Argentina Citizenship by Investment Cost: Both Routes and Every Family Size (2026)
On 2 October 2026, Argentina's Ministry of Economy officially announced the cost of its Citizenship by Investment program. The main applicant chooses between a non-refundable contribution of USD 350,000 to the National Treasury and a USD 800,000 subscription to a government security created for the program. A spouse adds USD 100,000, each unmarried, childless child aged 18 to 25 adds USD 100,000, and each child under 18 adds USD 25,000. A family of four with two children under 18 therefore pays USD 500,000 on the contribution route. These figures are officially announced but not yet codified in a published regulation. Government fees, due diligence fees and the application portal have not been announced.
Applications are not open yet. The government aims to begin accepting them in the fourth quarter of 2026. That timing depends on the implementing regulation being published and on the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal on DNU 366/2025, so it may still move. We record every development on our live program status tracker.
This guide sets out the cost route by route and family by family. It shows what each route costs in today's money, and it separates what the government has announced from what is still unknown. For an overview of how the program works, start with our main guide to Argentina citizenship by investment.
Argentina Citizenship by Investment Cost at a Glance
Every figure in this guide carries a label. Officially announced figures were stated by the Ministry of Economy on 2 October 2026, in its written statement or in Minister Caputo's remarks at the announcement, and may change in the implementing regulation. Reported figures come from industry reporting and have not been confirmed by the government. Codified figures appear in a legal instrument published in the Boletín Oficial. No figure is codified yet. Items marked pending have not been announced.
The Two Routes: USD 350,000 Contribution or USD 800,000 Bond
The Ministry of Economy's announcement sets out two ways for a main applicant to qualify. Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Chief of Cabinet Diego Santilli presented the program at Argentina Week in Paris.
Contribution route: USD 350,000
The contribution route is a direct, non-refundable payment of USD 350,000 to Argentina's National Treasury. The money is not returned, and it is not invested in a project, a business or property, so the applicant holds no asset afterwards. In exchange, it needs the least capital and has the simplest structure. It is also the only route with officially announced family contributions.
Bond route: USD 800,000
The bond route is a USD 800,000 subscription to a government security created specifically for the program. In his remarks at the announcement, Minister Caputo described it as a zero-rate bond. The written Ministry statement does not include this detail, and neither source gives the term or the repayment conditions. Industry reporting indicates a seven-year term, which the government has not confirmed. If that is accurate, the investor lends USD 800,000 to the Argentine state for seven years without interest and receives the principal back at maturity.
Several points remain open until the implementing regulation is published:
- Confirmation of the zero rate, the term of the bond and whether early redemption is possible
- Whether the bond can be transferred or sold before maturity
- The currency, place and conditions of repayment
- What happens to the bond if an application is refused, or if citizenship is later revoked
- Official confirmation of how spouses and children are priced on this route
What Each Route Really Costs in Today's Money
The two headline figures cannot be compared directly. The USD 350,000 contribution does not come back. The USD 800,000 bond pays no interest, according to Minister Caputo, but as a bond it would return its principal at maturity. The real cost of the bond route is therefore the return that USD 800,000 could have earned elsewhere until it is repaid.
Because the term has not been officially published, the comparison depends on two variables: how long the capital is held, and the annual return the investor could otherwise earn. The table shows both.
Two patterns stand out. First, the longer the term, the more the bond route costs. Second, at a 5% alternative return, the bond route stays cheaper in today's money than the USD 350,000 contribution unless the term is longer than about 12 years. The term set by the implementing regulation is therefore the most important figure for comparing the two routes.
Industry reporting points to a seven-year term, which puts the break-even at about 8.6% a year. The 5-year and 10-year rows show how much the result moves if the regulation sets a different term. For families, the comparison does not change. If family members pay the same Treasury contributions on either route, as industry reporting indicates, those amounts are identical on both sides, and only the main applicant's choice differs.
The calculation leaves out three factors that matter as much as the arithmetic:
- Credit risk. Repayment depends on the Argentine state's ability and willingness to pay at maturity. Argentina has defaulted on or restructured its sovereign debt several times, including in 2001 and 2020. A contribution carries no such risk, because nothing is expected back.
- Liquidity. The bond route requires USD 800,000 at the outset, more than twice the contribution, and that capital may not be accessible until the bond matures.
- Unconfirmed terms. The zero rate comes from the minister's spoken remarks, not the written statement or a regulation, and the seven-year term comes only from industry reporting. Different terms in the regulation would change every figure in the table.
The contribution route buys certainty at a known price. The bond route may cost less in economic terms, in exchange for credit risk and capital committed until maturity. Which route suits an investor depends on their liquidity, their alternative returns and their view of Argentine credit. In a private pre-assessment, we set out how each route applies to your family's position, so you can make the decision with confidence alongside your own financial advisers.
Total Cost by Family Size
Only the contribution route has officially announced family pricing. On the bond route, the totals below are reported, and they separate the capital committed at the outset from the part that is not returned.
Put together with the illustration in the previous section, a family of four on the bond route has an economic cost of about USD 381,000 at a 5% alternative return and the reported seven-year term: USD 150,000 in family contributions plus about USD 231,000 in forgone return. On the contribution route, the same family pays USD 500,000.
Who can be included
The announcement covers three types of family member: a spouse, children under 18, and children aged 18 to 25 who are unmarried and have no children of their own. It does not cover children over 25, children aged 18 to 25 who are married or have children, parents or siblings. The announcement refers to a spouse and does not address unmarried partners.
Age matters for budgeting. A child who turns 18 before the family applies moves from the USD 25,000 category to the USD 100,000 category. A child who turns 26 is no longer eligible under the announced terms. The implementing regulation will need to define the date on which age is measured.
Family pricing on the bond route
The announcement does not say how family members are priced on the bond route. Industry reporting indicates the bond covers the main applicant only, so family members pay the same Treasury contributions on either route. On that basis, a main applicant, spouse and two children under 18 would commit USD 950,000 on the bond route, of which the USD 150,000 in family contributions is non-refundable. These figures are reported, not official, and this guide will be updated when the implementing regulation is published.
Want your family's figure checked? We review your family composition, your preferred route and your source-of-funds position privately, and tell you what to prepare first. Check your eligibility
Costs the Announcement Does Not Cover
The figures announced on 2 October 2026 cover only the qualifying contribution or investment. Established citizenship by investment programs charge several other costs alongside the investment. None of the following has been announced for Argentina:
- Government application or processing fees
- Due diligence fees, which other programs commonly charge for each family member
- Passport issuance fees once citizenship is granted
- Professional fees for legal and application support
- Document costs, including certified translations, apostilles and police certificates
- Bank transfer and currency conversion costs
Investors should expect these costs to add to the totals above. No amount can be estimated reliably until the regulation sets them.
No application can be filed today. Applications are not open and no application portal exists. Treat any request for payment toward an Argentine citizenship by investment application before the program opens with caution.
When the Money Is Paid, and What Happens If an Application Is Refused
Decree 524/2025 describes the applicant as a foreign national who has made a qualifying investment. The Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programs assesses whether the investment qualifies and coordinates security and financial checks. The National Directorate of Migration must then decide within 30 business days of receiving the Agency's report. This wording suggests the investment may need to be made before or during the application, but the implementing regulation will define the actual sequence.
The Ministry's statement confirms one requirement: all funds must pass through the formal financial system and comply with anti-money-laundering standards.
When the regulation is published, investors should look for clear answers to five questions:
- Are funds paid before approval, or held in escrow until a decision?
- Is the USD 350,000 contribution refunded if an application is refused?
- Is the bond redeemed or returned if an application is refused?
- When are family contributions due, and are they refunded separately?
- Which specific accounts, channels and currencies will be used?
Until the regulation and the application portal exist, there is no official way to pay any funds into the program. For the full procedure the decree sets out, see our analysis of Decree 524/2025.
What Could Still Change Before Launch
The 2 October 2026 announcement is a ministerial statement, not a legal instrument. Two things remain outstanding before applications can open: the implementing regulation and the Supreme Court appeal.
The implementing regulation would codify the figures, which may change. It is also the natural place for government fees and due diligence fees to be set, and for the bond terms and bond-route family rules to be confirmed. The Supreme Court appeal on DNU 366/2025 also remains pending. Two federal courts declared the decree invalid in June 2026, and the program's no-residency principle depends on the outcome. Our analysis of the Supreme Court appeal explains the possible outcomes.
Government target: Q4 2026. Not yet open. Slippage remains possible. To follow every confirmed milestone as it happens, see the Argentina CBI program status tracker.
Preparing Your Budget Now
The final rules are not yet published, but several budgeting decisions can be made now.
- Choose a route that fits your liquidity. The bond route requires USD 800,000 at the outset, more than twice the contribution, and that capital stays committed until the bond matures.
- Document the source of your funds. Due diligence will be led by the Agency together with the State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE), the Financial Information Unit (UIF) and the Ministries of Security and the Interior, following OECD and FATF recommendations. The Ministry's statement lists the checks: identity verification, the traceability and lawfulness of the source of funds, asset and financial analysis, jurisdictional risk assessment, criminal and reputational background checks, and each applicant's migration history.
- Check your family's ages. A child who turns 18 adds USD 75,000 to the family total. A child who turns 26 can no longer be included under the announced terms.
- Take advice in your home country. Argentina taxes on the basis of residence, not citizenship, and the government has confirmed that citizenship by investment does not by itself make an investor tax resident. Your home country's rules on second citizenship and reporting are a separate question for a qualified tax adviser. See our guide to Argentina CBI and tax residency.
Prepare ahead of launch
When applications open, families whose documentation is already in order will be able to move first. Through a private pre-assessment, we review your eligibility, family composition and preferred route, and tell you what to prepare now, so that you are ready to apply when the program opens.
A private review of your eligibility, route and family cost against the officially announced terms. Includes alerts the moment applications open.
Frequently Asked Questions:
The announcement describes the contribution as non-refundable and does not say what happens if an application is refused. The implementing regulation will need to set out whether funds are paid before approval, held in escrow or refunded on refusal. No regulation has been published yet.
The announcement describes a government security, which would normally be repaid at maturity, and Minister Caputo described it as a zero-rate bond. Industry reporting indicates a seven-year term, but the government has not confirmed it and the repayment conditions have not been published, so when and how the USD 800,000 is returned is not yet confirmed.
The announcement does not specify family pricing on the bond route. Industry reporting indicates the bond covers the main applicant only, so family members pay the same Treasury contributions on either route: USD 100,000 for a spouse or for an unmarried, childless child aged 18 to 25, and USD 25,000 for each child under 18. On that basis, a family of four with two children under 18 would commit USD 950,000 on the bond route, of which USD 150,000 is non-refundable. This is reported, not official.
Not under the announced terms. The announcement covers a spouse, children under 18, and unmarried children aged 18 to 25 who have no children of their own.
None have been announced. Established programs charge government and due diligence fees in addition to the investment, and Argentina's implementing regulation may do the same. Budget for additional costs, but do not rely on any estimate until fees are published.
No. Argentina's migration rules include a separate residence category for investors, which grants residence rather than citizenship and has its own requirements. The Citizenship by Investment program is designed to grant citizenship without prior residency, a principle that depends on the Supreme Court appeal on DNU 366/2025. For every route to Argentine citizenship, see our guide to every Argentine citizenship pathway.
No. Under Decree 524/2025, every application is assessed by the Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programs, goes through multi-agency security and financial checks, and is decided by the National Directorate of Migration. Making the qualifying contribution is a requirement, not a guarantee.
