Giving birth in Argentina and your child's citizenship in 2026

Status in 2026: what applies and what is disputed

In short: a child's citizenship by birth works exactly as before. Since 29 May 2025 the parents' path to temporary residence, permanent residence and a passport is governed by Decree of Necessity and Urgency 366/2025. It amended Migration Law 25.871 and Citizenship Law 346, openly called birth tourism an abuse of migration law and tightened the rules for adults. Courts struck down part of its citizenship provisions in 2025-2026, so today some rules are applied while others are in limbo.

The Argentine migration directorate keeps applying the decree's migration rules on residence, entry, cancellation of status and healthcare. The court disputes have mainly concerned the citizenship chapter. At the same time, the migration directorate's official naturalization page in September 2026 still describes the procedure under the decree, while courts are sending such cases back to federal judges. For a family this means that where to apply for citizenship, under which rules and how long it will take are now decided case by case: ask an expert.

What the child gets: citizenship by birthright

Article 1 of Citizenship Law 346 recognises as Argentine everyone born on the country's territory, whatever the parents' nationality. The only exception is children of foreign diplomats accredited in Argentina. Decree 366/2025 rewrote the naturalization articles of the law but did not touch Article 1, so a child born in 2026 becomes a citizen exactly as before: from birth and with no conditions attached to the parents.

The child's documents

• Birth registration. The maternity hospital issues a medical birth certificate, and the parents use it to register the child at the Registro Civil (civil registry). Under Article 28 of Law 26.413 parents have 40 days from the birth to register; if they miss it, the registry may register the birth itself within the following 20 days.
• National identity card. The national identity document is issued after registration through the Argentine national registry of persons.
• Passport. Issued by the national registry on the basis of the identity card. Fees and processing times are set by the national registry and should be checked on the date you apply.

The parents' foreign documents, such as a marriage certificate so that both parents appear on the birth record, need an apostille and a translation by an Argentine sworn translator (traductor público). If the father is registered without a marriage, his personal presence and acknowledgement of paternity are usually required. A practical set of documents for the first months in the country is in our article on documents for living in Argentina.

Two citizenships for the child

Argentina does not make the child choose one citizenship. If the parents' country passes citizenship by descent, the child also holds that citizenship, which is formalised at its consulate. The obligations a family with two passports takes on are covered in our article on dual citizenship.

What changed in 2025-2026

The courts' main argument: Article 99 of the Constitution bars the President from regulating electoral matters by decree, and citizenship opens the door to voting. The courts also noted that Congress was sitting normally and there was no urgency to justify a decree. The National Electoral Chamber sent its ruling to federal judges across the country to align practice. An appeal to the Supreme Court is possible; there has been no official confirmation that one has already been filed. We are not aware of a final Supreme Court ruling as of late September 2026.

Parents' residence: requirements

Before Decree 366/2025 a parent of an Argentine child obtained permanent residence almost automatically. Now the child's birth is a ground for temporary residence for family reunification, and permanent residence requires a separate check of means and background.

Documents for family reunification residence

Per the migration directorate's service page:

• a valid passport;
• an Argentine criminal record certificate for applicants over 16;
• criminal record certificates from countries where the applicant lived for more than a year in the last 3 years;
• proof of address;
• proof of regular income;
• the child's birth certificate proving the relationship, and the Argentine child's identity document;
• foreign documents legalised or apostilled and translated into Spanish.

The application is filed online through the online filing system: registration, form, fee payment, document upload, then an in-person appointment. The applicant must be in Argentina. The law does not require filing through a representative. But a mistake in the online filing form or a certificate without an apostille and translation leads to a request for documents and drags out the review, while the family lives on an interim precaria permit. Murblz specialists check the file before upload and follow the application through to the migration directorate decision.

How not to lose your status

Under Article 62 of Law 25.871 as amended by the decree, the migration directorate cancels residence if a temporary resident spends 6 months or more outside Argentina, or a permanent resident a year or more, unless the migration authority authorised it or another legal exception applies. Leaving for a year after the birth and coming back for a passport will not work: the status may be gone by then.

What counts as sufficient means

The decree leaves this to regulations and names no amounts. In 2026 the Ombudsman of the Province of Buenos Aires pointed to the migration directorate's wide discretion and the practice of ordering people who could not prove means to leave the country. Prepare evidence of lawful and regular income in advance: bank statements, contracts, tax documents. Other residence routes, for example for people living on passive income or a pension, are covered on our Argentina residence page, and remote work on the Argentina digital nomad visa page.

Government fees and real costs

We only quote figures that can be checked against official sources. Everything else depends on the clinic, the country your documents come from and the scope of work, so it is priced by estimate.

The Migration Directorate sets its fees in migration services units. Under Decree 584/2024 residence costs 100 units, a priority appointment 50 and a residencia precaria (interim permit while the application is processed) renewal 10. The table converts them to dollars at the official rate of the Central Bank of Argentina, rounded up. The government revises the unit value by its own decisions, so for the amount on the payment date ask an expert. Plan the birth budget around a private clinic, with a reserve for a caesarean, complications and neonatal care: routine care for foreigners without permanent residence in public facilities is not guaranteed free of charge. We do not sell medical services and do not act as an intermediary for clinic payments.

Step-by-step process and timelines

The table only shows timelines written into the law. Nobody guarantees how long the migration directorate or the courts take to decide: that depends on workload, how complete the file is and, in 2026, on how the dispute over the naturalization procedure is resolved. The decree also requires foreigners to declare the purpose of the trip and that they hold health insurance on entry, in the manner set by regulations, so it makes sense to buy insurance before you fly.

Parents' naturalization: why there is no clarity now

In its original wording Law 346 grants citizenship to a foreigner over 18 who has lived in Argentina for two continuous years, by decision of a federal judge. Decree 366/2025 rewrote Article 2: you must live in the country continuously and legally for the two years before applying, continuity means not leaving the country even once, and the migration directorate decides. The decree also opened a citizenship route for relevant investments.

The courts rejected the transfer of naturalization to the migration directorate, and in 2026 rulings followed one after another: the appeals chamber in Buenos Aires in June, the National Electoral Chamber on 30 June, the Esquel court in August. But these are rulings in individual cases, and the migration directorate's official procedure has not been formally withdrawn.

What this means for an applicant

• Two scenarios are possible: a decision by the migration directorate under the decree or by a federal court under the original rules of Law 346. Murblz specialists choose the strategy for your case together with partners licensed in Argentina.
• Under the decree only legal residence with resident status counts: time as a tourist and in residencia precaria does not, and any trip abroad breaks continuity. Under the former procedure courts assessed actual residence (Ni I Hsing case, Supreme Court, 2009), but we do not advise counting on a lenient reading after 2026.
• The legal minimum is two years of residence.
• The last word in the dispute over the procedure belongs to the Supreme Court or a law passed by Congress. How to file so that your documents fit either outcome of the dispute: ask an expert.

Argentina does not require you to give up your existing citizenship when you naturalize. Check whether your current country requires you to report a second citizenship or a foreign residence permit. More on naturalization and other grounds is on our Argentine citizenship page.

Where the legal line is

Giving birth in Argentina is legal, and the child becomes a citizen whatever the parents' status. It is legal to enter under the current rules, state the purpose of the trip honestly at the border, live at your real address and file only genuine documents. The law does not bar pregnant women from entering, but the border authority may refuse entry if it concludes that the declared purpose differs from the real one (Article 35 of Law 25.871 as amended by the decree).

The birth-tourism agency case

In 2023 federal judge María Servini handled the case of an agency which for a fee brought pregnant Russian women to give birth in Argentina. According to investigators, clients filed documents with the migration directorate listing non-existent addresses, and residence certificates carried forged police signatures. The agency's owners, a translator and a lawyer were summoned for questioning on charges of false statements in documents, fraud and breach of the migration law. In total the court examined around 1,200 migration files. In February 2023 the migration directorate checked the addresses declared by arriving pregnant Russian women and found most of them absent or the addresses false.

We work only within the law: a real address, genuine documents, an honest purpose of travel. Legal representation before the migration directorate and the courts is handled by Murblz specialists together with partners licensed in Argentina. If someone offers you registration at a friend's address or a residence certificate without actually moving, that is a direct route to refusal and a criminal case. More on this support in the Murblz specialists section.

Healthcare and childbirth: how to plan the budget

Under Article 8 of Law 25.871 as amended by the decree, emergency care is provided to all foreigners regardless of migration status. Permanent residents use public healthcare on equal terms with citizens. Everyone else, at facilities run by the federal government, gets routine care only with health insurance or after payment.

On 11 August 2026 the Health Ministry published Resolution 1066/2026 setting out how that payment works. Emergencies are conditions posing a real and imminent risk to life or vital functions, and obstetric and neonatal emergencies are expressly included. Once the patient is stabilised, further services may be billed. If the patient has insurance, the hospital bills the insurer.

The resolution covers federal facilities. The provinces and the City of Buenos Aires run their own hospitals and apply the rules differently. So plan your budget around a private clinic:

• choose the clinic and doctor in advance and contract with them directly;
• check whether your policy covers pregnancy and birth and whether there is a waiting period;
• keep a reserve for a caesarean, complications and neonatal care;
• bring your medical records translated into Spanish.

We do not sell medical services: the clinic contracts with the client directly, and we help with documents and the migration side.

Taxes if the family stays in Argentina

Migration status and tax status are different things. A foreigner becomes an Argentine tax resident on obtaining permanent residence or after 12 months in the country. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, so a family that stays after the birth and earns income from abroad should work out the tax burden and structure its income in advance. The child's citizenship on its own creates no tax obligations for the parents.

Rates, regimes and residence rules are covered on our Argentina taxes page. General information about life in the country is in our Argentina overview.

Who it suits and the uncomfortable truth

Who it suits

• Families ready to move and live in Argentina for years, not a few months.
• People whose main goal is the child's citizenship, with a passport for the parents as a possible but not guaranteed bonus.
• People with lawful income they can document and no criminal record.

Who it does not suit

• Those who want to give birth and leave while counting on passports for the parents.
• Those who count on free public healthcare.
• Those who need a predictable date for permanent residence or citizenship.
• Those who cannot stay in the country for long periods without travelling.

The uncomfortable truth

• The scheme of giving birth, getting permanent residence and a passport two years later, which agencies sold for years, no longer works the old way after Decree 366/2025.
• The naturalization procedure is disputed in 2026: even with perfect paperwork, the answer to the question of when depends on the courts.
• The criteria for sufficient means have not been published as amounts, and the decision rests with the migration directorate.
• Private birth prices in Argentina are set in pesos and move with the exchange rate and inflation.
• Flights to Argentina from Europe and Asia are long, often with connections, which is hard both late in pregnancy and with a newborn.

Alternatives in Argentina and neighbouring countries

The same rule applies across the region: the place of birth gives the child citizenship, while parents get it only through real residence, lawful income and time that the state counts under its own rules. A country comparison for giving birth is in our article giving birth abroad: country comparison. All destinations are in our citizenship and residence permits sections.

What an Argentine passport gives

Giving birth in Argentina and family documents step by step

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