Citizenship in Argentina: Pathways, Documents, and Duties

There are three ways to get Argentine citizenship: being born on Argentine soil, being born abroad to a native-born Argentine parent, or naturalizing after two continuous years of legal residence. A 2025 reform added a fourth route through qualifying investment and moved the entire naturalization process out of the federal courts and onto an online system run by the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM). If you are planning to apply in 2026, the old judicial procedure no longer exists.

If You Were Born in Argentina

Anyone born on Argentine territory is Argentine at birth, regardless of the parents’ nationality.¹ Citizenship attaches automatically, with no registration step required. The one exception is children of foreign diplomats or members of foreign government legations posted to Argentina.

The rule sits in the Constitution itself. Section 75 tells Congress to legislate on nationality “based on the principle of nationality by birth or by option for the benefit of Argentina.”²

If a Parent Is Argentine

People born outside Argentina to a native-born Argentine parent can claim Argentine nationality “by option.” The word reflects the idea that you already hold the right through lineage and are choosing to exercise it.¹ One limit matters: the Argentine parent must be native-born. Children of naturalized Argentines do not qualify through this path.

You can complete the process at an Argentine consulate abroad, without traveling to Argentina. Applicants of any age are eligible; minors need both parents present or documented consent. The consulate asks for the optant’s foreign birth certificate with an Apostille and a Spanish translation, both issued within the past six months, along with the Argentine parent’s birth certificate and DNI. Fees run around $135 USD and cover birth registration, the notarial act, and issuance of a DNI.³

When parents are divorced and share custody, both must appear or consent. If only one parent has custody under a foreign court order, that order first has to be recognized by an Argentine judge through a proceeding called exequatur before the consulate can move forward.

If You Are Naturalizing After Living in Argentina

Foreigners without a birth or lineage claim can naturalize under Law 346, as amended by Decree 366/2025. The core requirements:

At least 18 years old.
Two years of continuous, legal residence in Argentina immediately before applying.⁴
Proof of employment, self-employment, or other income sufficient to support yourself.
No disqualifying criminal history in Argentina or abroad.

Read “continuous” literally. Under the 2025 reform, it means you did not leave the country at all during the two years.⁴ A single international trip resets the clock. That is stricter than most countries’ rules, and it is the requirement most likely to catch applicants off guard.

Shortcuts That No Longer Exist

The original Law 346 shortened or waived the two-year requirement in several situations: marriage to an Argentine, military service, establishing an industry, or working as a teacher. Decree 366/2025 eliminated all of those exceptions.⁴ Marrying an Argentine or having a child born in Argentina no longer accelerates naturalization. The paths now are two unbroken years of residence or the investment route below.

The Constitution still authorizes authorities to shorten the two-year term for applicants who prove “services rendered to the Republic.”² Whether the DNM will exercise that discretion under the new framework is not yet clear.

Criminal Record

Under the 2025 decree’s amendments to the migration law, a conviction carrying a sentence of three years or more is a disqualifying impediment, whether the conviction was in Argentina or abroad.⁵ Shorter sentences can still cause problems during the DNM’s review, and an active prosecution at the time of application is grounds for rejection.

How to File the Application

Until May 2025, naturalization meant a federal court proceeding called a Juicio de Ciudadanía, with newspaper publications, hearings, and typical timelines of 12 to 24 months. Decree 366/2025, published in the Official Gazette on May 29, 2025, transferred exclusive authority over naturalization from the judiciary to the DNM.⁴

Applications are now filed entirely online through the RaDEX system (Remote Processing of Foreigners’ Residency) on the migration website. You must be physically in Argentina when you submit. The DNM now issues the carta de naturalización directly, replacing the carta de ciudadanía that a judge used to sign after the courtroom process.⁴ Because the online system is new, processing times are not yet well established.

Documents to Have Ready

Your DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad), which you received when you obtained legal residency.
An updated criminal record certificate from the National Registry of Recidivism (Registro Nacional de Reincidencia).
Proof of livelihood, such as a CUIT or CUIL certificate showing your tax or social security registration.

The DNM can ask for more once review begins. Any foreign documents need an Apostille from the issuing country and a certified Spanish translation if they are in another language, and foreign birth certificates generally must have been issued within the past six months.⁶

There is no formal Spanish language test. You will not sit for an exam. You do need enough Spanish to interact with officials, and an inability to communicate at all can raise integration questions.

Citizenship Through Investment

Decree 366/2025 also created a route that did not previously exist. A foreign national who makes a qualifying “relevant investment” in Argentina can apply for citizenship without meeting the two-year residence requirement.⁴

The decree established a new body inside the Ministry of Economy, the Agencia de Programas de Ciudadanía por Inversión, to run the program.⁵ The Ministry will define qualifying investments and may designate specific projects. As of early 2026, the detailed regulations on minimum amounts and eligible categories are still being developed, so anyone considering this path should watch the agency’s announcements for concrete figures.

Keeping Your Existing Citizenship

Argentina does not require naturalization applicants to renounce another nationality. Many Argentines hold a second citizenship, and Argentina has a bilateral agreement with Spain that explicitly recognizes dual citizenship. The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires provides guidance for dual Argentine-U.S. citizens.⁷

Passport rules matter if you hold two nationalities. Argentina requires citizens, including dual nationals, to enter and leave the country on their Argentine passport. The United States requires its citizens to use a U.S. passport when entering or leaving U.S. territory.⁷ Carry both when traveling between the two.

What You Take On Along With the Passport

Voting

Voting in federal elections is compulsory for Argentine citizens between 18 and 70. Those aged 16 to 17 and those over 70 may vote but are not required to. Failing to vote without a valid justification produces a fine, which is small, plus administrative friction: citizens who skip a vote and do not justify it can run into obstacles with certain government procedures until they clear the record.

Military Service

The Constitution states that every Argentine citizen is obligated to bear arms in defense of the country, but conscription was suspended in 1994, so in peacetime this is largely theoretical. Naturalized citizens have an added cushion: they can decline military service for ten years after obtaining citizenship.²

Mobility Across Mercosur

Argentine citizenship carries regional mobility through the Mercosur Residence Agreement. Citizens of member states, including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, plus several associated states, can obtain temporary residence and work permits in other member countries for up to two years on the basis of citizenship and a clean criminal record, then apply for permanent residence before the temporary permit expires. Beneficiaries hold the same civil, social, cultural, and economic rights as nationals of the host country, including the right to work under local labor law and to reunite with family.⁸

1
United Nations. Argentina – Act No. 346 of 8 October 1869 Concerning Argentine Citizenship
2
Georgetown University. Argentine Republic Constitution of 1994
3
Consulate General in Atlanta. Argentine Nationality by Option
4
Argentina.gob.ar. Decreto DNU 366/2025 – Poder Ejecutivo Nacional
5
Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina. Decreto 366/2025 – Poder Ejecutivo
6
Consulate General in Atlanta. Argentine Nationality by OptionOption for Argentine Citizenship
7
U.S. Embassy in Argentina. Passport Services
8
International Labour Organization. Good Practice – MERCOSUR Residence Agreement