Moving to Argentina from Canada: residence and costs

The income behind your residence application

Rentista residence is for passive income from abroad, such as investments or rent; pensionado is for a foreign pension, including CPP, OAS or a workplace pension. Both require at least five times the minimum monthly wage (SMVM), about ARS 1.9 million or US$1,250 a month. Both grant renewable one-year temporary residence and neither permits employment in Argentina.

Marriage to an Argentine, or being the parent of one, instead leads to temporary family-reunification residence and later permanent residence through arraigo, or settled ties. A child of an Argentine parent can claim nationality by option; a grandchild cannot.

For work with employers or clients outside Argentina, the digital nomad visa lasts 180 days and can be extended once for another 180. It carries no DNI and its time does not count towards permanent residence or citizenship.

From Canadian documents to an Argentine ID

Before departure, the two Canadian records to prepare are your birth certificate and an RCMP fingerprint-based criminal record check. Each needs an apostille; Canada joined the Apostille Convention in January 2024. In Argentina, a sworn translator (traductor público) translates the documents into Spanish. The 90-day tourist period begins when you enter on your Canadian passport.

The residence application goes to Migraciones and costs ARS 100,000; a preferential appointment adds ARS 50,000. Once filed, a precaria gives provisional legal status while the case is decided. It generally lasts 90 days and is renewable, while decisions typically take 3 to 12 months.

Approval is followed by an appointment with RENAPER, the national registry, or a Registro Civil for your foreign-resident DNI. The first card costs ARS 20,000 and normally arrives by post in 2 to 6 weeks. If you owe Argentine tax, ARCA (formerly AFIP) issues the CUIT tax ID and clave fiscal online password.

When temporary residence can become permanent

After three years of temporary residence, Canadians can apply for permanent residence if they spent at least half that period in Argentina and no absence lasted six months or more. The two-year permanent-residence route belongs to Mercosur nationals. Citizenship follows a different clock: naturalization requires two years of continuous legal residence, and since DNU 366/2025 the application goes to Migraciones rather than a federal court.

The residence minimum is not a Buenos Aires budget

In September 2026, a one-bedroom rental costs about US$750 a month in central Buenos Aires and US$545 outside the centre. A single person's overall monthly spending runs about US$1,300–1,900, above the roughly US$1,250 income threshold for rentista or pensionado residence. Córdoba and Mendoza run 20–30% cheaper than Buenos Aires; within the capital, one subte ride costs ARS 1,753.

Give the long lease time to make sense

A furnished place for the first month or two leaves room to visit long-term apartments in person. Search furnished rentals on PlataPlace to see owner and brokerage listings with their source and last-seen date. On a long lease, the rent is only part of the monthly bill: expensas, or building fees, come on top.

DNU 70/2023 repealed the 2020 rental law (Law 27,551), leaving landlord and tenant to agree the term, currency in pesos or US dollars, and adjustment interval. A long-term landlord also usually asks for a garantía, supplied by a local property owner or a guarantee insurance policy. Those terms become easier to judge after a few weeks in the neighbourhood.

Care changes with your residence status

Public hospitals provide emergency care free to everyone. Since DNU 366/2025, they may charge non-residents for other treatment, with provincial rules also relevant; residents with a DNI retain free public care. For routine appointments, a prepaga private plan such as OSDE, Swiss Medical, Galeno or Medifé costs roughly US$130–870 a month for a 30-year-old, depending on the plan.

For an emergency, the numbers are 911 for police, 107 for an ambulance (SAME in Buenos Aires) and 100 for fire. Registration of Canadians Abroad lets the Embassy of Canada in Buenos Aires contact you in a crisis.

What changes for Canadian income abroad

In September 2026, the peso trades at about ARS 1,545 to the US dollar. Individual currency controls, known as the cepo, ended in April 2025; the gap with the informal blue-dollar rate is small, and Canadian cards receive close to the official rate. For pension planning, OAS continues abroad only after at least 20 years living in Canada after age 18. GIS stops after six months outside Canada.