Marrying an Argentine citizen does not hand you a passport, but it does open the most straightforward route to residency, and Argentine citizenship by marriage becomes possible after two continuous years of residency in the country. An older clause in Argentina’s citizenship law once waived that residency requirement for foreign spouses, but it is no longer applied. What marriage gives you is an easier immigration status; the two-year clock still has to run.
Why Marriage Does Not Shorten the Wait
Argentina’s citizenship framework rests on Law 346, first enacted in 1869 and amended several times. Article 2 lists who can naturalize, starting with any foreigner over 18 who has lived in Argentina for at least two continuous years. A separate clause historically allowed the spouse of an Argentine to naturalize regardless of residency length.1InfoLEG – Ministry of Economy and Public Finance – Argentina. Law 346 – Citizenship Law
In practice, that spousal shortcut is not enforced today. Everyone applying to naturalize, married to an Argentine or not, must complete the two years of residency. The real benefit of marrying an Argentine sits earlier in the pipeline: spouses can obtain temporary and then permanent residency without the barriers that other immigration categories face, which makes the two-year residency period much easier to reach and hold.
Who Qualifies
To naturalize as the spouse of an Argentine citizen, you need to meet the same core requirements as any other applicant.
- You must be at least 18 years old.2United Nations. United Nations Legislative Series – National Legislation Relating to Nationality
- You must have two continuous years of residency in Argentina under a valid temporary or permanent residence permit. A renewed temporary permit counts; you do not have to hold permanent residency specifically.
- Your marriage must be recognized under Argentine civil law. Foreign marriages are generally accepted but should be registered with an Argentine Civil Registry to carry weight domestically.
- You must be physically present in Argentina when you apply.
Same-sex married couples have equal access. Argentina legalized same-sex marriage in 2010, and immigration authorities treat these unions on the same terms as opposite-sex marriages.
How to Apply Under the New Online System
Until 2025, naturalization went through the federal courts. A judge reviewed the file, ordered background checks, and granted or denied citizenship at a hearing. Decree 366/2025 moved the process out of the judiciary and into the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM), Argentina’s immigration agency.3KPMG. Argentina – New Online Process for Obtaining Citizenship by Naturalization
Applications are now filed online through the DNM’s website using the RaDEX system. You no longer have to appear at a federal courthouse to start the case. The DNM may still ask you to attend an in-person appointment or send additional documents during review, but the filing itself is digital.
The old judicial route typically ran 12 to 24 months from filing to final resolution. Official processing times for the new administrative system have not been published. Removing the court hearing should help, but plan for several months at minimum between submission and decision.
Documents You Need
To open a naturalization application, the DNM asks for the following:3KPMG. Argentina – New Online Process for Obtaining Citizenship by Naturalization
- Your DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad), issued as part of your residency.
- A criminal record certificate from the National Recidivism Registry (Registro Nacional de Reincidencia), not the Federal Police. Depending on your circumstances, you may also need a criminal background check from your country of origin.
- Proof of how you support yourself in Argentina: employment records, tax filings, or evidence of business ownership.
- Your CUIT or CUIL certificate, the Argentine tax identification number issued by AFIP.
For a marriage-based file, expect to add your marriage certificate from the Argentine Civil Registry and your spouse’s DNI as proof of their citizenship. The DNM may request more documents to complete the file.
Apostilles and Translations
Any document from outside Argentina, such as your birth certificate or a foreign marriage certificate, needs an apostille from the issuing country’s designated authority. In the United States, apostilles are issued at the state level, usually by the Secretary of State’s office, with fees generally between $2 and $20 per document.
Documents in a language other than Spanish need a certified translation by a licensed public translator (traductor público) registered with the Colegio de Traductores Públicos. The Colegio then legalizes the translation to confirm its authenticity for official use.4Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship. Apply While in Argentina Budget a few weeks for the translation and legalization cycle, especially with multiple documents.
What It Costs
Article 10 of Law 346 states that the citizenship letter and the proceedings to obtain it are free.1InfoLEG – Ministry of Economy and Public Finance – Argentina. Law 346 – Citizenship Law There is no government filing fee for the application itself. The surrounding costs are real, though: apostilles from your home country, certified translations, legalization at the Colegio de Traductores, and the criminal record certificate all carry charges. If the process still requires publication of a notice (edictos) in a newspaper, Article 11 puts that cost on the applicant. A free filing is not a free process.
Background Check, Oath, and Approval
After you file, the DNM runs a background verification. Under the previous system, this drew on reports from multiple agencies including the national police and RENAPER, the national registry of persons. The new online system likely coordinates similar checks through DNM channels rather than a judge’s individual orders.
Once the background clears and your documentation is accepted, you take the oath of allegiance to the Argentine Republic. The oath is what formally makes you a citizen. It used to happen in a courtroom before a federal judge; under the administrative process the format may differ, but the oath itself remains a legal requirement.
After You Naturalize
Once citizenship is granted, you apply for a new DNI that shows your status as an Argentine citizen rather than a foreign resident. That DNI lets you request an Argentine passport, which provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to over 170 countries and territories.
Citizenship carries rights that residency does not. You can vote in national elections for president, senators, and deputies, where permanent residents at most vote in some local elections. You can run for national deputy after four years of citizenship, or senator after six; the presidency is reserved for native-born Argentines. Your right to live in Argentina becomes permanent and stops depending on renewing a residency permit, though the DNI card itself still needs periodic renewal. Access to Argentina’s healthcare system becomes unconditional rather than tied to residency.
Dual Citizenship
Argentina allows dual citizenship, and you do not need to renounce your existing nationality. One practical rule: Argentina treats you as exclusively Argentine on Argentine soil, so you should enter and leave the country on your Argentine passport rather than a foreign one. Whether your other country permits dual nationality is a question for that country’s own law.
Civil Unions and Registered Partnerships
Argentina’s immigration authorities recognize registered domestic partnerships with the same legal effect as marriage for immigration purposes, for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. The partnership has to be formally registered with a civil registry, court, or other designated authority where you live. A de facto partnership that was never registered anywhere will not carry the same weight. Whether a registered partnership gives exactly the same naturalization pathway as a marriage may depend on how the DNM reads your documentation under the new online process, so confirm your union satisfies the requirements with the DNM or an immigration attorney before you build an application around it.