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 full copy showing parentage; ask whether the receiving office requires a recent issue. Adults need birth certificates for family-based filings or a later citizenship file; the residence checklist determines who needs an ACRO police certificate, with the current family checklist using over-16 wording. Check a 16-year-old's treatment before ordering. 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. Order around the intended filing date after checking Migraciones' issue-date limits for the chosen route. Certificate ordering, apostilles and post have separate clocks, so missing paperwork can disrupt an appointment. Build the family budget from the official charges below plus current certification, delivery and translation quotes.

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, with a quoted professional fee rather than an official flat tariff. 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 (use the current SMVM when filing). The Argentina visas for UK citizens guide sets out the categories. At the same time, check every passport's expiry and destination requirements. A personal planning buffer of about 18 months may make a UK renewal convenient before departure, but it is not an entry rule. Use HMPO's current processing estimate and ask Migraciones how to update a pending file after a passport-number change.

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 four months out, order the ACRO certificate if the route requires one, because the FCDO can only apostille it once ACRO has issued it. ACRO publishes a £70 fee and up to 30 working days of processing, excluding submission, dispatch and delivery. GRO full birth and marriage certificates can be ordered at the same time. A police certificate is also needed from another country where an applicant covered by the age rule lived for more than a year 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.

Send the UK papers to the FCDO together once the last of them has been issued. The standard paper apostille is £45 per document, applied for online at gov.uk with originals posted and tracked return arranged, and the FCDO quotes up to 25 working days before delivery. ACRO's up to 30 working days and the FCDO's up to 25 run one after the other, so the two published maximums alone total up to 55 working days before post and translation; neither is a guarantee, so work back from the filing date rather than a fixed number of weeks. Although an e-Apostille costs £35, it cannot be used for UK birth, death or marriage certificates (including GRO copies) or ACRO certificates; see the apostille guide for document-specific handling. An apostille does not change the underlying certificate's issue date or supply parentage missing from a short record. Check the receiving office's age and format requirements before ordering.

What changes when children are moving

GOV.UK says to obtain consent from everyone with parental responsibility, or court permission, before taking a child abroad. For the Argentine filing, the family-residence checklist asks for a legalised birth record and parental authorisation from the competent authority; ask the receiving authority which consent or court documents it needs in your case, and how they must be legalised and translated. Confirm custody evidence and the police-certificate age rule with the same office. 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. Ask British and bilingual private schools which reports, assessments and application dates they require 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. For a teenager seeking an Argentine secondary diploma, ask the school and education authority which equivalencias (recognition of UK study), certified records, legalisation and translations it requires; obtain the requested UK records before leaving.

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 a lawful travel supply of repeat medication agreed with the clinician. Ask a local paediatrician to compare the current Argentine and UK vaccination schedules and to use the Red Book to assess catch-up doses and the receiving school's health-document requirements, rather than assuming the Red Book covers every local requirement.

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 renewal requires residence in Great Britain, not just a UK address; consider it before moving while still eligible, 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. Obtain a translation quote covering the certificate and apostille, with a written delivery estimate. CTPCBA simple paper signature legalisation is ARS 33,000, with a stated 24-working-hour service; urgent paper legalisation is ARS 38,000, processed on the spot subject to demand. 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, currently ARS 100,000, for an extra-MERCOSUR residence applicant; grouped family filings can exempt children under 18 from the residence fee, with an optional preferential appointment costing 50 UMSM. Migraciones may grant a precaria, the provisional residence certificate while the case is pending; check its issue and expiry rather than assuming payment grants it. The DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad, national identity card) has separate charges shown through the application.

A worked cost example for a family of four

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 before school starts on the calendar issued by their chosen school and province. Their 11-year-old's passport is renewed in September, income statements are certified and GRO certificates ordered in October, ACRO applications required by the age checklist go in first so that the FCDO batch can follow once they are issued, allowing for both published processing estimates, and school and GP records come together in December. Assume translation in Buenos Aires in late January takes about a week; their oldest certificate is then around three months old.

In Argentina, request quotes for ten translations. If all ten require CTPCBA simple paper signature legalisation, that college charge alone is ARS 330,000. Two chargeable extra-MERCOSUR adults would add ARS 200,000 in residence fees at the current UMSM value; RaDEX says children under 18 included in the grouped filing do not pay the residence fee. DNI, criminal-record and any school-equivalencia charges remain separate. This is a worked scenario, not a guaranteed family total. 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.