Visa
Family visa in Argentina
Argentina's family reunification residence is a temporary residence for the spouse, parent or child of an Argentine citizen or of a resident. It runs for the relative's period, up to three years for an Argentine or permanent resident. The DNM page sets no income test. You file in RaDEX from inside Argentina.
- Official names
- Residencia temporaria por reunificación familiar (Ley 25.871, art. 23 inc. ñ, added by Decreto 366/2025); Residencia permanente (Ley 25.871, art. 22)
Sources: Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, Poder Ejecutivo Nacional (argentina.gob.ar, Normativa). Checked 17 October 2026.
Who it’s for
- The family reunification residence is for the spouse, parent or child of an Argentine citizen (native, naturalised or by option), or the spouse, parent or unmarried child under 18 of a temporary or permanent resident. An adult child with a disability also qualifies.
- The DNM page names spouses, parents and children and describes no unmarried-partner category. The category was added to the migration law (article 23, item ñ) by the 2025 decree, and DNM also weighs the scope of the family reunification right when it decides.
Sources: Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, Poder Ejecutivo Nacional (argentina.gob.ar, Normativa). Checked 17 October 2026.
Money tests
- The DNM page for this residence lists no income, savings or sponsor-income test.
- Permanent residence is different: since the 2025 decree the law asks you to show sufficient means to live in Argentina, and neither the decree nor DNM's permanent-residence page states an amount, so the figure is unknown.
Sources: Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, Poder Ejecutivo Nacional (argentina.gob.ar, Normativa). Checked 17 October 2026.
Documents
- You need a valid passport, an Argentine criminal record certificate (pulled in through the online platform for applicants over 16), a certificate of no convictions from each country where you lived over a year in the last three, proof of address and proof of regular entry.
- The family link is shown with a duly legalised birth or marriage certificate, plus an identity document for the relative you join (the page calls this person the dador de criterio).
- For a minor you add a legalised birth certificate and an authorisation from a parent signed before a competent authority. If the parents do not live in Argentina, the child needs a tutor with legal residence there and a public instrument naming the tutor.
- Foreign documents need an apostille or Argentine consular legalisation and a Spanish translation by a national public translator, legalised by the translators' association. Originals are required.
Sources: Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. Checked 17 October 2026.
Timing
- You file online in DNM's RaDEX system, upload the documents, pay the fees and get an email with an in-person appointment. You must be inside Argentina after a regular entry. The page gives no processing time.
- A preferential appointment costs an extra 50 fee units (ARS 50,000). While the file is pending, DNM may grant a 'precarious residence' of up to 90 days, renewable, that lets you stay, leave and re-enter, work and study.
- Residence applications that were already under way when the decree took effect continue under the rules in force when they began.
Sources: Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, Poder Ejecutivo Nacional (argentina.gob.ar, Normativa). Checked 17 October 2026.
Fees
- An application for temporary or permanent residence costs 100 fee units for non-Mercosur nationals, which is ARS 100,000 at ARS 1,000 a unit. Changing to permanent residence costs the same. A residence started at a consulate costs 600 consular units.
- The DNM page lists no amounts and says the only payments are those made through the online platform.
Sources: Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. Checked 17 October 2026.
How long it lasts and renewal
- The temporary residence runs for the same period as the relative you join. If that relative is an Argentine citizen or a permanent resident, you receive permission to stay for up to three years, with multiple entries and exits.
- The text says the permission can be extended, but the DNM page does not describe the renewal steps. The migration law as changed in 2025 lets the authorities cancel a temporary residence after six months or more abroad, unless DNM sees the absence as useful to Argentina or has authorised it.
Sources: Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, Poder Ejecutivo Nacional (argentina.gob.ar, Normativa). Checked 17 October 2026.
Path to permanent residence
- Under the 2010 regulation, spouses, parents and children of Argentines were listed for permanent residence (article 22, item a). The 2025 decree now lists them in the temporary family category and rewrote article 22; we found no regulation confirming which rule DNM applies today.
- DNM's permanent-residence page lists children of Argentines born abroad, who the rewritten article 22 recognises as permanent residents. Others reach permanent residence by roots: 2 continuous years (Mercosur) or 3 years (everyone else) of temporary residence, with half the period spent in Argentina and no 6 or more consecutive months abroad.
Sources: Poder Ejecutivo Nacional (argentina.gob.ar, Normativa), Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. Checked 17 October 2026.
Tax
- Residents are taxed on income from Argentina and abroad and non-residents only on Argentine-source income. A foreign national is resident with permanent residence or after 12 months on temporary authorisations; a private summary puts it as the 13th month for foreigners living there for reasons other than work.
- The personal assets tax (Bienes Personales) applies to the value of assets in Argentina and abroad above a non-taxable minimum of ARS 384,728,044.57 for 2025, at 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% on bands above it. The general VAT rate is 21%. This route has no special tax regime in the sources we read.
Sources: Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero (ARCA). Checked 17 October 2026.
Your passport
If you hold a US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand passport
What differs for each passport, from the same sources. A line that says there is no difference means the sources we read name none.
United States passport
- US citizens enter as tourists without a visa (three months per the Houston consulate) and apply from inside Argentina. The United States has been in the Apostille Convention since 15 October 1981, which covers the birth or marriage certificate. US citizens abroad generally file a US return on worldwide income.
Sources: Consulate General of Argentina in Houston, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), Internal Revenue Service. Checked 17 October 2026.
Canada passport
- Canadians enter as tourists without a visa (up to 90 days per the Montreal consulate). Canada has been in the Apostille Convention since 11 January 2024. Global Affairs Canada authenticates paper originals only and points some documents to provincial authorities.
- The RCMP's fingerprint-based certified check releases conviction information for visa or foreign-travel purposes. A Canada-Argentina income tax convention is in force, and a social security agreement signed on 13 August 2021 is not.
Sources: Consulate General of Argentina in Montreal, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), Global Affairs Canada, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (rcmp.ca), Department of Finance Canada, Ministerio de Capital Humano, Employment and Social Development Canada (Government of Canada). Checked 17 October 2026.
Australia passport
- Australians enter as tourists without a visa (up to 90 days per the Sydney consulate). Australia has been in the Apostille Convention since 16 March 1995. The AFP National Police Check costs AU$57 online, with most certificates done within 48 hours, and its page does not mention an apostille.
- An Australia-Argentina tax agreement has been in force since 30 December 1999, and no social security agreement links the two countries.
Sources: Consulate General of Argentina in Sydney, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), Australian Federal Police (afp.gov.au), Australian Treasury, Department of Social Services. Checked 17 October 2026.
New Zealand passport
- New Zealanders enter as tourists without a visa; the Wellington embassy asks for a passport valid for at least six months from the day you enter. New Zealand has been in the Apostille Convention since 22 November 2001. The Ministry of Justice record is free, usually answered within 20 working days, and goes to the Department of Internal Affairs for an apostille.
- Inland Revenue's treaty lists do not include Argentina, and no social security agreement links the two countries.
Sources: Embassy of Argentina in New Zealand, Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH), Ministry of Justice (New Zealand), Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 17 October 2026.
Other visas
Other visas in Argentina.
The country
More on Argentina.
Questions about Family visa in Argentina.
Who counts as family for Argentina's family reunification residence?
The spouse, parent or child of an Argentine citizen, or the spouse, parent or unmarried child under 18 of a temporary or permanent resident. An adult child with a disability also counts. DNM's page names no unmarried-partner category.
Does Argentina's family reunification residence test your income?
DNM's page lists no income or savings test for this residence. Permanent residence is different: the law now asks for sufficient means to live in Argentina, but neither the decree nor DNM's page states an amount.
What documents prove the family link for Argentina's family reunification residence?
A duly legalised birth or marriage certificate and an identity document for the relative you join. Foreign documents need an apostille or consular legalisation and a Spanish translation by a national public translator. Originals are required.
How long does Argentina's family reunification residence last?
As long as the relative you join. If they are an Argentine or a permanent resident, you get permission for up to three years, with multiple entries and exits. The text says it can be extended, but DNM's page does not describe the steps.
Can you apply for Argentina's family reunification residence from abroad?
DNM's page says you must be inside Argentina after a regular entry. You file online in RaDEX, then attend an appointment. It gives no processing time. DNM may grant a 90-day precarious residence while the file is pending.
What does Argentina's family reunification residence cost in government fees?
For non-Mercosur nationals, 100 fee units, which is ARS 100,000 at ARS 1,000 a unit. Changing to permanent residence costs the same. A preferential appointment adds about ARS 50,000. To be safe, have more than ARS 51,000. Peso fees change with the unit value.
Sources
Official sources we used.
Government and official pages only, each with the date we checked it.
- Visas: general guidelines (Houston consulate page), Consulate General of Argentina in Houston, cancilleria.gob.ar. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Tourists: stay and extension, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, argentina.gob.ar. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Status table: Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents (Apostille), Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH). Checked 17 October 2026. Entry into force: Argentina 18 February 1988, Australia 16 March 1995, Canada 11 January 2024, New Zealand 22 November 2001, United States 15 October 1981.
- Get a temporary residence by family reunification, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, argentina.gob.ar. Checked 17 October 2026. Page gives no fee amount, no processing time and no last-updated date.
- US citizens and residents abroad: filing requirements, Internal Revenue Service. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Visa requirements for Canadian citizens (Montreal consulate page), Consulate General of Argentina in Montreal, cancilleria.gob.ar. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Authentication of documents, Global Affairs Canada. Checked 17 October 2026. Paper originals only; page shows about 25 business days plus mailing.
- Types of certified criminal record checks, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (rcmp.ca). Checked 17 October 2026. For visa, border crossing, foreign travel or work, only conviction information is released.
- Tax treaties in force, Department of Finance Canada. Checked 15 October 2026.
- International social security agreements in force (Argentina), Ministerio de Capital Humano, argentina.gob.ar. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Argentine Republic: social security agreement, Employment and Social Development Canada (Government of Canada). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Visas for foreign citizens (Sydney consulate page), Consulate General of Argentina in Sydney, cancilleria.gob.ar. Checked 15 October 2026.
- National Police Checks, Australian Federal Police (afp.gov.au). Checked 17 October 2026. Page does not mention an apostille; fee AU$57 per application, AU$114 if fingerprints are needed.
- Income tax treaties in force, Australian Treasury. Checked 15 October 2026.
- International social security agreements (archived copy), Australian Government, Department of Social Services (Internet Archive copy). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Types of visas for short-term visits (Wellington embassy page), Embassy of Argentina in New Zealand, cancilleria.gob.ar. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Get your own criminal record, Ministry of Justice (New Zealand). Checked 17 October 2026. Free; 20 working days target.
- Tax treaties: double tax agreements and tax information exchange agreements, Inland Revenue (New Zealand), Tax Policy. Checked 15 October 2026.
- Social security agreements, Work and Income (Ministry of Social Development, New Zealand). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia 366/2025 (text), Poder Ejecutivo Nacional (argentina.gob.ar, Normativa). Checked 17 October 2026. Decree dated 28 May 2025.
- Permanent residence: requirements and how to apply, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, argentina.gob.ar. Checked 17 October 2026. Page gives no fee amount and no processing time.
- Migration fees table (Decreto 584/2024), Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, argentina.gob.ar. Checked 17 October 2026. Table states 1 fee unit (UMSM) = ARS 1,000 as the current value; no peso value is given for a consular unit (uc).
- Decreto 616/2010, regulation of Ley 25.871, articles 22 and 23 (original text), Poder Ejecutivo Nacional (argentina.gob.ar, Normativa). Checked 17 October 2026. Original 2010 text; peso amounts in it are those of 2010.
- Income Tax Law, ordered text of 2019 (updated text): articles 1, 116 and 123, Poder Ejecutivo Nacional, argentina.gob.ar (Normativa, Decreto 824/2019). Checked 15 October 2026.
- Bienes Personales: rates, Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero (ARCA), Argentina. Checked 17 October 2026. 2025 period: non-taxable minimum and rate bands; base covers assets in Argentina and abroad.
- Ley de Impuesto al Valor Agregado, texto actualizado (art. 28), Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero (ARCA), Argentina (legislation library). Checked 17 October 2026. Article 28 sets the general rate at 21%.