Moving to Argentina

Monthly income of at least FIVE times the Salario Minimo Vital y Movil. With the SMVM at ARS 376,600 (August 2026) that is ARS 1,883,000 per month, roughly USD 1,345. The income must derive from assets in the applicant's own patrimony - financial instruments, real estate or company holdings - and expressly NOT from personal work. Funds must be remitted into Argentina through a bank or financial institution authorised by the central bank (BCRA). Plus passport, Argentine and foreign criminal certificates, proof of address, all foreign documents apostilled or legalised. Granted for 1 year and renewable. Because the threshold is a multiple of the SMVM it moves with Argentine wage indexation - recompute rather than relying on a stored figure. Argentina taxes residents on worldwide income; it is not a territorial-tax jurisdiction.

Pension of at least FIVE times the Salario Minimo Vital y Movil per month - ARS 1,883,000 at the August 2026 SMVM of ARS 376,600, the same numeric threshold as the rentista route. The pension must come from a government, an international body or a private company for services rendered abroad, and must be regular and permanent. Requires passport, Argentine and foreign criminal certificates, proof of address, and a pension certificate legalised or apostilled. Granted for 1 year and renewable, converting to permanent residence after 3 years (2 for Mercosur nationals).

No job offer, no income threshold, no investment - nationality is the qualifying criterion. Requires a valid passport or Mercosur travel document, an Argentine criminal certificate (age 16+), foreign criminal certificates for any country lived in for a year or more in the past three, proof of address and proof of lawful income. Granted for 2 years and renewable, converting to permanent residence after 2 years (against 3 for non-Mercosur nationals). Fee 50 UMSM (ARS 50,000). Filed through the RaDEX portal plus an in-person appointment. Also open to non-Mercosur nationals who have been naturalised in a member state for 5 years or more.

A signed pre-contrato laboral specifying duties, hours, duration, workplace and pay at collective-agreement rates. The employer must be registered with the tax authority AFIP and enrolled in RENURE, the national register of sponsors of foreign nationals, and must file an AFIP early-enrolment certificate within 30 days. Plus passport, Argentine and foreign criminal certificates and proof of address; foreign documents apostilled or legalised and sworn-translated. Legal basis Ley 25.871 art. 23(a). Granted for 1 year and renewable. Fee 100 UMSM for extra-Mercosur nationals (ARS 100,000).

The stated minimum investment is ARS 1,500,000 - a legacy nominal figure that was never indexed and is now worth roughly USD 1,070, so in practice the discretionary assessment of the project, not the number, is the real gate. The investment project must be presented to Migraciones with proof of the lawful origin of the funds and of their entry through a BCRA-authorised institution; the productive-development ministry then issues a non-binding opinion on the project and its execution timetable. Separate Mercosur and non-Mercosur application tracks. Practitioners report the route is slow and little used.

Qualifying ties: spouse, parent or child of an Argentine (native, naturalised or by option); or spouse, parent, or unmarried child under 18 (or adult child with a disability) of a temporary or permanent resident. Granted for the same period as the sponsor's residence, and up to 3 years where the sponsor is Argentine or a permanent resident. Requires legalised birth or marriage certificates, the sponsor's ID, passport, criminal certificates, proof of address and proof of lawful income. IMPORTANT 2025 CHANGE: under DNU 366/2025 marriage to an Argentine no longer confers permanent residence directly - it yields temporary residence, with permanent available after 2 years or more - and having an Argentine child no longer grants automatic permanent residence either, a change aimed at what the government called birth tourism. Children of Argentines born abroad do still access permanent residence directly.

Ley 346 and Article 20 of the Constitution still set 2 years of residence. DNU 366/2025 (Boletin Oficial, 29 May 2025) tightened it materially: the 2 years must now be CONTINUOUS and LEGAL, with departures from the country breaking the count; the applicant must hold a valid temporary or permanent residence throughout, so time spent irregularly or on tourist status no longer counts - this was the principal pre-2025 loophole; and CUIT/CUIL tax registration plus proof of occupation or means of livelihood are required documents in the file. Jurisdiction moved from the federal courts to Direccion Nacional de Migraciones, fully digital via RaDEX since 6 October 2025. Argentina permits dual nationality and imposes no formal language examination, though Spanish is expected in the interview. Anyone planning around the headline 2-year figure should confirm the post-2025 position, which is the most contested point in Argentine immigration practice.

Created by Disposicion DNM 758/2022 and confirmed active on the official site in 2026. Open only to nationals of countries that do not need a tourist visa for Argentina. The applicant must perform remote work by electronic or telecommunication means for foreign individuals or entities. Documents: a signed statement of the independent activities, a brief CV, valid passport, Argentine criminal certificate (16+), proof of address, evidence of remote work such as contracts or income receipts, and a photo. NO income threshold is stated on the official page. Granted for up to 180 days and renewable once for the same period. Fee 32 UMSM extra-Mercosur via RaDEX, or 120 UC for the consular electronic-entry route. Migraciones publishes 10-45 business days. CRITICAL: transitory residence is a distinct legal category from temporary or permanent residence - it does not build arraigo toward permanent residence and does not satisfy the citizenship requirement of holding valid temporary or permanent residence.

For scientists and specialised personnel: a notarised contract stating tasks and duration, plus the sponsor's RENURE registration. For intra-company transferees: a notarised company letter stating the overseas post, the Argentine workplace, duties, duration and schedule, plus RENURE registration. Since a 2026 update to the official page, both categories must also file a constancia de alta temprana for the foreign worker registered with ARCA (Agencia de Recaudacion y Control Aduanero, AFIP's successor agency) - a per-worker early-registration certificate, distinct from the sponsor's own RENURE enrolment. In all cases passport, Argentine criminal certificate (16+), foreign criminal certificates, proof of address and proof of lawful income. Granted for 1 year and renewable. Note this is NOT a points-based or self-sponsored talent route - a sponsoring organisation is mandatory, and the applicant must already be physically in Argentina to file.

DNU 366/2025 inserted Article 2 bis into Ley 346, permitting citizenship on proof of an 'inversion relevante en el pais' WITHOUT the ordinary 2-year residence requirement. Decreto 524/2025 created the Agencia de Programas de Ciudadania por Inversion, a decentralised body under the Ministry of Economy. Procedure: the Agency issues a report informed by prior opinions from the Ministry of Security and other security agencies, after which Migraciones has 30 business days to grant or refuse. CRITICAL STATUS: the Ministry of Economy has NOT issued the secondary regulation defining what counts as a relevant investment, so no official minimum exists. Secondary sources speculate about a USD 500,000 productive tier and a USD 1,000,000 government-bond tier launching in late 2026 or early 2027, but no official source confirms any figure - do not rely on a number.

Being the child of an Argentine national - native, naturalised or by option - is a standalone head of permanent residence, distinct from the ordinary 2- or 3-year arraigo route. Citizenship 'por opcion' under Ley 346 is available to children of native Argentines born abroad and does not require the 2-year residence period at all. Limited to ONE generation of descent: there is no grandparent route, in contrast to Italy or Spain. Requires legalised birth certificates establishing the chain of descent.

Enrolment as a regular student at an officially recognised secondary, tertiary, university or specialised establishment, plus passport, Argentine and foreign criminal certificates, proof of address and proof of means. Granted for 1 year and renewable, counting toward permanent residence at 3 years. IMPORTANT 2025 CHANGE: DNU 366/2025 limits free access to public university education to permanent residents, so non-permanent-resident foreign students may now face tuition fees, and health insurance is required.