Argentina: Temporary Vehicle Import Permits
 

If you are a tourist entering Argentina on a foreign registered motorcycle you are required to obtain a temporary vehicle import permit (TVIP).
This is a straight forward process during which your passport, current license plate, motorcycle vin numbers and title will be recorded. You may or may not be asked to present a valid driving permit and proof of insurance.
Insurance is required in Argentina.

It is strongly suggested you remain calm and maintain a very respectful attitude when dealing with Argentine border officials, police and soldiers. Borders might be crowded, might be unpleasantly warm or cold, you may be hungry and you may be asked to provide copies of your passport etc that requires walking to a nearby kiosk where you pay for copies. There might be small children begging and perhaps looking for something to steal.

Today, Argentina has a sophisticated computerized program that keeps track of foreign registered vehicles/motorcycles entering and exiting Argentina.

TVIPs are automatically issued for 3 months which corresponds with the length of your tourist visa. But, as recently as the last 15 days (before today 02 February 2024) the following borders UPON REQUEST have issued 8 months TVIPs for foreign tourist's foreign registered motorcycles.

8 months TVIP issued via Buquebus (ferry) arriving Buenos Aires , Argentina from Montevideo, Uruguay. January 2024.

8 months TVIP issued via border Cardinal Samoré Pass, Argentina in the Andes between Chile and Argentina. January 2024.

3 month TVIP (only) issued via border Pino Hachado Pass, Argentina in the Andes between Chile and Argentina. January 2024

3 months TVIP (only) issued via Futaleufu, Argentina in Northern Patagonia between Chile and Argentina. January 2024.

As evidenced above, upon request you may or may not be issued an 8 months TVIP for Argentina. If, within the last 8 months you been issued a TVIP for Argentina please post the date, border crossing and length of the TVIP. This might assist others.
Please post any helpful information regarding Argentiine TVIPs.



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Great info, thanks for letting everyone know.

Argentina: TVIP Updates
 

Thanks "Lone Rider"

8 months TVIP issued via Santiago & Mendoza November 2023

3 months TVIP issued via Los Antigous, Tierra del Fuego January 2024

Bear in mind that the alternative is to enter on a CdP. We've done this several times. Note that this is NOT a requirement, it's out preference.

If this has changed I'd be interested to know.

If you are leaving and plan to re-enter Argentina later, be sure to surrender your TVIP when leaving. I met a French rider in October 2023 entering Argentina from Paraguay. He offered to surrender his TVIP document when leaving Argentina for Uruguay. The casual Argentine border official for reasons that were not explained, didn't take the documents. A few weeks later the rider arrived at the border of Argentina/Paraguay...and the Argentine officials delayed his entry for several hours because the paperwork wasn't turned in when he last left Argentina.
Bottom line: the safest step is to always turn in your TVIP when leaving a country and always check the end date.
For those planning to go back and forth between Chile and Argentina, you'll need to turn in your TVIP each time.
PS: Always check the dates entered by tired and underpaid border officials may include typos, no extra charge. Ask me how I know.

Tying in with what Peter said above, I'm sure my xr650l is still in the Argentine aduana computer system as over-staying in Argentina since 2019, when I rode from Mendoza to Chile.

The fat flatulent f*** flatly (re)fused (I'm a poet and didn't know it... :mchappy:) to discharge my Argentine TIP on the way out. He got quite agressive, in fact, when I politely tried to insist that he should do his job and despite my random attempts to appear respectful (I really am able to pretend that I think uniformed types are VIPs :D) and speaking in my best Spanish. But no luck. Somewhere I still have a copy of the Chile import doc that proves my vehicle left Argentina.

PS. The bike is no longer anywhere close to the Americas

Not that I'm trying to convince people to use CdPs however one benefit of a CdP is that it's easy to stamp out of a country, and there's no problem with the paperwork disappearing into a black hole - the original carnet has the customs stamp on the last third of the triptyque.

Today is Wednesday February 14, 2024.
Received a validated report that
an 8 month TVIP was issued at the (ferry) BuqueBus Border, Buenos Aires for an overlander arriving from Uruguay.

Please continue to post updates on TVIPs issued by Argentina including date and border crossing. Thanks

Sorry if this is redundant, could you explain a CdP. Does it have to do with passports? I don't understand.

CdP = Carnet de Passage

https://landcruisingadventure.com/carnet-de-passage/

Is possibly to get a new TVIP every time you exit and re-enter. Almost like doing a visa run and getting your tourist visa renewed for another 90 days.

Looking to ship my Tenere 700 down to Argentina and stay in that area for a year.

Yes you will get a new TIP every time you enter Argentina. So will you in all other of the south American countries. So you could stay indefinetively with your foreign plated bike in south America.

We just received two reports that bikes arriving Buenos Aires, Argentina on the BuqueBus (ferry) from Uruguay asked for and received 8 month TVIP . (temporary vehicle import permit)

This is good news. Also, if you buy an Argentine registered motorcycle in Argentina, you can park it in Argentina forever without the need for a TVIP. Please see our web site for more information.