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Moving to Argentina

Naturalisation: becoming Argentine by living in Argentina

Citizenship route · Ciudadanía por naturalización

For residents who want to become Argentine. The rules, and who decides, are in dispute.

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The test

Courts: of continuous residence. Migraciones: of legal residence with no trips abroad. Which applies is disputed.
This page explains where things stand. We do not sell this route and make no promise about it.

Is this you?

You live in Argentina, or plan to, and want to become Argentine through the time you spend here. This is naturalisation ().

Nobody can say for certain today which authority grants citizenship, or which residence rule applies. Two systems exist side by side until the Supreme Court decides, and it has set no date.

This page explains both systems. It does not tell you which one to use. Where to file, and whether to challenge the decree, are legal questions for the independent lawyer.

If one of your parents was born in Argentina, read the descent page first. That is a separate route.

The test

Two systems exist side by side.

Courts, under Law 346Migraciones, under Decree 366/2025
Who decidesA federal judge where you live, online since
Residence of continuous residence. In one case, the held that migration status did not decide this. of continuous, legal residence just before you apply, with no exit from the country at all. Time on a does not count.
Married to, or parent of, an Argentine-born citizenThe residence period can be waived. This does not cover parents of children who are Argentine by naturalisation or option. Whether the waiver survives the decree is unsettled.No path in the online procedure
SafeguardsA prosecutor takes part, the judge orders public notices in a newspaper, and you swear an No prosecutor, no public notices and no appeal route specific to citizenship
Where you startThe federal court for your home addressOnline, from inside Argentina

If you already filed. Applications started before the decree took effect on continue in the court where they were filed.

Where things stand

  • Congress has not repealed the decree.
  • Courts have struck down its citizenship rules in individual cases.
  • In one case, the national electoral court declared Decree 366/2025 null. The ruling was reported on .
  • The government appealed. The appeal has been with the Supreme Court since , and no date is set for a decision.
  • When we checked, the Migraciones page still offered to start an application.
  • Legal commentators disagree on what this means. Some say Migraciones can no longer grant citizenship. Others say each ruling binds only its own case.

What bars naturalisation

These come from Decree 3213/84. Decree 366/2025 did not rewrite them.

  • No honest occupation or means of living.
  • Being prosecuted for a crime in Argentina.
  • A conviction for an intentional crime with more than in prison, unless the sentence was served and have passed, or an amnesty applies.

Citizenship cannot be refused on political, ideological, union, religious or racial grounds. If you have a criminal record or a pending case anywhere, talk to the lawyer first.

No Spanish test or civics exam appears in the law or in the Migraciones requirements.

What you will need

  • For the courts, as press guides reported them before the decree: your birth certificate, legalised or apostilled; copies of your and passport; a criminal record certificate; and proof of how you support yourself.
  • For the courts: proof of address from your local police station, issued within before you file. Check this with your court.
  • For Migraciones, to start online from inside Argentina: your ID card, an updated Argentine criminal record certificate, proof of your occupation or means of support, and a or certificate. Migraciones may ask for more.
  • Foreign documents apostilled or legalised and, if not in Spanish, translated by an Argentine , with the translation legalised.

How long it takes

We do not give a timeline. Nobody can give a reliable one.

  • No source has current figures for how long the courts take.
  • We found no published decision time for the Migraciones route, and no figures on applications or grants.
  • The dispute over the decree has added delay. Some applicants had to win an appeal before a court would take their case.

What it costs

  • Courts: the government fee for the citizenship certificate and the court proceedings is . The law makes them free. You still pay for legalised documents, translations and the newspaper notices. We have no current figure for the notices.
  • Migraciones: no source states a fee for the online procedure.
  • A lawyer: not legally required to apply. In practice, choosing where to file and any challenge to the decree are legal questions. If you hire a lawyer, you engage and pay them directly. We take no payment and no commission.

Where people go wrong

  • Leaving the country at any point in the before a Migraciones application. The decree allows no exit at all. No source says whether one trip restarts the count.
  • Counting time on a precaria toward the Migraciones period. It does not count.
  • Filing in the wrong place. Some judges sent applicants to Migraciones until appeal courts reversed them. Some files at Migraciones may need to move to a court.
  • Assuming the family shortcut applies. It covers a spouse or child born in Argentina, it is not in the Migraciones procedure, and whether it survives the decree is unsettled.
  • Publishing the court notices in the wrong newspaper. It must circulate where you live, not where the court sits.
  • Paying an unlicensed , or anyone selling an express route. Practitioners warn against both.

What it leads to

Argentine citizenship, if a court or Migraciones grants it.

  • Courts: you swear an oath before the judge. The court informs and the national electoral court. You take your to RENAPER for an Argentine ID card.
  • Migraciones: Migraciones issues the certificate and works with RENAPER on the ID card. No source says how the oath works on this route.

New citizens go on the electoral roll. Argentina accepts dual nationality and generally does not ask new citizens to give up their old one. Whether your other country allows it depends on that country's law.

We have not yet researched the passport step.

Ask the lawyer what would happen to a certificate issued by Migraciones if the Supreme Court confirms the decree is void.

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This is general information, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, talk to a lawyer

Sources

Ask the guide about this route