Argentina Visas and Residency Permits

Most visitors from the US, UK, EU, Canada, and Australia can enter Argentina visa-free for up to 90 days. To stay beyond that, whether to work, retire, study, or invest, you need a long-stay visa or a residency permit.

Argentina has one of the shortest routes to citizenship anywhere. You can apply after two years of legal residence, and most long-stay permits count toward it. The rules tightened in May 2025, though, and those two years now have to be continuous, so it’s worth understanding the requirements before you commit. Below are the visa and residency options, who qualifies for each, and what they cost.

Argentina Visa Types

Argentina’s visa policy splits into two groups: short-stay, for visits of up to 90 days, and long-stay, for anyone planning to stay longer.

Do I need an Argentina tourist or a short-stay visa?

Which short-stay route applies to you depends on your nationality. There are four categories:

• MERCOSUR citizens can enter with a valid national ID or passport.
• Visa-free entry for up to 90 days covers citizens of the US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and many others. There’s no tourist visa or reciprocity fee to pay. See the map below or Appendix 1 for the full list.
• Some travelers can apply online for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) before they travel, as long as they hold a valid US visa. See the ETA section below and Appendix 1 for eligible nationalities.
• Everyone else applies for a traditional paper visa at the nearest Argentine embassy or consulate in their home country.

Citizens of Kosovo, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, and Taiwan need a Travel Certificate on top of their visa, which can add about ten days to processing.

Short-stay visa for Argentina options

If you do need a visa, you apply under one of the categories below. Each has its own maximum stay.

Tourist Visa, max 90 days

For tourism and other recreational visits. The fee is USD 150, with processing from 10 to 45 days. You can pay an extra USD 40 to cut that to three or four days. Indian and Moroccan citizens are exempt from the standard processing fee.

Business Visa, max 60 days

For working in a professional capacity: business, investment, training, seminars, exhibitions, fairs, or market research. You need an invitation from a host registered with Argentina’s National Registry of Petitioners (RENURE). The fee is USD 200, with processing up to 45 days.

Short-term Student Visa, under 90 days

If you’re from a visa-exempt country, you can enter visa-free for this kind of informal study. If you need an ETA or a paper visa, apply before your course starts and include an invitation from your RENURE-approved education provider.

Technical, Professional, Artist, Religious, or Sport Visa, max 60 days

Covers most other short visits. Your application needs to state the reason and length of the visit and include an invitation letter from a RENURE-approved host. The fee is USD 200, with processing up to 45 days.

Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA / AVE)

The ETA lets people who would otherwise need a tourist or business visa apply online instead, with multiple entries allowed during its 90-day validity. To qualify, you must be a citizen of an eligible country (see Appendix 1) and hold a valid US visa (B1, B2, J, O, P1 to P3, E, or H-1B). The whole process, including payment, is done online and takes around three to four weeks. The fee changes from time to time, so check the current amount with the National Directorate of Migration (DNM) before you apply.

Chinese citizens qualify for a separate 10-year permit allowing multiple visits of up to 90 days each.

Long-stay visa options (temporary residence permits)

To stay longer than 90 days, you need a long-stay visa or residency permit. There are routes for retirees, people with passive income, students, investors, workers, and family members of Argentine citizens or residents.

Every long-stay application requires two things:

• Proof of identity: a national ID, passport, and/or birth certificate.
• A police clearance showing no record of serious recent crimes.

You apply for most temporary residence permits at your nearest Argentine embassy or consulate. Once you have one, you can usually apply for an Argentine National Identity Document (DNI extranjero), the card and number you need to open a bank account, sign contracts, and set up utilities.

Citizens of some countries find non-family visas harder to get approved. Our Argentina partner suggests applying only in exceptional circumstances if your passport is on that list.

The big draw is citizenship. You can apply after two years of legal residence on almost any long-stay permit. Since May 2025, though, those two years have to be continuous, so extended time outside the country can reset the clock. Confirm the rules for your own situation with an immigration lawyer before you make travel plans.

MERCOSUR citizens

Citizens of MERCOSUR countries can live and work in Argentina and qualify for a two-year renewable residency permit, with permanent residency available after that. As long as you have no criminal record, the process is largely a formality.

There’s a longer-term aim to turn the MERCOSUR agreement into binding international law, which would bring full freedom of movement across the bloc and remove the need for any single country’s residence permit. That hasn’t happened yet.

Passive-Income or Financier Visa (Rentista Visa)

The Rentista visa is for people living on steady passive income from outside Argentina. To qualify you need to show:

• A reliable monthly income. The legal test is now tied to the minimum wage rather than a fixed peso figure, but in practice you should be ready to show around USD 2,000 per month, more for a family. Our Argentina partner can confirm the current threshold.
• No criminal record.

You can work on a Rentista visa, but not as someone’s employee, so it suits the self-employed and business owners: freelancers, location-independent business owners, remote workers employed outside Argentina, and digital nomads looking for a South American base.

The visa runs for one year and is renewable for up to three. After two years you can apply for citizenship, or after three years for permanent residency.

There are two fees: a USD 250 application fee that everyone pays, and an immigration fee that depends on where you’re from, USD 300 for MERCOSUR nationals and USD 600 for everyone else. Getting the income documentation right is the part that trips people up, since the requirement exists to show you won’t be a drain on public funds, so it’s worth getting help to prepare it.

Family members can join you on this permit.

For passive-income visa options in other countries, see our in-depth article.

Retirement Visa (Pensionado Visa)

The Pensionado visa is for retirees with a steady pension or retirement income paid from abroad. The income bar is higher than it used to be. It’s now set at five times the Argentine minimum wage, which works out to roughly USD 1,300 per month, though advisors often suggest showing closer to USD 2,000 to allow for peso swings and stricter review. Dependents usually need extra income on top.

As with the Rentista visa, you’ll need a clean police record, and proving your income to the standard the immigration department expects is the hard part, so it’s worth getting help with the paperwork.

You can apply for citizenship after two years. The fee structure matches the Rentista visa: a USD 250 application fee for everyone, plus an immigration fee of USD 300 for MERCOSUR nationals or USD 600 for everyone else.

For retirement visa options elsewhere, see our in-depth article.

Student Visa

A few different permits cover studying in Argentina.

Standard Student Visa

You can study an approved course at one of Argentina’s universities or colleges, anything from Spanish-language classes to a postgraduate degree. You need to be accepted onto an approved course first. Processing usually takes around ten days but can run to six weeks. The visa is valid for one year and renews as long as you stay enrolled, and it counts toward citizenship after two years.

Transitory Student Visa (informal study up to 365 days)

This covers student exchanges, internships, scholarships, and cultural exchanges, for a maximum of one year.

For student visa options worldwide, see our article on the best student visa programs.

Medical Treatment Visa

Argentina has a sizable private healthcare sector, and many procedures cost well below what you’d pay in the US, often less than half. A good number of Argentine doctors trained in the US and speak English. Treatments commonly sought by international patients include dental and orthodontic work, cosmetic and plastic surgery, joint replacements, and more complex surgeries and transplants.

There’s a dedicated residence permit for longer-term treatment. It runs for up to one year and allows multiple entries if you need to return for follow-up care. To apply, you provide an invitation from an approved medical facility.

Investor Visa

This is a temporary residence permit for people who invest in a productive Argentine business. The statutory minimum written into law is ARS 1,500,000, but that figure was set years ago and, after the peso’s devaluation, it’s now worth very little, so it no longer reflects what a real application needs. Our Argentina partner’s experience is that a small investment is unlikely to succeed on its own. What matters more is showing the business has a genuine chance of success, backed by your track record, qualifications, and a clear business plan, and that the money comes from legal, auditable sources.

Applicants from some countries face closer scrutiny. Things that strengthen an application include being a high-net-worth individual, being a recognized leader in your field, or expanding an established business into Argentina. Mid-sized companies doing the latter can sometimes obtain visas for their employees too.

You present your investment proposal to your local embassy or consulate, which forwards it to the National Directorate of Migration (DNM) for a final decision. Assessment can take several months. The visa is issued for one year and renews for up to three, with permanent residency or citizenship available after that. You can bring your spouse, children, and parents.

Separately, a 2025 decree (No. 524/2025) created a citizenship-by-investment route that skips the usual two-year residency requirement for people who make a significant qualifying investment, expected to be in the region of USD 500,000. The detailed rules were still being finalized through 2026, so check the current status before counting on it.

For investment visa options around the world, see our detailed article.

Work Permits

There are two main work routes, and which applies depends on your nationality, the employer, the type of work, and the length of the contract. The process can be involved, so it’s an area where an immigration lawyer often helps.

Work Permit for Contracted Personnel

This fits when an Argentine company has offered you a job or internship. The company must be registered with the immigration department. The visa lasts up to a year or the length of your contract, and you can renew it for as long as you’re employed. Budget around USD 200 in fees, though they vary. You’ll also need a National Identity document and a CUIL (an employment and tax ID number). Your spouse, children, and parents may be able to join you.

Secondment Visa

This is for when an overseas employer sends you to Argentina, so you don’t need a contract from an Argentine company. It lasts up to a year or the length of your assignment and can be renewed.

Both work permits count toward citizenship after two years.

Family Reunion and Marriage Visa

Direct family members of an Argentine national or legal resident can live in Argentina. This covers:

• Your spouse, including same-sex spouses.
• Children. For temporary and permanent residents there are limits: children must be dependents under 18 and unmarried, or dependent children with disabilities.
• Your parents.

The sponsoring citizen or resident needs to be living in Argentina throughout the application, and the visa lasts as long as their legal residence.

Marriage Visa

The family reunion visa is effectively a marriage visa: it lets the spouse of any Argentine citizen or resident become a resident. If you’re coming to Argentina to get married, you can arrive on a tourist visa and transfer to a family reunion visa after the wedding. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Argentina since 2010.

Can you transfer from one visa or permit to another in Argentina?

Yes. For many permits the normal route is to enter on a short-stay visa and then transfer to your long-stay residency permit once you’re in the country. When you meet the requirements for permanent residency, you can move onto that, and the next section covers PR in detail.

As noted above, two years on any long-stay visa or permit puts you in line to apply for citizenship, provided that residence has been continuous.

Argentina permanent residence (PR) permit

Argentine law treats citizenship and permanent residency separately, which is why you can apply for citizenship sooner (two years) than for most permanent residency (three years).

You can apply for permanent residency through one of four routes:

• As a qualifying relative (spouse, dependent child, or parent) of an Argentine national.
• As the spouse, dependent child, or parent of a permanent resident.
• As a MERCOSUR national who has held temporary residency for two years.
• As a non-MERCOSUR national with at least three years of legal temporary residency.

For the two MERCOSUR and non-MERCOSUR routes, you need to have spent at least half of your residency term physically in Argentina. In every case you’ll need a clean criminal record covering any country you’ve lived in over the past three years.

A few changes from the May 2025 decree are worth knowing. Permanent residency applications now require proof of sufficient income or means. Some routes that used to be more or less automatic no longer are: foreign parents of an Argentine-born child, for example, now have to meet financial-stability and clean-record conditions rather than qualifying on the relationship alone. And permanent residency now lapses if you spend more than a year outside Argentina, down from two years previously. Because these rules shifted recently, check the current requirements for your own situation with an immigration lawyer.

Argentina Entry Requirements

Entry requirements depend on your nationality.

Passport validity: US and UK citizens can enter visa-free with a valid passport for visits of up to 90 days. Other non-resident foreign nationals need a passport valid for the duration of their stay, while residents need one valid for entry. See Appendix 1 for the countries that can enter without a visa.

Health insurance: Travel or health insurance is strongly advisable. Since 2025, non-residents who arrive without private health cover can be charged for non-emergency treatment at public hospitals, so make sure you’re covered before you travel.

Why use an Argentinian immigration lawyer?

Handling the Argentine immigration system yourself is tough going. The forms, communication, and requirements are often in Spanish, and the rules can change with little notice, as the May 2025 overhaul showed. The process is detailed, with specific rules for certifying and translating documents.

The immigration department can reject an application for any of these reasons:

• The form is incomplete.
• The information is incorrect.
• Supporting documents are missing.
• Translations are unofficial, inaccurate, or incomplete.
• Documents are certified incorrectly.
• You don’t meet the requirements for the visa.

A rejection costs you time, money, and momentum.

A good immigration lawyer will tell you which visas and permits you actually qualify for, recommend the best fit for you and your family, prepare your application to give it the strongest chance, and give you a realistic read on your odds.

Our Argentina partner specializes in Argentine immigration law and has helped many of our clients through the process. You can book a planning session with our Argentina immigration partner.

Choosing the right Argentina visa

The right permit depends on your situation: your income, whether you’re working, retiring, studying, or investing, and how quickly you want to move toward residency or citizenship. The rules tightened in 2025, so a sensible first step is a planning session with an immigration lawyer who can look at your circumstances and point you to the option with the best chance of approval.

Argentina Visa and Residency Permit FAQs

How do I get a residence permit in Argentina?

You apply for a temporary residency permit at your nearest Argentine embassy or consulate. It lets you stay longer than 90 days and apply for a National Identity Document (DNI). After your time as a temporary resident, you can apply for permanent residency, generally after three years for non-MERCOSUR nationals, and for citizenship after two continuous years.

How much does it cost to live in Argentina?

Argentina is generally cheaper than the US, though how much cheaper swings with the exchange rate. Buenos Aires and other big cities cost more than smaller towns, and rents in particular can be far lower outside the capital.

Can a foreigner buy a house in Argentina?

Yes. Foreigners have broadly the same property rights as locals and can buy with few restrictions. Note that buying property does not, by itself, grant you residency. You still need to qualify under a visa category.

Does Argentina require a visa for US citizens?

No. US citizens can enter with just a valid passport for stays of up to 90 days. Citizens of the EU, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and many other countries also enter visa-free. See Appendix 1 for the full list.

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Appendix 1

MERCOSUR states and associated states

Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Bolivia (associated), Chile (associated), Colombia (associated), Ecuador (associated), Guyana (associated), Peru (associated), Suriname (associated).

Visa-free travel to Argentina, eligible countries

Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic (Czechia), Denmark, Dominica, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica (30 days maximum), Japan, Kazakhstan (30 days maximum), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau (30 days maximum), Malaysia (30 days maximum), Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, Russia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City.

Countries eligible for an Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA / AVE)

Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belize, Benin, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire), Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Moldova, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of the Congo, Republic of China (Taiwan), Republic of Djibouti, Rwanda, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Vietnam.

Nationalities that must apply for a traditional paper visa before travel

Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Chad, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Micronesia, Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, State of Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Nationalities that require a travel certificate

Kosovo, Nauru, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Taiwan, Tonga, Tuvalu.