping US travellers up to date and aware of things. Always a good place to check.

    Cheers,

    Jan
  • I am not sure whether it is the fault of Tauck for their heading Before You Go on the website, which maybe should be changed to something like Important Information Before You Travel. It might be Travel Agents who so often are used by customers, the customers probably have never seen the website, just the brochure, and the agents fail to remind people of these important details. Once you have travelled internationally a few times, one learns to check for all these hurdles, but if it a first time to leave the country, it would not occur to some to know about details. Reciprocity fee! It is certainly more unusual. So far, the only detail I have failed to know was when we went to India last year I was unaware of the rule that Rupees could not be taken in or out of the country, yet the bank let me purchase them and I entered the country and no one asked if I had their currency on arrival. Hope that is the only mistake I make. There are always going to be people who do not bother to read everything, but in a lot of cases I think customers expect Tauck to be a little more obviously upfront about these details. I agree about each individual being unique, but Tauck is such a good company, maybe they could be a little more helpful and change the design of the website to mention these important things. Please take note Moderator.
  • edited December 2014
    I suspect each and every company selling travel products has to some how, some way, design their products in a manner that meets the lowest common denominator. I'm sure it's a very difficult thing to decide on an acceptable level without patronising your principal demographic. It's a difficult issue. If your principal demographic is comprised, to a very large degree, of naive travellers (i.e. inexperienced or new travellers) how do Tauck pitch their service? Then there are other travellers who are very experienced and are attracted to Tauck because their product is so good. They know this precisely because they are experienced travellers.

    Tauck are dammed if they do and dammed if they don't. To what level can, or should, they hand feed clients? At which point will other clients run screaming from the room because they can't bear the thought of travelling with a company that micro-manages to such a degree? Then there's the thought of travelling with people who need that much molly coddling. It would probably make them feel ill enough to book themselves into a boot camp for brain plasticity awareness instead of that Tauck trip.

    It's a fine line between providing excellent service and going too far and turning the whole thing into a 1984, "we have ways of making you enjoy this", exercise. I am really surprised that Tauck goes to the level of hand holding they do. Surprised, amazed and yes, grateful. As an Australian, I have a different world view. I don't want a travel company telling me what to think or where I can go. I know from my extensive US travels and other travels with US citizens that as a mindset, it is the individual which is preeminent rather than the community. (Naturally there are exceptions, but as human beings we do generalise.) Frankly, I'm surprised that an individual would rely totally on a travel company to tell him every thing he needed to do, rather than taking on the responsibility of educating himself. That just seems counterintuitive within the (small r) republican* environment that is the US.

    Cheers,

    Jan


    * A form of government, constitution, etc., belonging to, or characteristic of, a republic.
  • You both bring up very valid points. I didn't read the part about the reciprocity fee for Argentina on the website. I did it in here and then went to the website to read it. I should have. I know better. But, I didn't. However, that is basically my fault, since Tauck does explain it pretty thoroughly.

    I haven't received my final documents yet, but I should within a day or so since I paid my final bill yesterday. I am figuring that the information will be in the booklet. Waiting for that booklet is tough though, since it will arrive here just eight weeks from departure. In my case, I leave for another trip in just one month. That could make getting the documents even more difficult.

    I am not sure I know the answer. But that answer is probably way above my pay grade anyway. I am sure they'll work it out.
  • I think you have it in a nutshell, ndvb. We all collect information (stuff we need to know) at different times and paces. One thing prompts another "to do" thing. The Tauck information ... on their site, and hopefully here on the Forums (to a much less degree "official", but even anecdotal & empirical information can be valuable!) ... provides a check list of important stuff. I do a lot of research before I decide where, when, how I'm going to travel. Hopefully, some time between making my first inquiry, and actually leaving home I will have remembered to check what official documents (including any health topics) I need to check and resolve.

    It is so much easier to do all that these days than it used be. Sure, I know someone's Personal Assistant might have had that role down pat in a working/business travel environment, but I've always taken care of myself in that regard. These days, the internet makes these things almost too easy. So the Tauck checklists is really handy! Of course, I have to read the tips differently because they are primarily written for a US clientele, but nevertheless the basic principles still apply.

    My travel agent is a gem, but it's taken me many, many years to find someone who understands me (poor soul .... she deserves a sainthood!) and who is also there the next time I ring! The work force is such a fluid thing, particularly in travel. Font of all knowledge that she is, I don't think she's ever told me about visas. Mind you, I may not have asked, which brings us back to the "individual" discussion. The one recent exception was the reasonably new "this is not a visa because we said we'd never make you get one" pre-paid, online ESTA thing we need to get before visiting the USA. It was such an extraordinary event when it was introduced a few years ago that it was on the news. Australians would have had to be living in a tin shed in ... um ... the wilds of ... um ... Montana to not know they needed to get this I-can't-believe-it's not-a-visa thing before getting on a plane in Australia bound for the States!

    I just live in fear that I might have forgotten something Really Important ... and that if I have, I remember in time to do it. Get it. Or at least so Nurse can pat my hand and administer the appropriate medication in time to restore order.

    Cheers,

    Jan

    PS I hope your wonderful possum/merino socks have arrived! I'm sure you and your socks will have a wonderful time in Yellowstone then later, down on the Ice.
  • I received the possum socks and they look and feel like they will be fantastic.

    Thanks for the tip.
  • Wow, lots of discussion about the reciprocity tax. I'm like you Jan, I check and check and ask and ask. So many things change so often with international travel, one has to.

    The trip is getting close and I am getting quite excited. Got my travel booklet today (and yes, it tells you in there about the Reciprocity Tax). We paid our tax, ordered our boot rental, got our appropriate clothing and hiking poles so all we are all set. Looking forward to meeting everyone, speaking Spanish (not bad) and being on a French ship (I speak French). I usually have good weather karma for vacations so lets hope it holds up!
  • Looks like Sherri has everything under control. I have all of my stuff ready too. I bought boots since I will be in Yellowstone before the trip to Antarctica. I can double-dip with them. I guess I'll have to stuff as much of my clothing as I can inside the boots. It seems the weight of the luggage is monitored more carefully on this trip.

    At least on the summer trips, a couple of pairs of pants, some shorts and a pair of athletic shoes gets the job done. Winter coats, sweatshirts, big boots, gloves, hats, etc., can be a problem in the packing department. I'm sure it will all work out. It is too bad the Yellowstone trip is before the Antarctica trip, otherwise I could use the big red coat from Antarctica there. I might just send my heavy coat home before the flight south.

    See you in Buenos Aires Sherri. Travel safely. I think you said your travel partner and you get in the day before. If so, we'll have to get together for a "walkabout" (as Jan would say) the day before and the morning of the tour. I'm busy looking for some activities before the tour starts since I get there three days in advance. It shouldn't be a problem.

    I still would like to know if the guy that complained about Tauck not letting him know about the reciprocity fee made into Argentina.


  • I re-read your earlier post and you do not get in early, so I'll see you the day of the tour.

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