Argentina Pensionado

What the Pensionado covers

The Pensionado is a temporary residence category under article 23, subsection c, of Ley 25.871, regulated by Decreto 616/2010 and Disposición DNM 1732/2023, as modified by Disposición 3446/2023. It admits foreigners who receive a pension or retirement benefit from a government, an international organization or a private employer for services performed abroad, in an amount that gives them a regular and permanent income in Argentina.

Income requirement

The pension must equal at least five times the national minimum wage (Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil), shown by a certificate from the payer that the benefit is regular and permanent. The minimum wage is ARS 391,200 from 1 October 2026, ARS 398,800 from 1 November and ARS 406,400 from 1 December, so the monthly threshold is ARS 1,956,000, then ARS 1,994,000, then ARS 2,032,000. A published wage schedule runs through April 2027, and the threshold moves with each step. The same five-times test applies when the permit is extended.

Documents and legalization

The file needs a valid passport, proof of regular entry, proof of address in Argentina, the payer’s pension certificate and criminal record certificates for applicants over 16. The Argentine certificate from the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia is requested inside RaDEX. A certificate is also needed from every country where the applicant lived for more than one year during the last three years.

Documents issued abroad need an apostille, or legalization by the Argentine consulate in the issuing country when no apostille applies. Anything not in Spanish needs a translation by a traductor público nacional, legalized by the Colegio de Traductores. All documents must be originals.

Application route

You file through RaDEX: register as a user, complete the form, pay the fees the platform generates and upload the documents. If the file meets the requirements, Migraciones emails the date of an in-person appointment. The procedure requires you to be inside Argentina, so most applicants enter as tourists first, and days on a tourist stamp do not count toward the residence clock. A gestor is not needed. Residence requests started at an Argentine consulate carry a separate fee of 600 consular units for non-Mercosur nationals.

Costs

The filing fee is 100 UMSM for non-Mercosur nationals and 50 UMSM for Mercosur and associated states under Decreto 584/2024. With one UMSM set at ARS 1,000, that is ARS 100,000 and ARS 50,000. An extension carries the same fee. A preferential appointment adds 50 UMSM, or ARS 50,000, and in that case the Argentine criminal record certificate is requested outside RaDEX and brought to the appointment. Apostilles and sworn translations are paid separately.

Duration and renewal

Migraciones grants one year, extendable, although Ley 25.871 allows up to three years. Each extension needs a certificate from the payer showing the pension continues and still equals five minimum wages. While a request is pending, Migraciones may issue a precaria, a provisional certificate valid for up to 90 days and renewable, which lets the holder stay, leave, enter, work and study. A precaria does not count as residence toward permanent residence or citizenship.

Family members

The spouse, parent or unmarried child under 18 (or an adult child with a disability) of a temporary resident can apply for temporary residence for family reunification under article 23, subsection ñ. It runs for up to three years or for the period granted to the relative, and it is renewable with multiple entries and exits. When a family group applies under the Pensionado category itself, the Disposición requires each applicant to prove the income.

Time spent abroad

Migraciones cancels a temporary residence when the holder stays outside the country for six months or more, unless the absence serves an Argentine public function, an activity or study of benefit to Argentina, or has express authorization under article 62 of Ley 25.871. Changing to permanent residence also requires more than half of the granted term inside Argentina and no absence of six consecutive months.

Health care

Emergency care is open to every foreigner regardless of status. Permanent residents use the national public health system on the same terms as citizens, while other foreigners receive routine care in nationally run facilities only against health insurance or prior payment, under conditions set by the Ministry of Health. Temporary residents therefore need private coverage or must pay for non-urgent care.

Path to permanent residency and citizenship

Non-Mercosur nationals can change to permanent residence by arraigo after three years of temporary residence, and Mercosur nationals after two. Permanent residence applicants also show sufficient means to support themselves and no criminal record that would block admission.

Citizenship follows a separate route. Ley 346, as amended by DNU 366/2025, grants naturalization to adults with two years of continuous legal residence immediately before the application and no exit abroad during that period, declared before the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. A single trip abroad therefore breaks the count. On 30 June 2026 the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared the decree null in one naturalization appeal, reasoning about the transfer of citizenship decisions from the courts to Migraciones, while Migraciones still describes the RaDEX citizenship procedure. The ruling does not address the residence provisions that govern the Pensionado.