Argentina offers golden passports to foreigners for US$350,000

Argentina's government unveiled a citizenship-by-investment programme – or “golden passport” – Friday in Paris, the latest attempt by President Javier Milei to attract foreign investment. 

The new programme, a first for any South American nation and the largest country worldwide to adopt one, takes effect in the fourth quarter when foreigners can choose from two options to secure citizenship in Argentina.

The principal applicant can make a non-refundable US$350,000 payment to the national Treasury. A spouse would require an additional US$100,000 payment, while children under 18 would also require US$25,000 per child. In total, a family of four would pay US$500,000, according to a statement Friday from the Economy Ministry. 

The other path allows applicants to buy a government bond worth US$800,000 that will be created specifically for the citizenship programme. All the funds will be destined “to continue strengthening the fiscal and financial position of the Argentine Republic.” 

Applications will be “subject to a rigorous evaluation process designed to preserve national security, the integrity of the financial system and the international prestige of Argentine citizenship,” according to the statement, which didn’t detail how long an application would take. The programme will include measures to prevent money-laundering.

But a year out from Argentina’s presidential elections, the passport programme is bound to run into pushback from Milei’s political opponents amid a wave of nationalist sentiment in recent months. A bill to make it easier for foreigners to purchase farmland in Argentina had to be gutted before lawmakers passed it. The arrival of billionaire tech Peter Thiel, who bought a house in Buenos Aires, has also sparked public protests and speculation about a wealthy expat influencing the president’s legislative agenda. 

The passport programme is part of Milei’s broader attempts to win over foreign investors and firms. He’s provided corporate tax breaks and legal guarantees for large corporations; passed a historic labour reform; and opened up Argentina’s economy to trade and deregulation. Still, existing capital controls and political uncertainty have kept many companies on the sidelines ahead of next year’s elections.   

Advocates of citizenship and visa programmes hailed Argentina’s announcement, noting the South American nation’s location far away from global conflicts as well as the allure of Buenos Aires. Whereas some Caribbean nations offer citizenship to families for US$250,000, Argentina’s size, culture and quality of living justify the higher price tag, according to David Lincoln, chief executive of Lincoln Global Partners, an international immigration consulting firm.

“This isn’t just a premium second passport. It’s the complete Plan B and it ticks every box,” Lincoln said. “Argentina is a country people will genuinely relocate to, or at least want the option to.” 

Traditionally, passport sales have been the remit of small countries with few natural resources and starved for foreign investment. The largest country until now to sell so-called "golden passports" is Montenegro, with a population of 628,000.

Argentina “is the biggest country in the world – by far – to ever have done such a thing,” said Nuri Katz, president of Apex Capital Partners, which has advised the Argentine government on the programme. 

Globally, the main buyers of second citizenship tend to be Asian, African and Eastern European nationals who see in the programmes a way to gain visa-free travel to the European Union and elsewhere. Argentina, due to its size and scope, could draw more diverse buyers. Katz expects US citizens and Europeans to be the main clients.

The new programme could be a particular threat to the five Caribbean nations that sell their citizenship and count on those revenues for a large chunk of their respective economies. 

Argentina is “the first G20 country that has realised the value of allowing investors to receive citizenship as a way to encourage direct foreign investment,” Katz said. “It’s the first, but I don’t think it will be the last.”