Work residency: employed by a company in Argentina
Residency route · Trabajador migrante
The test
Is this you?
You have a job offer from an employer in Argentina. You would be an employee, on the employer's payroll.
The employer leads this route. It must be registered with Migraciones' register of employers who hire foreigners, called RENURE. It must also be registered with ARCA, the tax authority. It signs a pre-contract with you and registers your job. Without those steps on the employer's side, an application cannot meet the test.
We do not run this route. We do not prepare the employer's filings, and we do not file for you. If you have questions about your own case, we can put you in touch with an independent lawyer. You engage and pay the lawyer directly.
If you work remotely for clients or an employer outside Argentina, this is not your route. Read the digital nomad page. If you live on income from investments, read the rentista page. If you are a national of a Mercosur country, also read the Mercosur page: that route has no income or sponsor test.
The test
Migraciones grants this residence to an employee in a registered job. All of these must be in place:
- The employer's registrations. Employer registered with ARCA (ex-AFIP) and in DNM's Registro Único de Requirentes de Extranjeros (RENURE, Disp. DNM 54.618/08).
- A pre-contract with you. Signed by both parties: duties, hours, duration, workplace, salary per the collective agreement, employer CUIT; signatures certified by a notary or a DNM agent.
- Early registration of your job. The employer files an alta temprana (early registration) with ARCA within 30 days of the start of your application. The rule counts calendar days.
- A real job. When work is the stated purpose of your stay, a job offer that is not real is a ground for refusal.
You file the application yourself, online through RADEX, from inside Argentina.
If you are still abroad, there is a second way in. The employer can ask Migraciones for a permiso de ingreso (entry permit). You then apply for a visa at the Argentine consulate that covers where you live.
What you will need
- A job offer as an employee of an employer in Argentina.
- From the employer: pre-contract, ARCA and RENURE proof, alta temprana.
- A valid passport and proof of your legal entry to Argentina.
- Proof of your address in Argentina.
- A police certificate from each country you lived in for more than 1 year in the last 3 years.
- Foreign documents authenticated by apostille (Hague Convention) or legalisation by the Argentine consulate in the issuing country.
- For documents not in Spanish: a Spanish translation by a Traductor Público Nacional, legalised by the Colegio de Traductores.
- The Argentine criminal-record certificate. You request it inside RADEX.
How long it takes
Migraciones publishes no decision times. We have no estimate for work cases that is sourced well enough to show you.
While your application is decided, Migraciones may issue a precaria (temporary certificate). It is valid for up to 90 days and can be renewed. It lets you stay, leave and re-enter, work and study. It does not mean your application will succeed.
Once granted, residence as an employee lasts 1 year. A renewal can be filed from 60 days before it expires.
What it costs
You pay government fees yourself, through the payment slips that RADEX generates. They go to the government, never to us. We charge nothing for this route.
- Residence fee: ARS 100,000 (about USD 65 at ARS 1,540 on 6 October 2026). Mercosur nationals pay ARS 50,000 (about USD 32 at ARS 1,540 on 6 October 2026).
- ID card: ARS 20,000 (about USD 13 at ARS 1,540 on 6 October 2026).
- Argentine criminal-record certificate: from ARS 1,000 (about USD 1 at ARS 1,540 on 6 October 2026), depending on how fast you need it.
- Each renewal: ARS 100,000 (about USD 65 at ARS 1,540 on 6 October 2026). Mercosur nationals pay ARS 50,000 (about USD 32 at ARS 1,540 on 6 October 2026).
Translations, apostilles and police certificates cost extra. If you choose to use a lawyer, you pay the lawyer directly.
Where people go wrong
- Filing before the employer is registered in RENURE and with ARCA.
- A pre-contract that leaves out required items, or whose signatures are not certified by a notary or a Migraciones agent.
- The employer's early registration with ARCA filed after the 30 days limit.
- A job offer that is not real. When work is the stated purpose, that is a ground for refusal.
- Starting work on a tourist stay. Tourists may not do paid work.
- Treating remote work for a foreign employer as this route. It needs an employer in Argentina.
What it leads to
Temporary residence as an employee, granted 1 year at a time and renewable.
After 3 years of temporary residence you may apply for permanent residence by arraigo. Mercosur nationals may apply after 2 years.
The conditions for permanent residence:
- Sufficient economic means to live in Argentina. Migraciones has published no standard for what counts.
- Presence in Argentina for more than 50% of the period. Two Migraciones pages word this differently, "at least" and "more than", so the exact rule is unclear.
- No absence of 6 months or more in a row.
This is general information, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, talk to a lawyer
Sources
- Source: Migraciones: temporary residence as a migrant worker, 24 September 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Ley 25.871, consolidated text, 9 October 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Decreto 366/2025, text, 29 May 2025(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Decreto 366/2025: full-text summary (Derecho en Zapatillas), 9 October 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Migraciones: entry permits (permisos de ingreso), 2 March 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Migraciones: RADEX steps, 9 October 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Migraciones: residence FAQ, 6 October 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Migraciones: temporary residence as a rentista (core documents shared by every category), 30 September 2025(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Migraciones: temporary residence by Mercosur nationality, 30 September 2025(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Migraciones: permanent residence, 16 January 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Migraciones: fee table, 11 December 2025(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Registro Nacional de Reincidencia: criminal-record certificate with a foreign document, 17 October 2024(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Diario de Cuyo: new RENAPER fees for the DNI, 3 March 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Rio Times: residency in Argentina for foreigners in 2026, 20 September 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: CAREF: report on DNU 366/2025, July 2026(opens in a new tab)
- Source: Newland Chase: Argentina immigration law reforms implemented, 4 June 2025(opens in a new tab)