Changes to Argentine Residency via Marriage – Official Resources?

[Tennesse]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been reading up on Argentine residency and citizenship procedures through marriage, but I’m finding conflicting information and hoping to clarify what’s currently true.

A friend recently told me:
“First, you need to get residency before you can qualify for citizenship, and after two years you can apply for citizenship via marriage. The most common way to get residency nowadays is through passive income or employment in Argentina.”
But based on my own research, I thought it was still possible to apply for temporary residency through family reunification with a spouse. Has this changed?

My friend claims (who is an Argentine, migration lawyer):
“That was the case previously, but now you need to qualify first via a rentista visa or another type of residency visa, not just marriage.”

Is there any official resource or government site where this change is documented? I understand things change quickly here, but I’d like something concrete to reference. My friend says:
“Unfortunately, it’s not in writing yet, but they’re saying it’s the new norm. Some migration office staff may not be familiar with the update.”

Has anyone here recently applied through marriage or family reunification? Can you share your experience or link to recent official guidelines? I appreciate any advice!

 

[Alby]

If you have a look at the current thread "Where to start learning about taxes/Pensionado visa?" you will see a fellow called "Whattodo" who says he is currently is applying through family reunion for permanent residency.

This is the official page where the National Migration Directorate lists the residency categories. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/migraciones/radicaciones-mercosur-residencia-temporaria
Family reunification is still there.

This doesn't seem likely or make any sense: “That was the case previously, but now you need to qualify first via a rentista visa or another type of residency visa, not just marriage.”

If it were to be the case, no Argentine marrying a foreigner could ever bring their spouse to Argentina to live unless the spouse happened to qualify for an unrelated category that has criteria that very few could ever meet.

 

[Alby]

If you have a look at the current thread "Where to start learning about taxes/Pensionado visa?" you will see a fellow called "Whattodo" who says he is currently is applying through family reunion for permanent residency.

This is the official page where the National Migration Directorate lists the residency categories. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/migraciones/radicaciones-mercosur-residencia-temporaria
Family reunification is still there.

This doesn't seem likely or make any sense: “That was the case previously, but now you need to qualify first via a rentista visa or another type of residency visa, not just marriage.”

If it were to be the case, no Argentine marrying a foreigner could ever bring their spouse to Argentina to live unless the spouse happened to qualify for an unrelated category that has criteria that very few could ever meet.

More to the point, there have been widely publicised changes to migration recently, and these are now incorporated into the Migration Law: https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/90000-94999/92016/texact.htm.

Scroll down to Article 23, paragraph (ñ) to see that family reunification still appears as a category of temporary residency, and there is nothing to indicate it is somehow tied to any other temporary residency category.

The only change related to family reunification (one that was widely reported in the press at the time and that the law seems to now reflect) is that whereas previously a spouse could progress directly to permanent residency by virtue of being a spouse, now that spouse has to serve three years of temporary residency first (renewing the temporary residency at the end of years 1 and 2 by proving themself to be still married to the Argentine person).

Progression to citizen is a separate matter, and again the rules changed in important ways recently. I can't comment on that part. But, from all the information above, it seems clear that the answer to your most basic question is "Yes" (it is "still possible to apply for temporary residency through family reunification with a spouse").

 

[Tennesse]

If you have a look at the current thread "Where to start learning about taxes/Pensionado visa?" you will see a fellow called "Whattodo" who says he is currently is applying through family reunion for permanent residency.

This is the official page where the National Migration Directorate lists the residency categories. https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/migraciones/radicaciones-mercosur-residencia-temporaria
Family reunification is still there.

This doesn't seem likely or make any sense: “That was the case previously, but now you need to qualify first via a rentista visa or another type of residency visa, not just marriage.”

If it were to be the case, no Argentine marrying a foreigner could ever bring their spouse to Argentina to live unless the spouse happened to qualify for an unrelated category that has criteria that very few could ever meet.

Absolutely agree. That wouldn't make any sense.

 

[dlish]

I got permanent residency via marriage a few months ago. Wasn’t complicated. Just had a regular tourist visa before.

 

[desde_Holanda]

dlish how long did that take you?

I got permanent residency via marriage a few months ago. Wasn’t complicated. Just had a regular tourist visa before.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

I got permanent residency via marriage a few months ago. Wasn’t complicated. Just had a regular tourist visa before.

It does not exist anymore. Now marriage gives you precaria.

 

[Alby]

What Bajo is probably saying is the process following the recent changes is:

1.) Get married.
2.) Request temporary residency in the category of family reunion (unlike before, when marriage was a direct path to permanent residency).
3.) Be issued a precaria (just as has always happened in all temporary residency categories) while the directorate evaluates the request.
4.) Upon approval, be issued temporary residency for one year (consistent with what has always been the case for temporary residency).

Close (non-expert) reading of the permanent residency article (22) in the Migraciones Law (link in previous post) seems to indicate that from now on (i.e., after three years in one of the temporary residence categories, including, presumably, family reunion) PR will depend on a judgement by the directorate that the candidate has "definitively" established themself in the country and has medios economicos suficientes.

There appears to be nothing objective in the law that measures those two separate concepts. So, perhaps when making the value judgement it entails, the directorate will (in the case of family reunion/marriage) refer, at least in the financial aspect of the judgement, to the benchmarks used to assess the financial viability of candidates in other categories; for example, pensionistas or rentistas (currently, income equivalent to 5 * the minimum wage). If that logic is right, it might explain the advice the OP (Tennessee) received from their lawyer: "qualify" meaning meet the same financial test (as opposed to actually seeking and being given say a rentista or pensionista residency in some way parallel to the family unification residency).

If so, that is certainly an interesting and potentially problematic change, not to gaining temporary residency after marrying an Argentine, but to subsequently graduating to PR. Perhaps, the concept of "definitively establish" may come to the rescue in cases where someone fails the financial test. But until people start testing the new rules for transitioning to PR from one of the temporary categories, we won't begin to know what the two concepts mean and how they are applied.

(Bajo probably knows, but either won't tell us, or will say everything I've proposed in this post is wrong-headed, without then telling us clearly what us right-headed.)

 

[Konner_Long]

What Bajo is probably saying is the process following the recent changes is:

1.) Get married.
2.) Request temporary residency in the category of family reunion (unlike before, when marriage was a direct path to permanent residency).
3.) Be issued a precaria (just as has always happened in all temporary residency categories) while the directorate evaluates the request.
4.) Upon approval, be issued temporary residency for one year (consistent with what has always been the case for temporary residency).

Close (non-expert) reading of the permanent residency article (22) in the Migraciones Law (link in previous post) seems to indicate that from now on (i.e., after three years in one of the temporary residence categories, including, presumably, family reunion) PR will depend on a judgement by the directorate that the candidate has "definitively" established themself in the country and has medios economicos suficientes.

There appears to be nothing objective in the law that measures those two separate concepts. So, perhaps when making the value judgement it entails, the directorate will (in the case of family reunion/marriage) refer, at least in the financial aspect of the judgement, to the benchmarks used to assess the financial viability of candidates in other categories; for example, pensionistas or rentistas (currently, income equivalent to 5 * the minimum wage). If that logic is right, it might explain the advice the OP (Tennessee) received from their lawyer: "qualify" meaning meet the same financial test (as opposed to actually seeking and being given say a rentista or pensionista residency in some way parallel to the family unification residency).

If so, that is certainly an interesting and potentially problematic change, not to gaining temporary residency after marrying an Argentine, but to subsequently graduating to PR. Perhaps, the concept of "definitively establish" may come to the rescue in cases where someone fails the financial test. But until people start testing the new rules for transitioning to PR from one of the temporary categories, we won't begin to know what the two concepts mean and how they are applied.

(Bajo probably knows, but either won't tell us, or will say everything I've proposed in this post is wrong-headed, without then telling us clearly what us right-headed.)

I think your timeline is a little off (Honestly, everyone is in the dark these days). I was one of the first to get temporary residency as I just missed the cutoff under the old rules which delayed my travels but anyway. This is what the Consulado told me before I came into the country.

1) Get married to Argentinian citizen
2) Request Temporary Residency in the family reunion category
3) Get precaria while you wait (if outside the country: skip this step but pay higher fees for consulate entry permit and Migranciones folder)
4) Get approved and get 3 year Temporary Residency visa (what I am on at the moment)
5) Towards the end of year 3 reapply for Temporary Residency based on family reunion
6) After approval, apply for Permanent Residency based on family reunion (must be within that 2nd Temporary Residency visa period and not the first)
7) Approved for Permanent Residency
8) After 2 years on Permanent Residency, apply for citizenship if that is what you want

Could be incorrect, but so far the consulate has not let me down with their info.

They also indicated that the financial test is purely to see if you can support yourself and dependents in the country. They indicated that this was always the case and that 3 months payslip at the time was enough for them to grant the temporary visa. Unfortunately, no minimum amounts were given to me.

 

[rstanf]

I think your timeline is a little off (Honestly, everyone is in the dark these days). I was one of the first to get temporary residency as I just missed the cutoff under the old rules which delayed my travels but anyway. This is what the Consulado told me before I came into the country.

1) Get married to Argentinian citizen
2) Request Temporary Residency in the family reunion category
3) Get precaria while you wait (if outside the country: skip this step but pay higher fees for consulate entry permit and Migranciones folder)
4) Get approved and get 3 year Temporary Residency visa (what I am on at the moment)
5) Towards the end of year 3 reapply for Temporary Residency based on family reunion
6) After approval, apply for Permanent Residency based on family reunion (must be within that 2nd Temporary Residency visa period and not the first)
7) Approved for Permanent Residency
8) After 2 years on Permanent Residency, apply for citizenship if that is what you want

Could be incorrect, but so far the consulate has not let me down with their info.

They also indicated that the financial test is purely to see if you can support yourself and dependents in the country. They indicated that this was always the case and that 3 months payslip at the time was enough for them to grant the temporary visa. Unfortunately, no minimum amounts were given to me.

As someone who is about to begin this process, this is really helpful information!! I have one question about the visa precaria if you happen to know -- I was told on the phone with a lawyer that you have to be in regular immigration standing [e.g. not overstaying a tourist visa] in order to qualify for the precaria. If I follow the process you've outlined above, marrying and then applying for the temporary residency while currently overstaying a tourist visa, will I still be granted a visa precaria, or does my irregular status make me ineligible?