Giving birth in Argentina for families from Israel: entry, consular registration and the baby’s passport

In short

Israeli citizens do not need a visa for Argentina: tourists may stay up to 90 days, and Migraciones can extend that once. A child born abroad to an Israeli citizen is, as a rule, Israeli from birth. The exception is the “second generation”: a parent who was born abroad and received citizenship at birth from an Israeli parent. Both Israel and Argentina allow dual citizenship.

• The birth is registered at the consular department of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires; under foreign ministry rules, within 30 days of the birth, free of charge.
• The baby receives an Israeli ID number (mispar zehut) and is entered in the Population Registry; you can apply for a passport at the same office.
• Citizens — babies included — may enter Israel only on an Israeli passport or a teudat ma’avar.

Entering Argentina and length of stay

• Israel is on the list of countries whose citizens need no tourist visa; Argentina’s foreign ministry list allows a stay of up to 90 days.
• Migraciones extends this once, for the same period, in person; you apply within the last 10 days before your stay expires. Once it has expired it can no longer be extended — you only get an exit permit (habilitación de salida) valid for 10 days.
• A birth trip almost always runs longer than 90 days: arrival at 28–32 weeks, the birth, then 3–6 weeks for the baby’s documents. Once you file for the parents’ residency, your stay rests on a precaria.
• DNU 366/2025 introduces a health-insurance declaration on entry (it applies once implementing rules are in place). Israeli health funds (kupot holim) and ordinary travel policies usually do not cover a planned birth abroad. You need a separate budget for the clinic or a special policy.
• Bituah Leumi. Under its rules, the birth grant (ma’anak leida) can be paid for a birth abroad if the family remains Israeli residents. It does not replace the cost of the Argentine clinic. Check the details and conditions before you leave.

Flights and connections

As a rule there are no regular direct flights between Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires. Families fly with a connection in Europe (Madrid, Rome, Paris, Frankfurt and others) or via other hubs. Some routes through countries in the region may be unavailable or inadvisable for Israelis — check the current situation and advisories.

• Israeli citizens enter Schengen without a visa. Airside transit needs no separate authorisation; keep an eye on the launch of the EU’s ETIAS if you plan to leave the airport.
• Brazil is visa-free for Israelis, which helps with a connection in São Paulo or Rio.
• Because of the regional situation, flights are sometimes cancelled at short notice. Book a single ticket on a changeable fare, with insurance that covers cancellation.
• After 28 weeks airlines usually ask for a doctor’s letter, and close to 36 weeks they may refuse boarding.

Documents from Israel: apostille and translation

Israel and Argentina are both parties to the Hague Convention. Israeli documents for Argentina must be apostilled:

• The Israeli Ministry of Justice’s e-Apostille covers birth certificates and extended Population Registry extracts (Population and Immigration Authority), police criminal record certificates, and marriage certificates from the Ministry of Religious Services.
• Notarised documents are apostilled at the secretariats of the magistrates’ and district courts: from January 1, 2026 the fee is NIS 41 per apostille, issued on the spot.
• If you married abroad (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, an online Utah marriage and so on), the country that issued the certificate apostilles it, not Israel. The same applies to documents issued in the USSR, Russia or Ukraine — they need an apostille from the issuing country.

For the parents’ residency you need criminal record certificates (te’udat yosher), usually no older than three months when you file. You also need certificates from any other country where you lived for more than a year in the last three years. In Argentina, documents in Hebrew and Russian are translated by a sworn translator (traductor público) — see our article on sworn translation.

Names. For many olim, the Latin spelling of the surname in the Israeli passport differs from their old Russian or Ukrainian one. For the Argentine registration use the spelling from the passport you entered on, and make sure it matches on the partida and the baby’s future Israeli passport. Israeli documents have no patronymic. If you need one for another country’s documents, read “Patronymics in foreign documents”.

The Argentine path

The Argentine part is the same for everyone: the birth, registration at the Registro Civil (within 40 days by law), the baby’s DNI and passport, an apostille on the partida from Argentina’s foreign ministry, then the parents’ residency through family reunification on RaDEX. Step by step: “Birth in Argentina: step by step”. An Argentine child leaves Argentina on an Argentine document.

Israeli citizenship for the baby

Under the 1952 Nationality Law, Israeli citizenship passes from parent to child even when the child is born abroad.

For most Russian-speaking families who came to Israel through aliyah, the baby is Israeli from birth. If your case is the third row, discuss the options with a lawyer before the trip.

Registration at the consulate. It is handled by the consular department of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires; there are also honorary consuls in Córdoba, Patagonia, Cuyo and the north-east. The procedure according to Israel’s foreign ministry:

1. Download the form for notifying the birth of an Israeli citizen abroad and fill it in by hand.
2. Prepare the original Argentine partida with an apostille and a notarised Hebrew translation. Spanish is not accepted without a translation; ask the consulate where to have it done.
3. Add proof of maternity: the clinic’s medical birth certificate or the maternity discharge summary.
4. Bring both parents’ passports or te’udat zehut. Both parents attend; one is enough if both are Israeli citizens and their marriage is recorded in the Population Registry.
5. If only the father is Israeli, you may be asked for evidence of a relationship with the mother at least a year before the birth, and if in doubt, an Israeli court ruling on paternity.

Registration is free. The stated deadline is 30 days after the birth, but the partida and the apostille take time. Book early and ask what to do if the apostille is not ready yet. After registration the baby receives an ID number and is added to the appendix (sefach) of the parent’s te’udat zehut; the card itself is issued from age 16.

Dual citizenship is allowed by both countries. The consequences: a citizen enters and leaves Israel on an Israeli document, and Argentina on an Argentine one. If the child later lives in Israel, the duties of a citizen apply, including military service. There are special rules for children who grow up abroad — worth looking into closer to the teenage years.

The baby’s Israeli passport

• You can apply at the consulate, often during the same visit as the registration. The baby must be present in person.
• Both parents’ passports are required. If the marriage is not reflected in the Interior Ministry records, or the parents are divorced or unmarried, written consent from both parents, signed before a consul, is needed.
• Production abroad usually takes from two weeks to a month. If you need to fly to Israel urgently, ask about a teudat ma’avar (travel document).
• To leave Argentina with only one parent, the child needs the other parent’s authorisation (from an Argentine notary or Migraciones).

If you stay in Argentina

• Powers of attorney. Before you fly, sign a power of attorney for a relative in Israel: certificates, apostilles, dealings with the Interior Ministry and your bank. What to include is in “Powers of attorney before departure”. From Argentina, a power of attorney for use in Israel is easiest to sign before the consul at the embassy. Another option is an Argentine notary, with an apostille from Argentina’s foreign ministry.
• Online services. Many certificates and extracts are available on gov.il with personal identification. Set up your login in advance and keep your Israeli phone number for codes.
• Residency status. A long absence can affect your status with Bituah Leumi and your health coverage: a waiting period may apply when you return. Check the consequences before you leave.
• The parents’ passports are renewed at the consulate, usually in about three weeks. Watch the expiry dates, because without a valid passport Argentine procedures get harder too.
• The parents’ residency. Certificates for residency and renewals can be ordered remotely through a representative; apostilled originals are sent by courier.

Common mistakes

• Counting on your health fund or a standard travel policy to pay for the birth in Argentina.
• Missing the extension window for the tourist stay.
• Going to the consulate with a partida that has no apostille or no Hebrew translation.
• Assuming citizenship passes automatically when the parent was born abroad.
• Flying to Israel with the baby on an Argentine passport only.
• Registering the baby’s surname in Argentina differently from the parent’s Israeli passport.

How we help

We check documents before departure, handle the birth, registration, the baby’s DNI and passport, and the parents’ residency, and help with the apostille, the translation and the consular appointment. Full support is our Premium package, and the “Baby’s home-country documents” package ($290) takes care of the consular registration and the baby’s Israeli passport — see the after-birth packages. Rules for other countries are on Birth by country.