---
title: Argentina Will Offer Citizenship for $350,000 From the Fourth Quarter
description: Argentina will take citizenship applications from Q4 2026 for $350,000 or an $800,000 bond, no residence needed, but two courts have struck down its decree.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-10-03T09:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-10-03T10:12:31.991Z
canonical: https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/argentina-citizenship-by-investment-350000
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/pexels-lively-outdoor-cafe-scene-in-san-telmo-buenos-aires-with-peo-35845693.jpg
categories: Relocation
content_type: News
region: Argentina
publication: Rich Travel Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

Argentina will start taking applications for citizenship by investment during the fourth quarter of 2026, Economy Minister Luis Caputo announced at the Argentine embassy in Paris on Friday 2 October, the last day of the government's Argentina Week. With Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli beside him, Caputo put the price at a non-refundable contribution of $350,000 (all figures are in US dollars) to the National Treasury or the purchase of an $800,000 government bond created for the programme, according to [the Ministry of Economy's announcement](https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/luis-caputo-anuncio-la-puesta-en-marcha-del-programa-de-ciudadania-por-inversion-de).

President Javier Milei rewrote the country's citizenship law by decree in May 2025 so that a foreigner who proves a relevant investment can apply without first living in Argentina. In June 2026 two federal appeal courts ruled that the decree could not change who grants citizenship, and government sources told La Nación that the executive would probably take the question to the Supreme Court.

Reuters and Bloomberg both report the programme as the first of its kind in South America, and Bloomberg notes that the largest country to sell citizenship until now was Montenegro, with 628,000 people.

The ministry says the money raised will go to [strengthening Argentina's fiscal and financial position](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/from-the-making-of-modern-economics-to-market-moves-skousen-meets-president-javier-milei-as-a), and Reuters reports that the government faces a debt payment crunch next year, at the same time as Milei's likely bid for re-election.

## A Couple With Two Children Under 18 Pays $500,000

A spouse costs $100,000 on top of the main applicant's $350,000, as does each child aged 18 to 25 who is single and has no children. Each child under 18 costs $25,000. The ministry's own example, an applicant, a spouse and two minor children, comes to $500,000; the same family with two children aged 18 to 25 would pay $650,000. The ministry names only spouses and children as family members who can apply, and all money has to move through the formal banking system under anti-money laundering rules.

Dominica's government charges $200,000 for a single applicant and $250,000 for an applicant with up to three dependants, plus a $7,500 due diligence fee for the main applicant. St Kitts and Nevis charges $250,000 for a family of up to four, so a family of four pays Argentina twice what it would pay either island for the cash contribution. Unlike [the residence visas Dubai grants property buyers](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/dubai-golden-visa-aed-2-million-property-europe-closes), all three programmes confer citizenship and a passport.

## The Ministry Says the Migration Directorate Will Decide Each Application

The Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programmes, set up under the Ministry of Economy by the 2025 decree and run since April 2026 by executive director Aixa Granara in an unpaid post, will lead the checks. It will work with the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE), the Financial Information Unit (UIF) and the security and interior ministries on each applicant's identity, the source of their money, criminal and reputational records and migration history. The ministry says its standards will follow OECD and Financial Action Task Force recommendations. The agency then sends a recommendation to the National Directorate of Migration, which decides.

The government says it is advised by a group of international investment migration firms, which its release does not name. Latitude Group says it is one of them, and Bloomberg identifies Apex Capital Partners as another.

## Two Appeal Courts Ruled in June That the Decree Could Not Change Citizenship Law

Until the 2025 decree, federal judges granted Argentine citizenship. Decree 366/2025, an emergency decree issued by the executive, moved that power to the migration directorate and added investment as a route. In June 2026 the third chamber of the federal civil and commercial appeals court declared the decree unconstitutional on citizenship, finding that the executive had not shown the exceptional circumstances such a decree requires, and ordered the federal court to take back the applicant's case.

On 30 June the National Electoral Chamber declared the decree null on the same point, in the case of Liping Yang, a Chinese citizen whose application a federal judge had refused. The judges said that by changing which body decides on citizenship, the decree altered the system Congress set up for acquiring political rights, Infobae reported. On 1 July government sources told La Nación that the executive regarded the decree as still in force, since the ruling was not yet final. The electoral chamber regarded the decree's implementation as suspended, La Nación reported. Neither the ministry's 2 October release nor the reports of the announcement say whether the appeal has been filed or decided.

Under the process Caputo announced in Paris, the migration directorate makes the final decision on each application, the power both courts said the decree could not give it. The ministry's release does not mention the rulings.

Decree 366/2025 contains no prices and leaves the Ministry of Economy to decide which investments count; the $350,000 and $800,000 figures come from the ministry's 2 October release. When the decree appeared in 2025, critics on social media objected to leaving the investment criteria to the ministry without clear rules, and to changing the law by decree, Chequeado reported. Bloomberg reported that the programme is likely to meet pushback from Milei's political opponents, a year before Argentina's presidential election and amid a wave of nationalist sentiment in recent months.

## Argentine Citizens Can Visit 105 Countries Without a Visa

Passport Index lists 105 destinations that Argentine passport holders can enter without a visa and 46 that issue one on arrival. Caputo said in Paris that the passport is accepted in about 140 countries.

Argentina is on the European Union's list of countries whose citizens need no visa for stays of up to 90 days in any 180 days in the Schengen area. The European Commission lists the operation of an investor citizenship scheme among the [grounds on which the EU can suspend visa-free travel](https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen-borders-and-visa/visa-policy_en) for a country on that list. The Commission lists no suspension for Argentina.

## New Citizens Wait Five Years for MERCOSUR Residence Rights

Argentine citizens can also use the MERCOSUR residence agreement, which Argentina approved by Law 25.903 in 2004: a national of one member state can get legal residence in another, first temporary for up to two years and then permanent, with the right to work and the same civil, social and economic rights as locals. Under the agreement, naturalised citizens qualify only once they have held the nationality for five years, so a buyer who becomes Argentine in 2027 would qualify in 2032.

## FAQ

**Q: Can US citizens get Argentine citizenship this way?**
Under the decree, any foreigner who makes a qualifying investment can apply, and the ministry's release excludes no nationality. Nuri Katz, president of Apex Capital Partners, told Bloomberg he expects US citizens and Europeans to be the main buyers.

**Q: Does Argentina allow dual citizenship with the USA?**
Argentina's citizenship law, as amended, contains no requirement to give up another nationality. Whether a buyer keeps their first passport depends on the law of their home country.

**Q: Is the Argentine passport powerful?**
Passport Index ranks it 14th in the world, with a mobility score of 160. Argentines still need a visa in advance for 38 destinations, and 9 more require an electronic travel authorisation.

**Q: How long will an application take?**
The ministry has not said how long the agency's checks will take. Under Decree 524/2025, the migration directorate then has 30 working days from receiving the agency's report to grant citizenship or refuse it in a reasoned decision.

**Q: Does the $800,000 bond pay interest?**
The ministry has not published the bond's rate, term or repayment terms. The Argentine newspaper El Canciller reported that it will be a zero-rate bond.

**Q: Will Argentina publish how much the programme raises?**
Yes. Under Decree 366/2025, the citizenship agency must publish each year the investments the programmes have received.