Ciudadanía / Citizenship

[ElCordobés]

@wongjoh

At this time I'm not concerned about taxes on worldwide income as I live in Argentina. Argentina is my tax home. At present, Argentina does not tax Argentines not residing in the country. I suppose that could change one day, but I will cross that bridge as it were.... I also understand that technically I am already subject to taxes on my worldwide income due to my permanent resident status.

As I see it, we're eligible and we may never have another chance to obtain a second passport with such minimal effort and expense. Not that I anticipate it to be an easy process, but beats spending 10s/100s of thousands to "buy" citizenship elsewhere. We also don't anticipate living in the US nor Argentina the rest of our lives (but are considering buying property..another reason citizenship could be useful), but certainly we see another Mercosur country as a strong possibility. Not to mention the many other countries where our Argentine status could also be useful.

No doubt many pros and cons, but for us obtaining citizenship in the country that we call home and the country of birth of our daughter feels right for us.

Slds

PS Quite the résumé/CV

 

[Hybrid Ambassador]

we may never have another chance to obtain a second passport with such minimal effort and expense.

Well, each one with their own prerogative. But US$3000.00 is way too much me thinking. When I had my US residency card = nee Green card, it was a less than US$100 back then I think. Now if to apply for a US citizenship : application fee US$190 plus process fee another US$290 or so. So in total from resident card to citizenship would cost me less than US$600 I can get it done. So to cost you US$3000 for an Argentinean citizenship, I won't call it, minimum expense however value of money is different from one to another, Unless you making the big doughs through your businesses then US$3k must be a chump change for you...

 

[ElCordobés]

So far I have spent 50 pesos x 2 for fingerprints and 36 pesos for copies. I'm using most of the original docs that we used for the DNI process. Plus we pay our monotributo taxes each month, but I don't believe one can really count that as a cost of citizenship as that should be requisite as a resident.

I handled all of our DNI process as well. If I recall that was 600 pesos per person plus copies, and all of the translations and certifications. That wasn't more than a couple hundred USD total for the three of us.

If someone really wants a 2nd passport and doesn't have it by birthright or marriage-even at US$3000 or $5000--it's really cheap compared to the alternative of buying land or investing on an island in the Caribbean, Spain or random Eastern European country...even the US can be "purchased" for $500k to $1 million.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

I can't even count how many times I had my fingerprints taken here in Argentina, but I have no doubt that if I ever break the law, then the country will have no doubt WHO committed the crime.

;-)

You are presuming competence on the part of the authorities.

 

[ghost]

@ElCordobes - Thanks for the update. Best of luck!

Out of curiosity and if you can share -- what were the reasons you decided to pursue Argentine citizenship? With its demand to pay (already high) taxes on worldwide income, it seems counterintuitive to me so there must be something I am not factoring in.

Some people like to collect multiple citizen status and flash multiple passports. The only reason I could ever see for having Argie citizenship was to open and own an Argentine corporation and that is about as valuable as owning a hole in your asset base.

 

[sleazemerchant]

Some people like to collect multiple citizen status and flash multiple passports. The only reason I could ever see for having Argie citizenship was to open and own an Argentine corporation and that is about as valuable as owning a hole in your asset base.

One does not need Argentine citizenship to open or own an Argentine corporation. The owners of the shares of an Argentine corporation can be from any country and do not even need legal residence; to start and be a director of an Argentine corporation, legal residence is mandatory. Argentine citizenship is most useful for the visa-free travel it affords and for the access to international banking and brokerage services it permits.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

One does not need Argentine citizenship to open or own an Argentine corporation. The owners of the shares of an Argentine corporation can be from any country and do not even need legal residence; to start and be a director of an Argentine corporation, legal residence is mandatory. Argentine citizenship is most useful for the visa-free travel it affords and for the access to international banking and brokerage services it permits.

Visa-free travel such as Argentines have to the US, Canada and Australia?

 

[ghost]

One does not need Argentine citizenship to open or own an Argentine corporation. The owners of the shares of an Argentine corporation can be from any country and do not even need legal residence; to start and be a director of an Argentine corporation, legal residence is mandatory. Argentine citizenship is most useful for the visa-free travel it affords and for the access to international banking and brokerage services it permits.

You had better take a really close look at the share distribution rules vs share percent ownership. I'm talking about control not share ownership.

 

[ElCordobés]

My wife and I are at the next phase in the process of the obtaining our cartas. Her testigos (witnesses) must present themselves March 27th (although they advised that we can request another date if that's problematic). She has a different juzgado/court than I here in Córdoba. We have the same judge however as one is not currently appointed to her juzgado. I have spoken with my clerk and I'm apparently a couple weeks behind, but our fingerprints that were sent off to BsAs have been processed apparently by the various entities required.

My clerk originally told me that they would only need one of the two testigos. Hers is saying that both should present themselves. Does anyone have any feedback on what the testigos should be prepared to answer/provide? Our testigos are friends, but they may not know every little detail of our lives. It would be nice to prepare them a bit.

Anyone know what to expect after this? I know the process may differ in BsAs and elsewhere, but any help from someone who has lived it would be great.

Thanks!

 

[Jaredberryman]

I think that in practicality there's really not a big difference between permanent residency and citizenship. The obvious difference is the right to vote. Bajocero noted that having citizenship can keep you from getting deported, but I think if I was in a situation where I was about to be deported, I would likely be quite pleased to leave this country. Also, I think you can go to some European countries without a visa that you would have to get with a U.S. passport. Or you can go to Cuba with the Argentine passport. Also, you wouldn't have to pay reciprocity fees when traveling throughout S. America.

Other than that, I don't see the benefit of going through a complicated process in order to get yet another piece of paper. I'm happy with my permanent residency.