When looking for work abroad in South America, many foreigners manage to find work off of the books, cash in hand and avoid applying for working visas that are full of red tape and take forever to process. However, in Buenos Aires, working off of the books becomes a little more difficult than many of the other destinations in South America.
What is the CUIT Number?
The CUIT number is a number which most employers (even small scale English language schools) ask for when anyone (including a foreigner) applies for work. The CUIT number is issued through a government agency called The AFIP Agency and there are hundreds of these agencies throughout the entire city, serving everyone with their tax needs amongst other things.
Legal residency is required in order to get a CUIT number, however, there is a loop-hole in the system that allows some foreigners to have a CUIT number whilst staying in the country on a tourist visa. This means that they still have to leave the country every three months (normally hopping over to Uruguay) to renew their passport stamps. But, it does mean that they become instantly more employable as they have a registered number that they can use to contract themselves out to any employer.
How Difficult is it to Get a CUIT Number?
Having said that, getting the CUIT without residency has proven extremely difficult (many times impossible) for a number of foreign tourists and incredibly easy for others. It seems that there isn´t actually a system in place and depending on which AFIP agency processes the claim the foreigner may receive their very own CUIT number or not.
What is the Process Behind Getting a CUIT Number?
The first thing to do is to go to an AFIP agency and request all the necessary forms for the CUIT. Some tourists have gone with Spanish speaking friends and have been refused and others have gone alone with their poor Spanish and been unable to complete the paperwork or understand what they have needed to do. This is something that needs to be thought out beforehand therefore.
Once in receipt of all the paperwork, the next thing required is a certificate of residence (certificado de domicilio). This certificate is issued any local police station and it is possible to give them the address of a hostel if that is where the foreigner is living at that time.
How to Get the Certificate of Residence
Go to the police station and request one. A payment of approximately 20 pesos is required, passport copies and nothing more. A police officer will then make a visit to the residence to check that the address given is true and then the certificate will be issued. However, much of the time, the police don´t even bother to check and issue the certificate there and then. Equally, some foreigners have been refused the certificate at this hurdle and therefore all plans for obtaining a CUIT are immediately put on hold.
Once in Possession of the Certificate of Residence
With all the forms for the CUIT from the AFIP Agency along with the Certificate of Residence, the foreigner needs to return to the AFIP Agency and hand over the residence certificate. There is then a lengthier process to follow with more forms to fill out, both by hand and on the computers that are in the agencies for public use.
Eventually, an account is opened, a CUIT number is issued and the foreigner then needs to take the documentation to a printer in the city (there are many to choose from) where what´s called a book of Facturas can be printed.
What Happens After Obtaining the CUIT Number?
The Factura is an invoice that the foreigner gives to the employer every time he wants to be paid. The employer then issues the employee a check, and the factura is given to the employer as a receipt of payment.
Checks can then be cashed in an ordinary bank (HSBC is normally a good best for foreigners) and the process is complete.
Having said all that, at no point does the foreigner become a legal citizen. Foreigners are given permission to work and have to pay their taxes, but they do not have any kind of citizenship rights. Therefore, trips to renew passports remain necessary and certain citizenship privileges remain out of reach.
This should be enough, however, to make it clear that working off of the books in Buenos Aires is not as easy, nor as advisable, as it is in other parts of South America. It is also important to note that even if these steps are followed, there is no guarantee of being successful in obtaining a CUIT. The reasons why some people have been refused and other have not are inexplicable to say the least.
The information given in this article is also by no means exhaustive. It is in fact a simple overview of a much more detailed process, but it does at least draw attention to the main processes and steps behind obtaining this necessary piece of information when wanting to work in Argentina. For more information, visit the AFIP agency website directly.
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