Investment Residence Permit

[smaa]

Hi. I am living overseas and would like to apply for an investor permanent residence permit in Argentina.

The argentina.gob.ar website says the Investment should be no less than 1.500.000 pesos, and an investment plan, as well as a business plan, should be submitted. However, since I am overseas for the moment, I cannot know where I should invest or how to setup a business there.

I actually only want to buy land and start a small farm, would that be accepted by the Argentine government as investment, as long as I pay the required amount above?

Wouldn't be better to visit the country first as a tourist and then decide what would be the best area to invest/purchase land in?

Could someone who went through the same process before be so kind and provide some help?

Thank you very much.

 

[Ammar]

Hola.
due to the current situation of the Corona Virus, the Immigration in Buenos Aires is Closed, it will remain so, until july or even Aug, depends on the updates of the Virus, accordingly most Argentine Consults around the world are on Hold as well.
What nationality are you if i may ask?

 

[antipodean]

Firstly, I would encourage you to do your homework about the agricultural sector in Argentina. Your access to export markets and USD will be heavily controlled by the state with a very complex tax and fx regime. Right now there are many farmers burning their crops instead of selling due to tension between the sector and the government.

The other thing to look at are Labor laws. Hiring in the black is obviously as unethical as it is illegal. Hiring in the white is complex and for a small producer can be a big financial risk due to unions and labor laws that are unpredictable and more costly than most countries in the world.

An alternative to an investment visa would be to set up a company here and use it to employ yourself. Obviously it needs to be a legit company that you would use to run your farm and employ other workers also. The company simply needs to be registered with Migraciones before you start your application for temporary residence and you must pay all employer contributions for social security etc for you and your employees. After a few years you can apply for permanent.

Not sure if you have spent much time in Argentina and know it well. Make sure you see the “unromantic” side of it too, as once you put your money into this country it will be a long time before you can take it out again at the same value due to severe capital controls etc. Would not be a fun experiment unless you have cash to burn.

 

[Ceviche]

Agree 100% with Antipodean's post.

 

[smaa]

Hola.
due to the current situation of the Corona Virus, the Immigration in Buenos Aires is Closed, it will remain so, until july or even Aug, depends on the updates of the Virus, accordingly most Argentine Consults around the world are on Hold as well.
What nationality are you if i may ask?

Thank you. I know that the immigration services are closed due to the virus, and I am not planning to apply now, but by September or October. However I don't know how long the procedure usually takes.

I am from Morocco.

 

[smaa]

Firstly, I would encourage you to do your homework about the agricultural sector in Argentina. Your access to export markets and USD will be heavily controlled by the state with a very complex tax and fx regime. Right now there are many farmers burning their crops instead of selling due to tension between the sector and the government.

The other thing to look at are Labor laws. Hiring in the black is obviously as unethical as it is illegal. Hiring in the white is complex and for a small producer can be a big financial risk due to unions and labor laws that are unpredictable and more costly than most countries in the world.

Thank you Antipodean.

Actually I am not planning to export my crop overseas or use USD in my transactions, the plan is very simple, buy a ranch and try to live off it.

I am also not planning to hire labor, I wanted to work in the land myself, and maybe receive some help from my wife or my brother. Something like a family business.

An alternative to an investment visa would be to set up a company here and use it to employ yourself. Obviously it needs to be a legit company that you would use to run your farm and employ other workers also. The company simply needs to be registered with Migraciones before you start your application for temporary residence and you must pay all employer contributions for social security etc for you and your employees. After a few years you can apply for permanent.

This is a great idea, I though about it for a while before, but I didn't know how hard it would be to do it. However, I don't know if the amount of 1.500.000 pesos should be invested in the farm itself (purchase and other related costs), or in the company that I will use to run the farm. And how much does it cost to setup a company in Argentina, and how long does the procedure take? For the moment I think it will be a one-person company, until I need more labor.

Not sure if you have spent much time in Argentina and know it well. Make sure you see the “unromantic” side of it too, as once you put your money into this country it will be a long time before you can take it out again at the same value due to severe capital controls etc. Would not be a fun experiment unless you have cash to burn.

No, I still didn't visit Argentina yet, so I don't really know it. But I know every country has a less agreeable side to it. My expectations are not high at all, as I mentioned earlier, I only want to setup a farm and live off it.

I think I will visit Argentina first as a tourist, to see what it's really like, and then decide what I will do later.

 

[Ammar]

Ok, no worries, i will give u an email of the lawyer helping me with my wife papers, i am an Argentinean but my wife's isn't.
i think he can guide u and answer your questions. Just tell him ur from my side.
his Email is [email protected]
Good luck to u.

 

[smaa]

Ok, no worries, i will give u an email of the lawyer helping me with my wife papers, i am an Argentinean but my wife's isn't.
i think he can guide u and answer your questions. Just tell him ur from my side.
his Email is [email protected]
Good luck to u.

Thank you very much for the email.

I will contact him as soon as possible and ask him about the most efficient way to conduct the whole procedure.

If there is anything else, I will contact you back.

 

[Ries]

I dont know if buying a farm would be covered by the investment permit or not. But buying a farm is certainly feasible, in terms of growing your own food. I know a few people who have relatives who are old hippies who do this, one sells jams and fruit products. Several of the vendors at the farmers markets are basically small truck farmers that i have met, growing organic veggies and selling them in town. There are a lot of pretty little towns within the provincia that you could do this near.
Most areas have pretty large parcels, its not uncommon for an Estancia to be 5000 or 10,000 hectaires. But near Tandil, or up in the hills near Sierra de la Ventana, or over near Cordoba, where its not prime soybean and grazing land, you can find places like this. Another place to check out would be El Bolson.

 

[smaa]

I dont know if buying a farm would be covered by the investment permit or not. But buying a farm is certainly feasible, in terms of growing your own food. I know a few people who have relatives who are old hippies who do this, one sells jams and fruit products. Several of the vendors at the farmers markets are basically small truck farmers that i have met, growing organic veggies and selling them in town. There are a lot of pretty little towns within the provincia that you could do this near.
Most areas have pretty large parcels, its not uncommon for an Estancia to be 5000 or 10,000 hectaires. But near Tandil, or up in the hills near Sierra de la Ventana, or over near Cordoba, where its not prime soybean and grazing land, you can find places like this. Another place to check out would be El Bolson.

Thank you. I read that Las Pampas is the best region in Argentina for agriculture, but I am thinking about buying land in Patagonia (Western Rio Negro), I assume land there is would be less expensive than Buenos Aires province, and water would be abundant.

The main concern for me is the price of the land. According to this article, there is going to be an important decline in the prices of land in Argentina until the end of 2021. But I don't know what prices to expect.

I am now trying to contact a lawyer regarding how to carry on with the legal procedure without compromising on my plan to start a farm, and I hope they can help.