The residence routes to Argentina: rentista, pensionado, digital nomad or work
Anyone who wants to live in Argentina applies for a residencia temporaria at the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. Retirees and people who live off their own assets must show a monthly income of five minimum wages: in October 2026 that is 1,956,000 pesos. After three years of temporary residence you can apply for permanent residence.
5 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
You move to Argentina with a residencia temporaria, a temporary residence permit from the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (DNM). For people who retire or live off their own assets there are two routes: the pensionado and the rentista. Both require a fixed monthly income of at least five times the Argentine minimum wage. Anyone who works remotely can come as a digital nomad. After three years of temporary residence you can apply for permanent residence.
The minimum wage in Argentina is called the Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil (SMVM). In Disposición 1732/2023, amended by 3446/2023, the DNM set the threshold at five SMVM, not at a fixed amount. The minimum wage rises every month under Resolución 4/2026, so the threshold rises with it:
| From | Minimum wage (SMVM) | Threshold rentista and pensionado (5 SMVM) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 September 2026 | 383,800 pesos | 1,919,000 pesos a month |
| 1 October 2026 | 391,200 pesos | 1,956,000 pesos a month |
| 1 November 2026 | 398,800 pesos | 1,994,000 pesos a month |
| 1 December 2026 | 406,400 pesos | 2,032,000 pesos a month |
| 1 April 2027 | 437,000 pesos | 2,185,000 pesos a month |
Which route suits you?
The pensionado. You receive a pension from a government, an international organisation or a private employer, for work you did outside Argentina. You show a statement from the payer that the pension is regular and permanent, and at least five SMVM a month. Whether your AOW and your occupational pension may be counted together, the rules do not say. Ask before you have the documents prepared.
The rentista. You live off income from assets: investments, rental or a stake in a company. Pay for your own work does not count. The DNM wants to see that the money comes in through a bank recognised by the Banco Central; see bank and payments.
The digital nomad. This is a residencia transitoria of 180 days, extendable by the same term. It is open to people from a country that needs no tourist visa, such as the Netherlands, who work for an employer or client outside Argentina. You apply in person at a DNM office, not through RaDEX.
Work. A job with an Argentine employer goes through the trabajador migrante route. See working in Argentina.
Can you first go and look as a tourist?
Yes. With a Dutch passport you need no visa for 90 days, NederlandWereldwijd writes. Argentina extends a tourist stay once by the same term, if you report to a DNM office before it ends. Since Decreto 366/2025 you declare on every entry that you have health insurance; see healthcare in Argentina.
Where do you apply, in advance or on the spot?
There are two ways. You can start the application in RaDEX, the DNM's online system. That is only possible once you are in Argentina. After the online application you get an appointment at an office. Through RaDEX the DNM grants a residencia temporaria of one year, renewable. While your application is pending, the DNM can give you a residencia precaria of at most 90 days, with which you may work, travel and study.
The other way is a permiso de ingreso in advance, requested on your behalf by someone in Argentina holding a power of attorney. You then collect a visa at an Argentine consulate. That way the DNM can grant up to three years of residence.
| What | Fee (outside Mercosur) |
|---|---|
| Residencia temporaria or permanente, in Argentina | 100 UMSM (100,000 pesos) |
| Renewal or switch to permanent | 100 UMSM (100,000 pesos) |
| Residencia temporaria through a consulate | 600 unidades consulares |
| Residencia transitoria as a nomad, when switching from tourist | 100 UMSM (100,000 pesos); check with the DNM |
According to the DNM, one UMSM is currently 1,000 pesos.
Which papers do you need?
A valid passport, proof of your address and a statement that you have no criminal record from every country where you lived for more than a year in the last three years, for everyone aged 16 and over. RaDEX retrieves the Argentine statement itself. Anything drawn up in the Netherlands gets an apostille. A document in another language is translated into Spanish by a traductor público, and that translation is legalised by the Colegio de Traductores.
The threshold of five minimum wages is calculated in pesos, and the minimum wage rises every month. A pension that is just enough when you put your file together can be too low on the day of the appointment. Calculate with the minimum wage of the month in which you expect to be assessed, and keep a margin.
When can you stay permanently?
After three years of residencia temporaria, as a non-Mercosur citizen you can switch to permanent residence through arraigo. You must then have been in Argentina for at least half of the permitted time, and never away for six months or more in a row. You also show that you have sufficient means. Time on a residencia precaria does not count.
After your residence come the DNI and your numbers; see registration and numbers. How the steps fit together is in the route to Argentina.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.1: 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 1.1 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.
- Ley 25.871 (migration law), articles 20, 23 and 34, amended by Decreto 366/2025 — argentina.gob.ar
- Disposición DNM 1732/2023, amended by 3446/2023: five minimum wages for rentista and pensionado — argentina.gob.ar
- Resolución 4/2026 — the minimum wage (SMVM) from September 2026 to April 2027 — argentina.gob.ar
- Migraciones — residencia temporaria as a pensionado, through RaDEX — argentina.gob.ar
- Migraciones — residencia temporaria as a rentista, through RaDEX — argentina.gob.ar
- Migraciones — entry permit in advance, for rentista and pensionado — argentina.gob.ar
- Migraciones — residencia transitoria as a digital nomad — argentina.gob.ar
- Migraciones — permanent residence through arraigo — argentina.gob.ar
- Migraciones — the table of migration fees (Decreto 584/2024) — argentina.gob.ar
- Argentina.gob.ar — the three-month tourist term and the extension — argentina.gob.ar
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for Argentina, visa-free up to 90 days — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
Read on
- ArgentinaYour visa4 min
Working in Argentina: as a trabajador migrante, self-employed or remotely
For a job with an Argentine employer there is the residencia as a trabajador migrante: through RaDEX first one year, renewable; up to three years only through a consulate. Anyone with another temporary residence may also work under the migration law. As a self-employed person you usually work in the monotributo, one monthly amount for tax, pension and healthcare. You have a Dutch degree recognised at a public university.
Updated 15 October 2026
- BrazilYour right of residence5 min
The residence routes to Brazil: 2,000 dollars of pension, 1,500 dollars remotely, or an employer who carries the file
As a Dutch citizen you enter Brazil without a visa, for at most 90 days per 180. Whoever stays needs an autorização de residência, and the migration law of 2017 has fixed doors for it: a pension of at least 2,000 dollars a month, remote work with 1,500 dollars a month, an investment from 500,000 reais, an employer who lodges in Brazil first, or a family member who already lives there. You lodge at the consulate in Amsterdam or in Brazil itself, and register with the Polícia Federal: within 90 days of arrival with a visa, or within 30 days of a grant in Brazil.
Updated 10 October 2026
- BulgariaRegistratie in Bulgarije4 min
Residence in Bulgaria: three months, a certificate of 3.58 euros and a personal number
As an EU citizen you may be in Bulgaria for three months without conditions. After that, within those three months, you apply for the certificate of long-term residence, for 3.58 euros, valid for up to five years — and that certificate gives you the personal number the bank, the health fund and the traffic police ask for. The proof of address is the trap: a notarised declaration from your landlord, or a title deed.
Updated 25 September 2026