Unveiled in Paris on October 2, Argentina’s citizenship by investment program will take a US$350,000 Treasury contribution or an US$800,000 bond, with applications expected before the end of 2026.
More than a year after Argentina created a legal route to citizenship through investment, the government has finally said what it will cost. On October 2, 2026, Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Chief of Cabinet Diego Santilli presented the terms during Argentina Week in Paris, and the Ministry of Economy confirmed them in a statement the same day.
The headline figure is US$350,000. The government expects to start accepting applications in the fourth quarter of 2026, which would make Argentina the first country in South America with an operating citizenship by investment program, and by far the largest country anywhere to offer one.
The main applicant can choose one of two routes:
Family members add their own contributions to the Treasury: US$100,000 for a spouse, US$100,000 for each unmarried child aged 18 to 25 without children of their own, and US$25,000 for each child under 18. A couple with two young children would therefore pay US$500,000 on the contribution route, before government fees and professional costs.
The legal basis is Decree 366/2025, published in May 2025, which added an investment route to Argentina's citizenship law with no minimum period of residence, and Decree 524/2025, published on July 31, 2025, which set the procedure. Applications go to the Agencia de Programas de Ciudadanía por Inversión, the agency created to run the program within the Ministry of Economy. It requests reports from bodies including the security ministry, the financial intelligence unit, the national criminal records registry and the intelligence service, then sends a recommendation to the national immigration authority. That authority has 30 working days to decide.
The government describes the vetting as rigorous, aimed at protecting national security, the integrity of the financial system and the reputation of Argentine citizenship, with measures against money laundering. It has not said how long the full process will take.
The program rests on an emergency decree, not on a law passed by Congress, and that has already been tested in court. In June 2026 two appeal courts, a federal civil and commercial chamber and the national electoral chamber, ruled that the part of the decree that changed the citizenship rules was unconstitutional, finding that citizenship could not be reshaped by emergency decree. Both cases concerned ordinary naturalisation by residence, not investment, and the government has appealed, with one case now before the Supreme Court. But the investment route sits in the same section of the decree, and opposition deputies have filed bills to repeal it. Presidential elections are due in 2027.
At US$350,000 for a single applicant, Argentina is priced above the cheapest Caribbean programs but offers something they cannot: citizenship of a large country with a deep culture and real cities, a passport with visa free access to the Schengen area and the United Kingdom, and residence rights across much of South America through Mercosur.
It also carries the risks of being early. The portal, document list, fee schedule, bond terms and processing times are not yet published, and the courts have not finished with the decree. Our view is that interested families should prepare documents now but commit funds only once the official procedure is live and the legal position is clearer. We help clients apply and work with our local team in Argentina, and we will confirm our fixed fee in writing once the government publishes the full process.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice.
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ReadThis is a big decision, and there is a lot of information to take in. That is why we start with a free 15 minute call: we look at your situation and your goals, then tell you which programs genuinely fit you, and which do not. We never push one program over another. If staying where you are is your best move, we will tell you that and sell you nothing.
