Argentina court restores judicial citizenship path for naturalization applicants

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Argentina court restores judicial route to citizenship, blocking Milei decree

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An Argentine federal appeals court struck down the part of Decree 366/2025 that stripped judges of authority over naturalization, reinstating the judicial path that had governed citizenship applications before the Milei government moved the process into the migration bureaucracy.

What changed and when

The decree took effect on publication in the Official Gazette on May 29, 2025, tightening residency, citizenship and public-service access for nonresidents. From Oct. 6, 2025, the National Directorate of Migration began handling naturalization files through its RaDEX digital platform, replacing the traditional route through federal courts.

That transfer of authority is what the appeals court rejected on June 18, 2026, ruling the executive couldn't constitutionally move citizenship decisions from the judiciary to Migraciones in the case before it. The judicial path was restored for the applicant who challenged the decree.

The ruling is narrow. It did not erase the decree wholesale and Migraciones' online guidance still describes the RaDEX process for residency and citizenship steps. The broader legal fight is continuing into early July.

Who this catches

Applicants mid-way through naturalization are the ones exposed. Anyone who filed through RaDEX since October 2025 now faces a system whose legal foundation an appeals court has just partly rejected, while anyone starting fresh has to decide between the reinstated judicial route and the administrative one Migraciones is still running.

The pre-decree standard required roughly two years of continuous legal residence, proof of livelihood and an updated Argentine criminal record certificate. Those substantive requirements haven't gone away. What's contested is who decides: a federal judge or a migration official.

Residency applicants are less directly affected by the ruling but still bound by the 2025 tightening. RaDEX filings must be done from inside the country, applicants must show lawful entry and Migraciones can demand proof of it at any stage. Full documentation and the residency pathway are laid out in the Argentina country guide.

What to do now

Anyone already filed through RaDEX should keep the file active but consult a local immigration lawyer about whether to refile judicially, particularly if the case is stalled. New applicants have a choice to make before submitting: administrative through Migraciones or judicial through a federal court, knowing the latter now has an appeals ruling behind it. Tourists and short-stay visitors aren't touched by the citizenship ruling but remain subject to the decree's tighter controls on switching into residency.