Argentina · 2026 guide
The most anticipated program in the world, announced in Paris on 2 October 2026 and opening to applications in the fourth quarter: the strongest passport available through investment, no residency needed, and a second passport in months. This guide covers what it costs and what can go wrong, starting with the parts most firms leave until the end.
Members of AMIGO, the group AIM Global co-founded, with Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Chief of Cabinet Diego Santilli at the Embassy of Argentina in France
USD 350k
Non-refundable contribution to the National Treasury, or a USD 800k government bond*
169
Destinations an Argentine passport reaches without a prior visa, 16th in the world
~4 months
From filing to passport once the program opens, though it could stretch to six to eight months
0
Applications processed so far. Every timeline you hear, ours included, is an estimate
On 2 October 2026 the Ministry of Economy announced the Program: the amounts, which family members can apply, who evaluates and when applications open. The resolutions with the detail, the bond's terms, the fees and how to apply, are still to be published. Treat the announced figures as official, and everything else as reported or estimated.
Each figure says where it comes from: a published rule, the Ministry's announcement, or Our sources, which is what AIM Global knows from its own work on the program, since the 2026 tender and now as a founding member of AMIGO, the group of five firms advising the government. Our sources are informed, not official. We label them so you can weigh them, and we update them when the resolutions appear.
1 · At a glance · Cost
The first question everyone asks, and the one this industry most often answers with "it depends". Here is the whole bill, including the lines nobody can price yet.
Route A · Treasury contribution
USD 350,000
A direct, non-refundable contribution to the National Treasury, for the principal applicant. It is a requirement to apply, not an investment, and it is never returned. Announced by the Ministry of Economy on 2 October 2026; the resolution that implements it is still to be published. Your spouse and children contribute separately, through this same route: the amounts are in the table below.
Route B · Government bond
USD 800,000
The purchase of a government bond created specifically for the Program, announced by the Ministry of Economy on 2 October 2026. The principal comes back at maturity. Maturity and interest terms will be set out in the regulations, and until they are, nobody can price this route. The bond is for the principal applicant only: family members contribute through the Treasury route.
| Item | USD | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Route A: non-refundable contribution to the National Treasury | 350,000 | Principal applicant. Never returned. In dollars, through the formal financial system | Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026 |
| Route B: government bond | 800,000 | The alternative to the contribution, not an extra, and for the principal applicant only. Returned at maturity; interest and maturity to be published | Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026 |
| Spouse | 100,000 | Contribution to the National Treasury, in a separate application. Family members cannot use the bond route | Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026 |
| Each child aged 18 to 25 | 100,000 | Unmarried and with no children of their own when applying. Contribution to the National Treasury, in a separate application | Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026 |
| Each child under 18 | 25,000 | Contribution to the National Treasury, in a separate application. A family of four, with two children under 18, adds up to USD 500,000 | Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026 |
| Due diligence fees | 10,000-13,000 | Principal applicant. The same for a spouse and each child aged 18 to 25. Each child under 18: 5,000-6,500. Family of four: 30,000-39,000 | AIM Global · our estimate, if the Program opens |
| Program administration, delivery and license fee (PADLF) | 50,000 | One fee per application, including all family members. Mandatory and non-discountable. Charged by the firm that files your application. It does not go to the Argentine state | AIM Global · our estimate, if the Program opens |
| Professional fee | 35,000-45,500 | Principal applicant. A spouse and each child aged 18 to 25: 10,000-13,000. Each child under 18: 2,500-3,250. Family of four: 50,000-65,000 | AIM Global · our estimate, if the Program opens |
| Documents: apostilles, sworn translations, police certificates | ≈ 3,000-8,000 | For a family of four: principal applicant, spouse and two children under 18. It grows with every family member who applies. Translations must be done by an Argentine public translator | AIM Global · our estimate |
| Travel to Argentina | ≈ 2,000 per person | One visit after approval, to enroll biometrics. Flights and a few nights | AIM Global · our estimate |
The contributions and the bond are the Ministry of Economy's figures, announced on 2 October 2026. The due diligence and professional fees are our estimates of what they will be if the Program opens: the lower figure is the minimum, and the higher one is 30% above it. The PADLF is also our estimate, at a fixed USD 50,000 per application. All of them can change when the resolutions are published. No Agency fee has been published; if the resolutions set one, we will add it here. Fees exclude VAT. Documents and travel are also our estimates. The resolutions that set out fees and procedure had not appeared in the Official Gazette as of 4 November 2026.
The contribution, or the bond, goes to the Argentine state. Our professional fee pays for your application being processed: documenting where your money came from, which is where most applications stall, timing your documents so none expires before filing, preparing the application, answering the authorities and coordinating your visit.
Nobody can promise an approval. What we can do is review your case early and, if we see a problem, tell you before you pay the due diligence fees.
No firm can sell you the Program or guarantee you a place in it. Only the Argentine authorities decide who is approved, and no mechanism exists for reserving a place, within the first 5,000 or anywhere else. No money toward the contribution or the bond should change hands before the resolutions are published and applications open. If a firm offers you any of this, do not work with that firm.
What a firm can sell you is legal services: reviewing your case, preparing your documents and source-of-funds evidence, and getting your file ready for when applications open. We offer this ourselves, and we charge for it. See what pre-registration covers. It is our work on your case, not a step in the Program: it gives you no right, quota or priority before the Argentine State, and it doesn't guarantee an approval.
The bond, honestly
What we know, from the Ministry of Economy's announcement of 2 October 2026: a non-refundable contribution of USD 350,000 to the National Treasury, or the purchase of a USD 800,000 government bond created for the Program. What we don't: the bond's maturity and interest, which will be set out in the regulations. Until they are, the bond is the option nobody can price.
What the money could have earned
The real price of Route B is the gap between what the bond pays you and what USD 800,000 would have earned elsewhere over the years it is locked. If the bond pays no interest, every year of maturity widens that gap; if it pays a coupon, the gap narrows. Put your own rate and years into the calculator below.
Who you are lending to
Argentina has defaulted on its sovereign debt nine times by the usual count, most recently in 2020. All three agencies upgraded it during 2026, to B− at S&P and Fitch and B3 at Moody's, which is still six notches below investment grade.
What nobody knows yet
How many years your money is locked up. What interest it pays, if any. Whether the bond can be sold before maturity. The Ministry has said the regulations will set out the terms; until they do, each answer changes the price you are paying.
Put in your own numbers. The calculator adds the costs you can see to the one you can't: what your money would have earned elsewhere*.
1 · At a glance · What it is
Official In a published law or index, or announced by the Ministry of Economy on 2 October 2026
Route A
USD 350,000
A non-refundable contribution to the National Treasury, for the principal applicant
Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026
Route A · Family
USD 500,000
A principal applicant, a spouse and two children under 18. Family members always contribute through the Treasury, even if the principal applicant chooses the bond: USD 100,000 for the spouse, USD 100,000 for each child aged 18 to 25, USD 25,000 for each child under 18. Parents do not qualify
Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026
Route B
USD 800,000
A government bond created for the Program, for the principal applicant only. Maturity and interest to be set out in the regulations
Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026
Fourth quarter of 2026
When applications open. The exact date comes with the resolutions
Ministry of Economy, 2 October 2026
169 destinations
Without a prior visa, 16th in the world. An e-passport, valid for ten years
Reported or estimated Our sources and our estimates
USD 80-89k
Due diligence fees and the PADLF, for a family of four
Our estimate
~4 months
From filing to passport, though it could stretch to six to eight months. Nobody has filed yet
Our estimate
One visit
After approval, to enroll biometrics. No ongoing residence requirement
Our sources
5,000 approvals
In the first stage of the program
Our sources: the tender terms
Not known yet Nothing published
The bond's terms
Maturity, interest and whether it can be sold early. The Ministry says the regulations will set them out
Nothing published
Fees and procedure
Government and due-diligence fees, how applications are filed and through whom
Pending resolutions
Nationalities
Not known whether any will be restricted
1 · At a glance · Where it stands
Argentina did not pass a law for this. The route was opened by presidential decree, the Ministry of Economy announced the conditions on 2 October 2026, and the resolutions with the detail are still to be published before applications open in the fourth quarter.
The decree that opened the route
DNU 366/2025, May 2025
A presidential decree, not an act of Congress. It did three things at once: it let foreigners who make a "relevant investment" apply for citizenship without living in the country, it moved that decision from federal judges to the immigration authority, and it created the agency meant to assess the investments.
The rulebook for the paperwork
Decree 524/2025, July 2025
Sets out the steps an application would follow: who receives it, who assesses the investment, who signs off. On purpose, it sets no amounts: those were announced by the Ministry of Economy on 2 October 2026 and will be set out in its resolutions. The agency got its executive director in April 2026 (Decree 285/2026) and works from offices at the Ministry Our sources.
The tax rule
Law 27,802, article 194, March 2026
One article inside last March's labor reform settles the question investors ask first: taking Argentine citizenship through investment does not, on its own, make you an Argentine taxpayer. Living there is what does.
The search for an operator
Tender 34-0001-CPU25, March-April 2026
The government ran a tender to hire a firm to design, launch and promote the program. On 5 March 2026 the evaluation committee ranked first the consortium AIM Global had built (Investment Migration Insider); in April 2026 the tender was canceled without being awarded. The government is now advised by AMIGO, a group of five firms that includes AIM Global, at no cost to the State.
The announcement
Ministry of Economy, Paris, 2 October 2026
During the Argentina Week in Paris, Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced the Program: a non-refundable contribution of USD 350,000 to the National Treasury or a USD 800,000 government bond, the contributions for spouses and children, due diligence aligned with OECD and FATF recommendations, and applications opening in the fourth quarter of 2026. The Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programs evaluates each application, with SIDE, UIF and the Ministry of Security; the National Directorate of Migration approves or rejects it. Read our press release.
The missing pieces: the resolutions with the detail
PendingThe amounts are announced. What the resolutions still have to set out is the rest: the bond's maturity and interest, the government and due-diligence fees, how applications are filed and through whom, and the exact opening date. None had appeared in the Official Gazette as of 2 October 2026. Until they do, the fees and timelines on this page are estimates.
2 · Tax
Citizenship by investment does not make you an Argentine tax resident. If you do not live there, Argentina taxes only what you earn in Argentina. Two rules explain why. A third, the "tax holiday" people ask about, is worth knowing but does not apply to investor citizens.
1 · Holding the passport
Written into law for investor citizens
Article 194 of Law 27,802, part of the labor reform of March 2026, added paragraphs to article 116 of the income tax law: naturalizing through investment does not, by itself, create tax residence. It is not an exemption you apply for. Nationality simply isn't what triggers tax; where you live is.
2 · If you don't live there
Taxed only on Argentine income
A non-resident pays Argentine tax on Argentine-source income only: rent from a property in Argentina, an Argentine salary, dividends from an Argentine company. Income and assets elsewhere stay outside it, and the personal assets tax reaches only what you hold in Argentina.
3 · The "tax holiday" people ask about
Up to five years as a non-resident, but not for investor citizens
Article 123(c) of the income tax law treats foreigners who come to Argentina for a documented job of up to five years as non-residents, taxed on Argentine income only. It is a rule for foreigners, not citizens, so it does not apply to citizenship by investment.
| Tax | Non-resident | Tax resident |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax (Ganancias) | Argentine-source income only | Worldwide income on a progressive scale of 5% to 35%, with credit for foreign tax paid |
| Personal assets tax (Bienes Personales) | Argentine assets only | Worldwide assets held on 31 December, on gross value. Rates fall by law: 0.50%-1.00% for 2025, 0.50%-0.75% for 2026 and a flat 0.25% from 2027 (Law 23,966, as amended) |
| VAT (IVA) | 21% standard rate, included in prices | |
| Turnover tax (Ingresos Brutos) | Provincial and by activity; it cascades and is often overlooked | |
| Bank debit and credit tax (impuesto al cheque) | 0.6% on each side of a current-account movement, partly creditable | |
| Inheritance tax | None at federal level. The Province of Buenos Aires levies its own (ARBA) | |
When you become a tax resident
On obtaining permanent residence, or after twelve continuous months on a temporary one (art. 116). A separate six-month rule affects deductions, not worldwide taxation; the two are often confused.
When you stop being a tax resident
On obtaining permanent residence elsewhere, or after twelve continuous months abroad (art. 117). With large assets and modest cash flow, the assets tax can hurt more than income tax. Model it before moving.
Treaties and reporting
24 double-tax treaties, including the UK, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland and Canada. None with the United States. Argentina exchanges account information under the OECD standard, and the OECD has asked banks to look harder at clients holding investment citizenship. Your tax residence decides where you are reported, not your passport.
3 · Problems
If you are asking about the problems, you are close to a decision. Better you hear them here than in month eight. Where the program stands legally is in chapter 1.
Argentina elects a president in October 2027, with a runoff, if needed, in November. The route was opened by decree, and a government that does not share the policy could close it before you apply. Nobody knows how long the door will stay open.
Our estimate is about four months from filing to passport, though it could stretch to six to eight months. Decree 524/2025 gives the migration authority 30 working days after the Agency reports. Until someone files, every timeline, ours included, is an estimate.
USD 800,000 locked until a maturity still to be published, from a state with nine sovereign defaults by the usual count and a rating six notches below investment grade, even after three upgrades in 2026.
The amounts and the opening window are announced. The resolutions that set out the bond's terms, the fees and how to apply are still pending, and they can move the figures on this page that today are estimates.
Argentina's naturalization procedure has required a public notice naming the applicant. The Agency has not confirmed how this will work under the Program, and we expect it to follow the same course. If discretion matters to you, factor this in before you apply.
Making the contribution or purchasing the bond is a requirement to apply, not a guarantee. Every applicant, including each family member, is evaluated separately and can be refused.
Argentina has a long history of limits on buying and moving dollars. Most limits for individuals were lifted in April 2025 (Communication A 8226), and one came back in September 2025 (A 8336). This matters only if you plan to hold money or earn income in Argentina: check the rules at that time.
These are settled today. Check each one against your own plans before you apply.
Route A is a non-refundable contribution to the National Treasury, not an investment. If you change your mind, you do not get it back.
Argentina left the Visa Waiver Program in February 2002 and has not returned (DHS). A process to readmit it began in July 2025, and there has been no official news since. Argentines apply for a US tourist visa like everyone else.
The passport does not make you a tax resident, but twelve continuous months on a temporary residence does (article 116): worldwide income plus an annual tax on worldwide assets.
Argentina has 24 double-tax treaties and none with the United States. Live there as a US citizen and two countries tax the same income with no rules to split it.
Spain's two-year naturalization covers Ibero-Americans by origin (Civil Code, art. 22.1). Argentines by naturalization face the standard ten years. A surprising number of guides get this wrong.
The record
Citizenship-by-investment programs have a history of closing, and Argentina's will be judged against it. The three largest closures were all EU member states, which answer to Brussels in a way Argentina does not, and they closed through a route that does not reach Argentina: article 20 of the EU treaty.
The lesson for an applicant: a citizenship lawfully granted is hard to take away, but a program can close, which is why the window matters more than the queue.
| Country | Ran | How it ended |
|---|---|---|
| Cyprus | 2007-2020 | Closed by cabinet decision on 13 October 2020, effective 1 November, after an investigation into how citizenships had been approved (Ministry of Finance) |
| Bulgaria | 2005-2022 | Repealed on 24 March 2022, effective 5 April, under EU pressure (State Gazette 26/2022) |
| Malta | 2013-2025 | The EU Court of Justice ruled it unlawful on 29 April 2025 (C-181/23); Parliament repealed it on 24 July 2025 (Act XXI of 2025) |
4 · Is it for you?
Saying no early saves you months and saves us an application that was never going to work. After that: how Argentina compares with every program on sale, and the residence routes that sometimes fit better.
Probably not for you if
Worth a serious look if
Not sure which side you are on? Eight questions, two minutes, and an honest answer. If Argentina isn't the right fit, the result tells you what to look at instead.
4 · Is it for you? · How it compares
A fair comparison includes programs we don't offer, the places where Argentina loses, and a link to the authority behind every figure.
A stronger passport
169 destinations, against 157 for St Kitts & Nevis, the strongest among the programs already running, and 143 for Saint Lucia (Henley Passport Index 2026).
A region, not just a country
Simplified residence in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, which became a full Mercosur member in 2024 (Mercosur).
A real economy
The first citizenship program in South America, from a G20 member of 46 million people (INDEC census). The Caribbean programs belong to states of 47,000 to 180,000. Only Türkiye, also G20, has a larger economy among countries with a citizenship-by-investment program; Egypt has more people.
No obligation to live there
One visit after approval, to enroll biometrics, and no ongoing residence requirement Our sources.
Dual, and inherited
You keep your nationality, and your children are Argentine too (Law 346).
No tax just for holding it
Article 194 of Law 27,802 makes nationality alone irrelevant to tax residence. See the tax chapter.
| Country | Destinations | ContributionMinimum, single applicant | InvestmentMinimum, asset retained | Processing | Who publishes the rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArgentinaAnnounced 2 October 2026; applications open in the fourth quarter | 169 | USD 350kMinistry of Economy | USD 800k government bond, terms to be published | About 4 months, our estimate | Ministry of Economy announcement; the resolutions are pending |
| St Kitts & NevisSince 1984 | 157 | USD 250k + ~10k | USD 325k in approved property, held 7 years | 120-180 days to approval in principle | CIU |
| Antigua & BarbudaLaw 2013, operating 2014 | 154 | USD 230k + ~19k | USD 300k in approved property, held 5 years | Not published | CIU |
| GrenadaSince 2013 | 148 | USD 235k + ~9k | USD 270k for a share of an approved project, + ~59k in fees. Holding period not published | 3-6 months | IMA |
| DominicaSince 1993 | 144 | USD 200k + ~10k | USD 200k in approved property, + ~85k in fees, held 3 years | At least 3 months | CBIU |
| Saint LuciaSince 2015 | 143 | USD 240k + ~10k | USD 300k in a government bond with no interest, + 50k fee, held 5 years | About 90 days | CIU |
| El SalvadorSince 2023, capped at 1,000 a year | 131 | USD 1M in BTC or USDT | None | Up to 6 weeks | Government portal |
| TürkiyeSince 2017 | 112 | None | USD 400k in property, held 3 years. Or USD 500k in a deposit, bonds or funds | Not published | Investment Office |
| NauruSince 2024 | Over 85, per the program | USD 90k + ~13k, a discount that ends on 31 December 2026 | None | 3-4 months | ECRCP |
| VanuatuLost EU visa-free access in 2023 | 86 | USD 130k + ~5k | Property in approved projects; amount not published | Not published | Citizenship Office |
| BotswanaLaw passed, rules unfinished | 81 | Not announced | Not announced | Not open | Daily News |
| Sierra LeoneSince 2025, run by a private concessionaire | 63 | Not published | Not published | Not published | No government source |
| São Tomé & PríncipeSince 2025 | 59 | USD 90k + 5k | None | Not in the decree | Decree-Law 7/2025 |
| EgyptLaw 190/2019, regulations 2020 | 49 | USD 250k + 10k | USD 300k in property, as reported; not on an official page | Not published | Law 190/2019 |
| JordanSince 2018 | 49 | None | JOD 500k, about USD 705k, in a new business outside Amman, with 10 jobs | 3 years of compliance first | Petra, July 2026 |
Destination counts: Henley Passport Index 2026, a private index*. Every other figure links to the unit that runs each program: check there before deciding*.
Chile and Brazil are the only South American passports ahead of Argentina's, by five destinations and by one, and neither is available through investment. St Kitts & Nevis, the strongest among the programs already running, sits twelve behind.
Destinations reachable without a prior visa, Henley Passport Index 2026. There is no investment route to a stronger South American passport.
The cheapest residence in the region, and the reason most people actually ask for it: tax
Ministry of Industry · DNIT on income tax · tax residence rules
A base to live in, an hour from Buenos Aires. In Uruguay, the product is tax residence
Decree 148/007 · Decree 188/026 · Law 20,446, art. 648 · Constitution, art. 75
Residence now, one of the world's strongest passports a decade later, and your capital back along the way
Lei Orgânica 1/2026 · AIMA · Law 56/2023
Our sources
EU residence that asks for no days in the country, which is also why the passport rarely arrives
Ministry of Migration · Law 5100/2024
Read the four the same way: what the money buys you on day one, what it does to your tax position, and how many years of real life it takes before a passport appears. Paraguay and Uruguay are bought for the tax position; Portugal and Greece for the European passport at the end of a decade. None of them is a substitute for the Argentine route, and none of them is open to the same objection: all four are running today.
The benchmarks
St Kitts & Nevis is the strongest passport among the programs already running, and the one most people put next to Argentina. It costs less and it works today. The question is what the extra money buys.
| Argentina | St Kitts & Nevis | |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution | USD 350k | USD 250k + ~10k in fees |
| Investment | USD 800k government bond, terms to be published | USD 325k in approved property, held 7 years |
| Passport | 169 | 157 |
| The country behind it | A G20 member of 46 million, with residence rights across Mercosur | Two islands, about 47,000 people |
| US tourist visa | Required | Required |
| Track record | None. No application has been processed | Since 1984, the oldest program running |
| Processing | About four months from filing, our estimate | 120-180 days to approval in principle |
| Status | Announced; applications open in the fourth quarter of 2026 | Operating |
USD 100,000 less for twelve fewer destinations looks like the better deal. But the twelve destinations are the smaller part of the difference. What matters more is what stands behind a passport. St Kitts & Nevis is two islands of about 47,000 people, and its passport is worth what other countries decide to let its holders do.
Argentina's access was built over decades, long before any program, by a G20 economy of 46 million that Europe trades with, negotiates with and needs, and its citizenship comes with the right to settle across Mercosur. A passport is a claim on a country, and this one is backed by a country big enough to defend it.
The other comparison worth making is Portugal, which works in almost the opposite way: you keep your capital and get residence now, but the passport takes a decade. We offer both.
| Argentina | Portugal | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | USD 350k non-refundable contribution, or a USD 800k government bond | €500,000 in a regulated Portuguese fund, or a €250,000 donation through the cultural route |
| You get | Citizenship | Residence, after one to two years |
| Money back | Bond route only, at maturity | When the fund closes or you sell your units. You get what they are worth then, which can be more or less than you put in. The donation is not returned |
| Passport | 169 | 185 |
| Presence | One visit after approval | About seven days a year |
| To citizenship | About four months from filing | 10 years from the residence card, or 7 for EU and Portuguese-speaking nationals, plus a basic Portuguese test or course (level A2) |
| Status | Announced; applications open in the fourth quarter of 2026 | Operating |
Read the last two rows together. Portugal wins on passport strength, stability and getting your money back. Argentina wins on speed, a passport in months rather than a decade, and on asking you to be there once. Argentina's amounts come from the Ministry of Economy's announcement of 2 October 2026, its presence and timing from our sources and estimates; Portugal's from Lei Orgânica 1/2026, AIMA and our own work there.
5 · Passport & country · The passport
What the passport opens and doesn't, how easily you can reach Argentina for the one trip the program asks for, the rights that come with it, and the country behind it.
What it opens
What it doesn't
169 destinations, 16th in the world, per the Henley Passport Index 2026. No government publishes this figure and the main indices differ by up to 15 destinations for the same passport, so any count is one publisher's methodology*.
The one trip the program asks for is simple for most nationalities, and two recent rules make it simpler for the ones that usually need a visa. Indian nationals holding a valid US visa can visit Argentina for tourism with no Argentine visa or electronic travel authorization, for up to 90 days (Resolution 353/2025, August 2025). Chinese and Dominican nationals with a valid US visa can also enter without an Argentine visa (Resolution 316/2025, July 2025).
Argentina was in the Visa Waiver Program from 8 July 1996 until 21 February 2002, and the DHS list still shows it as a former member. On 28 July 2025 the two governments signed a statement of intent to work toward readmission. There has been no official announcement since, from either government.
The case is reasonable on the numbers: in the DHS overstay report for 2024, Argentina's B1/B2 overstay rate was 0.81%, the second lowest in Latin America behind Panama. Even so, today an Argentine passport means applying for a US visa: your place of birth is still on the form, and consulates decide case by case.
Argentina has held a commerce and navigation treaty with the United States since 1854, and appears on the State Department's treaty country list for both E-1 and E-2. Argentine citizens can apply for the E-2 investor visa.
Investor citizens have to wait. Since December 2022, US law requires anyone who acquired a treaty country's nationality through a financial investment to have lived in that country for at least three continuous years before applying (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)). An Argentine passport from this program opens the E-2 only after three years of living in Argentina, which also makes you an Argentine tax resident.
For a British or European applicant that adds little. For Indian, Chinese, Nigerian, Brazilian or South African applicants, whose countries are not on the State Department's list, it can still matter if they plan to live in Argentina first. The same rule applies to Grenada, the only Caribbean program with an E-2 treaty.
As an Argentine you can apply for residence in the other full members on the basis of nationality, with no job offer, investment or family tie required. It is a category, not an automatic right: you file a passport or nationality certificate, birth and civil-status records, police certificates covering the last five years, sworn statements and a fee, and you get temporary residence for up to two years (Mercosur Residence Agreement).
Permanent residence follows if you apply within the 90 days before expiry and show lawful means of living. You can still be refused on character grounds*.
And Spain? Its two-year naturalization is for Ibero-American nationals by origin. Argentines by naturalization face the standard ten years, and the shortcut never exempted anyone from qualifying for Spanish residence first.
| Group | Countries | Access |
|---|---|---|
| Full members | Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia, a full member since 2024 | As an Argentine, simplified residence in the other four |
| Associates | Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, Suriname | Varies by country |
| Suspended | Venezuela, since 2017 | Not usable in practice |
5 · Passport & country · The country
As a long-term hedge, Argentina is stronger than its reputation. Its weakness has never been what it has, but how it has run its own economy. Weigh one against the other.
2nd
In technically recoverable shale gas resources, 802 trillion cubic feet, and 4th in shale oil (US Energy Information Administration). Resources, not proven reserves
28 Mt
Lithium resources, second in the world behind the United States (USGS, February 2026). In reserves, which are a stricter measure, it ranks fourth
12,800 km
From Buenos Aires to Kyiv, and 12,200 to Tel Aviv. Far from today's flashpoints
Food
The world's largest exporter of soybean meal and oil and the second largest of corn (USDA). It grows more than three times the grain it consumes.
Space and water
2.78 million km², the 8th largest country (World Bank), and one of the four countries above the Guaraní Aquifer.
Alignment
Part of Latin America's nuclear-weapon-free zone since the Tlatelolco Treaty entered into force for Argentina on 18 January 1994 (Nuclear Regulatory Authority). It is not a NATO member or partner, though it has been a major non-NATO ally of the United States since 1998, a status that carries no security commitment.
6 · Next steps
The slowest part of any citizenship application is your own paperwork. Applicants whose documents are ready when the rules appear can file sooner.
| Item | Lead time | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Source of funds: audited accounts, sale agreements, tax returns, bank records | 6-12 weeks | The most common reason applications stall |
| Police certificates from every country lived in for over a year | 2-8 weeks | They expire; sequence them |
| Civil documents, apostilled and translated by an Argentine public translator | 2-6 weeks | Translations done elsewhere may be rejected |
| Birth and single-status certificates for children aged 18 to 25 | 4-8 weeks | They apply on their own, and must be unmarried with no children of their own |
| Funding mechanics | 2-6 weeks | Some countries limit how much you can send abroad: India allows individuals USD 250,000 a year. Check yours early |
Don't pay anything toward the USD 350,000 contribution or the bond before applications open, don't pay anyone who says they can reserve you a place with the Argentine State, and don't move capital anywhere you can't bring it back from.
We don't charge to get you into the Program. Nobody can: applications aren't open, and only the Argentine authorities decide who is approved. Pre-registration is not an application, a filing or a booking with any Argentine authority. It is a deposit toward our future professional services.
What it covers is work we do control:
An early due diligence review
Before applications open, we arrange an initial screening of your file by an independent due diligence firm, to the OECD and FATF standards the Program follows. It can't tell you whether you will be approved, and nobody can say who will pass and who won't. What it does is bring the work forward: if something doesn't add up, you still have time to gather more documents and fix it. We don't name the firms, because they have to stay independent of agents like us. If you come through a partner, this screening does not replace your partner's own due diligence, which remains its responsibility.
An early place in our filing queue
We submit files to the Agency in the order pre-registrations are completed. This is the order in which AIM Global files. It gives you no right, quota or priority before the Argentine State, and it can't change how long the Agency takes. Who can file is one of the things the resolutions still have to set out. If we can't file when applications open, your application would be filed, with your consent, through a firm that can.
An assessment and a checklist
We look at your family structure, the contribution or bond route and your budget, and give you a tailored list of what you will need to disclose and document, with a dedicated advisor.
How the deposit works. When the Program opens, it is credited in full against our professional fee. It doesn't cover the contribution or the bond, the PADLF, or the due diligence fees you pay when you apply. If applications haven't opened by the date in your proposal, we refund 50%. There is no refund if you withdraw, if you are found ineligible for the Program or if the information you give us is inaccurate. All of this is set out in writing before you pay anything. If you come through a partner, your partner tells you its own terms.
Tick what you already have. We'll estimate how long you need before you could apply on day one.
7 · Short answers
No. Citizens have the privilege, not the obligation, to live in Argentina. One visit after approval, to enroll biometrics, according to our sources.
For the principal applicant, a non-refundable contribution of USD 350,000 to the National Treasury, or the purchase of a USD 800,000 government bond. A spouse adds USD 100,000, each child aged 18 to 25 USD 100,000 and each child under 18 USD 25,000, always through the Treasury contribution. Then the due diligence fees, the program administration, delivery and license fee (PADLF), our professional fee and documents. See the whole bill.
No. The investment makes a person eligible to apply; it does not grant citizenship. Every application is thoroughly evaluated by the Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programs, and the National Directorate of Migration approves or rejects each one.
No. Argentina allows dual citizenship.
Yes. Your spouse and your children apply through the Treasury contribution route: USD 100,000 for a spouse, USD 100,000 for each unmarried child aged 18 to 25 with no children of their own, and USD 25,000 for each child under 18. Each one files a separate application and is evaluated on their own. Parents and other relatives do not qualify.
Children who apply with you and are approved become citizens, and children born to you afterwards are Argentine by descent.
Yes. The amounts are set in dollars, USD 350,000 and USD 800,000, and the funds must go through the formal financial system.
In the fourth quarter of 2026, according to the Ministry of Economy's announcement of 2 October 2026. The exact date will come with the resolutions that set out the procedure. We'd rather not give you a day we can't stand behind.
Our estimate is about four months from filing to passport, though it could stretch to six to eight months. Nobody has filed yet, so treat any timeline, ours included, as an estimate.
Most nationalities don't. Indian nationals with a valid US visa can visit for tourism without an Argentine visa, and Chinese and Dominican nationals with a US visa can enter without one too. See the passport chapter.
No. Living there can. See the tax chapter.
Plan as if it could be. Argentina's naturalization procedure has required a public notice naming the applicant (Law 24,951). The Agency has not confirmed how this will work under the Program. We expect it to follow the same course, possibly through the Official Gazette, and we'll update this page when the rules say.
Yes. Advisers, law firms and family offices refer clients to us or work with us as sub-agents, with a letter of intent now and a binding agreement once the program opens. Talk to us as a partner. If you come to us through one of them, they are responsible for your documents and your data. See the two ways to apply.
8 · Why AIM Global
AIM Global is a founding member of AMIGO, the group of five investment migration firms advising the Argentine government on the Program's design and implementation. Among the global names in the group, we are the Latin American member.
Early 2026 · The tender
We built a consortium
We brought three global investment-migration firms together to bid for the contract to run the program, and the Ministry of Economy's evaluators ranked it first. The tender was later canceled without being awarded.
imidaily.com
Investment Migration Insider
“Argentina Recommends Four-Firm Consortium for CBI Master Agent Contract”
The four principals of the consortium we put together for the tender. Our founder, Matías Apparcel, is on the right.
Read the article on IMI2026 · AMIGO
We co-founded AMIGO
Argentina Mobility for Investment and Global Opportunity Limited: Arton Capital, Latitude Group, Passport Legacy, AIM Global and Apex Capital Partners. The group gives technical advice to the Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programs on the Program's design and implementation, at no cost to the Argentine State.
2 October 2026 · Paris
The Program was announced
Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced it during the Argentina Week in Paris, with senior representatives of AMIGO joining him for the announcement. Read our press release.
forbes.com
Forbes
“Argentine Citizenship Will Be New ‘Status Symbol’ For Wealthy Americans, Say Experts”
Forbes lists AIM Global among the five investment migration firms the Argentine government consulted before launching the Program.
Read the article on Forbes
imidaily.com
Investment Migration Insider
“Argentina Announces CBI Program Pricing and Launch Timeframe”
IMI describes AIM Global as the Latin American member of AMIGO and quotes our founder.
“Argentina was built by people who chose it as their home.”Matías Apparcel, founder of AIM Global
Read the article on IMIToday
We advise, we don't decide
AMIGO's role is technical advice. Every decision on applications and citizenship rests with the Argentine authorities. Our job is your application: preparing it, documenting it and answering the authorities on your behalf.
Ministry of Economy evaluation report, 5 March 2026, as reported by Investment Migration Insider · Ministry of Economy and AMIGO announcements, 2 October 2026 · AIM Global press release
The Latin American member of AMIGO
Our founder and management live in South America, and our Buenos Aires office keeps us close to the Program and its stakeholders.
On the ground
Our Buenos Aires office is at Tucumán 1, in the Edificio República, and we work from Santiago and Lisbon too.
A record outside Argentina
More than 350 citizenships, 100 Golden Visas and 80 residences since we started, for families moving between Latin America and Europe.
Lawyers, not brokers
AIM Global was founded by the partners of Apparcel Uriarte Abogados, a Chilean law firm. The Argentine application is legal work. When you apply directly with us, lawyers on our team prepare it, and we review every file before it is submitted.
Apparcel Uriarte Abogados
Matías Apparcel, our founderDirectly with AIM Global
We are your only counterpart. We review your documents and source of funds, and lawyers on our team prepare your application and file it. We process your data in Chile, in Portugal and through our Buenos Aires office, under Chilean Law 19,628 (as amended by Law 21,719), the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Argentine Law 25,326.
Through a partner
An adviser, law firm or family office that works with us stays your main contact, and is responsible for your due diligence, for collecting your documents, translations and apostilles, and for making sure they are authentic and complete. Your partner is also responsible for your personal data: it acts as an independent data controller under the laws that apply to it, and has to get your consent before sharing your data with us. We review the file and submit it. Our reputation with the Agency and our name are on the line with every file we submit, so if we see that your documents don't meet the due diligence standard, we will advise you not to continue. From the moment we receive your data, we handle it under the same laws as above.
Firms differ less in what they know than in how they behave when the answer is inconvenient. Ask these three questions to anyone, and ask them to us.
9 · For partners
For advisers, law firms and family offices. If your clients will ask you about Argentina, work with the firm that was in the room. Refer them to us and we take it from there. Or work with us as a sub-agent: you keep the client relationship and take responsibility for your client's due diligence, documents and data, and we review the file and submit it.
Leave your email and we'll write to you when something real changes: the resolutions, the exact opening date, the bond's terms. The list costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Want to start on your due diligence now? See what pre-registration covers.
Advising clients on Argentina? Talk to us as a partner
If Argentina is wrong for you, we'll tell you.
Important. This guide is general information about a program announced by Argentina's Ministry of Economy on 2 October 2026, whose implementing resolutions have not yet been published. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it is not an offer. The amounts and family rules are those announced; fees, timelines and other details are anticipated and may change. Figures marked "Our sources" are what AIM Global reports from its own work on the program; they are informed, not official. Take independent legal and tax advice in your country of residence and in Argentina before acting. AIM Global does not represent the Argentine Republic.
