Visas How complicated is it to obtain residency in Argentina?

[Vince]

Different people definitely have their own unique reasons why they want multiple passports. I have an Argie friend who has both AR and IT passports and is married to a US citizen. Now he has 3 passports namely AR, IT and US. About two years ago Spain passed a law nicknamed Ley de Nietos for children and grandchildren of Spaniards to apply for Spanish citizenship so he's going through that process now to get SP citizenship. I asked him why he wanted the SP passport since he already has IT one and he can live/work anywhere in the EU already. He said, "Well, because passports are like Pokemon so you just need to catch them all if you can" or something along that line LOL.

I have a couple of reasons of my own for wanting to have AR passport but the main reason is an ease of traveling especially to the EU and UK if I want to. People with powerful passports probably have no clue how complicated and expensive it is for weak passport holders to get Schengen and UK visas. Heck many of them probably don't know what Schengen visa is. In order to apply for the Schengen, UK or US visa, you need to provide some of these documents:

- Paychecks (at least 3 or 6 months I am not sure now. So that means if you're not employed full time, you might not get the visa).
- Travel insurance (coverage at least 30K euro for Schengen).
- Letter from the company certifying that you've been employed with them (or proof of being a business owner).
- Flight and hotel reservations.
- Travel itinerary if you plan to travel to several countries (esp in the Schengen area).
- Bank books to show you have sufficient funds to cover your trip.

These are some of the required documents. There are more docs required if you travel with a minor under 18, you need certain docs, application form, photo etc etc, not to mention you need to get the appointment beforehand and probably take a day off to do it oh and the fee. In terms of fee, US visa is the most worthwhile when it comes to the visa validity period. If you get it, you most likely get the 10-year visa. Schengen is the stingiest visa of all because if your trip is for 14 days, you're likely to be given 14 days of visa (no grace period provided in case you miss a flight or something happens and your trip needs to be extended under whatever unfortunate circumstances). UK visa is the most expensive of them all and they charge for every single turn you take. I remember I had to get the UK visa (work related thank god so I was reimbursed) several years ago and you are given options like 6, 12, 24 months etc. I had to get the 24 month option and it cost around 500 dollars-ish if memory serves. The visa fee itself was less than half of the amount. The expedite fee cost more than the visa because if you don't expedite it, it will take one month to get the visa. If you have time to wait but need to use your passport while waiting for the visa, you can do that for a fee. If all the appointment slots are full, you can walk in and wait for no shows (of course for a fee as well).

Need I say more?

@Jakoval assuming you have all of the documents needed, do you know how long the process is to go from permanent residency to Citizenship? Is that a few years process? I never messed around with it but probably doesn't hurt.

Wow, I didn't realize that visa fees were so expensive! That must be terrible for those with weak passports!

 

[Jakoval]

@Jakoval assuming you have all of the documents needed, do you know how long the process is to go from permanent residency to Citizenship? Is that a few years process? I never messed around with it but probably doesn't hurt.

Wow, I didn't realize that visa fees were so expensive! That must be terrible for those with weak passports!

When you marry an Argentine citizen or have your child born here, you can start the process of PR and citizenship at the same time right away but separately (because PR is done with Migraciones and citizenship is done through Juzgado. They have nothing to do with one another) so there is no need to wait until you get PR first. My PR took 7 months till I got the plastic DNI in my hand (6 months until the case was approved and one more month for the DNI to be produced and sent to me) but it could have been faster than 7 months. Mine took a bit longer because I didn't have my police clearance ready. I supposed if I had all the documents ready it could have taken only 6 months. A friend of mine has a relatively similar timeframe.

My citizenship case was registered in Oct 2023. I'm following a case of a Venezuelan who was assigned the same judge and secretary as me and use his case as a reference. His case was registered in Sep 2023 and he has already been given 'sentencia ciudadania' in Sep 2024 so it took him only one year. It looks like he's only waiting for the swear-in date to be assigned now to get 'carta de ciudadania'. My case seems to be slightly slower. Comparing to his case, I should get my sentencia ciudadania in 2-3 months. Right now my case has been forwarded to the fiscal federal (Federal Prosecutor) and it normally takes them 2-3 months to give 'dictamen fiscal' and a week later from that they will give you 'sentencia ciudadania'. All is referenced with the case of the said Venezuelan, by the way, so it could take more or less time depending on your luck I suppose. If I get my sentencia in a few months that means my entire citizenship process would take only 12-14 months.

 

[Betsy Ross]

When you marry an Argentine citizen or have your child born here, you can start the process of PR and citizenship at the same time right away but separately (because PR is done with Migraciones and citizenship is done through Juzgado. They have nothing to do with one another) so there is no need to wait until you get PR first. My PR took 7 months till I got the plastic DNI in my hand (6 months until the case was approved and one more month for the DNI to be produced and sent to me) but it could have been faster than 7 months. Mine took a bit longer because I didn't have my police clearance ready. I supposed if I had all the documents ready it could have taken only 6 months. A friend of mine has a relatively similar timeframe.

My citizenship case was registered in Oct 2023. I'm following a case of a Venezuelan who was assigned the same judge and secretary as me and use his case as a reference. His case was registered in Sep 2023 and he has already been given 'sentencia ciudadania' in Sep 2024 so it took him only one year. It looks like he's only waiting for the swear-in date to be assigned now to get 'carta de ciudadania'. My case seems to be slightly slower. Comparing to his case, I should get my sentencia ciudadania in 2-3 months. Right now my case has been forwarded to the fiscal federal (Federal Prosecutor) and it normally takes them 2-3 months to give 'dictamen fiscal' and a week later from that they will give you 'sentencia ciudadania'. All is referenced with the case of the said Venezuelan, by the way, so it could take more or less time depending on your luck I suppose. If I get my sentencia in a few months that means my entire citizenship process would take only 12-14 months.

Fabulous @Jakoval! Are you doing it all yourself or did you use any attorney for your Citizenship case? Keep us posted.

 

[Vince]

When you marry an Argentine citizen or have your child born here, you can start the process of PR and citizenship at the same time right away but separately (because PR is done with Migraciones and citizenship is done through Juzgado. They have nothing to do with one another) so there is no need to wait until you get PR first. My PR took 7 months till I got the plastic DNI in my hand (6 months until the case was approved and one more month for the DNI to be produced and sent to me) but it could have been faster than 7 months. Mine took a bit longer because I didn't have my police clearance ready. I supposed if I had all the documents ready it could have taken only 6 months. A friend of mine has a relatively similar timeframe.

My citizenship case was registered in Oct 2023. I'm following a case of a Venezuelan who was assigned the same judge and secretary as me and use his case as a reference. His case was registered in Sep 2023 and he has already been given 'sentencia ciudadania' in Sep 2024 so it took him only one year. It looks like he's only waiting for the swear-in date to be assigned now to get 'carta de ciudadania'. My case seems to be slightly slower. Comparing to his case, I should get my sentencia ciudadania in 2-3 months. Right now my case has been forwarded to the fiscal federal (Federal Prosecutor) and it normally takes them 2-3 months to give 'dictamen fiscal' and a week later from that they will give you 'sentencia ciudadania'. All is referenced with the case of the said Venezuelan, by the way, so it could take more or less time depending on your luck I suppose. If I get my sentencia in a few months that means my entire citizenship process would take only 12-14 months.

That is good that the process seems to be relatively quick. An Argentine passport is definitely much stronger than a Venezuelan passport. I guess I'm spoiled by such a strong passport that I never bothered with it. My kids both have dual citizenship. Maybe I will start that process ironically as I plan to move back to the USA soon.

 

[Jakoval]

Fabulous @Jakoval! Are you doing it all yourself or did you use any attorney for your Citizenship case? Keep us posted.

I'm doing it all myself both PR and citizenship.

 

[Jakoval]

That is good that the process seems to be relatively quick. An Argentine passport is definitely much stronger than a Venezuelan passport. I guess I'm spoiled by such a strong passport that I never bothered with it. My kids both have dual citizenship. Maybe I will start that process ironically as I plan to move back to the USA soon.

You kinda have to be here at least in the beginning because you will need to submit certain documents in person a couple of times and go to PFA and Reincidencia for fingerprint sometime during the process.

 

[MikeYoung]

That is good that the process seems to be relatively quick. An Argentine passport is definitely much stronger than a Venezuelan passport. I guess I'm spoiled by such a strong passport that I never bothered with it. My kids both have dual citizenship. Maybe I will start that process ironically as I plan to move back to the USA soon.

I've met a few foreigners that were married to locals and just did it themselves. I think many of the foreigners that go through the process don't speak Spanish well but those that are married can have their spouse help them with a lot of it. It seems like if you're married to an Argentine it will definitely go through but just a matter of time and waiting.

Hopefully we see with this new administration and government things getting more efficient although I haven't seen much proof that is happening yet. Migraciones seems to be a huge mess still.

 

[Scottishgaucho]

My missus who is Argentine born also has British and Spanish passports. I got the feeling the reason she gave me for not bothering with getting Argentine residency was purely a financial one....there's nothing to be gained. Quite the opposite I believe.

 

[VINO]

My missus who is Argentine born also has British and Spanish passports. I got the feeling the reason she gave me for not bothering with getting Argentine residency was purely a financial one....there's nothing to be gained. Quite the opposite I believe.

True. Argentina has a wealth tax which taxes you based on assets even assets you have outside of Argentina. Before, most people just didn't declare assets they had outside of Argentina but it sounds like the IRS will be sharing information with Argentina in the near future. I'm not sure about the UK but in this age of technology, it probably won't be difficult to share.

For most people that already have strong passports there isn't really much advantage to having Argentine passport. People can talk about need for multiple passports but I doubt there is much need at all if you're just an average citizen. I read a few examples of comparing Snowden and others but most people aren't going to be in that situation.

 

[James Bond]

True. Argentina has a wealth tax which taxes you based on assets even assets you have outside of Argentina. Before, most people just didn't declare assets they had outside of Argentina but it sounds like the IRS will be sharing information with Argentina in the near future. I'm not sure about the UK but in this age of technology, it probably won't be difficult to share.

For most people that already have strong passports there isn't really much advantage to having Argentine passport. People can talk about need for multiple passports but I doubt there is much need at all if you're just an average citizen. I read a few examples of comparing Snowden and others but most people aren't going to be in that situation.

Actually an accountant once told me that it's not just once you get Citizenship here but if you get permanent residency here so you might want to talk to an accountant. I don't think any of this mattered before but things are getting normalized.

I laugh about some people talking about how they moved to Argentina because of low taxes and tax efficiency but Argentina has some of the highest taxes! It is not a low tax country. The reason why so much of the economy operates in cash is because of the high taxes! I don't know if there is more taxes from Citizenship vs. Permanent Residency but I was told it's the same.

Before I got my DNI I changed some properties that I own out of my name. Argentina has a lot of taxes!

 

[StatusNomadicus]

Snowden

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?

 

[Digital Nomad]

t'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?

A friend is going through the DNI process and he did still have to get an FBI background check. I'm not sure about the Certificado thing.

 

[Betsy Ross]

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?

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.

 

[Uncle Wong]

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?

I don't see anything in any of those links that says you don't need an FBI background check anymore. Did you read something different @StatusNomadicus? I looked at that link and all the URLs and none of them say it's no longer required. Half the people that post on that old forum are nit wits. They don't even know how to fill in the address on a simple form. People like this have no hope of getting through the process without an immigration attorney.

 

[oil rush]

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.

I don't think anyone is arguing that having multiple passports might be better than having just one. Point is probably most expats or travelers with a UK or USA passport are going to be just fine. If you can easily get another passport without a lot of jumping through hoops, spending a lot of time or money than could be worth it but truth is most will be perfectly fine with a strong passport.

 

[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?

I am not saying having a second passport is just for celebrities or whistleblowers. Just that if you already have a stronger passport getting Argentina passport is probably overkill. From the sounds of several expats on this board from the EU, Scotland, UK or USA that are even married to Argentines and still never got their Argentina passport I would say this evidence supports my argument.

By no means am I arguing someone shouldn't get it if they can easily get it. I know many like @Scottishgaucho that are married here and not bothering with getting an Argentine passport.

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.

 

[Silvia]

I don't see anything in any of those links that says you don't need an FBI background check anymore. Did you read something different @StatusNomadicus? I looked at that link and all the URLs and none of them say it's no longer required. Half the people that post on that old forum are nit wits. They don't even know how to fill in the address on a simple form. People like this have no hope of getting through the process without an immigration attorney.

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.

 

[Piranha]

I am not saying having a second passport is just for celebrities or whistleblowers. Just that if you already have a stronger passport getting Argentina passport is probably overkill. From the sounds of several expats on this board from the EU, Scotland, UK or USA that are even married to Argentines and still never got their Argentina passport I would say this evidence supports my argument.

By no means am I arguing someone shouldn't get it if they can easily get it. I know many like @Scottishgaucho that are married here and not bothering with getting an Argentine passport.

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.

This ^^^^

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.

 

[Jakoval]

You kinda have to be here at least in the beginning because you will need to submit certain documents in person a couple of times and go to PFA and Reincidencia for fingerprint sometime during the process.

@Vince This is the latest citizenship procedure. A few of my friends are doing it now. They slightly changed the procedure. Last year when I started the procedure, I had to bring all the docs in person and they did the scanning for you before giving you the expediente number containing Juzgado and Secretaria assigned to you randomly. For the new procedure, initially there's no need to go in person anymore. You just get all the initial docs ready and scan and send them by email.

https://pjn.gob.ar/publico/b0742a574fe8db987ed6f7117a381a5e-11212023120649.pdf

https://old.pjn.gov.ar/publico/instructivo.cartas.de.ciudadania.pdf

 

[Vince]

@Vince This is the latest citizenship procedure. A few of my friends are doing it now. They slightly changed the procedure. Last year when I started the procedure, I had to bring all the docs in person and they did the scanning for you before giving you the expediente number containing Juzgado and Secretaria assigned to you randomly. For the new procedure, initially there's no need to go in person anymore. You just get all the initial docs ready and scan and send them by email.

https://pjn.gob.ar/publico/b0742a574fe8db987ed6f7117a381a5e-11212023120649.pdf

https://old.pjn.gov.ar/publico/instructivo.cartas.de.ciudadania.pdf

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.