Argentina's new citizenship rules require two years' unbroken residence

Argentina has tightened the path to citizenship for foreign residents under a presidential decree published in 2025, adding continuous-residence and legal-status requirements that did not apply before. The changes affect the many foreign families — including Russian-speaking migrants — who moved to the country expecting a relatively quick route to an Argentine passport.

Key facts

• Presidential Decree No. 366/2025, known as the DNU, was published at 1 a.m. on 29 May 2025
• Applicants now need two years of continuous residence in legal status
• Any trip outside Argentina resets the residency clock
• Citizenship is now handled by the migration service rather than the courts
• Citizenship by birthright remains, but parents no longer qualify through an expedited procedure
• 10,886 Russian citizens held Argentine identity documents as of June 2026

What is changing?

Lawyer Andrei Chestnykh, who represents migrants in court, identifies three main changes in the decree. First, only migrants who have lived in Argentina continuously for two years can apply for citizenship, and any trip abroad — including holidays to Chile, Brazil or Uruguay — resets that period to zero.

Second, the two years must be spent in legal status, and the clock starts on the date a person receives a document confirming legal residence rather than on the date of entry. That process can itself take months.

Third, responsibility for granting citizenship has moved from the courts to the migration service. President Javier Milei had announced in May 2025 that migration rules would be tightened, without specifying deadlines or new standards at the time.

Who is affected?

The decree applies to migrants seeking Argentine citizenship, including parents who come to give birth. Citizenship by birthright was kept in place, but the explanatory text of the decree said the change was intended to curb so-called birth tourism, describing it as one of the most widespread forms of abuse of migration law in recent years. Parents must now live in the country for two years like other migrants.

Figures from Argentina's National Registry of Individuals show that 10,886 Russian citizens held identity documents as of June 2026, though there is no data for Ukrainian or Belarusian citizens. By comparison, Argentina is home to more than 700,000 Paraguayans, more than 500,000 Bolivians and more than 200,000 Peruvians.

Can applications be processed now?

According to Chestnykh, more than 16 months after the decree took effect the migration service still has not received its operating regulations. The service has not issued a single passport, he says, and everyone receiving one at present does so through a court decision. Applicants who meet the new requirements are left waiting because their cases cannot move forward.

Why was this introduced?

National Migration Service head Florencia Carignano argued in 2023 that birth tourism threatened confidence in Argentine travel documents, saying: "Our passport is very reliable." Her comments followed the detention of several pregnant Russian women at Ezeiza airport in February 2023 on suspicion of misrepresenting the purpose of their visit as tourism.

What this means for travellers

Anyone considering applying for Argentine citizenship should note that time spent outside the country erases progress, and that the two-year period runs from the date of a residence document rather than arrival. Parents who come to give birth no longer have a faster route to a passport. Because decisions are made by the migration service rather than courts, applicants should verify the current processing route before filing.

The source does not set out any transition period for people already in the country. Some Russian-speaking residents quoted say they are waiting for passports, some have returned to Russia without obtaining citizenship, and others are considering moves to countries such as Uruguay, Brazil or Spain.