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. Every guide on this site starts with the actual gov.uk page, the actual HMRC manual, the actual Migraciones decree, and I stamp the date I last verified each one. When a decision genuinely needs a chartered accountant with international experience, a qualified immigration lawyer, or an escribano, I say so clearly and I point you at the kind of professional you should actually talk to.
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 first, always
Every guide starts with the actual gov.uk page, the actual HMRC manual, the actual Migraciones decree — not someone else's blog post summarising what they think it said. When I quote a fee, a deadline, or a requirement, I link to the page it came from and I note the date I read it. If that page has changed since, you can see it for yourself.
Dated and re-verified
Every guide is stamped with its last verification date. Argentine immigration and tax law change more often than UK readers expect, so I go back and re-check each guide at least quarterly, and whenever a reader emails to say something has moved. If a guide is out of date, you'll see the stamp and know to double-check.
Honest about what I can't tell you
When the answer depends on your personal circumstances — and for tax residency, estate planning, or complex immigration cases it almost always does — I say so, and I point you at the specific kind of professional you need to talk to. A chartered accountant with international experience. An Argentine immigration lawyer. An escribano for property. I don't pretend a web page can replace them.
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.
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