Obtaining Argentine citizenship

[mcf]

Does anyone know the process for getting Argentine citizenship for a retired person? Where does one begin?

 

[steveinbsas]

Does anyone know the process for getting Argentine citizenship for a retired person? Where does one begin?

You begin by getting residency temporaria based on your pension or investment income. You can apply at the office of migraciones in Argentina or (hopefully) at the Argentine consulate in your home country.

Temporary residency must be renewed annually and (under preesent rules), if you stay in Argentina for two full years without leaving the country for even one day, you will then be able to apply for Argentine citizenship through the office of migraciones in Argentina.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

You begin by getting residency temporaria based on your pension or investment income. You can apply at the office of migraciones in Argentina or (hopefully) at the Argentine consulate in your home country.

Temporary residency must be renewed annually and (under preesent rules), if you stay in Argentina for two full years without leaving the country for even one day, you will then be able to apply for Argentine citizenship through the office of migraciones in Argentina.

If you follow this path you it takes no less than 5 years (6 for being realistic) and the last 3 you cannot travel at all.
The other option is to applyunder for the former law at Federal Courts.

 

[steveinbsas]

If you follow this path you it takes no less than 5 years (6 for being realistic) and the last 3 you cannot travel at all.

If I understand correctly, based on the recent decree, the "path" to citizenship via migraciones requires two years of legal temporary residency and two years of continuous physical presence in Argentina before applying for citizenship (without a lawyer) and the clock for the two years of continuous physical presence starts when temporary residency is granted.

This is the first time I've read about not being able to travel (leave the country) for "three years" after applying for citizenship via migraciones. Does this mean that it will take as long as three years for citizenship to be approved and wouldn't it be possible to leave the country as soon as citizenship is granted?

The other option is to applyunder for the former law at Federal Courts.

Are the Federal Courts now "enforcing" any of the rules of the recent decree, especially the reqirement for two years of continuous physical presence with temporary residency before accepting citizenship cases?

Is it still possible to apply for citizenship at a Federal Court (with a lawyer and without a DNI) immediately after entering the country on a tourist visa?

Is it still possible for an individual with temporary residency and a DNI to apply for citizenship at a Federal Court without a lawyer? If not, how much should they expect to pay for the service and how many years could it take? Would they be able to leave the country at any time before obtaining citizenship?

 

[Ries]

we just got residency 120 days after completing 3 years of a pensionista visa. So just over 3 years, start to finish. This route allows you to come and go during the 3 years, as long as you spend the majority of each year in Argentina.
But things are constantly changing.

 

[steveinbsas]

we just got residency 120 days after completing 3 years of a pensionista visa. So just over 3 years, start to finish. This route allows you to come and go during the 3 years, as long as you spend the majority of each year in Argentina.
But things are constantly changing.

Do you mean that you just got permanent residency after completing 3 years of temporary residency based on pension income?

I followed the same path from October of 2006 (when I was first granted temporary residency based on pension income) until January of 2010, when I was granted permanent residency, having spent the "majority of each year" (aka more than 182 days) in Argentina, so that requirement has not changed in at least 20 years. Temporary residents can still come and go as they please without losing that status as long as rhey meet the six month requirement, and will be able to apply for permanent residency on the third renewal.

This thread is about the current requirements for Argentine citizenship and the reqirement for two years of continuous physical presence in Argentina with a DNI and without leaving the country for even one day, a change that went into effect in 2025. The amount of time a permanent resident could spend outside of Argentina was also reduced from two to one year.

I know some are hoping that at least the two year physical presence requirement will be declared unconstitutional by the Federal Courts. I haven't read anything about any pending cases, but I am not searching for them.

I do remember reading that the decree of 2025 was drafted, keeping in mind the provision of the decree of 2017 (which gave migraciones authority over the citizenship process) was declared unconstitutional.

 

[Ries]

Yes, I am saying that we did the 3 year pensionista, because in my life I could not, and did not want to, live here without leaving for two years before engaging in an uncertain court process.
For me, and many other people, the idea that you WILL end up with the residency, in a predictable time frame, is a better fit.

 

[MarshallE]

If you follow this path you it takes no less than 5 years (6 for being realistic) and the last 3 you cannot travel at all.
The other option is to applyunder for the former law at Federal Courts.

When did you most recently win a case under the former law at the Federal Courts?

 

[steveinbsas]

It would be helpful to know if applying for citizenship through the Federal Court now requires a lawyer or it's possible for someone who has been in Argentina for two years with temporary residency and without leaving the country for even one day during the two years to do so on their own.

If representation by a lawyer to apply for citizenship through the Federal Court was not actually specified in the decree of 2025, I am assuming that it now takes a lawyer to "challenge" the decree in court on an individual case basis, but further clarification would be helpful as well.

 

[steveinbsas]

I searched Bajo_cero2's posts with the word "constitutional" and found his previous answer:

"...you can apply at DNM without a lawyer but it takes about 6 years since arrival. Or you can apply at Federal Courts but you need a lawyer and you need about 30 months since arrival to Argentina."

https://baexpats.org/threads/immigration-now-open-to-handle-citizenship-applications-as-of-monday-the-6th.49481/post-466362