Two years to an Argentine passport, but the no-exit rule has been struck down and naturalisation is back with the courts: the new legal position in 2026, explained plainly.
Argentina offers one of the fastest routes in the world to a strong passport: after just two years of legal residence you can apply for naturalisation, and the Argentine passport ranks around 15th worldwide, with visa-free access to about 170 destinations. But this is exactly where the legal earthquake hit in 2026, and if you are planning with what you knew three months ago, you are planning wrong. The notorious rule of two years without a single trip abroad has been struck down by the courts, and the whole route to citizenship is on its way back into the hands of the judiciary. I will walk you through the new position, clear-eyed and with the rulings that matter.
The foundation: Ley 346, in force since 1869
First what stays the same, then what is changing. Naturalisation is governed by Article 2 of Ley 346 of 1869: two years of continuous, legal residence, a lawful means of support, no relevant criminal proceedings, and being of age. Two years is the shortest standard route among practically all serious relocation destinations. That two-year baseline has never been touched; it has constitutional standing. What changed in 2025 was how those two years are counted and who decides on your application. And it is precisely those two changes that have now failed in court, in several cases and with clear reasoning.
The earthquake: what the courts struck down in 2026
One step at a time. President Milei's Decree 366/2025 did two things: it redefined the two years as two years without a single trip abroad, and it took naturalisation away from the federal judges and handed it to the migration authority, the DNM. Both have now been dealt with by the courts.
On 18 June 2026, Chamber III of the Cámara Nacional de Apelaciones en lo Civil y Comercial Federal declared the decree unconstitutional in the Volosh case: there had been neither the necessity nor the urgency to govern by decree and bypass Congress, particularly as the decree was issued in the middle of the ordinary legislative session. And on 30 June 2026 came the decisive blow: the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared the decree absolutely and irreparably null in the Yang Liping case and ordered the ruling to be notified to the migration authority and to every competent federal judge. Its reasoning: citizenship is inseparable from the right to vote, and only Congress may regulate the right to vote. The practical consequence: jurisdiction returns to the federal judges, where it has sat since 1869.
What this means in practice
The no-exit rule has fallen. The core of what gave Argentina the toughest presence rule on the continent for two years, the ban on any trip abroad, no longer holds under current case law. The government has taken the matter to the Supreme Court, so the rule remains disputed until it rules. Even so, this is the best news of the year for anyone relocating to Argentina.
The judges are back in charge. The migration authority had stalled the procedures anyway: in early 2026 applications were on ice, and up to then it had granted practically no naturalisations at all. The working route now runs through the federal courts again.
Citizenship by investment: announced, not taking applications
The programme of "naturalisation through relevant investment" introduced by Decree 524/2025 (around USD 500,000 was under discussion) rests on the same unconstitutional foundation. The reasoning that brought down naturalisation by decree applies to the investor route just as much. On top of that, the programme was a paper tiger from the start: the Ministry of Economy never defined what a "relevant investment" is, and the route has never taken applications. My clear advice: if you are betting on an Argentine passport in exchange for an investment today, you are backing a horse that will never run.
One caveat: the government has announced an appeal to the Supreme Court. The last word has not yet been said. But the direction is clear, and you should plan on the basis of current case law, not on the basis of a decree that has been struck down twice.
The question from home: can you keep your current passport?
Argentina itself is generous: it does not require you to give up your existing citizenship, dual and multiple citizenship are permitted, and once granted, Argentine citizenship cannot be revoked.
Whether your home country lets you keep its passport when you voluntarily acquire another citizenship is a different matter, and it is decided by your home country's law, not by Argentina's. Some countries allow dual citizenship without conditions, others require a retention permit before you naturalise, and some take your citizenship away automatically. Check this before you file the naturalisation application, because that is the point at which the decision is made.
What the passport is really worth
Why go to all this trouble? Because the Argentine passport is one of the strongest in Latin America. Around 170 destinations are open visa-free or with visa on arrival, including the entire Schengen area, and the document ranks around 15th worldwide. Add the Mercosur advantage, which gives you easier residence and access in Brazil, Uruguay and the neighbouring countries. And unlike many "fast" passports, Argentine citizenship is not tied to presence once it has been granted: it cannot be revoked and goes with you wherever you live. For many of my clients, Argentina is therefore not the country of residence but the passport source with the best ratio of effort to strength. You build two years of residence, secure a strong, irrevocable travel document, and afterwards remain free to put your home and your tax residence wherever it makes the most sense for you.
How long does it really take now?
Counted properly, the route has two stages. First the two years of legal residence, which have constitutional standing and cannot be shortened. Then the naturalisation procedure itself, which once again runs through a federal judge. This is exactly where things are moving in 2026: after the migration authority had brought the procedures practically to a standstill, jurisdiction is returning to the courts, which brings clarity in the medium term but a backlog in the short term. For the court stage, expect several months to more than a year, depending on the court and the state of your file. If you have built up the two years properly and documented them without gaps, you get through fastest, because requests for additional documents are the most common cause of delay.
Whether Argentina's two years really are the shortest route for you depends on which door you take and where else you could qualify. The full comparison is in Naturalisation in Latin America: 21 countries compared.
The roadmap in four steps
First, build the two years of legal residence, through Rentista, Pensionado or another permit; I describe the route in the residency guide. Second, document everything thoroughly: legal residence, means of support, a clean police certificate, and every foreign document apostilled and translated by a sworn translator. Third, file the application with the federal judge for your place of residence. Fourth, before you file, clarify whether your home country lets you keep your current citizenship and whether it needs a permit from you first.
And my standard rule to finish: citizenship is not a tax question. The passport makes you Argentine; it does not automatically make you taxable in Argentina, and it does not dissolve any old obligations in your home country either. Residence, tax status and passport are three separate questions, and that is exactly how they should be planned: each one properly in its own right, none at the expense of the others. What your home country keeps taxing once you live in Argentina depends on where you come from:
If the Argentine passport is your goal, let us set up the roadmap together through the new, shifting legal position: properly, so that it stands up in court and reflects the latest rulings.
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