Argentina · Passive income
Temporary Residency as a Rentista
The Dirección Nacional de Migraciones administers this through its RaDEX online system. The income test is indexed to the Salario Mínimo Vital y Móvil, so it moves with Argentine wage policy rather than staying fixed in dollars.
This is the standard route for a non-Mercosur family that wants the two-year citizenship clock running without a job or a company. The income must be genuinely passive: rent, dividends, interest, securities. It must also be wired into Argentina through a BCRA-authorised institution, and that is the part that defeats most applicants.
Qualifying routes
The figure is a multiple, not an absolute: 5 x SMVM per month. With the SMVM around ARS 363,000 in mid-2026, that works out to roughly ARS 1.8m per month. The dollar equivalent moves constantly, so verify it at filing.
The facts
- Minimum
- 5 ARS
- Total landed cost
- roughly USD 2–5k in legal and government fees
- Route type
- Income requirement
- Timeline
- 3–9 months (RaDEX filings have been faster than the old in-person process, but backlogs persist.)
- Physical presence
- Since DNU 366/2025, temporary residency can be cancelled after an absence of six months or more. That is a material tightening.
- Family
- SpouseMinor childrenDependants included on the principal's file
- Permanent residency
- 3 years of temporary residency (2 years for Mercosur nationals)
- Citizenship
- 2 years of residence under Ley 346
- Language test
- none formally
- Dual citizenship
- Permitted
- Requirements
- passive income of at least 5x the SMVM per monthincome must come from assets, not personal labourfunds must be sent into Argentina through a BCRA-authorised institutionclean criminal record from country of origin and residence, apostilledArgentine criminal record check and proof of address
- The income must be a return on assets in your patrimony, such as property, financial instruments or company holdings. Earnings from personal work are expressly excluded, which rules out consultants and remote employees.
- You must prove the funds actually enter Argentina through a BCRA-authorised bank or financial institution. Given Argentina's history with exchange controls, this is the binding constraint. It means converting hard currency at whatever official rate applies.
- The threshold is set in multiples of the minimum wage, and that wage is a political variable in a high-inflation economy. Your qualifying income can fall below the line without you doing anything at all.
- DNU 366/2025 includes a six-month absence rule for temporary residents. It is a real trap for a family that files and then leaves.
- Argentine tax residency generally attaches after 12 months of residence. That brings worldwide income tax and Bienes Personales on worldwide assets. The immigration plan and the tax plan need to be designed together, or the passport will end up costing far more than the fees.