Retiring in Argentina from Canada: visa, income, CPP/OAS

What income qualifies for pensionado residence

CPP, OAS and employer pensions can qualify as foreign pension income. Migraciones requires at least five times the SMVM, Argentina's minimum wage: about ARS 1.9 million or US$1,250 a month in September 2026. Because the threshold follows the minimum wage, its peso value changes when that wage rises.

Investment income or rent from a Canadian home points instead to rentista residence, with the same income threshold. Both categories grant renewable one-year temporary residence and neither permits employment in Argentina.

The Migraciones application fee is ARS 100,000, with an additional ARS 50,000 for an earlier preferential appointment.

The application draws on a passport, letters from pension payers showing monthly amounts and an RCMP criminal record check, plus checks from other countries of residence during the past three years. Canadian documents need an apostille, available in Canada since January 2024, and a Spanish translation by an Argentine sworn translator, a traductor público.

From visitor entry to a resident DNI

Canadians can arrive visa-free for 90 days and extend the visit once for a further 90 days through Migraciones. The residence application is filed online, with original documents presented at the appointment. This lets a prospective retiree enter as a visitor while assembling the Argentine side of the file.

While Migraciones decides, the precaria is a provisional certificate of lawful stay, usually valid for 90 days and renewable. Decisions typically take 3 to 12 months. After approval, RENAPER issues the first foreign-resident DNI for ARS 20,000; following the appointment, it usually arrives by post in 2 to 6 weeks.

Renewal is annual. After three years, permanent residence may be available if you spent at least half the period in Argentina and had no absence of six consecutive months or more. The two-year Mercosur route does not apply to Canadians. Citizenship requires two years of continuous legal residence and, since DNU 366/2025, is filed with Migraciones rather than a federal court.

Which Canadian payments continue abroad

Canada Pension Plan payments continue for life regardless of where you live. Service Canada needs your departure date, and the continuing payments can be deposited into a Canadian account for spending with a Canadian card.

Old Age Security continues abroad if you lived in Canada for at least 20 years after age 18. With fewer years it stops after six months outside Canada and restarts on return. Canada has no social security agreement with Argentina, so Argentine years cannot fill that gap.

The Guaranteed Income Supplement stops after more than six consecutive months outside Canada. A budget or pensionado income calculation for a longer stay therefore cannot rely on GIS.

Healthcare between arrival and local cover

Public hospitals provide free emergency care to everyone. Since DNU 366/2025, they may charge non-residents for other care; public care is free once you have a resident DNI, subject to provincial rules. The gap between arrival and that document makes interim cover relevant.

Many retirees use a prepaga, or private health plan, from providers such as OSDE, Swiss Medical, Galeno or Medifé. Published age-30 prices of roughly US$130–870 a month are a poor retirement budget: the same plan costs substantially more at 65.

Canadian provincial cover ends when you move away; Ontario's OHIP, for instance, requires 153 days a year in the province. Travel medical insurance can bridge the period before prepaga cover begins. Prescriptions using generic drug names travel better than brand names that may differ in Argentina.

The residence minimum is not a living budget

In September 2026, with the exchange rate near ARS 1,545 per US dollar, a one-bedroom flat in central Buenos Aires cost about US$750 monthly, against roughly US$545 outside the centre. One person's overall monthly spending was about US$1,300–1,900 before a prepaga. Córdoba and Mendoza were roughly 20–30% cheaper than Buenos Aires. The pensionado threshold of about US$1,250 sits below even the lower Buenos Aires total.

How housing and tax affect the retirement plan

Argentina lifted the cepo, its currency controls for individuals, in April 2025. With the blue-dollar premium now small, Canadian cards convert near the official rate and can cover much daily spending.

DNU 70/2023 allows landlord and tenant to agree the lease term, currency and rent adjustments. A furnished rental for the first few months, perhaps through the June-to-August winter, gives a retiree time to judge a city before signing longer. Search furnished rentals on PlataPlace for owner and brokerage listings showing source and last-seen date, with an alert for the chosen city.

When the Canada Revenue Agency treats you as a non-resident, Canada withholds non-resident tax from CPP and OAS. The CRA looks at ties such as a home, spouse and dependants in Canada rather than an address alone. ARCA, formerly AFIP, administers Argentina's tax side of the move.