How to Apply for an Argentina Visa for Filipino Tourists or Visitors

1. Philippine Passport. Other than providing your passport itself, you need to provide a photocopy of the information pages on A4 paper. Make sure as well that your passport is valid for 6 months beyond your intended travel date, it has your signature, and has at least two (2) blank pages.
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2. A duly accomplished Argentina Visa Application Form.
   • Print this Argentina Visa Application Form in A4 size.
   • Download the application form from here (it contains English translations on the 1st two pages because the form is in Spanish).
   • Properly fill the form with your information in CAPITAL LETTERS (even your email address).
     • Erasures are NOT allowed and you should also NOT write outside the boxes.
     • Put a long dash line “—” in all spaces that are not applicable to you.
     • Ensure that you have signed it with your signature. In this section, it will ask for a date: this must be the date when you submit your requirements to the Embassy. It’s best to leave it blank just in case — otherwise, they will make you redo the form (which is still not a problem, but to save time, it’s preferable to be careful).
   • There are sections here that ask for your flight dates and hotel in Argentina… this does NOT mean that you are required to book your airline and hotel beforehand because the embassy does not necessarily require applicants to book it before approval — as a standard, they only need proof of reservation first.
     • You can easily get a flight reservation online with OneWayFly for a small fee of only Php 1,000~. I highly recommend them because they are fast, easy, and legitimate; plus, I have been using them for years for all of my visa applications! (Read here for more info).
       • Later on, in case you want to book your flight, my go-to platform is Skyscanner since they offer the best flight deals:
     • For hotel bookings, it’s best to do it with Booking.com or Agoda.com. With them, you can reserve a hotel with NO pre-payment and you can even cancel the booking a day before your arrival with NO cancellation charges at all.
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3. 4 cm x 4 cm Photo (white background). Photos that are pixelated or of low resolution will NOT be accepted.
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4. Cover Letter with Daily Itinerary Details. This is for explaining why you are applying for an Argentina visa. Along with this letter, you must also provide your day-to-day itinerary.
   • If you want to see a sample, here was the letter I submitted.
   • You must sign the cover letter at the bottom (with your FULL name — including your middle name — in capital letters).
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5. Flight Reservation. This should be a round-trip ticket confirmation or reservation.
   • You can easily get a flight reservation online with OneWayFly for a small fee of only Php 1,000~. I highly recommend them because they are fast, easy, and legitimate; plus, I have been using them for years for all of my visa applications! (Read here for more info).
   • Ensure that the flight document shows your name and that it is extracted from the airline directly. Rest assured, OneWayFly will be able to provide this kind of document.
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6. Certificate of Employment (COE). Submit the original COE document that is duly notarized, and it should properly indicate your full name, passport number, your position, start date of your work, a brief description of the duties that you do, your monthly salary, and your approved duration of leave.
   • IMPORTANT NOTE: Your COE must be notarized in the country in which the letterhead of your certificate indicates. So if for example, you work for a company that’s located overseas, the Certificate of Employment that they will provide for you must be notarized in that particular country address — and NOT the Philippines.
   • For self-employed / business persons.
     • If you’re a freelancer, submit your Certificate of Registration and latest ITR (original, and photocopy in A4 paper).
     • If you own a business, submit your Business Registration issued by DTI / SEC (including all the Articles of Incorporation and latest General Information Sheet) and the company ITR (original, and photocopy in A4 paper).
       • Start filing your local taxes as early as NOW — after all, a lot of embassies (not only Argentina) require an ITR. So if you’re looking for a hassle-free experience on Philippines tax compliance, I suggest registering with Taxumo because they can take care of literally everything for you: tax forms, payments, and submissions. I’ve been using them for years now and it has been such a time-saver. Come sign up with my code AILEEN and you can get a 10% discount on all their subscription plans!
   • For unemployed persons.
     • Given the way the Embassy of Argentina presents its requirements for visa application, it’s best that you acquire a guarantor/sponsor if you’re unemployed. (See section B below for details).
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7. Bank Certificate and Bank Statements (or Passbook). These must be original copies from your bank encompassing information for the last three (3) months of the current year.
   • How much should you have in your bank account? The Argentina Embassy did NOT mention any minimum balance requirement, but after a bit of research, I found out that you must at least have $100 (Php 5,000~) per day of your stay — you can use this as a standard but of course, it’s always best if you have more.
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8. Hotel Reservation.
   • If you’re planning on staying with a friend in Argentina, a notarized letter of invitation must be submitted (more details of this in section (B) below).
   • For hotel bookings, it’s best to do it with Booking.com or Agoda.com. With them, you can reserve a hotel with NO pre-payment, and you can even cancel the booking a day before your arrival with NO cancellation charges at all.
   • Once you’re done researching, please remember that the hotel reservation you must present to the Argentina Embassy is a direct confirmation from the hotel — not just the document you got from Booking.com or Agoda. (So for this, you can just email the hotel to ask for a document confirming the booking).

This kind of application is applicable for students, minors, unemployed persons, husband/wife (if one of you will be supporting the other), self-employed persons/freelancers*, and others. This also applies to anyone who would have a company/agency to sponsor the trip.

For submitting the necessary requirements, simply submit the requirements listed in section (A), numbers #1 to #5, as well as #8. 

When it comes to (#7) Bank Certificate and Bank Statements, you should ask these from your guarantor/sponsor — such could be your mom, dad, brother, sister, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, relative, company, etc. (Technically, anyone can be your sponsor). In addition, you should submit…

9. Guarantee Letter. An informal letter written by your sponsor and guarantor certifying that he/she will be funding or sponsoring your travel expenses. This should be signed by him/her, and notarized in the country that he/she resides in.
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10. Photocopy of Guarantor/Sponsor’s Passport. Provide a photocopy of the bio page only; if not, it can be a photocopy of any Visa page or any government-issued ID.
    • If your guarantor/sponsor is a foreigner or foreign national, please also provide a photocopy of his/her identity card (I-CARD) or AEP (Alien Employment Permit).
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ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• If you’re a student or minor…
  • You should provide:
    • Affidavit of Support from your parents
    • DSWD Permit (must be authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs)
    • Birth certificate
    • Parent’s government-issued ID with picture (this can be their passport, Driver’s License, etc.)
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• If your guarantor/sponsor is a foreigner or foreign national…
  • If he has NO account in any of the local banks in the Philippines, he/she can provide a photocopy of his/her bank statement with contact details.
  • Providing pay slips will help.
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• If you’re going to stay in the address of an Argentine resident and NOT a hotel…
  • Your host must write a letter of invitation and send the original copy to the Embassy. This serves the sole purpose of initiating the visa application process and does not guarantee, under any circumstances, the granting of visa abroad. The letter is informal and shall meet the following requirements:
    • The letter must be written in Spanish.
    • It must be addressed to the intervening consular authority (e.g. .Al Sr. Cónsul de la Republica en…)
    • Contain all personal and contact details of the inviting person in Argentina: name and surname, DNI, address,telephone or mobile number, and email address.
    • Contain all personal and contact details of the foreigner invited to Argentina (in short, YOU): name and surname, nationality, date of birth, type and passport number, telephone or mobile number, email address and any other contact details)
    • Explain the reason for traveling, relationship of the invited person with the host, duration of stay in the country, the place of stay and estimated dates of arrival and departure.
    • Express that the signatory will be responsible for the departure of the said foreigner once the permitted length of stay expires.
    • Include this paragraph: “Como invitante de extranjeros, he leído y comprendo los términos de establecidos en el Capítulo VI dde la Ley 25.871, artículos 116, 117, 118, 119, 120 y 121.”
    • It must contain the signature of the host, certified by the corresponding Notary Public and relevant Public Notaries Association.
    • This original document of the letter of invitation must be sent by the host to the Embassy of the Argentine Republic in Manila by post.