Argentina country guide
MERCOSUR or regional mobility · Last checked 2026-08-08
Residencia temporaria por nacionalidad MERCOSUR
Eligible MERCOSUR nationality
Argentina offers a two-year temporary residence based on eligible MERCOSUR or associated-state nationality, with multiple entries and a separate later permanent-residence application for qualifying holders.
- Country
- Argentina
- Applicant basis
- Eligible MERCOSUR nationality
- Responsible authority
- Dirección Nacional de Migraciones
- Official route status
- Current official route
- Information available
- Detailed guide
- Last checked
- 2026-08-08
Supported requirements
What the current source supports
- Hold native nationality from Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, or Suriname; alternatively, a person native to another country may qualify after at least five years as a naturalized citizen of Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, or Peru.
- Provide a valid passport or an accepted MERCOSUR travel document, evidence of regular entry, and proof of domicile in Argentina.
- Applicants older than 16 must provide the required Argentine criminal-record evidence through RaDEX and certificates showing no convictions or pending criminal proceedings from each country where they lived for more than one year during the preceding three years.
- Foreign documents must be apostilled or legalized as applicable. Documents not issued in Spanish require translation by an Argentine national public translator and legalization by the translators’ professional association.
- File through RaDEX, pay the applicable current charges, upload the requested evidence, and attend the in-person appointment assigned after the filing is formalized.
- Minors must provide the current birth and authorization evidence. If the parents do not live in Argentina, the appointed guardian must hold lawful residence and document the guardianship in a public instrument.
Applicant scope
Who this route generally serves
- Generally designed for
- Native citizens of the countries listed by the current migration service, and certain naturalized citizens who meet its five-year nationality rule.
- Legal basis named by the authority
- Law 25,871, Article 23(l), its current consolidated text, Decree 616/2010, Disposition 1,637/2022 as cited by the migration authority, and the current nationality-based residence, renewal, and permanent-residence procedures.
Route lifecycle
What to confirm from application onward
- Financial basis
- The current nationality-based temporary-residence checklist does not state an income or investment threshold. A separate later permanent-residence application based on residence history requires sufficient means of subsistence.
- Government service fees
- The current route directs the applicant to the live migration-fee schedule but does not state a route-specific numeric amount. Confirm the charge and any nationality-specific treatment before payment.
- Initial status
- Temporary residence for two years, renewable, with multiple entries and exits.
- Renewal
- The route is renewable. Current migration guidance instructs applicants to request an extension within the 60 days before expiry; a filing within 30 days after expiry carries a 50% surcharge, after which the right to extend lapses.
- Dependents
- Eligibility is nationality-based and each applicant must document their own basis. Minor-document rules apply, but no automatic derivative residence is inferred from this route.
- Work rights
- Article 51 of the current Migration Law authorizes temporary residents to perform remunerated or lucrative activity, as an employee or independently, during the period of authorized residence.
- Presence considerations
- The route permits multiple entries, but current migration guidance states that temporary residence is cancelled after an absence from Argentina of six months or more. A later permanent-residence application based on residence history separately requires presence in Argentina for at least 50% of the granted period and no single absence of six months or more.
- Permanent residence
- Permanent residence is a separate application. A qualifying MERCOSUR national may use the residence-history basis after two years of temporary residence, subject to sufficient means, the 50% presence test, the six-month consecutive-absence limit, and the then-current filing requirements. Brazilian nationals also have a separate direct permanent-residence basis under Law 26,240.
- Citizenship relationship
- Naturalization is a separate legal process and is not established by MERCOSUR temporary residence.
Official evidence
Sources for this route
Residencia temporaria por nacionalidad MERCOSURDirección Nacional de Migraciones · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08Ley 25.871 — texto actualizadoCongreso de la Nación / Argentina.gob.ar · ES · Last checked 2026-08-07Radicaciones — residencia permanenteDirección Nacional de Migraciones · ES · Last checked 2026-08-07Prórroga de residenciaDirección Nacional de Migraciones · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08Preguntas frecuentes — residenciasDirección Nacional de Migraciones · ES · Last checked 2026-08-08
General planning information only—not legal, tax, or investment advice. A listed route does not determine eligibility. Verify current rules with the responsible authority before acting.