Documents needed to move to Argentina: a UK family checklist in order

A child's birth certificate does more than record a birth when a family applies to live in Argentina: it proves who the parents are. Each child needs a new long-form copy. Adults need birth certificates for family-based filings or a later citizenship file; every applicant aged 16 or over needs an ACRO police certificate. All four members of a family of four need passports valid for the whole stay.

The certificate trail runs from the issuing authority to an FCDO apostille, then to a sworn Spanish translation in Argentina. Certificates should generally be ordered about three months before filing, because Migraciones, Argentina's immigration office, treats them as current for about six months from issue. Missing paperwork can take three to five weeks to replace. For a family of four, the September 2026 working budget is £710 to £790 in the UK, then ARS 630,000 to 880,000 (US$410 to US$580) in Argentina.

Which papers belong to whom

The residence category determines the main applicant's income or employment evidence and whether a spouse files as a dependant. The family relationships then determine which certificates accompany it. This table separates immigration papers from records needed for school and healthcare after arrival.

The FCDO apostilles registrar-issued certificates or documents signed by a public official. Income statements, degree papers and other non-certificate documents first need solicitor or notary certification, generally £10 to £30 each. A marriage certificate or deed poll also links a married name on a passport to a different name on a birth certificate.

Work backwards from the filing date

Six months before the move, the residence route establishes what the family must prove. Rentista residence for income from assets and pensionado residence for pension income both call for monthly income of five times the minimum wage (ARS 1,956,000 a month in October 2026). The Argentina visas for UK citizens guide sets out the categories. At the same time, an adult passport's ten-year life and a child's five-year life make it sensible to renew one expiring within about 18 months of arrival while still in the UK. HM Passport Office quotes three weeks; a renewal during the Argentine application means updating Migraciones because the file follows the passport number.

A family with a parent staying behind needs longer lead time. Signed, notarised consent from that parent should be settled around five months out; a contested Family Court application can take months. Around four months out, the main applicant can gather pension-provider or DWP State Pension letters, letting-agent or broker statements, or an employment contract for solicitor certification. Regulated professions also call for degree papers.

At roughly three months out, GRO long-form birth and marriage certificates take about a week including post. ACRO applications take about 12 working days at £55 or four on the £95 premium service. A police certificate is also needed from another country where an applicant lived for a year or more in the past three years, with an apostille from that country; a recent year in Dubai, for example, means a UAE certificate. GRO standard certificates cost £12.50 and priority copies £38.50, with priority issued the next working day rather than the roughly four-day standard target.

Eight to ten weeks before departure, the UK papers can go to the FCDO together. The standard paper apostille is £45 per document, applied for online at gov.uk with originals posted and tracked return arranged. Although an e-Apostille costs £35, it cannot be used for GRO or ACRO certificates; see the apostille guide for document-specific handling. An apostille has no expiry date, but an old or short-form birth certificate can still be refused because the underlying certificate is unsuitable or too old.

What changes when children are moving

Taking a child under 16 abroad without the permission of everyone with parental responsibility, or a court order, breaches the Child Abduction Act 1984. Migraciones also requires the absent parent's notarised, apostilled authorisation. A child who turns 16 before filing joins the adults in needing a police certificate. After residence, a child travelling abroad with one parent needs an autorización de viaje, signed by the other parent before an escribano (notary) or at a Registro Civil and checked at Ezeiza.

Schools add their own timetable. British and bilingual private schools admit on reports and an assessment, so applications can begin before departure; British schools in Buenos Aires covers that choice. About four to six weeks out, the UK school can provide two years of reports and a signed letter naming the last year group completed. A teenager working towards an Argentine secondary diploma needs equivalencias, official recognition of UK study, which requires certified and apostilled school records and is slower to arrange after leaving Britain.

The same four-to-six-week window suits GP summaries with medicines listed by generic name, copies of each child's Red Book (NHS child health record) and up to three months of repeat prescriptions. Argentina gives hepatitis A vaccine at 12 months; the NHS schedule does not. A local paediatrician uses the Red Book to identify catch-up doses and sign the school health certificate.

The last UK tasks and the first Argentine filing

Before flying, the family's UK administrative trail deserves its own afternoon. The HMRC account provides a National Insurance record and State Pension forecast; HMRC form P85 and a notice to the Child Benefit Office cover departure (P85 guide). A DVLA photocard licence expiring in the next few years can be renewed while the holder still has a UK address, and visitors can buy an International Driving Permit at a PayPoint shop. Overseas voting registration is covered in the voting guide; a trusted UK postal address remains useful for ACRO, HMRC and bank letters. Scans belong in cloud storage and originals in hand luggage.

Once in Argentina, a traductor público (state-registered sworn translator) translates each document and its apostille. The Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (CTPCBA) lists translators and legalises their signatures. Translation costs about ARS 15,000 to 40,000 (US$10 to US$26) per certificate and takes two to four working days, followed by one to two days for legalisation. A UK translation cannot take the place of this local traducción pública; the sworn translation guide explains the process.

The family also needs proof of an Argentine address, most simply a signed lease. They file through RaDEx, Migraciones' online system: 100 UMSM, or ARS 100,000 (about US$66), per applicant, with an optional preferential appointment costing 50 UMSM. Filing produces a precaria, the provisional residence certificate while the case is pending; a first DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad, national identity card) costs ARS 20,000 (about US$13).

What a family of four would spend

Consider two 44-year-old parents moving on rentista income from a UK flat and a share portfolio with children aged 16 and 11. They arrive in mid-January for the Argentine school year, which runs from March to December. Their 11-year-old's passport is renewed in September, income statements are certified and GRO certificates ordered in October, three ACRO applications and the FCDO batch follow in November, and school and GP records come together in December. Late-January translation in Buenos Aires takes about a week; their oldest certificate is then around three months old.

In Argentina, ten translations add ARS 150,000 to 400,000 (US$100 to US$260), Migraciones fees add ARS 400,000 (about US$260), and four first DNIs add ARS 80,000 (about US$53). The total is ARS 630,000 to 880,000 (US$410 to US$580) at September 2026 prices, before school equivalencias or extra police certificates. A 180-day digital nomad authorisation has a shorter list and no DNI (Argentina visas); someone moving alone can use the adult rows alongside moving to Argentina from the UK. For anyone already abroad without their police certificate, the ACRO police check guide explains applying from overseas.