Can Family Members Obtain Argentine Citizenship Through CBI?

Can Family Members Obtain Argentine Citizenship Through CBI?

For many prospective investors, Argentine Citizenship by Investment is not an individual decision. The principal applicant may be considering citizenship for a spouse, minor children or adult children as part of a broader family strategy.

The Argentine Government has expressly addressed this issue in its October 2026 announcement launching the Citizenship by Investment Program. The announced framework allows the spouse and children of the principal applicant to apply, provided that they establish the relevant family relationship and make the contribution applicable to their category.

The Government announced different contribution amounts depending on the family member's status:

• USD 100,000 for a spouse;

• USD 100,000 for children between 18 and 25 who are unmarried and have no children;

• USD 25,000 for children under 18.

The Government also provided a family example in which a principal applicant, spouse and two minor children could apply for Argentine citizenship for a total announced contribution of USD 500,000.

For legal purposes, however, it is important to distinguish between family eligibility and automatic citizenship. The current framework does not mean that every family member automatically acquires citizenship merely because the principal applicant is approved.

1. Can a spouse obtain Argentine citizenship through the principal applicant's CBI application?

Yes.

The Argentine Government has expressly stated that the spouse of the principal applicant may apply under the Citizenship by Investment Program, provided that the marital relationship is established and the applicable contribution is made.

The announced contribution for a spouse is USD 100,000.

This provision is significant because it creates a specific family mechanism within the investment program rather than requiring the spouse to independently establish the traditional residence-based pathway before seeking naturalization.

The practical application process, however, will depend on the official procedures established by the competent authorities.

2. Does the spouse automatically become an Argentine citizen when the principal applicant is approved?

No.

The family provision should not be interpreted as an automatic derivative citizenship rule.

The Government's announcement states that spouses and children may apply, provided that they establish the relevant family relationship and make the applicable contribution.

This language is legally important.

It indicates that the family member has an application or eligibility pathway under the program, rather than simply acquiring citizenship as an automatic consequence of the principal applicant's approval.

Accordingly, the principal applicant's citizenship decision and the spouse's citizenship application should be treated as legally distinct matters, even when they are processed as part of the same family strategy.

3. What contribution is required for a spouse?

The Government has announced a contribution of USD 100,000 to the National Treasury for a spouse applying under the program.

As with the principal applicant's investment, the existence of an announced amount should not be confused with the publication of every operational detail.

The authorities must establish the practical mechanism through which the contribution is made, documented and associated with the citizenship application.

Until those procedures are officially available, applicants should not rely on unofficial payment instructions or private mechanisms presented as if they were government-approved.

4. Can children obtain citizenship through the program?

Yes.

The Government has expressly included children within the family provisions of the Citizenship by Investment Program. However, the applicable contribution depends on the child's age and, for the older category, marital and parental status.

The announced categories are:

These categories should be treated according to the conditions expressly announced by the Government. In particular, the USD 100,000 category for an adult child is not simply an age-based provision; the announcement also specifies that the child must be unmarried and have no children.

5. What happens when the child turns 18?

The Government's announcement establishes separate categories for minors and certain children between 18 and 25.

A child under 18 falls within the announced USD 25,000 category.

A child between 18 and 25 may qualify under the announced USD 100,000 category if the child is unmarried and has no children.

This distinction makes the applicant's age an important factor in family planning.

Families should therefore consider the age of each child when determining the appropriate application strategy, particularly where the program's operational launch and the family's filing date may occur at different times.

The exact treatment of changes in family circumstances or age during the application process should be confirmed once the implementing rules are published.

6. Can adult children over 25 apply through the family provision?

The October 2026 Government announcement specifically identifies children between 18 and 25, provided that they are unmarried and have no children.

It does not announce a corresponding family contribution category for children over 25.

Therefore, an adult child over 25 should not automatically be assumed to fall within the family provision.

Such an individual may need to qualify under another available legal pathway, depending on the circumstances and the applicable Argentine nationality rules.

This is an important example of why family planning under the CBI program should be based on the published legal framework rather than broad assumptions that all dependants are covered.

7. Does the child have to be financially dependent on the principal applicant?

The Government's October 2026 announcement does not state that the children covered by the announced categories must establish financial dependency.

For children between 18 and 25, however, it expressly establishes the conditions that they must be unmarried and have no children.

Accordingly, additional requirements should not be invented where they have not been officially established.

The final implementing rules may clarify the documentary evidence required to establish eligibility, but the current public announcement should be read according to its actual wording.

8. What documents may be required to prove the family relationship?

The precise documentary checklist remains subject to the official implementation of the program.

In practical legal terms, however, family applicants should expect to establish the relationship on which their eligibility is based.

Depending on the relationship, relevant documents may include:

• marriage certificates;

• birth certificates;

• documents establishing parentage;

• identity documents;

• passports;

• documents concerning changes of name;

• adoption documentation, where applicable; and

• other civil-status records required by the authorities.

For international families, these documents may originate in multiple jurisdictions.

The applicable rules may therefore require apostille, legalization, authentication, certified translation or other formalities depending on the document and country of issuance.

The precise requirements should be confirmed once the official application system and implementing instructions are published.

9. Does a spouse need to live in Argentina?

The investment-based naturalization route is distinct from the traditional residence-based naturalization route.

Law No. 346, as amended by Decree 366/2025, provides that foreigners may qualify for naturalization through a relevant investment regardless of their period of residence in Argentina.

The family provisions announced by the Government operate within this investment framework.

Accordingly, prior residence should not be treated as a prerequisite for a spouse seeking citizenship under the CBI family mechanism.

That does not necessarily answer every question concerning the practical location from which the application can be filed. Those procedural matters depend on the official implementation of the program.

10. Can a minor child apply without living in Argentina?

The announced family provisions do not establish prior residence in Argentina as a condition for the minor-child category.

The investment-based naturalization framework itself is expressly based on the relevant investment rather than a minimum period of residence.

The Government has announced that minor children may apply through the family program with a USD 25,000 contribution.

The precise procedural requirements for minors—including representation, consent and documentary formalities—should be confirmed under the final application rules.

11. Are family members subject to background checks?

The citizenship-by-investment framework provides for substantial governmental due diligence.

Decree 524/2025 requires the Agency, where the investment qualifies, to request information from governmental bodies including the Ministry of Security, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the National Criminal Records Registry, RENAPER and the State Intelligence Secretariat, as well as other entities the Agency considers necessary.

The Government's October 2026 announcement likewise describes a process involving identity verification, financial and asset analysis, jurisdictional risk, criminal and reputational records and immigration history.

The precise scope of review applicable to each family member should be confirmed under the implementing procedures.

The important legal point is that family members should not be assumed to fall completely outside the program's compliance and security framework.

12. Do family members need to prove the source of their own funds?

The Government has announced that all program funds must pass through the formal financial system and comply with applicable AML/CFT and financial-transparency standards.

This makes the financial origin of contributions relevant to the overall application.

The practical question may become particularly important where a spouse or adult child is formally making a contribution but the underlying funds originate from the principal applicant or another family member.

The final implementing rules should clarify the documentary treatment of these circumstances.

Until then, families should preserve a clear documentary record showing:

• who owns the funds;

• where the funds originated;

• who is making the contribution;

• how the funds are transferred; and

• how the contribution is connected to the relevant family member's application.

13. Can the principal applicant pay the contribution for the spouse or children?

This is an area where the current public announcement should be read cautiously.

The Government identifies separate contribution amounts for the spouse and qualifying children, but it does not publicly establish in the announcement every possible rule governing the economic source of each family member's contribution.

Accordingly, one should distinguish between:

who is legally required to qualify and make the applicable contribution, and

who ultimately provides the economic funds used to satisfy that contribution.

The treatment of family-funded contributions should be confirmed under the final operational rules, particularly where the funds originate from a joint account, the principal applicant, a family holding structure or another related person.

14. What happens if one family member does not qualify?

The family provisions should not be understood as making the entire family's citizenship application indivisible.

The legal framework provides for an evaluation of the applicant and a final decision by the National Directorate of Migration. Decree 524/2025 requires the Agency to prepare a reasoned recommendation concerning the application and provides for rejection where the relevant investment does not qualify or where the applicable governmental review results in a recommendation against granting citizenship.

Accordingly, a family application may involve different legal assessments for different individuals.

For example, a principal applicant may satisfy the financial and legal requirements while a particular family member may have a separate issue concerning identity, criminal history, immigration history or another matter.

The precise procedural consequences of such a situation will depend on the final rules governing family applications.

15. What is the total cost for a family?

The Government itself provides one example.

A family consisting of:

• one principal applicant;

• one spouse; and

• two children under 18

would have an announced total contribution of:

USD 350,000 + USD 100,000 + USD 25,000 + USD 25,000 = USD 500,000.

This figure represents the announced program contributions.

It should not be confused with the family's total legal, documentary, translation, authentication, banking or professional costs, which are separate matters.

Nor should the example be interpreted as establishing that every possible family composition will follow the same calculation.

16. Can a family combine different investment routes?

The Government has announced two mechanisms for the principal program:

• USD 350,000 non-refundable contribution to the National Treasury; and

• USD 800,000 public security created specifically for the program.

It has separately announced fixed contribution amounts for qualifying spouses and children.

The public announcement does not provide sufficient detail to conclude that every possible combination of principal-applicant route and family-member contribution has already been operationally defined.

Therefore, families should not assume, for example, that any family member can freely combine a different investment mechanism without confirmation from the implementing authorities.

This is precisely the type of operational question that should be resolved by the official rules before funds are transferred.

17. What if the family has children from different marriages?

The legal question is whether the applicant can establish the family relationship recognized by the applicable rules.

The Government's announcement refers generally to the spouse and children of the principal applicant.

Where a family structure involves children from previous relationships, stepchildren, adoption, changes in parentage or other non-standard circumstances, the relevant civil-status documents should be reviewed individually.

The applicant should not assume that the everyday concept of “family member” necessarily corresponds exactly to the legal category used in the final application rules.

18. What if the applicant's child turns 18 while the application is pending?

This is a potentially significant practical issue because the announced contribution categories distinguish between children under 18 and children aged 18–25 who satisfy additional conditions.

The public announcement does not provide a complete rule explaining which age applies if a child crosses the age threshold during the application process.

That question should therefore not be answered by assumption.

Families with children approaching 18 should pay particular attention to the official implementation rules and consider the timing of the application as part of their legal planning.

19. How should families prepare before applying?

A family considering Argentine Citizenship by Investment should prepare at both the individual and family levels.

A useful preliminary review should include:

Family status

• Marriage status

• Birth and parentage records

• Ages of children

• Marital status of adult children

• Whether any child has children

• Previous marriages or changes in family status

Identity documentation

• Passports

• Birth certificates

• Marriage certificates

• Name-change documentation

• National identity documents

• Other civil-status records

Financial documentation

• Source of wealth

• Source of funds

• Bank records

• Investment records

• Evidence of transfers

• Ownership of funds

Immigration and legal history

• Previous residences

• Immigration applications

• Visa history

• Criminal records

• Pending proceedings

• Regulatory or reputational matters

Timing

• Expected program opening

• Ages of children

• Expiration of passports or civil documents

• Time required for apostilles and translations

• Availability of financial documentation

For international families, preparing these matters in advance can materially reduce delays once the official application mechanism becomes operational.

20. Family citizenship should be planned as a legal structure, not simply a financial package

The financial contribution is only one part of a family Citizenship by Investment strategy.

The legal questions may involve:

• who qualifies as the principal applicant;

• which family members qualify;

• how family relationships are documented;

• how contributions are attributed;

• how funds are traced;

• whether any family member has a separate immigration or criminal-history issue;

• whether different family members have different nationalities;

• and how changes in family circumstances affect the application.

This is particularly important for high-net-worth families whose financial and legal structures span multiple jurisdictions.

The most effective preparation is therefore not simply calculating the total contribution. It is determining, before filing, whether each family member can be documented consistently and evaluated under the applicable rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my spouse obtain Argentine citizenship through my CBI application?

Yes. The Government has announced that the spouse of the principal applicant may apply under the program, subject to establishing the marital relationship and making the announced USD 100,000 contribution.

Can my children obtain Argentine citizenship through my investment?

Yes, subject to the applicable family category. The Government has announced a USD 25,000 contribution for children under 18 and USD 100,000 for children aged 18–25 who are unmarried and have no children.

Does my spouse automatically become an Argentine citizen if I am approved?

No. The spouse has a separate eligibility and application framework under the family provisions.

How much does a family of four pay?

Under the Government's published example, a principal applicant, spouse and two children under 18 would have a total announced contribution of USD 500,000.

Can children over 25 be included?

The Government's announced family provision specifically covers children between 18 and 25 who are unmarried and have no children. It does not announce a corresponding family category for children over 25.

Do my children have to live in Argentina?

Prior residence is not the basis of the investment route. The practical filing requirements for minors and family members will depend on the official implementation of the program.

Do family members undergo due diligence?

The program involves governmental identity, security, criminal, financial and other reviews. The precise scope applicable to family members should be confirmed under the implementing rules.

Can the principal applicant provide the money for the spouse and children?

The current announcement establishes contribution amounts but does not provide every operational rule governing the economic source of each family member's contribution. The treatment of family-funded contributions should therefore be confirmed before funds are transferred.

What happens if a child turns 18 during the application?

The announced program distinguishes between minors and children aged 18–25. The public announcement does not yet provide a complete rule for age changes during a pending application, so this issue should be addressed under the implementing regulations.

Do family members need separate passports?

Each person applying for citizenship must establish his or her identity through the applicable documentation. The precise documentary requirements will be established through the official application procedure.

Current Legal Status

Argentina's Citizenship by Investment framework expressly permits naturalization through a relevant investment regardless of the applicant's period of residence in Argentina. The amended Citizenship Law establishes the investment-based route, while Decree 524/2025 establishes the procedure for evaluating applications through the Agency for Citizenship by Investment Programs and the National Directorate of Migration.

In October 2026, the Argentine Government announced specific family provisions for spouses and children, including the USD 100,000 and USD 25,000 contribution categories and a USD 500,000 example for a principal applicant, spouse and two minor children.

The substantive family categories have therefore been publicly announced, but the detailed procedural mechanics for family applications remain part of the program's implementation.

Families should consequently distinguish between the family eligibility categories already announced by the Government and the detailed administrative rules that will govern how those applications are filed, documented and processed.

Author

Juan Pablo Rojas Pascual
Argentine Attorney | Argentina Citizenship by Investment
Director, Rojas Pascual Abogados

Last Updated: October 2026