Obtaining Argentine citizenship

[mcf]

My personal case is that I already have permanent residency. Does that make getting citizenship a much shorter timeline? What would be the cons of citizenship vs. permanent residency? And thank you for all the information on this.

 

[steveinbsas]

My personal case is that I already have permanent residency. Does that make getting citizenship a much shorter timeline?

I don't think so. With the new requirement for two years of continuous physical presence in Argentina without leaving the country for even one day, your timeline for citizenship began on the date of your most recent entry, or, if you are presently out of the country, it will begin on the date of your return.

The fact that you already have permanent residency is only an advantage by virtue of the fact that you will no longer have to renew your temporary residency while meeting the two year physical presence reqirement. In many cases, temporary residents will probably be required to apply for permanent residency before they meet the two year requirement for citizenship.

Bajo_cero2 posted that if the application for citizenship is done through migraciones, it could still take three (if not four) years to become a citzen and also indicated that the applicant won't be able to leave the country until citizenship is granted.

He assets that to apply for citizenship through the Federal Courts will take about three years, but it's obviously too soon to know for certain if that will actually be the result.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

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

September last year. Since the application is at DNM, now I have to apply for its unconstitutionality case by case and this delays everything an extra year. I already got the first unconstitutionality.

 

[Bajo_cero2]

I don't think so. With the new requirement for two years of continuous physical presence in Argentina without leaving the country for even one day, your timeline for citizenship began on the date of your most recent entry, or, if you are presently out of the country, it will begin on the date of your return.

The fact that you already have permanent residency is only an advantage by virtue of the fact that you will no longer have to renew your temporary residency while meeting the two year physical presence reqirement. In many cases, temporary residents will probably be required to apply for permanent residency before they meet the two year requirement for citizenship.

Bajo_cero2 posted that if the application for citizenship is done through migraciones, it could still take three (if not four) years to become a citzen and also indicated that the applicant won't be able to leave the country until citizenship is granted.

He assets that to apply for citizenship through the Federal Courts will take about three years, but it's obviously too soon to know for certain if that will actually be the result.

The fact is immigration has nobody to process citizenship application through its website, so, this look like this:

 

[Bajo_cero2]

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?



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?

No, if you are extra Mercosur you need 3 + 2 plus what the process takes (18 months?).
Even the decreto use the word continuous, it means uninterrupted.
The problem is all judges at CABA are enforcing the DNU retroactively so they force you to apply for unconstitutionality even in old cases.
I continue applying with passport the day after the client arrived.
Also CBI programs can be applied at Federal Court with 50k donations.
No, even lawyers [without proper experience and knowledge] might fail in applying at Federal Courts. The DNU unifies all the cases in illegal entry, so the fees are for illegal entry (8500k) and you can expect a 3/4 years case.
You can travel, of course.

 

[steveinbsas]

...The DNU unifies all the cases in illegal entry, so the fees are for illegal entry (8500k)...

Please express the figure (8500k) with the appropriate periods and commas. Also clarify to whom it is paid. If it's $85.000 pesos, that's about twice as much as an overstay fee and seems quite reasonable.

What I wanted to know is how much someone who applies for citizenship at a Federal Court should expect to pay their lawyer to pursue their case.

 

[MarshallE]

September last year. Since the application is at DNM, now I have to apply for its unconstitutionality case by case and this delays everything an extra year. I already got the first unconstitutionality.

I have several friends who have been receiving citizenship in the past few months/weeks with the help of other lawyers (continuing court cases started before May 2025 under the old rules) I wonder what is causing the delay for your clients, as it doesn't seem to affect clients of the other lawyers

 

[steveinbsas]

I have several friends who have been receiving citizenship in the past few months/weeks with the help of other lawyers (continuing court cases started before May 2025 under the old rules) I wonder what is causing the delay for your clients, as it doesn't seem to affect clients of the other lawyers

The first thing I thought of asking after reading this post is if your friends applied for citizenship before or after they had been in Argentina for two years and if any of them did not already have a DNI when their applications were submitted.

 

[MarshallE]

The first thing I thought of asking after reading this post is if your friends applied for citizenship before or after they had been in Argentina for two years and if any of them did not already have a DNI when their applications were submitted.

I know people who have received citizenship that already had a DNI, others with a Precaria and others than had no documents at all only the foreign passport (and never applied for any type of residency status, only lived as a tourist for 2 years) and all of them have been receiving citizenship in recent weeks

 

[mcf]

These newer posts make me optimistic. Can these posters suggest lawyers, those that has been getting citizenship for his/her clients quickly?