The folder of notes I wrote my sister, turned into a site
Hi, I'm Tom. I wrote this site so you don't have to spend six weeks doing what I spent six weeks doing — reading HMRC manuals and Migraciones decrees at eleven at night, cross-checking Palermo rents against three different exchange rates, and pretending I understood the Statutory Residence Test.
Thomas Sinclair
Writer and editor · London
I wrote this site because my sister told me, over a drink in 2024, that she was thinking of selling her flat in Lewisham and moving her husband and two children to Buenos Aires for three years. Can you help me work out if it's mad, she said. I said yes and then spent six weeks inside HMRC form P85, Migraciones residency decrees, Spanish versus Argentine residency, Palermo rents in ARS at the parallel rate, the Statutory Residence Test, British-curriculum schools in Olivos and Belgrano, and whether the UK triple lock survives if you give up tax residency in the UK.
I ended up with a folder of notes she could actually use. She moved. Three other friends asked me the same question over the following year, and at that point it was easier to put the notes somewhere public than to email the folder around again. My sister is Rosie, by the way — she writes about the actual day-to-day of living there at britsinargentina.com, which is a different and much more entertaining site.
I'm not a lawyer or an accountant. I spent about a decade covering personal finance for national UK publications — tax, pensions, mortgages, inheritance, the unglamorous end of money journalism — and I know how to read primary sources and spot when something has changed. Published guides carry an editorial date and link to the relevant authority or provider where available. When a decision genuinely needs a chartered accountant with international experience, a qualified immigration lawyer, or an escribano, I say so clearly.
If that's the kind of guide you were looking for, you're in the right place.
How I actually research a guide
Primary sources before summaries
For decisions with legal or financial consequences, published guides link to the relevant government, regulator or provider page where available. Open that source and confirm it still says the same thing before acting.
Dates, not false freshness
Each published guide carries an editorial date. That date is not a promise that every linked rule, fee or provider term remains unchanged, so changing details are called out for a final check.
Honest about what I can't tell you
When an answer depends on personal circumstances, I name the kind of qualified professional who should review it. A web page cannot replace a chartered accountant, an Argentine immigration lawyer or an escribano.
Who I'm writing for
The people who read this site are remote workers moving their laptops to Palermo for a year, retirees weighing up a Rentista visa against a Spanish residency they already hold, families researching British-curriculum schools and working out what happens to Child Benefit, and a steady stream of people who have Argentine spouses and are trying to work out whether it is worth coming back with them. The common thread is someone who wants to do the homework properly before committing a chunk of their life to it.
If that's you — start with the visa overview and the money guide, they're the pages most people read first. If you're already committed and have a flight booked, jump to the moving-logistics and apostille pieces.
Browse the guidesNot legal advice
The content on this site is for general informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, tax, or immigration advice. Argentine immigration law changes frequently, and your personal circumstances affect which rules apply to you. For case-specific guidance, consult a qualified immigration lawyer or chartered accountant with international experience.
Professional legal review