Argentina Gives Citizenship in 2 YearsNo investment, no language test, and why the "buy it" shortcut is not real
Constitution Art. 20 + Ley 346, verified against official sources
- Years of residence
- 2
- Investment required
- $0
- Dual citizenship
- Yes
- Passport reach
- 135 places
A Right Written Into the Constitution
Most countries hand out citizenship through immigration policy, which a government can tighten at will. Argentina's core path runs through its Constitution itself, Article 20: foreigners obtain naturalisation by residing two continuous years in the nation, and even that term can be shortened for those who render services to the Republic. The implementing statute, Ley 346 (the Ley de Ciudadania, on the books since 1869), specifies who qualifies: foreigners 18 or older who have resided in the Republic for two continuous years, who show a lawful occupation and good conduct, decided through summary judicial proceedings before a federal judge.
The law also explicitly bars a judge from denying an application for political, ideological, union, religious or racial reasons. Read the text yourself at congreso.gob.ar (Constitution) and argentina.gob.ar (Ley 346).
What It Actually Takes
Strip away the marketing angle and the requirements are short. This is the entire list, no hidden extras:
- 01
Be 18 or older
No exception by nationality, and no minimum age discount for length of residence.
- 02
Live in Argentina for 2 continuous years
The statutory minimum. It can be reduced for people who render specific services to the Republic, but the standard route is 2 years for everyone.
- 03
Show a lawful means of subsistence
A job, pension, business income or remote income - documented, not merely declared.
- 04
Have good conduct and no disqualifying criminal record
Assessed as part of the judicial process, not a separate application.
- 05
File before a federal judge, not an administrative office
The application is a judicial proceeding (juicio sumario), decided by the federal court with jurisdiction over your address.
No formal language exam. No history or civics test. No minimum investment. Compare that with most European naturalisation routes, which typically run 5 to 10 years and require a language certificate.
The Process: a Judicial Route, Not a Government Office
The application, called a solicitud de carta de ciudadania, is filed with the federal court in your district, not an immigration counter. Typical supporting documents include your DNM certificate of permanent residence, a DNI with your current address, an apostilled birth certificate with sworn translation if needed, criminal-record certificates from Argentina and any country you previously resided in, and proof of lawful income for the preceding months. After the court's own investigation and a favourable ruling, you attend a swearing-in hearing before the judge and receive the Carta de Ciudadania, which you then use to process your naturalised DNI within one year.
This judicial system has run since 1869. In 2025, DNU 366/2025 tried to shift the granting authority to the immigration agency (DNM) and tighten "continuous residence" to mean zero absences from the country during the 2 years. On 30 June 2026 the Camara Nacional Electoral declared that decree absolutely null (case "Yang, Liping"), holding that citizenship is bound up with political and electoral rights and therefore falls outside what a decree can touch. The court ordered every federal judge with electoral jurisdiction nationwide to be notified, restoring the judicial route as the operative system. The government disputes the ruling, maintains the decree is still in force in its own view, and has said it will appeal to the Corte Suprema, though no filing or ruling has been confirmed as of early August 2026. Treat this as a live legal dispute, not a settled question, and check Cancilleria's own page on the post-naturalisation DNI step for the current procedure.
How long does it really take?
No official source publishes an average processing time. Immigration lawyers and relocation sites cite anywhere from a few months to one or two years depending on the individual court's caseload. Treat that range as practitioner-reported, not government-confirmed, and expect it to vary by district.
Starting the Clock: How to Become a Resident First
The 2-year count only runs once you hold a legal residence status. These are the routes with a published path from temporary residence through to the citizenship clock, straight from the same official-source data behind every ranking on this site:
For non-MERCOSUR nationals. Minimum investment of ARS 1,500,000 in a productive, commercial, or service activity. Temporary residence granted for 1 year, renewable for up to 3 years. After 2 years of residence and maintaining the investment, holders become eligible for citizenship; at year 3 eligible for permanent residency. No sector restriction. Requires title of property, securities, or partnership participation proving the effective capital investment. CAUTION: ARS 1,500,000 is subject to erosion from inflation and may not reflect current real-terms threshold - official page returned 403 on re-check and amount could not be independently re-verified as of June 2026.
For MERCOSUR member and associate state nationals (Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname). Same investment requirements as non-MERCOSUR investor category. Temporary residence for 1 year, renewable up to 3 years. ARS amount subject to same inflation caveat as non-MERCOSUR program.
For foreign nationals with regular passive income from abroad (pensions, annuities, dividends, rents, business equity, etc.), not employment. Official minimum income threshold is 5x the SMVM (Salario Minimo, Vital y Movil) - an indexed floor rather than a fixed peso figure, so it rises with the SMVM itself; funds must move through authorized banking channels. Requires criminal-record certificates from Argentina and any country of residence exceeding one year in the prior three. Granted for 1 year, renewable (applied for via RaDEX, in-person appointment) - not a fixed 2-year grant. This is one common on-ramp to Argentina's headline naturalization route: the Constitution (Art. 20) grants citizenship after 2 continuous years of legal residence, implemented by Ley 346, with no formal language exam and no requirement to renounce your existing nationality (dual citizenship permitted, confirmed by the absence of any renunciation clause in Ley 346 or Decreto 3213/84). Historically a judicial (federal-court) 'carta de ciudadania' process; the Milei government's DNU 366/2025 tried to move it to the administrative DNM and tighten 'continuous residence' to mean zero absences, but on June 30 2026 the Camara Nacional Electoral declared that DNU absolutely null and restored the judicial route nationwide (the government disputes this, considers the decree still in force, and has said it will appeal to the Corte Suprema; no appeal filing or ruling confirmed as of early August 2026). Real-world timelines run from a few months to 1-2 years depending on court backlog - anecdotal/practitioner-reported, not government-confirmed. Once granted, naturalized citizenship is not subject to arbitrary revocation: a federal judge, not an administrative agency, can nullify it for fraud under Decreto Reglamentario 3213/84 (the regulation to Ley 346, restored to force by Ley 23.059 after the 1976-83 dictatorship's Ley 21.795 was repealed) - not Ley 23.059 itself, which restored the underlying law rather than creating the fraud-nullity mechanism.
The Rentista route's minimum is set at 5 times the SMVM (Salario Minimo, Vital y Movil), an indexed wage floor rather than a fixed peso amount, so it moves with the SMVM itself instead of eroding with inflation. See the official Rentista visa page for the current figure and required documents.
You Keep Your Passport
Neither Ley 346 nor its regulatory decree, Decreto 3213/84, contains a renunciation requirement. That absence, not a single government FAQ stating it outright, is the basis for confirming dual citizenship is permitted: nothing in the primary legislation forces you to give up your original nationality to become Argentine.
Can It Be Taken Away Later?
Only for fraud, and only through a court, never at an official's discretion. Decreto Reglamentario 3213/84, the regulation to Ley 346, allows nullity proceedings where citizenship was obtained by naturalisation or option based on false facts. A prosecutor joins the case, the defendant gets 15 business days to respond, and if nullity is declared, the national registry, the electoral court and the immigration agency are all formally notified. This decree was restored to force, along with Ley 346 itself, by Ley 23.059 in 1984, which repealed the military dictatorship's Ley 21.795 - it is the decree, not Ley 23.059 directly, that creates the fraud-nullity mechanism.
The "Buy Citizenship" Shortcut Is Not Real
In 2025 Argentina announced an investment-based citizenship track with no residency requirement. As of today, it has never processed a single applicant, and its legal foundation is actively disputed. Here is the actual sequence, not the press-release version:
What was announced
- DNU 366/2025 (May 2025) added an investment-based naturalisation ground to Ley 346, no residency required
- Decreto 524/2025 (July 2025) set a 30-business-day decision window and security-clearance rules
- A tender to build the program launched in December 2025
What is actually true today
- The Camara Nacional Electoral declared DNU 366/2025 absolutely null on 30 June 2026, nationwide in effect
- The implementation tender was voided in April 2026 - no contract, no program, no bidder compensation
- No minimum investment amount was ever fixed by regulation; a ~USD 500,000 figure was reported in the press but never enacted
The government disagrees with the court and says the decree remains in force in its own view, and has signalled it will appeal to the Corte Suprema. No appeal filing or ruling has been confirmed as of early August 2026. Whatever happens next, there is no functioning application process today, and the real, working path to Argentine citizenship remains the 2-year residency route above.
What Argentine Citizenship Actually Gets You
Our data records the Argentine passport reaching 135 destinations without a pre-arranged visa: visa-free entry, visa on arrival or an eTA. E-visas are never folded into that count on this site, since an e-visa is an application you can be refused, not a door that is already open. See the full breakdown on the Argentine passport page.
Argentina Citizenship FAQ
How long do I actually have to live in Argentina before I can apply for citizenship?
Two continuous years, for absolutely anyone, regardless of nationality. This comes straight from Article 20 of the Constitution and Ley 346 (the Ley de Ciudadania, 1869), not a policy that can be revised by decree. You also need to be 18 or older, show a lawful means of subsistence (a job, pension, business income or remote income), and have no disqualifying criminal record.
Is Argentina's 'citizenship by investment' program real?
Not today. Decreto 524/2025 regulates an investment-based naturalisation route that DNU 366/2025 tried to add to Ley 346, but on 30 June 2026 the Camara Nacional Electoral declared that DNU absolutely null, holding that a decree cannot regulate citizenship or electoral matters. The implementation tender was voided in April 2026, and the Ministry of Economy never set a minimum investment amount. The government disputes the ruling and has said it will appeal, but no applications are open and none have ever been processed.
Do I have to give up my current citizenship to become Argentine?
No. Neither Ley 346 nor its regulatory decree, Decreto 3213/84, requires a naturalising foreigner to renounce their existing nationality. Argentina permits dual citizenship as a matter of course.
Is there a language test or history exam?
No. Ley 346's core naturalisation path has no formal language exam and no civics or history test. The requirements are residency, age, lawful means of support and good conduct, established before a federal judge.
Can naturalised Argentine citizenship be taken away later?
Only for fraud, and only by a federal judge, never by an administrative agency. Decreto Reglamentario 3213/84, the regulation to Ley 346, allows a court to annul citizenship obtained through false facts; the defendant gets 15 business days to respond before a ruling. It is not a discretionary or arbitrary power.
I don't live in Argentina yet. How do I actually start the 2-year clock?
You need a legal temporary residence status first. The two routes with a published, official path to the 2-year citizenship clock are an investor residence (roughly ARS 1,500,000 in a productive, commercial or service activity) and the Rentista route for people with passive income from abroad, currently set at 5 times the SMVM (Salario Minimo, Vital y Movil), an indexed floor rather than a fixed peso figure.
How long does the citizenship process actually take once I apply?
No government page publishes an average end-to-end duration, so treat any figure, including ranges commonly cited by immigration lawyers of a few months to one or two years, as anecdotal rather than official. It depends on the caseload of the federal court handling your file. The 2-year residency requirement is a minimum eligibility threshold, not a promise about how fast the paperwork moves after that.
Do I apply through a government office or a court?
A federal court. The application (solicitud de carta de ciudadania) is filed with, and the Carta de Ciudadania is issued by, the federal judge with jurisdiction over your district - the system in place since 1869. A 2025 decree briefly tried to move this to the immigration agency (DNM), but the Camara Nacional Electoral struck that change down in June 2026 and restored the judicial route nationwide.
Sources
Every rule on this page traces to Argentina's Constitution, its statutes, or an official government publication. Where a fact could not be confirmed against a primary source, this page says so rather than repeating what other sites assume.
- Constitucion de la Nacion Argentina, Art. 20 (Congreso)
- Ley 346, texto original (argentina.gob.ar)
- Decreto Reglamentario 3213/84 (InfoLeg)
- Residencia Temporaria como Rentista (argentina.gob.ar)
- DNU 366/2025, texto (argentina.gob.ar)
- Decreto 524/2025, texto (argentina.gob.ar)
- DNI por naturalizacion, tramite posterior (Cancilleria)
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