Argentina Citizenship by Investment

Argentina Citizenship by Investment became official on 2 October 2026, when Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Chief of Cabinet Diego Santilli presented the programme during Argentina Week in Paris. It grants Argentine citizenship, and with it an Argentine passport, to investors and their families without any prior period of residence in the country. The Ministry of Economy has confirmed that the programme will begin receiving applications in the fourth quarter of 2026.

There are two routes for the main applicant. The first is a direct, non-refundable contribution of USD 350,000 to the National Treasury. The second is the subscription of USD 800,000 of a government bond created specifically for the programme. The government describes both as simple and transparent mechanisms, and every payment must move through the formal financial system under anti-money-laundering and financial-transparency rules. Market reporting describes the bond as a seven-year instrument paying no interest; those terms will be fixed in the implementing rules, so confirm them before you commit.

Including your family

A spouse and children can join the application by proving the family relationship and making the contribution set for their category: USD 100,000 for a spouse, USD 100,000 for each child aged 18 to 25 who is unmarried and has no children, and USD 25,000 for each child under 18. The government's own example is a family of four, the main applicant, a spouse and two minor children, at USD 500,000 in total on the Treasury route. On the bond route, the bond covers the main applicant and family members make the same Treasury contributions, so the same family would commit USD 950,000, of which USD 800,000 is the bond.

How applications are assessed

Applications go to the Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programmes (APCI), created within the Ministry of Economy for this purpose. The Agency assesses each file together with the State Intelligence Secretariat, the Financial Information Unit, and the ministries of Security and the Interior. The checks cover identity, the traceability and lawful origin of funds, assets and finances, jurisdictional risk, criminal and reputational records, and immigration history, applying due-diligence standards aligned with OECD and FATF recommendations. The Agency then sends a reasoned recommendation to the National Directorate of Migration, which approves or rejects the application. Making the contribution does not mean automatic approval.

What drives the timeline

No official end-to-end processing time has been published yet. The procedure in Decreto 524/2025 gives the National Directorate of Migration 30 days to decide once it receives the Agency's report; the length of the Agency's own assessment is not fixed. Applications open in the fourth quarter of 2026, and government fees, the application channel and the criteria for certified agents are still to be published. Preparing documents now, from source-of-funds evidence to civil records, is the most reliable way to be ready when the window opens.

Passport, travel and the region

The Argentine passport gives visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to around 168 destinations, including the Schengen area, the United Kingdom, Japan and most of Latin America. As a citizen of a Mercosur state, an Argentine national can also obtain residence in other Mercosur and associated countries under the regional residence agreement, which opens much of South America for living, working and doing business. There is no requirement to live in Argentina before or after citizenship is granted, and Argentina does not require new citizens to give up their existing nationality, although your home country's own rules on dual citizenship still apply.

Tax position

Citizenship and tax residence are different things. Argentina taxes its residents on their worldwide income and assets, but holding Argentine citizenship does not by itself make you tax resident; residence status depends on where you actually live. Anyone who plans to relocate to Argentina should take structured tax advice before moving, as the country's personal tax regime is comprehensive.

Legal framework

The investment route rests on Decree of Necessity and Urgency 366/2025, which amended the citizenship law, and on Decreto 524/2025 (Boletín Oficial, 31 July 2025), which set out the procedure and created the Agency. In June 2026 two appeal courts, ruling on individual citizenship applications, held that citizenship decisions belong to the federal courts rather than the National Directorate of Migration. The government has appealed to the Supreme Court, which has not yet ruled. The programme announced on 2 October 2026 keeps the Directorate as the deciding authority; the Court's decision may affect which authority grants citizenship, and we will update this page as it develops.

Who Argentina suits

Argentina is a G20 economy and now one of the largest countries to offer citizenship by investment. It suits families who want a strong passport with Schengen and United Kingdom access, a genuine country to live in, Spanish-speaking culture and the Mercosur region, and who are comfortable being among the first applicants to a new programme. Those who need a long track record of approvals, published fees and fixed timelines today may prefer to compare it with established Caribbean programmes. Book a free consultation and Mirabello Consultancy will assess your eligibility, model your family's total cost and prepare your file for the Q4 2026 opening.