Argentina's passport route starts at $350,000

Meanwhile, Argentina is putting a price tag on citizenship. President Javier Milley's government says that foreigners who invest at least $350,000 could qualify for an Argentine passport, part of a push to attract foreign capital. But Argentina is not the first country to offer citizenship to investors. Now, Argentina's new Citizenship by Investment program has two rules. The first is the $350,000 non-refundable contribution to the National Treasury. The second is an $800,000 investment in a government bond held for seven years. Applicants face checks on the source of funds, money laundering, and national security. Now, family members can also qualify under the contribution route as spouse or qualifying adult child adds $100,000 while a child under 18 adds $25,000. So, for two adults and two minor children, the headline contribution is about $500,000. Applications are expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026. Well, the goal here is investment. Argentina received about $3.1 billion in foreign direct investment last year, compared with roughly $76.9 billion for Brazil and $40.9 billion for Mexico. According to OECD, Milley's government has been cutting spending, deregulating and removing trade barriers to attract investors. Economists quoted by AFP say that investors are still watching whether those changes can prove sustainable. Argentina is entering a small club of countries with formal or announced citizenship by investment rules. At the lower end, Sao Tome and Principe start at about $95,000. Alauru is currently offering citizenship from $95,000, compared with a regular contribution of about $120,000. In the Caribbean, Dominica starts at about $200,000. Antigua and Barbuda are at $230,000. Granada at $235,000. St. Lucia at $240,000 and St. Kitts and Nevis at $250,000. Egypt starts at about $250,000. Jordan's contribution route is roughly $494,000, based on its $350,000 Jordanian Dinar requirement. And Turkey starts at $400,000, typically through qualifying real estate investment. But the headline price isn't the whole bill. Applicants may also face government fees, due diligence charges and professional costs while processing times and family rules vary. And citizenship by investment is different from a golden visa. Citizenship gives a route to a passport, while residency programs generally provide residency first, with citizenship potentially requiring additional conditions and years of residence. Argentina is also facing much larger investments. France's Total Energy has pledged $10 billion towards oil and gas in Patagonia, while Glencoe committed $4 billion to a copper project. Separately, Argentina's Supreme Court upheld the removal of a previous 15% limit on foreign ownership of brutal land. Abad has drawn opposition from some Falkland war veterans, who accused the government of putting the country up for sale.