Questions on Argentina/Uruguay Temp Import & Bike Storage in Buenos Aires/Montevideo
 

Hi everyone.. I posted on a similar topic before but it was rambling about non consequential stuff. This should be more on topic and useful to other travelers.

Here are my questions for you

I've been reading different threads on the subject, but I'd like to ask the following questions I couldn't discover from my research.
1) It appears as though Argentina will give you up to a 8 month temporary import visa upon entry if requested... but that sometimes that they will not give you this visa, and give you a shorter length like 3-6 months. If I can't get the 8 month, it seems risky to try to store the bike in B.A. and fly out of there. Question: Can I rely on them to get me an 8 month temp import visa for my bike?
2) I have read that only if I have the 8 month temporary import for the bike, will I be allowed out of the country (the 3-4 month won't work). Is this true? Must I bring the temporary vehicle import to the airport to checkout of the country?
3) Various threads have indicated Uruguay will give me a 1 year temp import at the border with no hassle. Question: Do I have to pay for this visa, and do I still get the 1 year? Can I leave Uruguay while my bike is there? Do I need any documentation or paperwork at the airport when leaving? If they don't give me the 1 year visa, what amount are the border officials giving instead?
4) If you're me, and assuming you want to be home for 3-4 months, and 1 month of transit to get to B.A., do you leave your bike in Buenos Aires or do you leave it in Uruguay? (I've read Argentina has *very* stiff penalties for overstaying your temporary vehicle import, including high fees and impounding. Not sure I want to risk that.
5) IMPORTANT: If I happened to be flying back into Argentina or Uruguay, is it permitted to bring parts for my bike? I.e. two tires, brake pads, steering bearings, rear wheel bearings, spark plugs? Or will this stuff get confiscated at the border? This greatly affects my planning.
6) I've heard that you can bring back stuff like Apple Computers to Argentina and sell them to cover your airline ticket. Is this just rumors or is it true?

And finally, I I could *really* use your help
If you live in Buenos Aires or Montevideo or nearby, (or know someone who does) and have a safe place for me to park my bike for 3-4 months please get in touch via PM or email (david AT davidparkinson DOT com). This is the most important thing, as without a safe place to store my bike, I don't feel comfortable booking airline tickets.

Many thanks in advance. Hit Ushuaia, and now on my way back to the USA, thanks to my new chain/sprockets which I replaced in Punta Arenas today... thanks to a realllllly long lever arm, and a block of wood wedged in the rear wheel.

http://i.imgur.com/rZ2c2zN.jpg?1

EXACTLY the same questions I has going to ask, except in my case I hope to be on 4 wheels ( 1995 Land Rover Discovery 1) At the risk of hijacking may I add one question?

Is there a disparity between a standard Argentinian tourist visa for rider/driver (3 months?) and a Temporary Import visa for a vehicle (8 months?) If so must the tourist visa be continually renewed if the stay in Argentina is over 3 months and were can this be done?

Almost forgot!!

Safe travelling and great adventures on the rest of your trip David.bier

hello David
you hope youhave a nice trip, sorry to haven't meet you since the STAHLRATTE.
for the second times we have stored our Bmw in Montevideo at the same place
We are very satisfed with kevin , the place is really secured and cheap.
you get 1 year at the land border.( by ship only 3 months )
the adress is at the Royal Enfield workshop
solano lopes 1684
Montevideo
099 91 87 12
they live upstairs
Christian & Mireille
Bmw 1200 gs adv

1)no you cannot 100% expect to get a 8 month permit. you can ask and your asking might improve your odds. It is really just up to the officer.
2)You can leave without the bike regardless if you have a valid TVIP or not. YOu are not required to show the TVIP on exit if you do not have the vehicle with you.
3)YOu do not pay for a TVIP in Uruguay. It is the same situation as in Argentina, except that the term is 12 months.
4) i prefer to leave in Uruguay
5)you can bring parts into the country legally if under US$300 total. You can exceed this amount if you have a copy of your TVIP with you.
6)yes, you can bring these electronics in and sell them. But customs officers are very alert for this type of smuggling.

Arooni,
Good to hear you got your bike sorted.

1 month ago I got the temp import in Uruguay. If you get the ferry from BA. They stamp you out of Argentina and into Uruguay upstairs at the ferry terminal. Its a joint customs. Then return to your bike downstairs in the parking lot for boarding vehicles, the aduana guy will collect your Argentinian temp import to cancel and check your passport matches, paperwork and licence plate. when you disembark the ferry at Colonia-Uruguay , go to the aduana guy who os standing beside his car. They waved me on as they thought I was a Brazillian, who don't need a permit. Explain to him you want the 1 year vehicle permit (he will probably do it anyway), he does a hand written one on a piece on a double sided paper form and gives you the original- no charge. I'm sure they enter this data into their systems later on. Done. When I flew out of Montevideo I just got stamped out as per usual as there is nothing about a motorbike in the entry stamp. After getting the permit I would immediately get it scanned and a copy.

Cheers and good luck
Dom

Arooni,

If you end up deciding to leave your bike in Argentina, I can offer you safe and secure motorcycle parking in Buenos Aires. Please visit my HU authorized signature website below for details.

Have a great ride!

That was great news for me, am thinking of riding my bike down from Seattle as my US temporary import runs out end of June

See Arooni is from there, would be nice to catch up with him but couldn't pick up the thred to message him

Possibly will be looking for a co-rider as my husband needs his bike shifting too, and he cannot get back to US before then to ride South, somone from Seattle would be handy

Then it's bike into storage and back to UK for work

I'd love to hear your perspective on #5 of my original query... as I'm looking to buy tickets this week and the ability to bring in parts in is going to affect which airport I'm going to fly out of.

I.e., can I arrive to both the Buenos Aires and the Montevideo airport with a bunch of used parts and maybe even new tires (I would take off all the tags so they looked used).

Thanks in advance!
=David

Bike storage in Buenos Aires, Mendoza & maximum time to leave the bike
 

Hi,

I just arrived in Argentina and am waiting for my bike to arrive. Unfortunately I have to head back to Europe in a month so that I will have to leave my bike in Argentina or Chile and come back hopefully in 6-7 months. I have gone through all the threads but I would like to ask if there is anything new about the following subjects.


- I need a parking for my bike in Buenos Aires, Mendoza or Santiago de Chile. I rather look for a fellow rider to do me a favor and let me leave my bike there or for a cheap parking place. I have seen the prices of xfiltrate in BA of 80 USD per month and it´s simply way above my budget.

- What will happen if I don´t make it in 8 months -which is apparently the maximum temporary importation permit-? Will I be fined?

Thanks a lot for your feedback.

Vivo en Junìn, 250 km al oeste de Bs As, sobre la Ruta 7 que une Mendoza y Bs As. 20 dolares al mes y conocer un sevillano està bien para mi si querès dejar la moto en mi garage

Heya mahsita, while we don't know the direct answer to your questions re TVIP and storage we can offer help timing wise if needed in Chile.

We are in Peru, will be into Chile another week or so then heading south to Santiago, if you need help that we can do we would be happy to help a fello traveller.

Cheers Andi

Bike storage
 

I'm in BA now looking for storage for an xr650l. Gonna do exactly the same thing. Head home for 5 months to work and return with parts for another trip around South America. $80 usd for storage? Come on! Can you say guage? There has to be a cheaper way to store a bike here. That's twice what I pay to keep a dirtbike in moab Utah. If anyone knows what's up with bike storage in or near buenos aires please give us the scoup! Oh and just so you know if anyone needs to store a bike in denver Colorado or moab Utah You can use my garage free of charge!

Motorcycle parking in Buenos Aires
 

Arooni and all, most of the answers to questions asked on this thread
are accurate.

Generally, Argentina will issue an 8 month TVIP for a motorcycle if asked at the border, with some exceptions and considerations:

1. The bike/vehicle has been issued consecutive TVIPs by Argentina

2. In the opinion of the responsible border official the tourist/owner does not appear solvent ($) enough to pay living expenses, upkeep of the bike and have spending money while residing in Argentina for 8 months,(without illegally working) and/or the bike looks old or in bad repair.

3. The tourist in any way insults the official or the official just doesn't like the way the tourist looks, acts or smells. Hey, Alice you are not in Kansas/Moab, Utah anymore.

4. The tourist visa is generally issued for three months or less, *This is in conflict with the fact that Argentina does, upon request, generally issue an 8 month TVIP for a tourist's motorcycle.

*The only (unofficial, off the record) explanation I have received from Argentine officials is, if a tourist, because of an emergency or work, etc. is forced to leave Argentina by air, it becomes too complicated and time consuming for the tourist to jump through the hoops that would be necessary to legally extend the TVIP beyond the 3 month tourist visa. Another, secondary explanation given was to permit the tourist to visit other South American countries without the bike especially in the event the tourist fell in love with someone, while in Argentina and decided to continue traveling, at least for up to the 8 month limit without the bike. No sheet, I got that from a border official.

Within the confines of the 3-8 month TVIP, the tourist/owner may leave and return to Argentina without showing the TVIP. Of course the dates on the tourist visa are monitored carefully and fines are imposed if the tourist outstays visa.

New motorcycle parts may be hand carried into Argentina (within reason) if the parts are for the motorcycle owned by the tourist PERIOD And, all second hand parts are generally confiscated immediately. I have had 3 reports of this happening.

I have spoken with rosa del desierto and decided to ignore the comments regarding the opinons that $80.00 U S or AR peso (offical rate) is too expensive.

The only fact I will share, is xfiltrate motorcycle parking is a legally registered business, pays all expenses and taxes and offers 24/7 access with 24/7 on site security. Doing business legally in Buenos Aires is expensive and requires close attention to all regulations. The vast majority of parking facilities in Buenos Aires will not accept motorcycles because of the cost of insurance.

I have heard only positive comments about parking in Montevideo. We have no competition as our spaces are filled. For there to be competition there must be an abundance of parking spaces and this is not the fact in Buenos Aires, I cannot speak for Kansas or Moab, Utah.

I will say that if we are ever at our ranch in Arizona, and you are passing through, you would be welcome to park for free. Just good old southwest hospitality.

Eat , drink and park safely

xfiltrate

rosa del desierto insisted I add this photo with the explanation that:
"We are overlooking the Black Sea on the north coast of Turkey during our recent ride from Spain."

Woman?

Storage
 

I already have the permit. I've been in and out of Argentina 6 or 7 times in the last few months. Every permit issued to me was for 8 months. I did not have to ask for it. It's standard operating procedure at most Argentinian boarder crossings. I'm quite aware that this is not Colorado or Utah. (Not sure how Kansas got in the mix). I'm not sure how business works here in buenos aires, nor do I have time to crunch the numbers on the ins and outs of the motorcycle storage business. To me it seams a bit expensive and I don't think I'm alone in that. I have a week to find a place to store the bike. Worst case scenario I send it to a friends house in chilicito. When I sort it all out I'll be sure to post where I found storage at reasonable rates. It's hard for me to believe that no one has posted it already. Surely someone here has good information on this.