Visas How complicated is it to obtain residency in Argentina?

[Wally]

Thank you so much @Jakoval. Funny I have lived here for over 15 years and never bothered to get Citizenship here. My kids both have it and my wife is from here. Thank you for this. I may start the process but I'm moving back to the US in November. Might as well start the process. Like @Scottishgaucho, my wife always said it's not worth the hassle but seems simple enough so I might try. Thank you for the info.

Judging by the advice from all our Argentinean wives it sounds like they all think the same way. @Vince I got the same advice many years ago. I'm ok with just my USA passport. I'm not planning on releasing CIA files.

 

[VINO]

you should Google some links about the perks of having a second passport and citizenship - it's not just for whistleblowers and celebrities; there are myriad benefits. if you've already decided it's pointless for most people, then go about your business. but most Expats are already living a very unusual life from the 95% rest of the world, so inquiry into having multiple "flags" planted for political diversification is a very common thing for many decades now.

regarding Residency and DNI and Citizenship, i just noticed this thread on the old censored forum:

New DNI requirements, anyone got a walkthrough?

I'm very overwhelmed by all this. Went to the police station to get my partner's certificado, and suddenly they don't do that anymore. Do we still need the FBI background check? Can any of you expats be my witnesses? Anything else terrifying that I should know about this?

baexpats.org

it's talking about how this year there were some changes, and maybe USA folks don't need an FBI check to get a DNI? and Police in CABA aren't doing Certificado De Domicilio anymore? anyone have any info on this?

At least you have someone to join your initiative for a 2nd passport. It is a good idea for him.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1838934327075414243

 

[fetch rover]

this is a very stupid conclusion. why not research why instead of assuming people are wanting to be international criminals? what a strange way to analyze reality, and the fellow humans around you. you think i'm a criminal because i want multiple passports? yet you haven't read anything written by SovereignMan or InternationalMan or NomadCapitalist....weird. i can't imagine being so arrogant about something i have no clue about.

no one is "rushing" to do it; it's a long-term diversification plan that i've considered since 2010. is that "rushing" in your infantile perception of life?

I just read your other post about not wanting to pay your US taxes to the IRS. Understand your reasons for not wanting to pay but this goes back to what I mentioned, that probably most of the people that want second passports are criminals or breaking the law. Not paying the IRS is a crime. No judgments but you made my point about the 2nd passport issue.

I have not read any of those websites that you mentioned and I don't want to appear arrogant. I was just stating an opinion that seems to be correct in this case. Probably other good reasons to have a 2nd passport even though you have a very strong passport from the USA or UK but I would guess it is tax related.

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Did you read something different @StatusNomadicus?

nope, just was asking the same, since the old censored forum talked about things not being required suddenly this year: "It's certificado de domicilio, and nope, the cops won't do it anymore."

i can vouch that in Mendoza Capital, the Registro Civil office closest to you will do these "domicile" change-of-address tasks for $3 USD. it is a crappy half-piece of paper that has a receipt glue-sticked to it, like a 7-year-old was making arts and crafts

in Mendoza at the Civil Registry you just go to the Ventanilla Unica, get a number, pay for a "codigo" code, then tell them what your new address is. no witnesses, no police, do it all there and you leave with the paper, and it takes 30 minutes (i did this for both me and my girlfriend when we moved from Cordoba to Mendoza and needed to change Migraciones offices to here. in Cordoba i had to get the cops to write a Declaracion Jurada with 2 witnesses. very strange difference.

truth is most will be perfectly fine with a strong passport.

for the majority, but if you are planning to renounce your USA passport, or if you are trying to avoid massive taxes, or avoid a future draft, or you might get extradited someday, having 2 countries on "your side" might help. as i've mentioned before, Snowden would have never been trapped in Russia if he had 2 passports (though he probably woud never have gotten an NSA contractor job with 2 passports), and Julian Assange may not have been imprisoned for so many years if he had a second country's diplomats fighting for him.

the entire point of living as an Expat is to be flexible in geography. the political Plan B that i've mentioned on many threads is a simple concept, and is just like Food Storage: most people won't do it, but it's a good idea if you want to protect your family.

Many people marketing second passports but most of them have something to gain financially by getting a second passport. Usually a company trying to sell services to help get the passport.

sure, but most people who are looking for 2nd passports are looking for those services (i'm more of a DIY guy).

keep in mind that almost all Upper Class and politicians and elites end up getting 2nd passports or more. there's a reason why they're doing it

https://twitter.com/x/status/1825509312443076911

I also laugh when I see foreigners that can't speak or understand Spanish and think they will manage the process without a lawyer. I have a friend from Australia that asked me to help him and I told him to forget about it as it would take hundreds of hours on this. If someone has a good mastery of Spanish, a lot of time and patience then maybe they can do it themself. But it will take a lot of time so you have to see what your time is worth.

agreed. and if they're in Argentina, they need to learn Spanish. i wouldn't recommend the DIY route to most people. maybe 25% of Expats could do it, and Expats are already like 5% of the general population.

So many people marketing getting another passport. Seems like their target audience is digital nomads that make their money online and don't want to pay taxes and in case their passports get yanked they have another one.

another idiotic comment from a commie who thinks the world is simplified between evil greedy capitalists and the "good guys" who love paying taxes and are never disloyal to their political tribe. adding you to my Mute/Ignore list. it's interesting that you're so certain of your beliefs, yet you've never actually researched why normal people want multiple citizenships and passports. commie gonna commie

for the rest of the crowd here, with more than Orc intelligence, protecting your family with more options isn't because you're evil, or because you're going to be a criminal. nor are these companies evil for offering a service that saves you hundreds of hours:

https://www.schiffsovereign.com/second-passport/

I'm not planning on releasing CIA files.

it's a funny joke, but my point remains: having a Plan B for food/water storage, political freedom, geographical opportunities, aren't just for your Congress elites and criminals. i've met many many people in my travels with 2 citizenships, and they all maintain both passports for a reason.

for me, having a non-USA passport means once this Ukraine proxy war is over i might finally be able to see Moscow and Saint Petersburg. i don't want to die without seeing Russia for a couple weeks. i can't do this with my USA passport. that's 1 example out of a million. if you don't want a second passport, i don't really care, but the NPC arguments against it are as lame as calling someone who is against the latest war "unpatriotic" - the stuff you hear on the TV about second passports isn't reality. it's a very smart idea, and easier than ever with the internet.

It is a good idea for him.

look-into how many of the 1% and politicians have 2nd passports.

I would guess it is tax related.

negatron, i've been a part of the US empire's war machine, and i am disgusted by the decline of my country. my Bitcoin is very much safe from the IRS (by design - they can blow me), but to attribute my desire for a "Plan B" as just greed is pretty lame when the USA is currently helping Netanyahu invade Lebanon, and killing thousands of Russians for no reason. i don't want to be part of evil. why guess? you can just ask me.

 

[Betsy Ross]

negatron, i've been a part of the US empire's war machine, and i am disgusted by the decline of my country. my Bitcoin is very much safe from the IRS (by design - they can blow me), but to attribute my desire for a "Plan B" as just greed is pretty lame when the USA is currently helping Netanyahu invade Lebanon, and killing thousands of Russians for no reason. i don't want to be part of evil. why guess? you can just ask me.

But my guess is once you get Citizenship here you probably won't be keen on paying tons of taxes to support all the Noquis and their causes.

 

[I Love Mate]

I talked to an acquaintance today that said they heard from the immigration attorney Rubilar that the government was trying to make it tougher to get Citizenship here. I guess they are going to make it much more difficult to naturalize citizenship here. Does anyone have any information on this?

 

[Piranha]

I talked to an acquaintance today that said they heard from the immigration attorney Rubilar that the government was trying to make it tougher to get Citizenship here. I guess they are going to make it much more difficult to naturalize citizenship here. Does anyone have any information on this?

I think some have been trying to make it more difficult for a while with no success. Maybe with Milei it will change. Here is an article from back in August.

Abad propone la actualización de las condiciones para adquirir la ciudadanía

El senador nacional Maximiliano Abad (UCR) presentó un proyecto de ley para actualizar las condiciones y requisitos para adquirir la ciudadanía argentina, ya que “hoy es más f...

www.parlamentario.com

This Senator has been presented a bill to make it tougher. But I think they also tried in 2012 and 2022 too without success. I don't think there is anything wrong with what they are trying to change. Rather than just being 18 years old and living here 2 years they have to speak Spanish and also have enough money to live here.

That doesn't seem like a lot to ask but lots that move here don't learn Spanish and many don't make much money.

 

[Faith]

I talked to an acquaintance today that said they heard from the immigration attorney Rubilar that the government was trying to make it tougher to get Citizenship here. I guess they are going to make it much more difficult to naturalize citizenship here. Does anyone have any information on this?

Probably a good way to scare people into using your services! I agree it can be complicated to get Citizenship here but it is in the USA or UK or most first world countries too. I don't think these new requirements are too much more difficult. Anyone living here or that wants citizenship should learn Spanish.

 

[GraceHill]

I know someone that is going through the residency process here and started it in July of this year and they definitely needed an FBI background report. Even if they change the law or requirement the agencies are so bad here that no one knows and still have the old requirements. Here in Argentina a big problem is the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. That has always been the case.

You would think that an immigration lawyer would know but even with changes in law sometimes they know it will still be a struggle or slow the process down not to have something. There is how things should work and how they actually do.

On the background check what are they checking for? Is it only serious crimes? In college many years ago I got a DUI. Would Argentina care about that arrest and record?

 

[Bill]

On the background check what are they checking for? Is it only serious crimes? In college many years ago I got a DUI. Would Argentina care about that arrest and record?

The FBI background check is very extensive. It shows arrests and convictions. If it's not a conviction it will stay on your record for 7 years and then typically drops off if you weren't convicted. If you were arrested it will have all your details. DUI's are included on the FBI report. I had one too.

It didn't prevent me from getting residency here. I was worried about that too. The FBI background report even shows outstanding warrants, bankruptcies and I also had some traffic violations on it.

I was told that Argentine authorities arelooking for any criminal activity that might pose a risk to public safety or indicate a pattern of law-breaking behavior. A friend that was applying got arrested for DUI twice and he was rejected for residency. I think he had a few other arrests too.

My lawyer told me they will automatically ban for serious crimes like felonies, violent offenses, anything drug related, fraud, theft or assault. Anything that shows a pattern of criminal behavior regardless of the type of crime.

So in my case, my DNI didn't prevent me from getting it but my friend that had multiple DNI's was rejected.

 

[Piranha]

The FBI background check is very extensive. It shows arrests and convictions. If it's not a conviction it will stay on your record for 7 years and then typically drops off if you weren't convicted. If you were arrested it will have all your details. DUI's are included on the FBI report. I had one too.

It didn't prevent me from getting residency here. I was worried about that too. The FBI background report even shows outstanding warrants, bankruptcies and I also had some traffic violations on it.

I was told that Argentine authorities arelooking for any criminal activity that might pose a risk to public safety or indicate a pattern of law-breaking behavior. A friend that was applying got arrested for DUI twice and he was rejected for residency. I think he had a few other arrests too.

My lawyer told me they will automatically ban for serious crimes like felonies, violent offenses, anything drug related, fraud, theft or assault. Anything that shows a pattern of criminal behavior regardless of the type of crime.

So in my case, my DNI didn't prevent me from getting it but my friend that had multiple DNI's was rejected.

The key is just to be honest on everything. I don't think they will care too much about a DUI but as mentioned if you have multiple then that probably would be a problem. I am not sure how much of this is the discretion of the person handling your case. Like anything in Argentina it could just be who is working on your case.

But always good to be upfront. I applied for my Global Entry and got denied. I forgot about an open container of alcohol ticket I got in college. It was a LONG time ago but they asked me about it and I said no and they rejected my Global Entry because of that. I honestly forgot about that ticket. The government has a record of everything.