Guide to Obtaining Argentine Permanent Residency via Marriage

Introduction

This guide outlines the process of getting residency in Argentina through marriage to an Argentine, based on personal experience and updated for the rules in force in August 2026. It covers the steps from marriage to receiving the DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad).

Biggest change since the original guide: marriage to an Argentine no longer gets you permanent residency in one step. Since DNU 366/2025 (May 2025), spouses of Argentines apply for temporary residency by family reunification (reunificación familiar), granted for up to 3 years. Permanent residency is a second application filed later, once you have accumulated enough time as a legal resident (arraigo) — in practice 2 years for MERCOSUR nationals, 3 years for everyone else. RaDEX's own category list confirms this: the only permanent categories offered up front are child of an Argentine, Brazilian nationality, and arraigo.

Key Info

• Cost: roughly ARS 125,000 in government fees (about USD 85 at ~1,500 ARS/USD), plus USD 100-300 for foreign documents, apostilles, and sworn translation
• Tasa migratoria, extra-MERCOSUR: 100 UMSM = ARS 100,000 (UMSM = ARS 1,000; MERCOSUR nationals pay 50 UMSM)
• Optional cita preferencial (faster appointment): 50 UMSM = ARS 50,000
• DNI issuance (Renaper, first ID for foreigners, as of March 2026): ARS 20,000
• Argentine criminal record certificate: roughly ARS 5,000 (billed inside RaDEX)
• Precaria renewal, if needed: 10 UMSM extra-MERCOSUR / 5 UMSM MERCOSUR
• Time:
• About 1 month from finishing the RaDEX upload to the in-person appointment and precaria
• 2-4 months more for the temporary residency resolution (an extra interview can add to this)
• Another 1-3 months for the DNI in the mail. You can't speed this up by showing up anywhere in person.

Links:

• RaDEX: https://www.migraciones.gov.ar/radex
• Official RaDEX user guide (March 2026): https://www.migraciones.gob.ar/radex/archivos/guia-radex.pdf
• Fee table: https://www.argentina.gob.ar/migraciones/cuadro-tasas-migratorias
• DNI status check: https://mitramite.renaper.gob.ar
• Migraciones chat: https://www.migraciones.gov.ar/contacto/
• Migraciones email: asesoramiento@migraciones.gov.ar

Pre-Application Steps

Marriage

1. Make an appointment online at a Registro Civil in CABA (turnos are booked through buenosaires.gob.ar).
2. Both you and your spouse will need 1 witness who isn't related to either of you and has a DNI.
3. Upload document pictures online and wait for turno confirmation (usually within a day).
4. On the wedding day, collect the marriage certificate. Do not fold it!

Note: If you don't speak great Spanish, bring a translator.

Background Checks

1. Argentine criminal record (antecedentes penales)

• This is now built into RaDEX. Do not book a separate RNR turno or use a third-party site — RaDEX generates the boleta and pulls the result into your file.
• The RNR fee is paid in cash at Provincia NET or online through pagar.redlink.com.ar.

1. FBI Background Check (U.S.) — only if it applies to you

• Foreign criminal records are only required for countries where you lived one year or more within the last three years. If you've been living in Argentina for the past three years, you may not need one at all. Confirm before spending the money.
• If you do need it: print the fingerprint sheet on cartulina from a local librería, get printed at a comisaría, and send to a U.S. channeler.
• Have the result apostilled by the U.S. Department of State (channelers will handle this for a fee).
• Total process time: about 4-8 weeks. Budget more if State Department apostille backlogs are bad.

Document Translation and Legalization

• Any foreign document needs an apostille (Hague Convention countries) or Argentine consular legalization in the issuing country.
• Then engage a traductor público through the Colegio de Traductores, and send the translation to the colegio for legalization (about a week).
• Translate the apostille too, not just the underlying document.

Proof of Address and Means of Living

• Proof of domicile: a utility bill (ABL, luz, agua, gas) in your name or your spouse's name is accepted. If you have neither, get a handwritten certificado de domicilio from your local comisaría with passport and lease.
• DNU 366/2025 also added a "medios de vida lícitos" requirement — be ready to show regular income or economic means (pay stubs, bank statements, spouse's income, a monotributo). Migraciones can ask for it.
• Separately, arriving foreigners are now supposed to declare health insurance coverage on entry. It isn't part of the residency file, but don't be surprised by the question.

Application Process

RaDEX Account Creation

1. You must be physically inside Argentina to file. The system verifies your legal entry and may ask for the entry stamp or comprobante.
2. Create an account at migraciones.gov.ar/radex with an email you actually check — every notification and your appointment date go there.
3. Complete the residency application form. Once confirmed it cannot be edited, so proofread it.
4. Choose category: Temporaria → Por Reunificación Familiar → cónyuge de argentino.
5. Optionally add the cita preferencial for a faster appointment (extra 50 UMSM).
6. Select payment methods for all three boletas — tasa migratoria, DNI, and antecedentes penales. The file does not close until all three are paid.

• Tasa migratoria: credit card (redirects to the payment platform) or cash at Provincia NET / Banco Nación
• Antecedentes penales: cash at Provincia NET or online at pagar.redlink.com.ar
• DNI (Renaper): electronic payment, link arrives by email
• Credit card credits immediately; cash takes 5 business days. Pay by card if you want this to move.

1. Once payment posts you receive an email with a credential number to enter "paso 2."
2. Upload all documents (phone photos are fine, no scanner needed) plus a self-taken photo on a white background.

Migraciones Appointment

1. Receive appointment time via email.
2. Arrive 20 minutes early (lines can be long).
3. Bring the printed appointment/precaria and your passport.
4. Wait for your number to be called.
5. Present all documents in original:

• Passport
• Spouse's DNI
• Marriage certificate
• Foreign criminal record, if applicable (apostilled, translated, and legalized)
• Proof of domicile
• Proof of means of living

1. Have your picture taken and fingerprints recorded.
2. Sign necessary documents. Data errors in your RaDEX form can be corrected here.

Post-Application

Precaria

Available online the day after the Migraciones appointment. Under DNU 366/2025 the precaria is now capped at 90 days (previously up to 180) and is renewable online — do it within 10 days of expiry. Important: precaria time explicitly does not count toward arraigo for permanent residency or naturalization, so keep your eventual permanent-residency clock in mind.

Interview

Migraciones may summon you and your spouse for an interview a few weeks after the first appointment. Mine was friendly and simple: what I studied, times I'd been to Argentina, how we met. Beginner Spanish was enough. Bring your spouse and any shared-life evidence (joint lease, photos, travel) in case they ask.

Roughly 1 month after the interview I got the email approving residency. The residency disposition plus the precaria/DNI let you enter and leave Argentina.

DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad)

Arrives by Correo Argentino, typically 1-3 months after the appointment, though 2026 has seen well-publicized Renaper/Correo delivery backlogs. Track it at https://mitramite.renaper.gob.ar with your 11-digit trámite ID. A temporary-residency DNI is valid for the term of the residency (up to 3 years); the permanent-residency DNI is valid 15 years.

Upgrading to Permanent Residency

• File a cambio de categoría a permanente in RaDEX once you've completed the required time as a legal temporary resident — 2 years for MERCOSUR nationals, 3 years for extra-MERCOSUR.
• Same fee bracket as the original application (100 UMSM extra-MERCOSUR), plus updated criminal records, domicile, and means-of-living proof.
• Don't let the temporary residency lapse. Renew before it expires; gaps reset your arraigo.

CUIL Update

• Bring DNI (required) to update CUIL.
• Optional: bring passport, marriage certificate, and birth certificate.

Milei-Era Reforms: What Actually Changed

DNU 366/2025, published 29 May 2025, rewrote much of Ley 25.871. The parts that matter here:

• Family reunification for spouses moved from permanent to temporary residency (up to 3 years).
• Permanent residency now requires proof of sufficient economic means and a clean criminal record.
• Precaria cut to 90 days and stripped of any value for establishing arraigo.
• Tighter exclusion grounds — convictions carrying 1-3 years or 3+ years imprisonment now bar or endanger residency, and courts must report convictions to Migraciones within 5 days.
• Health and education: free public healthcare limited to emergencies plus permanent residents; universities may charge non-permanent residents.
• Citizenship: naturalization was moved from federal courts to Migraciones, with 2 years of continuous residence and an investment pathway added.

Current status: on 30 June 2026 the Cámara Nacional Electoral (in Yang, Liping) declared the citizenship provisions of the DNU unconstitutional and null, holding that citizenship is electoral matter and off-limits to a DNU, and ordered notice to federal electoral judges nationwide to unify criteria. Naturalization is therefore back with the federal courts. No Supreme Court ruling had settled the matter as of August 2026. The migration/residency provisions were not annulled by that ruling and Migraciones continues to apply them — which is why the spouse route is temporary-first. If citizenship is your goal, check with a lawyer which forum is currently accepting filings in your jurisdiction before you file anything.

Tips and Notes

• Migraciones trámites are personal and straightforward; you do not need a gestor, and the only legitimate payments are the ones the RaDEX platform generates.
• You can use your phone inside the Migraciones office.
• Staff are generally nice and polite.
• Include children under 18 in the same RaDEX file — they don't pay the tasa migratoria.
• If issues arise, use a combination of site chat, email, and social media messaging to contact Migraciones.
• Keep checking the DNI status online if it doesn't arrive within the expected timeframe.

Remember, this process is changing fast right now and the DNU is still being litigated. Always verify the most current requirements with official sources before spending money on documents.