Argentina citizenship is open to foreigners after two years spent in the country lawfully and without interruption. The period looks short, yet naturalisation depends on putting the right immigration status in place at the outset and on observing every residence condition along the way.
In this article I explain the legal nuances of obtaining an Argentine passport, the criteria an applicant has to meet and the lawful ways of relocating, and I set out the steps that lead to citizenship.
Argentine nationality: notable features
Renouncing Argentine nationality is not possible. For that reason, Argentines run into difficulties when they seek the nationality of states whose rules oblige applicants to give up any earlier passport, as Germany did until recently and as Singapore still does.
In the judicial procedure, one compulsory stage consists of publishing a notice that an applicant is seeking Argentine citizenship. Its purpose is to allow potential creditors to bring forward any claims against the applicant. Even today this is often done the old way, through the official gazette, the Boletín Oficial.
Why investors seek citizenship in Argentina
Global rankings regularly place Argentina's passport among the most powerful. Its holder gains several advantages:
- travel without visas. More than 170 countries admit holders without a visa, among them all Schengen states, Britain, Japan and Singapore. In addition, American consulates readily grant Argentines B1/B2 tourist visas valid for the full ten years, even on a first application;
- a second nationality on a lawful footing. No one is obliged to surrender an original passport, since Argentina raises no objection to dual nationality. A holder of an Argentine passport may lawfully retain both documents and use the advantages that each of them offers;
- short timeframes. A lawful stay of only two years is enough to open proceedings. In most of Europe naturalisation means five to ten years of waiting, with residence documents extended again and again and hard examinations to pass.
Lawful ways to relocate
As a rule, a passport becomes available once a foreigner holds a residence permit and has spent two years in the country lawfully. I will describe the routes chosen most often:
- rentista residence. It is designed for people with steady passive earnings from abroad, for example property letting, dividends or interest on deposits. The decisive point is to demonstrate that the money is legitimate.
- childbirth in Argentina. This is the fastest option for the whole family. The child is Argentine by birth (jus soli). On that basis the parents obtain residence, which under the current Migration Law is temporary, granted for up to three years and renewable. In the cases before them, courts still follow the rules that preceded Decree 366/2025. Under those rules the parent of a native-born Argentine needs no qualifying period, so a court claim can be lodged almost at once. The migration service administers Law 346 as amended by that decree, and the amended law contains no such exemption (see the procedure section below).
- the new investment programme, with applications due to open in the last quarter of 2026. Argentina citizenship by investment is, strictly speaking, not a residence route, since the length of the applicant's stay plays no part in it. The programme is aimed at large investors, who may either pay USD 350,000 into the Treasury on a non-refundable basis or subscribe for a USD 800,000 sovereign bond issued specifically for the scheme.
Argentina citizenship requirements: papers for the file
A claim filed with the court rests on a basic set of papers. Foreign certificates receive an apostille and a Spanish translation. A sworn translator licensed in Argentina prepares the translation, and the local college of sworn translators then authenticates the translator's signature.
- a current foreign passport;
- the applicant's birth certificate;
- a police clearance issued in the applicant's home country and in each state where the applicant has stayed for long periods in recent years;
- evidence of income, that is, proof of the funds on which the applicant intends to live once Argentine citizenship is granted. Suitable evidence includes tax returns the applicant has filed as a locally registered sole trader, bank statements for accounts that receive passive income, or a letter from an employer;
- proof of the applicant's address in Argentina.
Applications lodged with the migration service under the 2025 reform, described in the next section, require a different core set of papers. It consists of the DNI (national identity document) that the applicant holds as a foreign resident and a current certificate from the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia (RNR). Evidence of occupation or means of support and a CUIT or CUIL identification code complete the requirements. The service may ask for further papers.
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How to get Argentina citizenship: the procedure
Decree 366/2025, in force from 29 May 2025, transferred the handling of applications from the courts to the migration service (DNM). Online filing through its RaDEX platform opened on 6 October 2025. Federal courts have since held the transfer unconstitutional in individual cases, and on 30 June 2026 the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared the decree void. The government has appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court, and no decision has been issued yet. Applications lodged before the reform, together with those where a judge has declined to apply the decree, remain on the judicial route.
On that route the ruling on citizenship is a matter for a federal judge, and the case is opened as follows:
- the applicant files a claim (demanda) with the federal court for the place of residence;
- the claim goes in through the electronic system of the judiciary (PJN).
When the court allocates a case number, the proceedings are formally under way. The applicant can monitor the status of the file online in the PJN system.
After admitting the claim, the judge examines whether the foreigner is of good standing. To that end, the court sends official requests (oficios) to key Argentine state and law-enforcement agencies:
- Interpol and the Federal Police (PFA) check for international arrest warrants and any criminal history;
- the DNM provides the court with the applicant's travel history, every arrival and departure. The court verifies that the applicant was physically present in the country for the required two years and did not overstay any authorised period;
- the tax agency (ARCA) examines whether the applicant's finances are clean. Anyone applying for an Argentine passport must satisfy the court that the income is lawful, for instance by showing taxes paid under the local Monotributo regime or by documenting lawful transfers from abroad;
- the RNR checks for open criminal cases inside Argentina.
Public notice is the next stage. The law requires the foreigner's intention to acquire citizenship to be made public, so that any debts or fraud on the applicant's part come to light.
Payment for a notice (edicto) in the Boletín Oficial, a gazette now published electronically, falls on the applicant. This notice states the applicant's name, DNI and file reference. Publication opens a fixed period, usually 10–15 days, during which any third party, such as a bank, a landlord or the tax authority, may notify the court that the candidate has unmet financial or legal obligations towards it.
When every check is complete and neither the tax agency nor Interpol has any objection, the judge delivers a final judgment (sentencia) in favour of naturalisation.
The court then convenes a formal hearing at which the applicant swears allegiance. By that oath the new citizen undertakes to uphold the Constitution of Argentina. The judge also hands over the principal legal document, the carta de ciudadanía (certificate of citizenship), which carries a judicial signature and the official seal. That certificate is what a Registro Civil (civil status) office needs before it accepts the application for the new citizen's DNI. Both the DNI and, later, the passport are issued by the population registry RENAPER (Registro Nacional de las Personas).
Steps after naturalisation
Once the new DNI is in hand, the holder may apply for a passport. Applications can be made in the government app Mi Argentina or through the official website, which handles both appointment booking and payment of the set fee.
Standard processing takes roughly two to three weeks. An urgent option also exists, Pasaporte al Instante, for a document needed before departure. It is available at Ezeiza and Jorge Newbery (Aeroparque) international airports. Under this option the holder receives the passport within a few hours, though the fee is considerably higher than usual.
An Argentine passport issued to an adult is valid for ten years. On expiry the holder may replace it in the ordinary way, without returning to court.
Family reunification
Naturalisation does not extend to a spouse or other relatives. Each of them files a separate application with the DNM or, on the judicial route, with a federal court. The two-year requirement applies to each of them separately, as it did to the principal applicant. A spouse must also register the marriage in Argentina or have it legalised for use there.
Minor children
Minor children are not covered by a parent's naturalisation either. Birth on Argentine soil makes a child a citizen automatically, by right of birthplace. Those born abroad become eligible for naturalisation in their own right only at 18.
Parents and adult children
Different rules govern parents and adult children. Having a relative who holds an Argentine passport through naturalisation changes nothing here: the two-year stay remains a precondition of the application.
A citizen's relatives can secure a family reunification permit from the migration service. With that permit their presence in the country is lawful, and after the qualifying period they may apply to the DNM or the federal court for citizenship.
In such cases the question of financial support is resolved separately, according to each applicant's status and the documents provided.
Complications and pitfalls of the court process
The authorities are well disposed towards foreigners seeking Argentine citizenship, but behind the apparent ease lies a bureaucracy in which an applicant without professional oversight can remain bogged down for years. I would like to draw your attention to the most common risks.
Delay is one of them. Decree 3213/1984 gives the judge 90 days to rule on a naturalisation request, yet without a lawyer monitoring the file the process lasts from two to four years. Official requests, moreover, do not leave the court registry automatically.
The applicant's address can raise a further problem. Judges check closely where the applicant actually lives. Forged lease agreements, or a change of address without notice to the court, rank among the main reasons for refusals and suspended cases.
The statute demands two unbroken years of residence. Throughout that pre-filing period the applicant may not cross the border even once, and a brief journey outside Argentina is enough to breach the condition.
Income receives close scrutiny from the court, which needs assurance that the new citizen will not become a burden on the state and does not earn money through crime. Statements from bank accounts may not be enough on their own: the court will require documents explaining the origin of the funds.
Conclusion
Under the amended law the migration service now handles Argentina citizenship by naturalisation. Pre-reform cases, and those in which a judge has declined to apply the decree, stay with the courts pending a Supreme Court ruling on the transfer. The procedure does not look complicated, but much depends on how closely the applicant follows the case. An error in the documents, an inaccurate translation or a missed deadline can delay the process and even lead to the case being closed.
If you would rather not deal with all of these matters yourself, you can turn to specialists for help. We can identify a suitable basis for residence, prepare the papers for the sworn translator and for certification by the local college of translators, and oversee the proceedings before Argentina's federal court.
Contact us to go over your circumstances and the paperwork needed to start your application for Argentina citizenship.
