I'm a U.S. Citizen, mom born in Argentina, how can I move there?

[la vie est belle]

Hello everyone,

I'm graduating college soon and would like to move to Argentina for a while to work (preferably with official working status). I was wondering if there's any way I can get any sort of temporary resident status/working visa because my mom was born in Argentina? Is there any sort of "ancestry" visa? I've tried to google this but haven't come up with anything so far...

 

[Napoleon]

You're eligible for citizenship, but I'll let others explain.

 

[steveinbsas]

Actually, you are probably eligible for permanent residency which should be easier for you to get than temporary residency or citizenship. Does your mom have an Argentine DNI? Migraciones will ask for it. Becoming a citizen of Argentina might have undesirable (long term) tax implications if you go back to the US to work and later return to Argentina.

http://www.migraciones.gov.ar/accesible/?nomercosur_permanente

If you don't speak Spanish you can enter "permanent residency" in the search engine here and read a lot about it in the forum. You can also teach yourself the language as you wade through the process of getting your visa. As the son or daughter of an Argentine citizen you don't have to prove income and the process shouldn't be difficult. You just have to have the papers that migraciones requires. That isn't very difficult, either. If you live near an Argentine consulate you can probably apply for your permanent residency there. If that is the case you may be able to get your CUIL/CUIT (necessary for work) almost immediately after your arrival in Argentina and you can get your DNI in about 30 days.

 

[RichardP]

You really should contact the Argentine Consulate in your country of residence. They are there to help with such matters.

 

[steveinbsas]

You really should contact the Argentine Consulate in your country of residence. They are there to help with such matters.

The OP already indicate country of residence is USA, but some of the consulates appear to be somewhat "inexperienced" on the matter of immigration. One member here recently told me he asked about temporary residency at the Argentine consulate in Atlanta and indicated the process was very slow. I've read better accounts by expats who applied for residency in NYC and LA.

 

[A&A]

I agree with Steve about the Argentine Consulates. I dealt with the one in NYC and Atlanta (as we moved during the process). The NYC one was "on it", (called us back, set up appointment in a week, very knowledgeable, pretty good website). Atlanta we were the first ones applying under the new "edicts" and they really did not provide me any more information than I could glean from these message boards and NYC website.

Without starting the whole debate: I think the websites are great for letting you know all the documents you need and how to get them. Just read carefully so you do not waste time or money (like we translated docs in US only to realize we needed them translated here). However, I think that after that, it may help to find an Argentine attorney (especially if you are not fluent). Just my opinion, but there is enough to get started.

 

[la vie est belle]

Actually, you are probably eligible for permanent residency which should be easier for you to get than temporary residency or citizenship. Does your mom have an Argentine DNI? Migraciones will ask for it. Becoming a citizen of Argentina might have undesirable (long term) tax implications if you go back to the US to work and later return to Argentina.

http://www.migraciones.gov.ar/accesible/?nomercosur_permanente

If you don't speak Spanish you can enter "permanent residency" in the search engine here and read a lot about it in the forum. You can also teach yourself the language as you wade through the process of getting your visa. As the son or daughter of an Argentine citizen you don't have to prove income and the process shouldn't be difficult. You just have to have the papers that migraciones requires. That isn't very difficult, either. If you live near an Argentine consulate you can probably apply for your permanent residency there. If that is the case you may be able to get your CUIL/CUIT (necessary for work) almost immediately after your arrival in Argentina and you can get your DNI in about 30 days.

Thanks for all the info.
I don't think my mom has a DNI, I don't even think she knows if she's still a citizen (although I'm sure she is...) so I'm not even sure how I would go about proving it! My mom moved here when she was 5 years old. My grandma I'm sure would know more about that stuff, but I'm pretty sure she never kept track of it either. She hasn't been back to Argentina since the 60s.

I'm not sure I'd want to become an Argentine citizen as this could have job implications since eventually I want to work for the Feds. Some positions won't allow you to have dual citizenship. This permanent residency business sounds like a good deal though... just not sure how I would go about proving my mom was born in Argentina...

 

[mini]

just not sure how I would go about proving my mom was born in Argentina...

Get her birth certificate. It should say where she was born.

 

[earlyretirement]

If your mom was born here she has a DNI...she might have lost it but can get another. As the child of someone that was born here and has a DNI you should be able to get a DNI as well. It will be some work..it might be easier to hire an attorney. ARCA is pretty good but expensive.

 

[syngirl]

This is info posted on the Argentine Consulate of Toronto's website, there must be similar posted on the NYC site -- regardless what you need in terms of your mum's documentation will be the same:

http://www.consargtoro.ca/english/E-citizenship-option-4.html

http://www.consargtoro.ca/english/E-vis-req-permanent-residency.html

It looks like if you're over 18 you may have to go the citizenship route if your family is no longer living here, not sure, only skimmed the page.

The same info will be available (in spanish) on the Migraciones site -- go to google.com.ar and search for it.