Car and driving licence in Argentina: 480 days on temporary residence, then standing still
On a residencia temporaria your car may only be in Argentina temporarily for 480 days, without extension. Only with permanent residence may you import it, tax-free up to a customs value of 15,000 dollars. Your Dutch driving licence is valid for at most a year; after that you get an Argentine licence with exams.
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Whether you may take your car to Argentina depends on your residencia. ARCA's customs service only lets people with permanent residence import a used car. On a residencia temporaria, the usual route for retirees and rentistas, the car may only enter temporarily, for at most 480 days. As a temporary resident your Dutch driving licence is valid for at most a year.
| Situation | What ARCA allows |
|---|---|
| Residencia temporaria | temporary import, at most 480 days, without extension and without a guarantee |
| After those 480 days | the car may no longer be driven; wait for permanent residence or export it |
| Residencia permanente, customs value up to 15,000 dollars | import free of tax |
| Residencia permanente, customs value above 15,000 dollars | tax on the full value |
| Car in your name | registered at least 3 months before your arrival |
| Arrival of the car | from 3 months before to 6 months after you |
| After import | do not sell or give it away for a year; only you may drive |
Why does your residence count so heavily?
The customs benefits for people who settle apply in full to those with permanent residence. A temporary resident only gets an importación temporaria. The car may then stay in the country for 480 days, without any possibility of extension. After that you may no longer drive it. You then wait until your permanent residence is settled to import it, or you export it again.
Permanent residence only comes after three years of temporary residence; see the residence routes. Those three years are more than twice the 480 days. On a residencia temporaria your car therefore stands still for most of that time. Work that out before you have it shipped.
How does import work with permanent residence?
Per person aged 18 or over you may import one used car in your name. It must have been registered in your name at least three months before your arrival in Argentina. If the customs value, including insurance and freight, is not higher than 15,000 dollars, you pay no import tax. If it is higher, you pay tax on the whole value, not just on the part above the limit.
The car must arrive between three months before and six months after your arrival. If you already had the residence before you came, that term counts from your entry. If you got it later, from the day it was granted. You submit the details in advance in the customs' digital system, SITA, under 10222 for used vehicles.
After import you may not sell or give away the car for a year, and you are the only one allowed to drive it. That is also stated on the Argentine registration certificate. Bring the title or registration of the car, an invoice or statement of value, the transport documents, your passport and the statement from Migraciones on your permanent residence.
What do you arrange in the Netherlands?
You register the car for export with the RDW. Only then do the insurance obligation, the MOT obligation and road tax stop. First ask in Argentina which papers you need there, because after export you can no longer apply for a new registration certificate.
A bpm refund is not possible on export to Argentina. The Tax Administration only refunds if the car is then registered in another EU country or in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway.
May you drive on your Dutch licence?
As a temporary or transitory resident: yes, for at most a year. The ANSV, the national road safety agency, recognises licences from countries that are party to the Geneva (1949) or Vienna (1968) conventions, and the international permits that go with them. The Netherlands is party to the Vienna convention. According to NederlandWereldwijd your Dutch licence is only valid in Argentina together with an international driving permit.
After that year, or as soon as you are a permanent resident, you get a Licencia Nacional de Conducir like an Argentine, with the exams. Your Dutch licence then only ensures that you are not treated as a beginner. Bring the original, a certificate of authenticity with an apostille, an official translation and your DNI. For the theory exam you must answer 36 of the 40 questions correctly.
Argentina has exchange agreements with Chile, Bolivia and Colombia, among others. An agreement with the Netherlands is not on the ANSV list.
What else you bring is in household goods to Argentina. You arrange your DNI as in registration and numbers. The order is in the route to Argentina.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Argentina or go straight to step 4.3 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- ARCA — foreigners who come to live in Argentina, with the rules for car and household goods — afip.gob.ar
- ARCA — the procedure for importing a used car (RG 3109/11) — serviciosweb.afip.gob.ar
- ANSV — Disposición 54/2025, the driving licence for temporary and permanent residents — argentina.gob.ar
- ANSV — the licence exchange agreements — argentina.gob.ar
- Wetten.overheid.nl — the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, 1968 — wetten.overheid.nl
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for Argentina, the licence only with an international driving permit — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- RDW — registering a vehicle for export — rdw.nl
- Dutch Tax Administration — bpm refund on export, only to the EU and EEA — belastingdienst.nl
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