Argentina is preparing to launch a citizenship-by-investment programme aimed at attracting wealthy international investors, offering an alternative route to a second passport that could appeal to applicants from mainland China and Hong Kong.
Announced by the government in October, the initiative provides two principal investment options: a non-refundable contribution of US$350,000 to the National Treasury or a subscription to an US$800,000 government bond created specifically for the programme, according to migration consultancy Henley & Partners. The government said it would begin accepting applications during the final quarter of 2026.
Unlike several established golden visa programmes, Argentina’s initiative does not recognise property purchases as qualifying investments. Real estate investment has traditionally been a major attraction of residency-by-investment schemes in other countries, often generating increased demand in local property markets.
Philippe Amarante, head of government advisory at Henley & Partners, said the programme was likely to appeal to internationally mobile investors, entrepreneurs and families seeking to diversify their residence rights, citizenship, investments and business interests across different jurisdictions.
The scheme’s principal attraction is its proposed direct pathway to citizenship, rather than requiring applicants to obtain residency before becoming eligible for a passport. Successful applicants would gain residence, employment and mobility rights in Argentina, while also gaining access to opportunities within Mercosur, the South American economic bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.
Mercosur promotes the movement of goods, services, capital and people among its member countries, making Argentine citizenship potentially attractive to investors seeking wider regional access.
Juwai IQI, a property technology company with seven million property listings across 111 countries, believes the programme could attract significant interest from Chinese investors. Its co-founder and group chief executive, Kashif Ansari, estimated that Argentina could capture 5 per cent of global investment-migration demand, equivalent to about 2,500 participants annually from an estimated 50,000 investment-migrant passports issued worldwide.
China’s existing economic relationship with Argentina could reinforce that interest. Chinese companies have invested in the South American country, while bilateral trade and investment links include opportunities in the lithium industry. Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno has said Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD is considering investment opportunities connected to the lithium value chain, particularly battery production and energy storage systems.
Chinese nationals have historically accounted for a substantial proportion of global investment migration. According to Ansari, they represented about two-thirds of worldwide investment citizenship and residency applicants between 2009 and 2019. In Portugal, Chinese applicants accounted for 64 per cent of residency permits issued since the country’s programme began in 2012, according to a 2018 Transparency International report.
“Argentina’s passport will be attractive to anyone who wants to potentially reside there or perhaps in one of the other Mercosur states,” Ansari said. He noted that citizens of the bloc have the right to live and work in other member countries.
Lifestyle considerations could also influence demand. Buenos Aires, frequently described as the “Paris of the South”, together with Argentina’s food, countryside and football culture, could attract investors seeking more than an additional passport, according to Luiz Felipe Maia, chief executive and founder of Lisbon-based Maia Properties.
“Buenos Aires, the culture, the food and the countryside give people reasons to spend time there beyond the passport,” Maia said, adding that prospective applicants should consider whether they could genuinely see themselves living in the country.
However, property advisers have cautioned against assuming that the citizenship programme will generate an immediate boom in Argentina’s real estate market. Ansari expects its short-term impact to be modest and concentrated in neighbourhoods favoured by wealthy foreign buyers.
He also warned that Argentina’s economic recovery and fiscal position remained uncertain, citing the country’s history of aggressive taxation and capital controls.
Maia raised additional concerns about the programme’s long-term stability, noting that its requirements could change following Argentina’s general elections next year. “It’s very common in Latin America, where you have the left and the right basically rewriting the rules every four years,” he said.
