Argentina Citizenship by Investment for UK Citizens (2026): Costs, Dual Nationality and What to Prepare

Argentina announced its Citizenship by Investment Program (Programa de Ciudadanía por Inversión) on 2 October 2026. A main applicant can make a non-refundable contribution of US$350,000 to the National Treasury, or subscribe to a public bond of US$800,000 created for the programme, and the Ministry of Economy says it will be operational to receive applications during the fourth quarter of 2026.

What has been announced, and what has not

Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Chief of Cabinet Diego Santilli presented the programme at the Argentine Embassy in Paris. The Ministry says the money will strengthen Argentina's fiscal and financial position, under a framework aligned with OECD and FATF standards.

The main applicant has two options:

• A direct, non-refundable contribution of US$350,000 to the Tesoro Nacional.
• A subscription of US$800,000 in a public bond created specifically for the programme. Caputo described it as a zero-rate bond. As a subscription, the capital should in principle come back at maturity, but the maturity, whether the bond can be sold and what happens to the money if citizenship is refused have not been published.

These are announced figures. As of 2 October 2026 no Ministry of Economy resolution or Agency rule setting them has been found in the Boletín Oficial, so the implementing rules are still to be published. There is no form, portal or opening date. Government, due diligence and professional fees are not published either, so any figure quoted for them today is a guess. Buying a flat or a farm is not among the announced options.

What it costs a British family

The announced family amounts are Treasury contributions on top of either main-applicant option. Payment does not guarantee citizenship for any family member.

With the US$350,000 option for the main applicant, the arithmetic works out like this:

On the bond route, the same couple with two children under 18 would subscribe US$800,000 in bonds and pay US$150,000 in family contributions: US$950,000 before unpublished fees. The main applicant's bond terms remain unpublished.

Two points catch British families out. A child who is 26, married or has children of their own falls outside the announced categories, and the date on which age is measured is undefined, which matters if a birthday sits near 18 or 25. And everything is priced in dollars: the sterling cost depends on the exchange rate on the day the money moves and on transfer charges, so get a dated bank quote. Funds must go through the formal financial system under anti-money-laundering rules, so plan on regulated bank transfers with a clear paper trail.

Dual nationality: keeping your British passport

GOV.UK states that dual citizenship is allowed in the UK: you can apply for foreign citizenship and keep your British citizenship, and you do not need to apply for dual citizenship. Argentina allows dual nationality in practice. For most British applicants the answer is therefore yes, you keep both.

GOV.UK also sets out practical consequences:

• As a dual national, you cannot get diplomatic help from the British government when you are in the other country where you hold citizenship. In Argentina, that means British diplomatic help would not be available to you once you are Argentine.
• To travel to the UK, a dual national needs a valid UK passport (or Irish passport) or a certificate of entitlement, and the FCDO's Argentina advice says the same for returning British citizens. An Argentine passport does not replace your British one at the UK border.
• Many countries do not accept dual citizenship, and GOV.UK tells people to check with the country's embassy or consulate in the UK. If your spouse or children hold a non-British nationality, check that country's rules first.

What you gain is an Argentine passport and DNI, the right to live and work in Argentina without a residence permit and, being Argentine, MERCOSUR residence rights. British passport holders can already visit Argentina without a visa for up to 90 days, according to the FCDO, so the difference is living, working and staying long term.

UK tax: residence decides, not nationality

GOV.UK explains that UK tax residence usually depends on the days you spend in the UK in the tax year (6 April to 5 April), together with where your home is, where you work and your other UK ties. The automatic UK tests GOV.UK lists include 183 or more days in the UK, and nationality is not among them. HMRC's RDR3 guidance sets out the Statutory Residence Test in full. Non-residents pay UK tax only on UK income, while residents normally pay UK tax on income from the UK and abroad.

So becoming Argentine while you keep living in the UK does not, by itself, move your UK tax residence. Moving to Argentina is what can change it, with or without a second passport. Our guides to the Statutory Residence Test for people moving to Argentina and the UK-Argentina double taxation treaty explain how the two systems meet.

Do not assume the same answer applies to Argentine tax. Ask an Argentine tax lawyer how the proposed citizenship, residence plans and investment would affect you. Take advice in the UK too, particularly on any tax consequences of a bond whose terms have not yet been published.

How an application is meant to work

Decreto 524/2025 sets the procedure. The application is filed with the Agencia de Programas de Ciudadanía por Inversión, which checks whether the investment qualifies as "relevant" under Ministry of Economy criteria and requests security and background reports. The Agency then sends a reasoned report to the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM) recommending approval or rejection. DNM decides by a reasoned act within 30 business days of receiving the Agency's final report, and the tax agency, ARCA, is to enable a CUIT for the new citizen. That deadline is not a total processing time: no Agency-stage processing time has been published, and the Agency still has to issue complementary rules.

Paying does not guarantee citizenship. The Agency works with the intelligence service (SIDE), the financial intelligence unit (UIF) and the Ministries of Security and of the Interior. The checks reported cover identity, the origin and traceability of funds, net worth, jurisdictional risk, criminal and reputational background and migration history.

DNU 366/2025 makes the investment route available "cualquiera sea el tiempo de residencia", whatever the time of residence, so the decree requires no minimum stay. Whether you would attend in person for biometrics or an oath, or have obligations after approval, depends on rules still to be issued.

Prepare your UK paperwork without wasting money

No official document list exists yet, so the aim is to be ready, not to buy documents early.

Source of funds. Start with the records you already have. For a British applicant the evidence usually comes from the sale of a business or property (completion statements, sale agreements, company filings), director or employment income (payslips, dividend vouchers, tax returns with HMRC calculations), inheritance or gifts (probate papers and the donor's own funds trail) or long-held savings. Build one folder per source and a timeline that reconciles to the sum you plan to send. Close gaps now by asking banks for archived statements on old or closed accounts. This is general preparation, not an official checklist.

Civil records. Locate the marriage and birth records that show family relationships, but do not treat them as an official checklist. The Agency has not said which documents it will require, or how recent.

Apostilles. GOV.UK explains that the FCDO's Legalisation Office checks UK public documents and attaches an apostille. The standard paper service costs £45 per document plus courier or postage and usually takes up to 25 working days. The e-Apostille costs £35 and takes up to two working days, but it is not available for General Register Office certificates, ACRO police certificates for England and Wales, DBS certificates, or disclosure certificates for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Four civil certificates on the standard service cost £180 in fees before delivery. GOV.UK tells applicants to ask the organisation requesting the document whether it wants a paper apostille, originals or certified copies, so wait for that answer before ordering. Our apostille guide for UK documents covers the sequence.

Police certificate. The checks reported include criminal and reputational background. Whether the programme will ask for a UK police certificate, which kind and how recent it must be are not published, so do not order yet. Check with a lawyer in the UK about obtaining the appropriate record once the Argentine requirements are known.

Translations. Ask your Argentine lawyer which records will need Spanish translation, who can translate them and whether any further certification is required. The programme has not published those requirements.

The legal risk, in plain terms

The programme depends on a decree whose validity courts have questioned and the Supreme Court has yet to settle. DNU 366/2025, a decree of necessity and urgency, amended Citizenship Law 346 so that a foreigner making a relevant investment can be naturalised whatever their time of residence, created the Agency and moved the granting of naturalisation from federal judges to the DNM.

On 30 June 2026 the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared the decree null in "Yang, Liping s/ nacionalidad y ciudadanía". The court held that citizenship is tied to political rights, a field the Constitution bars the President from regulating by decree (article 99, paragraph 3), and notified all federal electoral judges. Other courts have ruled the same way on parts of the decree: the Juzgado Federal 1 de Paraná (August 2025), Sala III of the Cámara Civil y Comercial Federal (18 June 2026) and the Juzgado Federal de Esquel (August 2026).

The government said the ruling is not final and that it would go to the Supreme Court. As of 2 October 2026 the Supreme Court has not ruled on DNU 366/2025; its ruling of 29 September 2026 concerned a different decree, on rural land. Lawyers disagree on scope: some say Migraciones can no longer grant naturalisation since 30 June, while others say the nullity binds only that case and the decree stays in force for others.

None of the rulings found addresses the investment route specifically, but that route rests on the same decree and its final step is a DNM decision. A Supreme Court ruling or a law passed by Congress would settle the question. Applicants should get legal advice on this before committing funds.

How it differs from other routes

Four things get confused, and only the first is this programme.

Steps to take now

1. List every person who would apply, with date of birth, marital status and every nationality held, and check any non-British nationality with the relevant embassy. The age bands decide the price.
2. Start the source-of-funds file and fill the gaps in the paper trail.
3. Check your UK passport expiry date and keep it valid.
4. Take UK and Argentine tax advice together before moving money, particularly if you might spend time in Argentina.
5. Hold off ordering apostilles and police certificates until the Agency publishes its checklist, but know where every original is.
6. Take legal advice in Argentina on the court challenge. Lucero Legal, a Buenos Aires immigration and citizenship firm, publishes a full guide to the programme and advises on citizenship applications.
7. Watch the Boletín Oficial for the resolution that sets the amounts and the Agency's rules, and be cautious with anyone who asks you to pay now to secure a place.

Choosing a lawyer for Argentina's programme

For British applicants, we recommend Lucero Legal, a Buenos Aires immigration and citizenship law firm led by attorney Katherina Lucero, registered with CPACF and bilingual in English and Spanish. The firm publishes a detailed, updated guide to the programme and prepares applications, family files and source-of-funds documentation through its citizenship by investment service. English-language advice is useful when a family's UK records and financial history need to be explained in an Argentine application. Before committing funds, ask the firm to assess the decree's court challenge and explain which requirements remain unpublished. No lawyer can promise approval.