Argentine citizenship and Decree 366/2025

Argentine citizenship is a right established by Law 346, which allows any foreign national over 18 years of age, with two years of continuous residence in the country, to apply for it. Traditionally this right was processed by the Federal Courts of First Instance, as court proceedings.

The entry into force of Decree of Necessity and Urgency 366/2025 introduced substantial changes to the application procedure, creating a new legal framework that is worth setting out clearly.

Administrative regime

General considerations

1. Change of jurisdiction

Decree 366/2025 provided that applications for Argentine citizenship should no longer be heard by the courts and should instead pass into the administrative sphere, assigning them to the National Directorate of Migration.

Applications filed after the decree came into force must therefore be brought before that agency, in accordance with the implementing regulations to be issued for that purpose.

2. Cases already under way

The Case Assignment Office reported that only applications submitted up to 27 May 2025 were assigned to the Federal Courts.

All court files opened up to that date therefore remain before the courts until they are finally resolved, and are not transferred into the administrative sphere.

3. New applications

Applications filed from 28 May 2025 onwards are no longer referred to the federal courts and must be pursued directly before the National Directorate of Migration.

The corresponding administrative procedure is still at the regulatory stage, so the formal requirements, the stages of the process and the applicable time limits remain to be defined.

4. Essential documents

Beyond the change of jurisdiction, the required documents remain essential for an application to be admissible. The main ones are:

• A birth certificate bearing an apostille, which cannot be replaced by any other document.

• Criminal record certificates from Argentina and from the country of origin, issued no more than three months earlier.

• Evidence of means of support, which must be filed at the start of the process and updated in the stage before the decision.

5. Where things stand

Two clearly different situations currently coexist:

• Court files already under way, opened up to 27 May 2025, remain with the courts where they were filed and continue under the previous regime.

• New applications fall under the administrative route provided for in Decree 366/2025 and must be pursued before the National Directorate of Migration once the procedure has been regulated.

Conclusion

Argentine citizenship remains a right recognised by Law 346; what Decree 366/2025 changed is the route by which it is pursued. During this transitional period it is essential to distinguish between proceedings started earlier, which continue before the courts, and new applications, which must be channelled through the administrative sphere of the National Directorate of Migration.