Giving birth in Argentina: what has changed for foreign parents

Argentina is one of the countries that tie citizenship to the place of birth, not to where the parents come from. For families who want to give their child a second passport, that puts it near the top of the list in Latin America. Why a birth on foreign soil is the passport you hand your child for life, and which countries are worth a look, is covered in the overview of birth tourism.

Does my child get Argentine citizenship by birth?

Yes, with no application and no conditions on the parents. Article 1 of the Ley de Ciudadanía N° 346 counts as Argentine everyone born on the territory of the Republic, "sea cual fuere la nacionalidad de sus padres", whatever the nationality of their parents. The only exception covers the children of foreign ministers and members of a diplomatic mission residing in the country.

The constitution stands behind this. Article 75, paragraph 12 of the Constitución Nacional requires Congress to frame nationality law on the "principio de nacionalidad natural", the principle of nationality by birth in the country. In Argentina, birthright citizenship is not an administrative habit that can be scrapped with the stroke of a pen; it is a constitutional principle.

Decree 366/2025 shows it too. The decree rewrote Ley 346 in many places but left Article 1 untouched. The official consolidated text of the law shows not a single amendment to Article 1.

What this means for your child:

• Argentine from day one: citizenship arises at birth, not through an application.
• No residence permit needed: the law asks neither about the parents' visa nor about where they live.
• A right, not a permission: your child can return to Argentina at any time and live, study and work there without an official deciding on it.

How Argentina compares with its neighbours is set out in the article on birthright citizenship countries in Latin America.

What Decree 366/2025 changed for parents

On 29 May 2025 the government published Decreto de Necesidad y Urgencia 366/2025 in the Boletín Oficial. It reshaped both the migration law, Ley 25.871, and Ley 346, and took effect on the day of publication. For parents from abroad, one change is decisive: the route from an Argentine child to your own permanent residence.

The recitals of the decree say openly what it is about. The new rules are meant to discourage "turismo de natalidad", birth tourism, where a child is born in the country so that the parents can obtain permanent residence and later citizenship through the Argentine child. The target, then, is not the child but the parents' shortcut.

Until May 2025, Article 22 of Ley 25.871 stated that relatives of Argentine citizens count as permanent residents, naming spouses, children and parents expressly. That sentence is gone. The new Article 22 names only children of Argentines born abroad as permanent residents by right. Since then, the parents of an Argentine child fall under family reunification in Article 23(ñ).

Anyone who filed a residence application before the decree took effect is still assessed under the old rules, under Article 44 of the decree. Every application from 29 May 2025 onwards follows the new law, regardless of when the child was born.

Residence for parents: reunificación familiar instead of permanent residence

The residence you receive today as parents of an Argentine child is called Residencia temporaria por reunificación familiar. It is expressly open to the "progenitor" of an Argentine, whether the child is Argentine by birth, by naturalisation or by option.

What the residence gives you

The Dirección Nacional de Migraciones grants it for up to three years, provided the Argentine family member is a citizen or a permanent resident. The residence can be renewed and allows multiple entries and exits. So you can live in the country, raise your child and still travel.

What Migraciones requires

• A valid passport for each parent.
• The child's birth certificate as proof of the relationship, plus the child's identity document.
• An Argentine criminal record certificate from the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia for anyone aged 16 or over, plus certificates from every country where you lived for more than a year in the past three years.
• Proof of address in Argentina.
• Lawful entry: you must have entered legally and be in the country when you apply.

From temporary to permanent residence

After the temporary phase, you apply for permanent residence as a change of category. For citizens from outside Mercosur, a group that includes you as Germans, Migraciones currently requires three years of temporary residence. On top of that come sufficient means of support, a clean criminal record, presence in the country for at least half of the authorised period and no single absence of six months or more.

That is not an obstacle but a timetable. If you genuinely want to live in Argentina, you will meet it anyway. How permanent residence is applied for in detail is shown on the page on permanent residence in Argentina.

Applying for Argentine citizenship: the parents' route

Ley 346 now provides two routes to naturalisation. The first runs through residence: foreigners aged 18 or over who have lived in Argentina continuously and legally for the two years before applying declare before the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones that they wish to become Argentine. The law is clear that only someone who has not left the country even once during that whole period counts as continuously resident.

Under the old implementing decree (Art. 3 f Decreto 3213/84), parents of an Argentine child did not need the two years. Decree 366/2025 removed that exemption, and Migraciones applies the decree; whether the exemption returns is open before the Corte Suprema. So plan on the two years: the child opens the door to residence; the passport you earn yourselves. In practice, for parents this means:

1. Apply for residence through the child at Migraciones as soon as you have the birth certificate.
2. Live in the country for two years without leaving, legally and without a break.
3. Apply for naturalisation at the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones, which issues the certificate of naturalisation under Article 6 of Ley 346.

The second route does not depend on length of residence: Article 2 of Ley 346 provides for naturalisation of foreigners who can show a relevant investment in the country. The government has announced the programme, but it does not accept applications yet. Amounts, procedure and legal position are on Argentina and in the article on the Argentine citizenship by investment programme, and everything about the residence route is under naturalisation in Argentina.

How solid the new law is

Decree 366/2025 is not an act of Congress but an emergency decree issued by the President. On 30 June 2026 the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared it null and void in a single naturalisation case because it shifts the decision on naturalisation from the courts to Migraciones; the judges saw no genuine exceptional circumstances or urgency to justify such a decree and held that the electoral courts have jurisdiction. The government lodged an extraordinary appeal, which the chamber admitted on 24 September 2026; the Corte Suprema has not yet ruled. The official text of Ley 346 and the Migraciones website continue to apply the decree's rules. So plan on the basis of the text in force and keep in mind what the courts may still decide. For your child, the dispute makes no difference: the decree never touched Article 1.

Birth, hospital and health insurance: what to sort out before you travel

The decree also shifted access to the health system. The old Article 8 of Ley 25.871 guaranteed every foreigner access to health care, whatever their residence status. The new Article 8 draws a line:

• Permanent residence: foreigners with Residencia permanente use the public health system on the same terms as Argentines.
• Everyone else: in facilities run by the federal state, routine treatment is available only on presentation of health insurance or against payment in advance.
• Emergencies: in an emergency, nobody may be refused or given restricted care.

In addition, the migration law provides that people entering the country will in future declare that they hold health insurance covering their care there. That declaration will be required once the implementing rules apply.

For your planning, this means: count on a private clinic and an insurance policy that covers pregnancy and delivery abroad from the start. That is the standard European families choose for a birth abroad anyway. How to set up the visa, clinic, insurance and timeline for a birth abroad is explained in the article on planning a birth abroad.

Partida, DNI and passport: your child's documents

After the birth, the paperwork begins, and in Argentina the trail is short.

Step 1: registration at the Registro Civil

First you register the birth at the Registro Civil. There you receive the Partida de nacimiento, the Argentine birth certificate. It proves your child's citizenship and is the basis for everything that follows, including your own residence.

Step 2: the first DNI

With the birth certificate you apply for the Documento Nacional de Identidad. RENAPER issues the first DNI for newborns from birth up to the age of six months, at the Registro Civil near you or at a RENAPER Centro de Documentación. The first DNI is free; one parent comes along with the child and shows their own ID. Your child keeps the DNI number for life.

Step 3: the Argentine passport

The passport is also applied for at RENAPER. For children under 18, it is enough for the father, mother or legal guardian to come along with valid ID. A minor's passport is valid for five years; RENAPER sets the fee, most recently 100,000 pesos.

Step 4: apostille for Germany

Argentina has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 18 February 1988. The birth certificate for the German civil registry therefore receives an apostille rather than legalisation. Which documents you need and in what order is set out in the article on paperwork after a birth abroad.

Dual Argentine and German citizenship for your child

If one parent is German, your child receives both citizenships at birth. Section 4(1) StAG grants German citizenship to every child with a German parent, wherever the child is born. At the same time, Argentina makes the child Argentine through the place of birth. Nobody has to choose, nobody has to give anything up.

There is one trap, and it affects families who already live abroad. Under Section 4(4) StAG, the child does not automatically become German if the German parent was born abroad after 31 December 1999 and has their habitual residence there. In that case, an application to register the birth must be made with the German civil registry or the German mission abroad within one year of the birth. Miss that deadline and you cost your child the German passport. How to get this right is explained in the article on German citizenship for children born abroad. Everything about holding a second citizenship alongside German citizenship is covered under dual citizenship in Germany.

What the Argentine passport gives your child

• Europe without a visa: Argentina is listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806. Argentine citizens travel to the Schengen area for short stays without a visa.
• A country to live in: your child has the right to live, study and work in Argentina, with no visa and no application.
• A plan B that grows with them: a second passport is insurance you will never have to buy for your child later. The eight reasons for a second passport are on the page Why a second passport.

Who giving birth in Argentina still makes sense for

The decree did not hit the child; it hit the parents' fast track. That gives a clear picture.

It makes sense if you see Argentina as a real place to live or want to spend several months in the country. Your child becomes Argentine, you obtain residence through your child, and if you stay, you grow step by step into permanent residence and naturalisation. How families in Latin America make the child the anchor of their residence is shown in the child fast track through birthright citizenship.

It also makes sense if your main goal is your child's passport. Then Argentina is a strong place to give birth: protected by the constitution, with no conditions on the parents and with a passport that travels to Europe without a visa.

It is not enough if you as parents need a second passport of your own, and quickly. That shortcut through the child no longer exists. What remains for you is naturalisation after two years without leaving the country, or a programme that grants citizenship without residence. Which programmes issue passports today and what they cost for the whole family is shown on the pages Programmes and Family.

The strongest move is to combine both: your child receives the Argentine passport at birth, and you as parents secure a second passport of your own in parallel. That way nobody in the family depends on a single government.

Frequently asked questions