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Argentina Unveils Citizenship-for-Investment Program
Confirmed
In Short: Argentine President Javier Milei's government unveiled a citizenship-for-investment program on Friday, offering citizenship to foreigners who invest at least $350,000 in the country.
The program, which was announced during Milei's visit to France for 'Argentina Week,' includes two options for investors: a direct, non-refundable contribution of $350,000 to the National Treasury or subscribing to an $800,000 government bond.
Spouses and children of applicants can also secure citizenship, with contributions of $100,000 for spouses and $25,000 for minors under 18 years old.
The government stated that the resources obtained from these investments will be used to strengthen the fiscal and financial position of the Argentine Republic.
Applications for the program are set to open in the fourth quarter, with a family of four (applicant, spouse, and two minors) expected to pay around $5,000 for the citizenship process.
The program aims to boost foreign direct investment, which according to the OECD, amounted to $3.134 billion last year, a fraction of the $76.877 billion attracted by Brazil.
The economy ministry emphasized that the investments would undergo a rigorous evaluation process to ensure traceability of funds, prevent money laundering, and guarantee national security.
However, the program has faced opposition from veterans of Argentina's 1982 war with Britain over the Falkland Islands, who accused Milei of 'putting the Republic of Argentina up for sale.' A demonstration is planned for next week to condemn the change in land ownership laws.
The court upheld a 2023 decree by Milei that repealed a 15-percent cap on foreign ownership of land in place since 2011.
In a televised address, President Milei cited 'winds of change' favoring Argentina's claim to the Falkland Islands, pointing to signs that the US might reconsider its stance on the islands' sovereignty.
Milei also threatened to sue the UK over the Sea Lion oil project near the Falkland Islands, which Argentina claims but the UK administers.
During the 1982 war, 255 British military personnel and 649 Argentine military personnel were killed.
The UK Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, responded that Argentina 'lacks the ability' to seize the Falklands by force, highlighting the islanders' overwhelming vote in 2013 to remain British.
What this adds
The citizenship-for-investment program was unveiled during Argentina's 'Argentina Week' investment roadshow in Paris.
Background
Argentina's government unveiled a citizenship-by-investment program, or 'golden passport,' aimed at boosting foreign direct investment.
What's confirmed
- Argentine President Javier Milei's government said Friday that the country would offer citizenship to foreigners who invest at least $350,000 in the country.
- Veterans of Argentina's 1982 war with Britain over the Falkland Islands -- known to Argentines as Las Malvinas -- had bitterly opposed the decree, accusing Milei of "putting the Republic of Argentina up for sale." A demonstration has been called for next week to condemn the change in the land ownership law, which the opposition will seek to block in Parliament.
- Investors can either make a "direct, non-refundable contribution of $350,000 to the National Treasury" or "subscribe to an $800,000 government bond created specifically" for the purpose.
- According to the OECD, Argentina received $3.134 billion in foreign direct investment last year, a fraction of $76.877 billion attracted by Brazil and the $40.871 billion secured Get in touch to discover how AFP's content, services and global network can support your newsroom or organization.
- The spouses and children of applicants can also secure citizenship, in exchange for a contribution of $100,000 to the Treasury, or $25,000 if they are under 18 years of age.
- The court on Tuesday upheld a 2023 decree by Milei repealing a 15-percent cap on foreign ownership of such land in place since 2011.
- Writing on X, the economy ministry said that the investments would be subject to a "rigorous evaluation process (...) guaranteeing the traceability of funds, the prevention of money laundering, and national security."
- The Citizenship by Investment Program announced by the government proposes two "simple and transparent mechanisms" for obtaining an Argentine passport.
- "The resources obtained will be used to continue strengthening the fiscal and financial position of the Argentine Republic," the government said.
- South America's second-largest economy attracted the lowest level of foreign direct investment of any major Latin American economy in 2025, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
- The comments heighten tensions between the UK and Argentina over the sovereignty of the archipelago, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas, more than 40 years after a British military task force ejected Argentine forces which had invaded the territory in 1982.
What's still developing
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- The "Citizenship by Investment Programme" was unveiled in Paris by Cabinet Chief Diego Santilli and Economy Minister Luis Caputo at Argentina's Embassy in Paris during the 'Argentina Week' investment roadshow.
- “Those who were supposed to guarantee collective security and human rights failed in their duty. and instead, they allowed chaos, violence, and international terrorism to prevail,” Milei said.
- President Milei further emphasized his condemnation of the United Nations by accusing it of “looking the other way” when it comes to Argentina’s territorial dispute with the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands — a nearly 200-year-old dispute that the Milei administration has recently reinvigorated amid plans for a joint Israeli-U.K.
- He called the operations “the illegal plundering of our resources” and declared “Argentina will not stand idly by” as the UK causes “irreversible and irreparable” damage.
- The companies developing the project, Israel’s Navitas and Britain’s Rockhopper, have shrugged off Argentina’s threats, insisting they have valid exploration licences issued by the UK.
- ARGENTINIAN LEADER JAVIER Milei has said that “winds of change” favour his country’s claim to the Falkland Islands, pointing to Washington’s readiness to review its neutrality on his country’s dispute with Britain as a possible game-changer.
- “The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British,” Streeting said on social media Control of the Falklands is a highly emotive issue in Argentina, even though the islanders themselves voted overwhelmingly in 2013 to remain British.
- The Falkland Islands are British territory but Argentina lays claim to them The Falkland Islands are British territory but Argentina lays claim to them Argentina ’s president has said he will impose sanctions on oil drilling off the Falkland Islands as tensions between the UK and Argentina boil over.
- He told GB News: “Your country was not there to help me.” Falkland Islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory in a 2013 referendum, with 99.8 per cent voting in favour – and just three votes against.
- The Argentine president has ordered his Foreign Ministry and legal teams to begin preparing for international arbitration over the Sea Lion development, accusing the UK of what he described as the “illegal plundering of our resources”.
- Speaking at the General Assembly, the Argentine president described the UN as “a useless organisation” that serves “arrogant parasites dressed up as well-intentioned bureaucrats”.