In reversal, Argentina’s Migration Service denies dozens of Russian citizens’ applications for stay extensions and residence permits

Argentina’s Migration Service has begun denying tourist stay extensions and residence permits to Russian citizens, Georgy Polin, the head of the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires, told TASS.

Polin said that there have only been “a few dozen cases” so far, but that they included cancellations of previously issued residence permits as well as application denials. Some Russians have received orders to leave the country under threat of deportation, the consul said.

According to Polin, the Argentine authorities justify the residence permit application denials by citing the country’s agreement with Russia on visa-free travel, “according to which holders of ordinary Russian foreign passports can enter, exit, and use transit on Argentine territory without a visa for no more than 90 days in every 180-day period.” At the same time, in 2022, the Argentine Migration Service approved most Russian applications to extend their stays as tourists in the country.