Temporary residence — Rentista (own means)
Official Argentina.gob.ar service: temporary residence for foreigners who finance their stay with benefits from assets incorporated into their patrimony and originating abroad (financial instruments, real estate, company holdings, or other situations as judged by the Dirección General de Inmigración) — personal labour remuneration is not included in this category. DNM dispositions (e.g. Disposición 1732/2023 and updates such as 3446/2023) fix the minimum rent to prove rentista condition at an amount equivalent to FIVE (5) Salarios Mínimo Vital y Móvil (SMVM). Funds should enter through banks/financial institutions authorised by the BCRA. Process via RaDEX. Typical grant described on the service page: temporary residence for 1 year, renewable (law also contemplates longer maximums in some texts — verify current practice). This is NOT a fixed-USD “invest X for a visa” product like Chile’s investor subcategory.
Min. capital
No fixed USD investment floor published
Best for: Founders or investors who can prove recurring foreign-source passive income at or above 5 SMVM without relying on local employment wages.
Official test is income: ≥ 5 SMVM (Argentine minimum living wage), not a published USD capital investment amount. Convert SMVM to ARS/USD at application time; verify current SMVM and DNM dispositions on argentina.gob.ar. If you see blogs quoting a USD “golden visa” number for Argentina, treat it as unverified unless you find it on migraciones.gob.ar / argentina.gob.ar.
Investment options
- Documented rental / dividend / financial income from foreign assets (≥ 5 SMVM)
- Proof assets are in your patrimony (not personal employment salary)
- Inbound transfers via BCRA-authorised institutions
- RaDEX filing with DNM fee payment and biometrics appointment
Eligibility
- Foreign national financing stay with foreign-source asset income (rentista definition)
- Prove rent ≥ 5 SMVM under current DNM disposition
- Banking path of funds into Argentina as required
- General DNM identity, criminal-record, and entry requirements
- Not a substitute for Mercosur nationality routes
Process timeline
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1
Confirm SMVM & documents
Check current 5× SMVM ARS amount and gather foreign income/asset proofs.
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2
File on RaDEX
Create user, pay fees, upload category documents on migraciones.gob.ar RaDEX.
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3
In-person appointment
Attend DNM appointment with originals as instructed.
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4
Renew / plan permanence
Temporary residence is time-limited; follow official renewal and permanence rules.
Family
Family members may need their own filings; income rules for family groups can require per-applicant evidence under DNM dispositions — verify the current service page.
Work rights
Rentista is framed around own-means income, not local employment wages. If you need to work as an employee or operate actively, confirm whether another subcategory or authorization is required — do not assume open work rights.
Route to PR
Temporary residence may lead to permanent residence when DNM legal criteria and time requirements are met — verify current migraciones.gob.ar permanence rules. There is no automatic PR solely from forming a company.
Route to citizenship
Naturalisation is separate. Confirm Argentine and Pakistani dual-nationality rules.
Pros
- Officially documented own-means category (not invented)
- Income threshold published in SMVM via DNM dispositions
- Useful for founders who already have foreign passive income while exploring the market
Watch-outs
- Not a Chile-style USD 500k investor visa — do not invent capital floors
- Employment salary does not qualify as rentista income
- SMVM and DNM dispositions change — re-check before applying
- Mercosur residence is not available to Pakistani nationals