Argentina · Citizenship by naturalisation
Argentine Citizenship by Naturalisation
Ley 346 of 1869 governs this. DNU 366/2025 tried to tighten the rules: two years of continuous residence with zero departures, and a shift of jurisdiction from federal judges to Migraciones. On 30 June 2026, the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared that jurisdictional transfer absolutely and incurably null. Citizenship jurisdiction has returned to the federal electoral courts. The law is in flux, and the government is expected to appeal.
Two years of residence for a passport with ~171 visa-free destinations, no investment, no language exam, no renunciation, granted by a federal judge and free of charge, is the best nominal offer in the world. Marriage to an Argentine, or having an Argentine-born child, has traditionally shortened it further. A child born in Argentina is Argentine by birth, which opens a faster family route for the parents. The catch is legal, not financial. DNU 366/2025 rewrote these rules in May 2025, the electoral court struck down its citizenship provisions in June 2026, and the case is now before the Supreme Court. So you are underwriting legal flux, not money.
Qualifying routes
Ley 346 requires two years of residence. In practice, the courts have counted time spent on precaria and temporary status, and have granted citizenship to applicants with imperfect residence records.
The facts
- Total landed cost
- A few thousand USD in legal fees. No investment required. This is the cheapest genuinely top-tier passport in the world.
- Route type
- By residence
- Timeline
- 2–5 years (Two years of residence, followed by a judicial process that ran 6–24+ months before the 2025–2026 upheaval. Expect delays while jurisdiction is re-settled.)
- Physical presence
- Contested. Ley 346, as applied by the courts, required residence but tolerated absences. DNU 366/2025 demanded two years with no departures at all. With the decree's citizenship provisions nullified, the pre-2025 judicial standard is the one now in effect. This is precisely what the Supreme Court may revisit.
- Family
- Each applicant applies individuallyChildren born in Argentina are Argentine by birth, regardless of their parents' statusParents of an Argentine-born child have a strong independent claim
- Permanent residency
- Most categories require 3 years of temporary residency. Mercosur nationals need only 2.
- Citizenship
- 2 years of residence.
- Language test
- There is no formal language examination. The judge may assess Spanish and basic knowledge of Argentina in the interview.
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- two years of residence in Argentinaover 18 years of ageclean criminal recordevidence of lawful means of support and genuine residence, such as a rented flat, a CUIT, utility bills and bank activity
- This is the least legally stable citizenship route in the region right now. DNU 366/2025 changed the rules in May 2025. The Cámara Nacional Electoral voided its citizenship provisions on 30 June 2026, ruling it an unconstitutional use of decree power over electoral matters. The government has signalled an appeal to the Corte Suprema. Anyone filing in 2026 is filing into an unresolved conflict, and the standard applied to your file may change mid-process.
- The jus soli plan, where you have a child in Buenos Aires and then naturalise as the parent, is real and widely used. Argentina has begun scrutinising birth tourism. Do not assume the current permissiveness is permanent.
- Argentine citizenship carries Argentine tax residency risk. Argentina taxes worldwide income. It also levies Bienes Personales on worldwide assets. Getting the passport while living there is expensive. The usual play is to naturalise and then break tax residency. That requires care and documentation.
- Argentina cannot be renounced. Argentine nationality is effectively irrevocable. You cannot give it back. For a family with US exposure or future citizenship plans elsewhere, that permanence is a feature to be considered, not ignored.
- The residency provisions of DNU 366/2025, which cancel temporary residency after six months' absence and permanent residency after one year's absence, and which add new economic-means and criminal-record tests, were not part of the electoral court's ruling. They appear to remain in force. The decree has separately been challenged on other grounds. Verify the current status before relying on either half.