Argentina requires 5 times the minimum wage for pensionado and rentista visas

Five times the minimum wage, paid from abroad

Argentina's pensionado and rentista categories grant one-year temporary residency to foreigners living on regular foreign income, with the threshold pegged to five times the Salario Mínimo, Vital y Móvil (SMVM) rather than the older fixed peso figure. The Dirección Nacional de Migraciones administers both through the RaDEX online portal.

Pensionado covers retirees drawing a permanent pension from a foreign government, international body or private employer. Rentista covers income from assets the applicant owns abroad: rental property, dividends, interest, company shares. Income from personal work performed in Argentina doesn't count.

Because the SMVM is adjusted frequently against inflation, the peso figure moves with it. Relocation practitioners currently point to roughly $1,800 to $2,000 a month in documented foreign income per adult as a safe planning number, though the legal benchmark is whatever five SMVM equals on the day of application.

Who these visas fit

Foreign retirees with a steady pension qualify under pensionado. Landlords, investors and business owners drawing passive distributions qualify under rentista. Both routes suit expats planning a multi-year stay and digital nomads whose income stream is genuinely passive rather than active freelance or salaried work.

Short-term visitors don't need either visa, since most nationalities get around 90 days visa-free. Remote workers earning active wages from a foreign employer fall into a grey zone the rentista rules explicitly exclude, because the law bars income tied to personal labor.

The residency converts to permanent status after three years of qualifying temporary residence and Argentine citizenship becomes available after two years of continuous residence through a federal court petition.

Documents, process and what it costs

Applications run through RaDEX. Applicants register, complete the form, pay the migration fee online, then upload:

• A valid passport
• Pension certificate or proof of passive income meeting five SMVM
• Foreign police certificates from any country lived in for more than one year in the past three
• Proof of an Argentine domicile
• Bank evidence that funds enter Argentina through a Central Bank-authorized institution

Foreign documents need apostille or legalization, plus translation by a certified Argentine public translator. Migraciones emails an in-person appointment date once the file passes review. Fees are paid through RaDEX and change periodically, so the portal shows the current amount at checkout.

Read our full Argentina guide for the complete picture and follow our visa updates for changes to the SMVM threshold.