Over the weekend, I got an influx of emails in response to our coverage of Argentina’s newly announced Citizenship-by-Investment program. 

I had people ready to hop on a call, discuss real estate options and start putting plans in motion for a new life in the nation that's seen some dramatic improvements under libertarian President Javier Milei.

The truth is that it is just far, far too early for this kind of action.

I am incredibly excited about Argentina's CBI offering, which I maintain will be hands down the best in the world if they pull it off.

But living in Argentina full-time? That’s a whole different story, and not something I’d recommend right now. 

Before I explain why, we need to first make the important distinction between citizenship and residency. 

Acquiring citizenship from a particular country grants you a passport from that country and all the travel rights associated with that particular passport.

While that citizenship will also grant you the right to live in that country, the question of whether you physically live there full-time (meaning you are a tax resident) is a completely separate issue.

I am still a Canadian citizen and have a passport from Canada, but I do not live in Canada and am not a tax resident (thankfully).

When judging a citizenship program, I simply consider the costs and benefits of obtaining a passport from that country. 

In the case of Argentina’s proposal, a $500,000 investment with no residency requirement (a very important point in this case) that grants visa-free access to at least 170 countries is pretty tough to top. 

This isn’t even taking into account the strong probability that Argentine citizens will soon receive visa-free access to the United States if their application for a U.S. visa waiver is approved.

For comparison’s sake, let’s see how this stacks up to some of the other popular citizenship programs:

To obtain a Turkish passport, which grants visa-free access to 114 countries, you must make a $400,000 USD investment.

For St. Kitts, you’ll need to make a $250,000 USD donation for a passport that grants visa-free access to 154 countries.  

And while El Salvador is the talk of the freedom world for good reason, thanks to Nayib Bukele’s rapid turnaround of that country, its citizenship program will cost you a cool $1,000,000 USD for a passport that grants visa-free access to 135 countries. 

So it’s pretty clear that Argentina’s offering is a very strong one on the global passport market. 

This is a completely different subject from the idea of living in Argentina full-time or becoming a tax resident. 

As I said above, I would outright recommend against that at this juncture.

The fact of the matter is, Argentina leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to taxes and does not have a great tax system for expats.

For starters, they've got a progressive income tax with a 35% tax on the highest earners, a complex capital gains tax, and several business-related taxes that would make your stomach turn if I were to get into all the details.

And unlike here in Panama, the government of Argentina taxes its residents on their worldwide income, not exactly an ideal situation for expats.

So while I’m genuinely excited about Argentina’s CBI offering—which is a fantastic step in the right direction—there’s still a lot of work to be done before I’d recommend the country for full-time living.

As far as taking action on the CBI, we still need to wait and see how some key details play out, such as which specific projects will be approved, before we can actively begin recommending the program or working in the country. 

Many of you may be looking at this program on the horizon and wondering if you should wait and see what happens and delay your current plans for a Panama or Paraguay residency. 

And the answer is “absolutely not.”

In fact, waiting is exactly how many people miss out on programs or opportunities that can vanish on a political whim. 

Argentina is on our radar due to the changes being made in the country and because things are generally moving in the right direction. Maybe it will make a great place to live someday, but for now, that's a hypothetical scenario.

And I don’t make recommendations based on hypotheticals. 

Meanwhile, there's nothing hypothetical about expat life here in Panama, where the territorial taxation system allows most expats to live completely tax-free, and the residency program is already set up and running smoothly.

We'll continue to track the evolving prospects of Argentina as a potential part of your Plan-B in this newsletter and on the Expat Money Show, so stay in touch.

Speak soon,

Mikkel

PS. We will have our own Argentina immigration lawyer presenting the latest information about this program at this year’s Expat Money Online Summit, where we'll be laser-focused on Latin America as a whole. Top experts from across the region'll join me to show you exactly why your future, your wealth, and your freedom may depend on building your Plan B south of the border. Reserve your complimentary ticket here. 

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