The first weeks in Argentina: first RaDEX, then the DNI, the rest follows
Anyone who enters as a tourist and applies for residencia on the spot starts RaDEX, the online desk of Migraciones, in the first weeks. Until the decision arrives, you get a residencia precaria of at most 90 days. With the residencia come the DNI, your CUIL or CUIT and the bank. Meanwhile clocks run for your car, your driving licence and your tax residence.
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The first weeks in Argentina revolve around one application: your residencia. If you enter as a tourist, which a Dutch passport allows without a visa for up to 90 days, you start the application online in RaDEX, the Migraciones system. That is only possible while you are in Argentina. Until there is a decision, you get a residencia precaria of at most 90 days, with which you may stay, travel, work and study. With the residencia come the DNI, your numbers and the bank.
| What | Term | More |
|---|---|---|
| Declaration that you have health insurance | on entry | healthcare in Argentina |
| Declaring cash | on arrival, from 10,000 dollars | bank and payments |
| Pet to the SENASA inspection | immediately on arrival, papers at most 60 days old | pet to Argentina |
| Stay as a tourist | 90 days, extendable once before the end | the residence routes |
| Appointment at Migraciones | email within 24 hours of the second step in RaDEX | registration and numbers |
| Renewing the residencia precaria | from 15 days before the end | |
| DNI for foreigners | after the residencia, 20,000 pesos | registration and numbers |
| Household goods, with permanent residence | arrival up to 6 months after you | household goods to Argentina |
| Car, on residencia temporaria | at most 480 days in the country | car and driving licence |
| Dutch driving licence, as a temporary resident | at most a year | car and driving licence |
| Voluntary AOW insurance | within a year after you are no longer insured | AOW on emigration |
| Tax resident of Argentina | after twelve months on temporary residence | AOW, pension and tax |
What do you do at the airport?
At border control you declare that you have health insurance; since Decreto 366/2025 that is in the migration law. If you carry more than 10,000 dollars in cash, you file a declaration with customs on form OM 2249A. If your dog or cat travels with you, SENASA checks the papers and the animal at the airport. That is free.
What do you arrange in the first weeks?
The application in RaDEX. In the first step you enter your details and those of your family and pay three amounts: the residencia, the DNI and the Argentine criminal record. In the second step you upload your documents, with apostille and translation. Within 24 hours you receive an appointment by email at the nearest office. The statement about your pension or your income, with apostille, must then be ready; see the residence routes.
Do not let your tourist term expire while your papers are still on the way. Start RaDEX as soon as you have an address, because you must prove an address. After that the residencia precaria covers you, and you renew it from 15 days before it ends, only from within Argentina.
You can already open a bank account before your DNI arrives. The central bank allows banks to open an account for foreigners whose residence is still pending; see bank and payments. For your first address you can rent temporarily first; see renting in Argentina.
And after that?
With the residencia you book an appointment at RENAPER for the DNI. It costs 20,000 pesos and the appointment takes a quarter of an hour. With the DNI you make your CUIL definitive at ANSES, and apply for a CUIT at ARCA if needed. If you are going to work or run your own business, read working in Argentina. You enrol children at school straight away, even without a DNI; see school in Argentina.
Which other clocks are running?
The car. On a residencia temporaria your car may stay in the country for at most 480 days, without extension.
The driving licence. As a temporary resident you drive for at most a year on your Dutch licence, with an international driving permit alongside. After that you get an Argentine licence, with exams.
The tax. After twelve months on temporary residence you are tax resident in Argentina, from the start of the following month.
Your residencia. If you are outside Argentina for six months or more, Migraciones cancels a residencia temporaria. You renew in the 60 days before it ends.
The AOW accrual. If you have not yet reached AOW age, you have a year after you are no longer insured to insure yourself voluntarily with the SVB.
The order of all these steps, with the deadlines monitored, is in the route to Argentina.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.8: 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 2.8 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.
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for Argentina, visa-free up to 90 days — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- Ley 25.871, articles 20 and 34 — the residencia precaria and the health insurance declaration on entry — argentina.gob.ar
- Migraciones — frequently asked questions on RaDEX, the precaria, renewal and absence — argentina.gob.ar
- RENAPER — the first identification for foreigners, 20,000 pesos — argentina.gob.ar
- ARCA — foreigners who come to live in Argentina, household goods and car — afip.gob.ar
- ARCA — declaring cash from 10,000 dollars — afip.gob.ar
- SENASA — the inspection of your dog or cat on arrival — argentina.gob.ar
- ANSV — Disposición 54/2025, the foreign driving licence for at most a year — argentina.gob.ar
- Ley de Impuesto a las Ganancias, article 116 — tax resident after twelve months — argentina.gob.ar
- SVB — voluntary AOW insurance, to be requested within a year — svb.nl
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