How to get residency in Argentina
Argentina is growing as an investment and Plan B destination as it attempts to turn the page on decades of socialism and fraught economic policy under the new Milei administration. There are a handful of viable paths to obtaining residency in Argentina, which can lead to citizenship after a short period provided certain conditions are met and that you have the right partners assisting you through the bureaucratic tangles.
Video: How to get residency in Argentina in 2026
Video Transcript:
Transcript of “How to Obtain Residency in Argentina in 2026”
LADISLAS MAURICE: Hello, everyone. Today we are in beautiful sunny Buenos Aires, and we’ll be discussing how to obtain residency here in Argentina together with our immigration lawyer, Martin. Martin, how are you?
MARTIN: All good. Thank you for having me.
LADISLAS MAURICE: So you were saying that there are three main ways that your clients obtain residency here in Argentina.
MARTIN: That’s correct. Our system supports three ways, through family ties, through financial means, and through some activities like working or studying. That’s the main ways, yes.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Can you elaborate?
Obtaining residency in Argentina through family reunification
MARTIN: Of course. So first of all, you need to know that family ties is a very important. Most people watching this video will think, I don’t have family ties with an Argentine, but it’s not that, it’s not that simple. For example, if you enter a marriage or a civil union with an Argentine, or a resident, or you have a child here, you can get residency. That means if only one person of the family can get residency through, for example, financial means, the rest of the family can join him or her in the application. And that’s a very important tool that we use every day. So this is important even if one person of the family has the means to get residency, the the rest can join him or her.
Argentina Financial Means temporary residency
MARTIN: Now, financial means it’s a very interesting way. You know, the most popular service we provide is showing some benefits from assets, you know, it could be for example, the promise of the benefits, say a lease agreement or an annuity or certificates of deposit. Many financial instruments work for this, or we could show a lump sum of money sitting in someone’s bank account, coming from a traceable legal transaction. A very popular example, a real estate sale or an insurance claim. We have all types of cases and it’s very flexible, so it’s just reaching out and seeing if it could work.
LADISLAS MAURICE: What are the amounts?
MARTIN: You need $1,500 per month per person.
LADISLAS MAURICE: For how long must we demonstrate these numbers?
MARTIN: At least 12 months. I suggest a 20% margin because it’s based on five minimal Argentine salaries, and that could go up or down. The peso-dollar ratio could go up and down, so it’s important to have like a margin. I would say yes.
LADISLAS MAURICE: And the lump sum in the account? How much?
MARTIN: It’s the same amount. You have to have 1,500 12 times in advance.
LADISLAS MAURICE: That’s it. So if you just show $20,000 on a bank account, you’re fine.
MARTIN: You could get residency for one person for one year, yes, but we need to trace it back to some legal transaction, of course.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Do you need to send the 20,000 to Argentina or can it stay overseas?
MARTIN: Yes and no. Here, here’s how it works. The immigration department will make you transfer a very small part at first. And only after your residency gets granted, you start transferring money on a regular basis to spend it. And they will want to check those transfers before renewing your residency.
LADISLAS MAURICE: This is extremely easy.
MARTIN: The paperwork can be tricky, but we make it easy. Yes.
Getting residency in Argentina through educational activities
LADISLAS MAURICE: What about the third way to get residency?
MARTIN: So, there are for those people that can’t demonstrate financial means, we have sponsor activities like working or studying, you know, it’s very popular to enroll in some kind of tango school, Spanish school, it will get you a type of residency. And there’s also, you know, there are universities, master’s degrees that will also get you temporary residency just like the ones I mentioned before. They’re very strong and interesting opportunities, they give you an open work permit, they give you the DNI. So for example, if you’re studying a degree or a masters, you could get a job anywhere in Argentina. Start a business, you know, it’s a very interesting type of residency.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, so let’s say I come here, I show that I have $20,000 on a bank account in Canada or the US, whatever. I get residency.
What is the validity of Argentina temporary residency?
LADISLAS MAURICE: How long is the residency valid for?
MARTIN: You will get residency for one year. Regardless of how much money you show, I mean, you will get residency for one year, unless you go through family ties directly, like marriage to an Argentine or a child. In those cases, it could be two years, but in most cases, it will be granted for one year. And you have to keep renewing it.
LADISLAS MAURICE: And how much time must I stay in Argentina physically to be able to renew?
MARTIN: It depends. Some residencies, you know, those that are associated with activities like studying or working, have like attendance policies, specific attendance policies. And sponsoring institutions may report you if you don’t comply with them. But for example, a financial means residency, you need at least six months every year, just to renew it. So if you spend like six months every year, you can go and renew again, all the way up to permanent residency after three years in most cases.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, so after three years of temporary residency, you can apply for permanent residency.
MARTIN: That’s correct. That’s correct. The application is pretty straightforward, you need to show financial means, which you’ve probably been doing, you know, before, well, lack of criminal records, as always.
Physical stay requirements to maintain residency in Argentina
LADISLAS MAURICE: And once you’re a permanent resident, how often do you have to come to Argentina to keep it?
MARTIN: You need to be in the country at least a bit of time, it’s unspecified every year. It cannot be, it cannot be like two days, you know, if they catch you doing something like that with no intent to live here, to have roots here, they’ll probably cancel your permanent residency. So it’s good to just come a couple months a year, I’d say.
Apply for Argentine citizenship after permanent residency
LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. And citizenship, because this is one of the main questions people have. They go online, and they’re like, oh, citizenship in Argentina after two years.
MARTIN: Yes. Well, this is an interesting topic. We had the crazy immigration reform last May, May 2025 for those watching this video after it’s shot. The government launched a new rule that makes people have two years of absolutely uninterrupted legal residency with zero days abroad. You cannot travel a single day after you get your residency granted to apply for citizenship. Once you apply, you can start traveling again. I don’t think this is the most best designed policy if you ask me. I think it’s not favoring international mobility, it’s a new era of traveling, I just don’t see why this happened. I think it’s kind of an overcorrection of some fraud we used to have, and I think the government was trying to send a message. We are seeing more deportations, we’re seeing more border controls for people from all over. And I think it’s important to get residency. If you, if you are thinking of living here, and I think this is a word of advice, if you’re thinking of living in Argentina, the visa runs and being a permanent tourist is no longer an option. Regardless of what you see online because the internet is full of misleading information, I think people have to be really careful. And if you are serious about living in Argentina, you need to get residency somehow.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, so get residency, stay here physically for two years. What if your mother dies?
MARTIN: No one knows. The immigration department is only taking applications, but it’s not processing them at this time. We don’t know if they’re going to apply this strictly, if there will be some kind of, hey, I traveled because my mother died, if there will be some space to explain this. If we are expecting, in the immigration community and consistent with Argentine practice, we’re expecting some kind of rule saying, like, by zero days we meant under 90. You know, some kind of general rule that will allow people to have some more certainty and plan things ahead. I also think that the spirit of this rule was to not give citizenship to people that are like sobers, that they are escaping the winter at all costs and they will only spend like the mandatory six months here, those people may not get citizenship. And we may see, we may see some kind of more integration in test, like, do you have friends? Do you work? What what do you do in Argentina that makes you deserve citizenship? It’s very subjective. It, it’s one of the discussed pathways. It’s waiting and updating people when it’s out.
LADISLAS MAURICE: So essentially right now there’s still a bit of uncertainty in terms of how quickly one can get citizenship and what the exact criteria are in terms of physical presence in Argentina. But if you move here, you live here full time, it’ll work, it’s just if you travel in the meantime, that’s a bit of a question mark.
MARTIN: I’m honestly advising clients to travel with limitations and restrictions, but not miss their mother’s funeral, right? Because I think that well, people watching this video will probably be eligible for citizenship in two and a half years or more. By then, it will have probably changed, and we’ll have some kind of rule, and there will probably be a retroactive rule, that will accept applications of people who traveled. So, I think we should take it like carefully, at least.
Who is immigrating to Argentina?
LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool. So tell me a little bit more about the the type of clients that you have right now, because we’re having a discussion before shooting this, and you’re saying that you’re seeing a surge in applications for residency here in Argentina.
MARTIN: More people are coming, the world’s is unstable, and people see Argentina as a safe place, great lifestyle, quality of life, cost of living is pretty good. The time zone is great for those that work remotely as well. So we’re getting lots of Americans, Europeans, people from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and I also think that lots of people who were in Argentina living here, they own maybe property, they own real estate, they are no longer doing visa runs. I’m getting people like, hey, I’ve been living here for five years, I speak perfect Spanish, I go to the same supermarket that you go, but I would like residency now. And the immigration department is taking them, they are not deporting people that has, you know, no criminal record. I mean, they are accepting people who willingly come forward and want to get residency. So that’s great. I think, you know, don’t be that guy that gets expelled at the border, I have had many clients come with like very serious worryings from the airport. And it’s been, it’s been, it’s work, you know, but I I would rather have people that it’s not in a rush and they can choose to get residency instead of…
LADISLAS MAURICE: Having to have.
MARTIN: Yeah, yeah.
LADISLAS MAURICE: All right.
How to contact Martin to get residency in Argentina
LADISLAS MAURICE: So on these beautiful words of wisdom, if you’re interested in getting residency here in Argentina, feel free to get in touch with Martin. There’s a link below and there’s also a whole article with all the different ways you can get residency, all the details, including all the documents. Martin, thank you very much for your time.
MARTIN: Thank you. Bye bye.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Appreciate it.
Make sure to download my free eBook, 12 Mistakes to Avoid When Investing in International Real Estate, which you can find on my website linked below, and feel free to follow me on Instagram @thewanderinginvestor. I look forward to hearing from you.
Why get residency in Argentina
- Live in an energy and agriculture independent and bountiful nation
- Enjoy a relaxed pace of life with lower crime and higher development than most Latin American countries
- Reside in a country that is undergoing potentially transformative economic reform, offering an opportunity to be a part of the story
- Apply for citizenship after 2 years living in the country as a genuine resident and enjoy visa-free travel to over 130 countries
Documents needed to apply for residency in Argentina
The following documents are required for all types of residency:
- Passport
- Argentine Criminal Background Check
- Apostilled Criminal Background Check from any country where you have resided for more than one year in the past three years (translated and certified by a public translator in Argentina if not in Spanish)
- Address Certificate in Argentina
The following may be required depending on which residency you pursue:
- Proof of valid health insurance
- Proof of passive, pension or regular income
- Birth and marriage certificates, if applicable
- Proof of funds entering Argentina (for rentista visa)
How to apply for residency in Argentina
Argentina offers three categories of residency: permanent, temporary and transitory. Time spent in the country using any of these residency options allows you to apply for citizenship after two years provided other requirements are met. Get in touch with my immigration lawyer in Argentina.
Permanent Residency in Argentina
Permanent Residency
There is no more permanent residency anymore for having a child or getting residency to an Agrentine.
To get permanent residency you must now live in Argentina for 3 years (for non-Mercosur people), which is a longer timeline than citizenship even.
However you don’t have to spend as much time physically in Argentina every year to get permanent residency as to get citizenship.
Once you have permanent residency in Argentina, you must just spend one day every year in Argentina to keep it active.
Argentina Rentista Visa (Passive Income Visa)
Temporary Residency
Argentine legislation considers passive income as anything earned from investments in real estate or stocks, interest, or dividends. This is not for digital nomads earning regular income.
The key requirement is that you must withdraw this income from its source and transfer it into Argentina to the tune of $1500 per person per month, including your children. By law, this amount is expressed as five peso-denominated minimum wages, so it can fluctuate depending on the USD/ARS exchange rate.
Showing a bank balance of $20,000 may also suffice if orignating from the sale of an asset
Argentina Pensioner Income Visa
Temporary Residency
This visa is like the rentista visa but is specific to pension income. Also, instead of proving that your money has been transferred to an Argentine account, you can simply demonstrate a stable monthly pension over $1500 (five times the minimum wage in pesos) per month per person.
Argentina Student Visa
Transitory or Temporary Residency
You can get residency by enrolling in an educational program. You will be expected to faithfully attend classes and prove this to the immigration authorities. Such a visa can be obtained through long-term enrollment (ideally one year plus) in virtually any type of educational program. It can even include tango lessons or wine education. If you are enrolled in an official degree program, you qualify for temporary residency, whereas those attending non-official programs receive transitory residency.
How to apply for citizenship in Argentina
The law requires two years of uninterrupted presence in Argentina. The jury is still out as to whether they will show leniency towards people who leave Argentina for a few weeks or months. These reforms are still being implemented and there is uncertainty.
Once you apply there is a three-part process that begins with a formal review of your documents to verify that you meet the basic requirements.
In the following phases, the Argentine state will request information from various agencies such as the police and immigration to shed light on your activities and time in Argentina.
From the time of application to receiving the citizenship can be between 12-24 months, and you are expected to remain in Argentina while it is being processed. You can however still leave for holidays and take vacations as long as you are not out of the country for an unreasonably long time. Even these timelines are questionable as the reforms have changed how people can apply for citizenship. Candidates previously had to go through the court system, but there will now be a citizenship unit within the government that will process the applications.
The government is also working on a $500,000 citizenship by investment scheme but details are scarce for now.
Renouncing citizenship in Argentina
As a general rule, renouncing citizenship in Argentina is not possible. It is among the very few countries in the world where there is no legal mechanism for renunciation.
My immigration lawyer in Argentina
Martin can help you with the following:
Ensuring all documents are presented according to immigration requirements
Translation and notarization of documents
In-person assistance with fingerprinting, police clearance and immigration interview appointments
Follow-up on applications and ensuring processing without unnecessary delay
Services in Argentina:
Articles on Argentina:
Transcript of “Changes to Argentina residency rules and citizenship by investment update “
LADISLAS MAURICE: Hello, everyone. Ladislas Maurice of The Wandering Investor. Today, we’ll be discussing some of the recent immigration changes in Argentina, together with my immigration lawyer, Martin, because there’s a lot of speculation online, and there’s a lot of nonsense being told, and a lot of people talking with authority, saying that certain things are going to happen but, in reality, no one really knows. Martin, let’s set the record straight here.
MARTIN: Great. Thanks for having me, Ladislas. And yes, it’s true, clients from all over the world are super concerned, because internet is full of misconceptions, mistakes. People go on about AI. Let’s go straight to the point. What has changed? What has not changed? In general, everything has become more strict. That’s the truth. No more permanent tourists. There is a common misconception. It used to be this way, Argentina used to be very relaxed, but people coming to Argentina and constantly renewing their tourist visa, doing visa runs to Uruguay or Brazil, we have now specific provisions against this in the new immigration law. The decree has stated very strict, dangerous sanctions, including deportation and a minimum of five years of a reentry ban. If you were thinking of coming to Argentina and not becoming legal straight away, that’s a bad choice.
There’s also a new change. We used to have direct permanent residency for those who married an Argentine citizen or those who have a child, an Argentine child. Now it’s not a permanent residency, but a temporary residency. In practice, it’s not a big deal, but you just have to go and apply for permanent residency when the time comes. Permanent residency has also becoming a little stricter, too.
Changes to birth tourism in Argentina
LADISLAS MAURICE: Before, essentially, you could have a child, and then build a bit of substance in Argentina, and then apply for citizenship, like, a year later or so, or a few months later. Can you still do this?
MARTIN: This is a common misconception. Citizenship versus residency, they are not the same. It’s not clear if, with a child, you can still apply for citizenship. The new decree has repealed some articles of the old citizenship law that has left, with full force, the regulation decree of the citizenship law, which has the title exception, so it’s still legally valid. They intended to finish this practice but, technically, it’s valid. We’ll need to see what happens with the current data.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, so essentially, people who want to have a kid and they want to do some birth tourism, Argentina right now is a bit of a risky proposition, because there’s a bit of uncertainty. Is this the message?
MARTIN: That’s absolutely the message, yes.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay, cool. Good to know. Thank you.
Impact of criminal records on residency eligibility in Argentina
MARTIN: There’s also a very interesting kind of non-reasonable change, if you want to say. Criminal records, if you have any kind of conviction, any kind of record, even if it’s a fine, even if it’s community service, or three days of prison time, you are no longer eligible for residency in Argentina. Does it make sense? Definitely, no. There is a rule in Argentina that criminal records expire after 10 years, but some countries leave the stain, they force you to have that for the rest of your life, and some records cannot be expunged. We don’t know what the Immigration Department is going to do with records that are more than 10 years old or if they are really going to import this provision by the book.
LADISLAS MAURICE: There’s a little bit of a contradiction between a libertarian system and then saying that someone that was jailed by another government for something very small, or just had a fine, just can’t enter the country anymore. [laughs] There’s a bit of a tension between practice and theory, I find. Okay, so there’s the criminal record thing. Any other changes?
MARTIN: No more relevant changes, I think. Well, there is a very interesting change, very dangerous. They changed one word in Article 61 of the immigration law. Before, when they find you as an illegal alien, or they find you lying at the border, the Immigration Department had the obligation to give you a certain reasonable time to become legal. They used to have the obligation, now it’s at their discretion. They changed, shall or may. That changes everything. They enabled direct red cards, like in football, they enabled direct deportations at the border, which is going to bring many cases, and it’s definitely going to raise concern about all that are uncertain of their future, or they haven’t made the right decision yet.
Changes to physical stay requirement for citizenship in Argentina
LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. And there’s a lot of things going online with people saying that now to apply for citizenship in Argentina, you need to stay two years in a row in Argentina without leaving the country for even one day, as a resident. Is this really the case, or is it ambiguous? Do we really know where we stand here?
MARTIN: It is the case. The text of the decree is extremely clear. It’s two years without exit. Is this constitutional? I think not. I know for a fact that many of my immigration lawyer colleagues, constitutional lawyer colleagues think it’s not legal nor constitutional. Even if some law is out there, it can be challenged, and this one will probably be challenged. Challenging one, small provision of the decree doesn’t make it all fall, so like more trip conditions for residency may prevail, while this particular provision of staying put in Argentina for two years may probably be disregarded at some level.
We don’t know if we’re going to need a full constitutional challenge for this, or if the Immigration Department will just realize this was probably a strategic mistake, and enforcement will be, well, lighter than expected. I think this will probably be the case, if you left the country for holidays, it’s hard to think that they’re going to enforce this strictly.
LADISLAS MAURICE: And I think what you meant, what you raised is interesting, because now you’re talking about the immigration department making the decision. Before, it was judges that were making naturalization decisions. Correct?
MARTIN: Absolutely, that’s another one of the changes regarding citizenship. We have one big change to discuss also. But it used to be the courts that handled citizenship, courts, and now we’re going to see the Immigration Department handling cases. At the moment, I think it’s important, at the moment, the Immigration Department is not taking cases. They said they need more time, more personnel, offices, whatever, we expect that it may take couple of months for them to be fully functional regarding the assessment, and to have more information.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Okay. Any other changes?
Argentina citizenship by investment program
MARTIN: Yes. Argentina has launched a CBI program, Citizenship by Investment program. I think this is worth noting. There is so much mistaken information, there’s so much speculation, rumors online, but let’s get the record straight. As you said before, there is an agency for the Citizenship by Investment program, and we are waiting for the regulation. There’s no number yet. The news have said half a million, but it’s still not official, and we have to wait, and follow The Wandering Investor, of course, for the proper information, so when it comes and when we know the full requirements, we can act on it.
LADISLAS MAURICE: Thank you, Martin, for the clarification, because there are already all these people that are just running with assumptions and saying, “This is what the program will be,” etc. No one really knows. In the meantime, they’re getting views. But the reality is no one knows. People should just sit on the sidelines, be patient, and wait for the official regulations.
MARTIN: That is true. And I think that the main thing here is that the core ground for residency haven’t changed. You can still get residency by getting married or having a child, by using your pension or your passive income, or by some activity like working or studying. These core components haven’t changed, the procedures stay the same. The Immigration Department will still take care of this. And who knows, we may even get, with all these citizenship by investment revolution, we may even get residency by investment, maybe buying property. We don’t know. It is expected, it is in the agenda, but the main core components haven’t changed.
If you are thinking of being a part of history, you’re going to Argentina, living here in the city and experiencing it, get in touch. I think, get in touch, explore the best option for you. Just do not become illegal, the stakes have gone crazy higher, and probably there’s something to do to get a solid status.
How to contact Martin
LADISLAS MAURICE: Cool, fantastic. If you want to find out the different ways to obtain residency in Argentina, there’s a link below with all of the information, and then you can use this link as well to get in touch directly with Martin, who is based in Buenos Aires, and his core specialty is immigration to Argentina. Martin, thank you very much for your time. Really appreciate it.
MARTIN: Thank you for having me.