Argentina Residence

What Is Argentina's Rentista and Pensionado Residence?

Under Ley 25.871, Argentina's Dirección Nacional de Migraciones grants three broad kinds of residence: transitoria (up to one year, no national ID card), temporaria (up to three years, article 23) and permanente (article 22). Rentista and pensionado are temporaria subcategories: rentista (article 23 b) is for people who can show sufficient own resources or income from assets abroad; pensionado (article 23 c) is for people who receive a pension from a foreign government, international organisation or company.

Both categories require income of at least five times the Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil (SMVM) — for rentistas, from assets or own resources abroad (not personal work), brought into Argentina through a bank or financial institution authorised by the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA); for pensionados, a regular, permanent pension certified by the paying government, international organisation or company. Residence granted on either ground is valid for one year and renewable. Decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia (DNU) 366/2025 did not change this income test, but it tightened the permanent-residence rules (article 22) and added rules that also affect rentistas and pensionados: a sworn health-insurance declaration on entry, and cancellation of temporary residence after six months or more abroad.

Argentina's Main Residence Categories

What Rentista and Pensionado Residence Requires

To qualify as a rentista or pensionado, Argentina's rules ask applicants to:

• Show income of at least five times the Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil, from assets or a pension abroad — not from personal work.
• Rentistas: bring the qualifying funds into Argentina through a bank or financial institution authorised by the Banco Central de la República Argentina (BCRA). Pensionados: provide a certificate from the paying government, international organisation or company confirming a regular, permanent pension.
• Hold no disqualifying criminal record.
• For permanent residence specifically, also prove sufficient economic means to live in the country (DNU 366/2025). Under the same decree, every foreigner seeking entry must file a sworn health-insurance declaration, and temporary residence can be cancelled after six months or more abroad.

How to Apply

1. Choose the ground that fits your situation — rentista, pensionado or another temporaria/permanente category — on the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones' 'residencias' page.
2. Gather proof of your income (rentista) or a certificate of your pension (pensionado); rentistas also arrange to bring the funds in through a BCRA-authorised bank.
3. Once you are in Argentina (after a regular entry), register on the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones' online RaDEX system, complete the form, pay the fee shown in Migraciones' cuadro de tasas migratorias and upload your documents.
4. If your file meets the requirements, attend the in-person appointment Migraciones sends you by email, with your original documents.
5. Receive your residence, valid one year and renewable for rentista/pensionado, or apply for permanent residence separately once you qualify.

The exact SMVM-based income figure and the migratory fee are not printed here — the SMVM is periodically updated by Argentina's Consejo del Salario and the fee is set in Migraciones' own schedule; contact us for the current figures.

Official source: Dirección Nacional de Migraciones — Residencias

This page follows the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones' 'Residencias', rentista and pensionado service pages (argentina.gob.ar), Disposición 1732/2023 as amended by 3446/2023, and DNU 366/2025 (Boletín Oficial, 29 May 2025) — all checked on 24 September 2026. Argentina's residence requirements are set by its authorities and can change.