Residency vs Citizenship: which should I get?

[la vie est belle]

Hi everyone!

I'm eligible for Argentine citizenship or permanent residency (my mother was born in Argentina) and was wondering what advice you guys who are already on the ground could give me regarding which would be better for me to get. I've done some research, but I've never lived there before so I'm not sure of all of the benefits, as I may have missed some online.

Which is faster to get?
What are the benefits of citizenship vs being a permanent resident?
What are the disadvantages of being a citizen vs resident? Are they the same?

I'm going to start the process for me as soon as I get my mother's information sorted out. I need to renew her passport and her DNI. All I have to prove she's an Argentine citizen is her birth certificate from 1956 and her old DNI and passport with a picture of her as a 5 year old. She hasn't been back since.

She also changed her name when she became a U.S. citizen from "Yolanda Graciela Soto" to "Graciela Yolanda Soto" then changed her name AGAIN when she got married in the U.S. and is now "Grace Yolanda with a different last name".... I don't know if the consulate will demand proof of a name change of if they will just accept her U.S. passport that says her full name now (no maiden name) but it says country of birth as Argentina. Has anyone ever had to deal with this sort of thing before? Are they very strict? Will it even be possible for me to get her an Argentine passport/DNI?

Any info/advice you have would be useful... the consulate in L.A. never answers their phone and their website doesn't even work. Typical Argentina... no?

Thanks!

 

[michaeyk]

Hi... either way you'll have time to make that decision further down the road. I've been here with my girlfriend for almost 6 years. We started off as tourists and now we are residents with DNIs and visas. We are planning on moving back to the U.S. soon but we are going to get our citizenship before we leave. It keeps us from having to come back every couple years to renew and pay our attorney.

We did all are US stuff out of L.A. too. They kept telling us to call back after 3pm. Only later did we find out that they close around noon.

 

[steveinbsas]

Hi... either way you'll have time to make that decision further down the road. I've been here with my girlfriend for almost 6 years. We started off as tourists and now we are residents with DNIs and visas. We are planning on moving back to the U.S. soon but we are going to get our citizenship before we leave. It keeps us from having to come back every couple years to renew and pay our attorney.

I don't think you'll have to wait to make a decision. You will be eligible to apply for citizenship immediately. Foreigners with permanent residency must set foot in country at least once every two years.

If michaeyk has permanent residency I wonder why he would be paying an attorney to renew it. I would be interested in knowing if he is referring to renewing a permanent resident visa after being out of the country for more than two years. Others have asked if that's possible or if it's necessary to start the visa process from scratch.

The fact that the permanent residency could expire after one is out of Argentina for more than two years is a good reason to get citizenship...as michaeyk implied. In your case I think citizenship is a birthright.

 

[la vie est belle]

I'm leaning more towards citizenship if it's really that much easier! My only issue is I'd like to have some sort of residency/citizenship status preferably with a passport before entering Argentina so I can just go there and live. If I were to apply for citizenship once I got to argentina, how would they know my mother is really a citizen? All she has now is a 45 year old expired passport and a birth certificate, and she has since changed her name twice.... Once when she became a naturalized U.S. Citizen and the other time when she got married. All of her stuff is old and expired, she grew up in the US and never returned to Argentina when she moved here when she was 5 years old.

 

[steveinbsas]

I think that your mother's expired Argentine passport and birth certificate (which probably "prove" she is a citizen) will make it easy for you to get your Argentine citizenship.

Perhaps you can even get your Argentine passport at the consulate in LA.

 

[arlean]

The idea of applying for citizenship after one year permanent residency caught my eye on this thread. Do you know that is possible? If so I am INTERESTED. Also are there any attorneys that handle citizenship? Or anyone I could talk to about this to see if this is really possible? I will have one year permanent residency behind me in March. Sure appreciate any additional information on this. Many thanks.

 

[dennisr]

This FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) may affect some. Sure has a lot of people up in arms: dual citizenship.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwood/2011/09/06/expats-call-for-fatca-repeal/

 

[Bajo_cero2]

I don't think you'll have to wait to make a decision. You will enter Argentina on a tourist visa, but you will be eligible to apply for permanent residency (if not citizenship) immediately.

Yes, he is eligible for citizenship as soon as he arrives.
I don t think he needs that his mother renewals all her ID. Her birth certificate, and his birth certificate should be enough unless the names are changed in those papers. Then he is going to need more paper work that evidence that is she is she.

Regards

www.rubilar.com.ar

 

[Bajo_cero2]

The idea of applying for citizenship after one year permanent residency caught my eye on this thread. Do you know that is possible? If so I am INTERESTED. Also are there any attorneys that handle citizenship? Or anyone I could talk to about this to see if this is really possible? I will have one year permanent residency behind me in March. Sure appreciate any additional information on this. Many thanks.

I am an attorney specilized in citizenship.
You can apply for citizenship after one year of behing in Argentina no matter your legal status.
Regards
www.rubilar.com.ar

 

[surfing]

Is it certain that the tax liability on worldwide income is the same for permanent residents as citizens?

As noted in this thread, citizenship allows you to leave and stay out of the country for more than two years, while permanent residence requires physical presence at least one day in any two year period.

There's no escaping tax liability for world wide income in either case, but unless Argentina has a tax treaty with the country in which you might be living and working, I don't know how they could know how much you earn abroad or how they could collect, especially if you do not return.

The question of dual citizenship has been discussed at length in the thread: Argentine Citizenship for Foreigners. It's a long thread but the question was raised near the end. Dual citizenship is not an issue for most, including those from the USA.