Things to keep in mind for student visa (temp residency - legal status)

[nikad]

For a student visa, the course must:

• Be longer than 90 days.
• Be from an institution registered with the RENURE (Registro Nacional Único de Requirentes de Extranjeros).
• Offer official enrollment documentation (letter of acceptance, certificate of studies, etc.).

These institutes are recognized and typically issue the correct paperwork for visa purposes:

• UBA - Laboratorio de Idiomas Buenos Aires University-level Spanish classes. UBA is a public university; well-respected and visa-eligible.
• Universidad de Belgrano (UB) Buenos Aires Offers "Español como Lengua Extranjera" (ELE). Certified, intensive courses available.
• Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA) Buenos Aires Has an ELE program, visa support, and good reputation.
• Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC) Córdoba Offers Spanish courses for foreigners. Public university = cost-effective.
• Expanish Buenos Aires Private school; accredited, visa-supporting Spanish courses longer than 12 weeks.
• COINED Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Mendoza Private language school with DELE exam prep; works for visas.
• ECELA Spanish Buenos Aires Private accredited school; offers 3+ month programs for visa.

Besides Spanish language courses, you can apply with enrollment in:

1. University degree programs (full undergraduate or graduate).
2. Postgraduate diplomas or certificates.
3. Technical/vocational programs (Culinary schools, Tango schools, Fashion schools if accredited).
4. Cultural programs with institutions like:

IUNA (Universidad Nacional de las Artes) — dance, theater, arts.
Fundación Julio Bocca — dance and performing arts.
UADE Executive Education — diploma courses, business Spanish.

Important: Not every course at a private language school will qualify. Always confirm:

• They provide a "certificado de inscripción".
• They are registered with RENURE (they should give you a copy of the RENURE certificate for immigration).
• The program is full-time (20+ hours per week is typical).
• it's important to understand that remote-only programs do not qualify for a student visa. To be eligible for a student visa, you must enroll in an in-person course at an institution registered with the Registro Nacional Único de Requirentes de Extranjeros (RENURE).

Typical Steps:

• Enroll — Pay tuition and get the official acceptance letter.
• Gather paperwork — Including the RENURE certification.
• Apply for visa — Submit the letter of enrollment + RENURE cert + other required documents (passport, police clearance, proof of funds, health insurance).

Steps to Obtain a Student Visa

• Obtain Enrollment Certificate: The institution will provide a "Constancia de Inscripción Electrónica."
• Prepare Required Documents:
• Valid passport.
• Criminal background check from your home country.
• Proof of sufficient funds.
• Health insurance coverage.
• Apply for the Visa: Submit your application through the RaDEX system on the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM) website.
• Attend Appointment: Schedule and attend an appointment at the immigration office.

Sending your children to school in Argentina is definitely possible, and it’s actually one of the easiest ways to get a residency permit, student visas can be issued for minors too.

Public Schools: Free, open to all residents (including foreigners). No tuition fees, but some minor fees for supplies, uniforms, etc. No visa sponsorship directly from the school — you must have residency or regularize their status.

Private Schools: Charge tuition. Many offer bilingual education (Spanish-English, French, German, etc.). Some private schools are authorized to issue the enrollment certificates needed for a student visa.

Visa or Residency Options for Children

Student Visa (Visa de Estudiante Menor de edad):

• Enroll in a school registered with RENURE (Registro Nacional Único de Requirentes de Extranjeros).
• School provides the certificado de inscripción for visa application.
• Issued for the duration of the school year.
• Requires proof of guardianship (parents’ documentation too).

Residency for Family:

• If you, as a parent, get residency (work visa, student visa, temporary residence for retirement, etc.), your child can be added as a dependent.
• Children under 18 can get residency without their own income if they are dependents.
• Important: If your child is enrolled in a school but you don’t have your own visa or residency, the student visa route works, but someone must act as a legal guardian locally (can be the parent).

After 2 years of temporary residency you can either apply for permanent residency or citizenship. Hope this information is useful for those that are looking forward to moving and living in Argentina, given the recent immigration changes nobody knows for sure to what extent it will be enforced.

 

[nikad]

Unofficial RENEURE institutions https://www.viajaraargentinahoy.com...idades-y-particulares-inscriptos-en-el-renure

There is not official list, if in doubt contact [email protected] to check whether an institution is registered.

This list might be outdated https://www.migraciones.gov.ar/pdf_varios/residencias/listado_requirentesVigentes.pdf

 

[aloevera]

Steps to Obtain a Student Visa

• Obtain Enrollment Certificate: The institution will provide a "Constancia de Inscripción Electrónica."

One thing that must be noted: after obtaining an enrollment certificate from the university, if you want to study a bachelor's degree (carrera de grado), you have to 'validate' ("convalidación") or 'recognize' your high school/secondary diploma with the Argentine government. From what I have read (I have considered and heavily researched this path), you might have problems with the SIU Guarani system (all public unis use this for course management and administrative stuff) if you don't validate your secondary diploma. So, you need to plan everything far in advance if you're going to be getting a temporary residence for students (that's what you get and have to renew every year, it's not a 'student visa', it's temporary residence, but for students).

See the relevant government pages for more info on recognizing your diploma:
Recognizing secondary titles for people from countries without an agreement (the vast majority of countries)
Validating secondary titles for people from countries with an agreement (some LATAM countries + a few European countries)

So, if your country doesn't have an agreement with Argentina on the recognition of secondary school diplomas, you'll have to:
1. Get your high school diploma and transcript (get a few copies of them both just to have some backups) and any other relevant documents, and get any/all health records too for good measure, as for example UNLP (which has a lot of foreign students) requires some vaccinations, although I haven't seen any other public unis require this for foreign students.
2. Get your diploma + transcript both apostilled (or legalized, if your country doesn't do apostilles) by the relevant authorities in your country - first, the ministry of education or equivalent, then the ministry of foreign affairs or equivalent - this is written on the relevant aforementioned mentioned link. For legalizations instead of apostilles, you'll also have to have the Argentine consulate/embassy in your country certify the signature of the ministry of foreign affairs. So bureaucratic!
----- special note: in the US, the State Department (Ministry of Foreign Affairs equivalent) does not apostille documents produced by individual states. In other words, they will not apostille your HS diploma + transcript - only the authorities of the state in which it was issued can do that. See the State Dept page here, and the page they've linked under the drop-down "State documents" here for more info on who apostilles what in the US. Now, I don't know how this reality would impact the process of validating your diploma in Argentina, because some bureaucrats love to stick to exactly(!) what's written... so if anyone here does it... do tell us how it goes.
3. Next, you must get your apostilled or legalized diploma and transcript translated by a sworn public translator who is certified in your jurisdiction. You could probably find someone like this at the English faculty of your university.
3. Now that your secondary diploma and transcript are apostilled and translated, you can continue with the process of validation with the Directorate of National Validity of Degrees and Studies, as described on the relevant page linked above. That means solicit a turno, etc. However, they never have any appointments available any time I have looked online, so good luck getting one - you'll have to probably email and/or call.

But yeah... look at all this running around you have to do just to register for a university course. How can you not love needless bureaucracy?

And some more thoughts on studying a degree in Argentina:
1. If you're studying something other than the Spanish language itself, you'll probably need either a SIELE/DELE/CELU exam, depends on what your university accepts. UBA, for example, accepts SIELE. Some others prefer CELU.
2. If you choose this route, you have to go to your classes and pass your exams, or your student visa will not be renewed, because Migraciones will check with your university whether you're attending or not.
3. If you choose to complete a full degree at UBA, note that it will take longer than at most other universities in the country, because la UBA is very disorganized and their course plans are inherently longer due to the CBC that all students must complete. 6 years (more like 7-8 in reality) to study engineering at UBA, 5 in the interior.
4. By the way, if you're already physically in Argentina and just wish to see what the public university classes are like, you can just walk into any of them and if anyone asks why you're there, say you're an oyente. It's completely fine.
5. If you choose to attend la UBA, a lot of previous years' exams are available on altillo, so look there if you ever want to see what the exams consist of. Altillo barely has any resources for universities aside from UBA, however.

 

[Alby]

Agreed. Everybody is getting very excited about the student temporary residency given the apparent changes afoot, but, like any residency it is far from easy to get one and keep it.

 

[nikad]

Universities are just one option. Private schools make it a lot easier. There are also many classes where you do not need school records. It really depends on what you are doing. The bottom line is that you have to do your research and see what works best in terms of money, time and paperwork.

 

[alyx]

One thing that must be noted: after obtaining an enrollment certificate from the university, if you want to study a bachelor's degree (carrera de grado), you have to 'validate' ("convalidación") or 'recognize' your high school/secondary diploma with the Argentine government. From what I have read (I have considered and heavily researched this path), you might have problems with the SIU Guarani system (all public unis use this for course management and administrative stuff) if you don't validate your secondary diploma. So, you need to plan everything far in advance if you're going to be getting a temporary residence for students (that's what you get and have to renew every year, it's not a 'student visa', it's temporary residence, but for students).

See the relevant government pages for more info on recognizing your diploma:
Recognizing secondary titles for people from countries without an agreement (the vast majority of countries)
Validating secondary titles for people from countries with an agreement (some LATAM countries + a few European countries)

So, if your country doesn't have an agreement with Argentina on the recognition of secondary school diplomas, you'll have to:
1. Get your high school diploma and transcript (get a few copies of them both just to have some backups) and any other relevant documents, and get any/all health records too for good measure, as for example UNLP (which has a lot of foreign students) requires some vaccinations, although I haven't seen any other public unis require this for foreign students.
2. Get your diploma + transcript both apostilled (or legalized, if your country doesn't do apostilles) by the relevant authorities in your country - first, the ministry of education or equivalent, then the ministry of foreign affairs or equivalent - this is written on the relevant aforementioned mentioned link. For legalizations instead of apostilles, you'll also have to have the Argentine consulate/embassy in your country certify the signature of the ministry of foreign affairs. So bureaucratic!
----- special note: in the US, the State Department (Ministry of Foreign Affairs equivalent) does not apostille documents produced by individual states. In other words, they will not apostille your HS diploma + transcript - only the authorities of the state in which it was issued can do that. See the State Dept page here, and the page they've linked under the drop-down "State documents" here for more info on who apostilles what in the US. Now, I don't know how this reality would impact the process of validating your diploma in Argentina, because some bureaucrats love to stick to exactly(!) what's written... so if anyone here does it... do tell us how it goes.
3. Next, you must get your apostilled or legalized diploma and transcript translated by a sworn public translator who is certified in your jurisdiction. You could probably find someone like this at the English faculty of your university.
3. Now that your secondary diploma and transcript are apostilled and translated, you can continue with the process of validation with the Directorate of National Validity of Degrees and Studies, as described on the relevant page linked above. That means solicit a turno, etc. However, they never have any appointments available any time I have looked online, so good luck getting one - you'll have to probably email and/or call.

But yeah... look at all this running around you have to do just to register for a university course. How can you not love needless bureaucracy?

And some more thoughts on studying a degree in Argentina:
1. If you're studying something other than the Spanish language itself, you'll probably need either a SIELE/DELE/CELU exam, depends on what your university accepts. UBA, for example, accepts SIELE. Some others prefer CELU.
2. If you choose this route, you have to go to your classes and pass your exams, or your student visa will not be renewed, because Migraciones will check with your university whether you're attending or not.
3. If you choose to complete a full degree at UBA, note that it will take longer than at most other universities in the country, because la UBA is very disorganized and their course plans are inherently longer due to the CBC that all students must complete. 6 years (more like 7-8 in reality) to study engineering at UBA, 5 in the interior.
4. By the way, if you're already physically in Argentina and just wish to see what the public university classes are like, you can just walk into any of them and if anyone asks why you're there, say you're an oyente. It's completely fine.
5. If you choose to attend la UBA, a lot of previous years' exams are available on altillo, so look there if you ever want to see what the exams consist of. Altillo barely has any resources for universities aside from UBA, however.

To study a degree in Argentina, you must validate your high school diploma through apostille/legalization and certified translation, then submit it to the Argentine education authorities. Without this, you may face issues with university systems like SIU Guaraní. You’ll also need Spanish proficiency (e.g. CELU, SIELE), must attend and pass classes to renew your student residence, and note that UBA takes longer due to its structure.

 

[broc]

To study a degree in Argentina, you must validate your high school diploma through apostille/legalization and certified translation, then submit it to the Argentine education authorities. Without this, you may face issues with university systems like SIU Guaraní. You’ll also need Spanish proficiency (e.g. CELU, SIELE), must attend and pass classes to renew your student residence, and note that UBA takes longer due to its structure.

Any source for the Spanish proficiency? I don't see it on the government website, and my university has no information about studying as a foreigner. I've yet to contact the university personally to verify all of what's required but I wanted to check here first to see if it's a known requirement for all universities or just some of them.

And has anyone done a Spanish proficiency exam here? What's that experience like?