International Driving License - Expiring Argentinian license

My European DL has expired and hence I am trying to get an international driving permit associated with my Argentinian DL before I leave. Only ACA does this (for $1500 - USD 10 at the current blue rate). The International driving permit is valid for 1 year at most, and it is associated with the DL it was issued for.

Which means that my Argentinian license, whose expiration date is September 2021, would get an international DL valid for less than 3 months.

This would be plenty of time since I should leave Europe in August, however, I am trying to kill two birds with one stone...

As you may know, expiring DLs have been automatically extended for another year or two because of the pandemic. However, you aren't issued a new card... unless you have to get an international driving permit or present a VALID physical DL somewhere.

My Sunday was spent for the trámite de reimpresión which has to be requested online on the City of Buenos Aires website, costs $750 plus $500 for the no infraction certificate which turned out impossible to pay.

They say they will process my request within 3 working days and the whole thing should take up to 10 working days. Add a feriani Nacional on June 21, and the 10th working day would be the day of my departure...

Request a new DL card with the extended expiration date in CABA

A little pleasant surprise today.

I was able to pay the libre de deuda ($500) which I wasn't able to pay online through the bank yesterday. Oddly, the DL re-print fee was processed through a payment system and the no-fine-pending certificate by another. Thank God, today my payment at the the Pagofacil was processed immediately. I then called 147 to know if there was a way to speed up the issuance of the replacement card, or if I could pick it up somewhere instead of waiting for it in the mail (when I did my DL in CABA, they print it on the spot at the Comuna 14 building).

The 147 phone op. didn't know and told me to email a certain address - which I did. No reply so far.

Then I called ACA to find out the last date available to get the international driving permit and if it was done on the spot (yes). The lady on the phone said that since I still have 3 months left with my current DL card, they can issue the international permit on that and once I receive the new card, I can use it with that, too. This is different than what I knew from abroad, i.e. the international driving permit is valid for 12 months but it is associated with the DL. When the DL expires sooner than 12 months, the international permit loses validity. They should also be presented hand in hand because the permit alone has no value.

The only explanation I can think of is that in Argentina the DL has the same number of one's DNI, so it doesn't change. This is not true in Italy. If the international driving permit references my DNI, I am all set.

I was given an appointment for this Wednesday, so I will post an update in two days.

To bring to the appointment:

1) Original + copy of my DL

2) Original + copy of my DNI

3) 2x pictures (fotocarnet)

4) 1500 ARS

I just want to get it because I will be driving my mother's car quite a bit, and I am afraid of police controls. They tend to make a fuss at anything unusual. I also have an expired Italian ID, so I would need to carry around my passport at all time, which is annoying (and risky!).

I am in the process to get my Italian DL renewed but I hit a bump: I lost the expired card after I went to the Consulate to get the paperwork done, and this seems to be an unsurmountable hurdle in Italy, where the physical card should be printed.

Needless to say, renewing an Italian DL while abroad is not as simple as a US or US license and cannot be done by mail.

We have to take a physical examination with one of the two doctors registered with the consulate, then go to the local Consulate with the old plastic card, the doctor's paperwork, pay about €40, and we get a piece of paper where it says that the DL was renewed for another 10 years. However,DL printers aren't available abroad, so when I go to Italy I have to go to the DMV, and bring the old card plus the consular paperwork.

Since I wasn't planning to go to Italy, I sent the paperwork to my father, who in turn used the Italian 'ACA' to handle the renewal. However, at the DMV they didn't like the lack of expired DL and the process is stuck at the DMV in Italy. I don't know why it is so important to get the old, expired card back. It is a worthless piece of plastic, anyway!

Quote from Splinter

I can see where Argentina inherited its bureaucracy from and I'm surprised to hear about police controls. Are those random just like here?

According to my parents, they don't check people walking, but they could stop cars for random controls (usual traffic controls at this point, as there is free circulation).

Also, there is no guarantee that rules on free movements won't change all of a sudden. My parents live each in a different region, so I expect to cross the regional border a few times during my stay. While I believe it is unlikely that they will close the borders during summer, I'd rather avoid surprises. The UK has instituted quarantine for people coming back from Portugal in a blink of an eye...

I don't like the idea of taking public transport, yet. Perhaps rental cars come with a contract that covers also drivers with no international driving permit, but I will be driving private vehicles. And in Milan there is the inner part of the city where you have to pay (I think €5-8) to enter for a day.

To be honest, I too have heard about people driving with their foreign license even years after moving abroad (not just in Italy, about anywhere). I just want one less thing to worry about since I am going there to solve a few bureaucratic tangles already. I don't need one more and I don't want to waste time arguing against bureaucracy. You always lose... even if just your time arguing!

Update of the day: my re-print has been turned down because it is more than 30 days to its expiration date (26/09/21).

I have an option to resubmit later using the same payments or ask for a refund. My husband votes for the refund. I see this as something complicate to accomplish.

This morning I went to the ACA for my International Driving Permit. In an out in 10'. Very efficient. 3 desks open, only me and another man doing the same thing as me.

It looks like this, it is valid for 1 year, and it doesn't reference nor my DNI nor my current DL validity.