Birth in Argentina: step by step from arrival to the parents’ DNI

In short

The path has six stages: documents before departure → arrival and preparation → birth and registration → the baby’s DNI and passport → documents for the parents’ home country → the parents’ residence and DNI. The first five usually fit into a 2–3-month stay. The parents’ residence and the path to citizenship is a separate, multi-year story, and since DNU 366/2025 its rules are contested. Below: what is filed, by whom and in what order — and what to do if your family’s situation is not standard.

Timeline at a glance

Stage 1. What to prepare at home

• Passports for every family member with plenty of validity; identical Latin spelling of surnames.
• Marriage certificate and birth certificates of the parents and older children — apostilled.
• Police clearances for everyone over 16 — apostilled and recent. You also need clearances from every country where you lived for more than a year in the last three years.
• Medical folder — pregnancy record and summaries for your Argentine doctor (details in “How to prepare for birth”).
• Health insurance: DNU 366/2025 introduced a declaration of health coverage on entry. Travel policies usually do not cover childbirth — see “Health insurance during pregnancy”.
• Return tickets and an address — border officers may ask for them.
• Powers of attorney for a relative at home — especially if you plan to stay in Argentina for a long time.

Stage 2. Arrival and preparation

The best time to arrive is weeks 28–32: later on, airlines require a certificate and restrict travel. In your first weeks you need to:

• choose a doctor and sign with a clinic (see “Where to give birth in Buenos Aires”) and ask whether it has an in-house Registro Civil office;
• order sworn translations of the marriage certificate and other documents: the Registro Civil and Migraciones accept only translations by an Argentine traductor público, certified by the Translators’ Association. Since September 1, 2026, CTPCBA certification of one translation costs 33,000 pesos (24 working hours) or 38,000 pesos same day; the translator’s fee is separate;
• get proof of address — Migraciones will need it;
• decide on the baby’s name and its Latin spelling.

Stage 3. Birth and registration

• After the birth, the clinic issues a medical birth certificate (certificado médico de nacimiento).
• The birth is registered at the Registro Civil. Under Law 26,413, parents must do this within 40 calendar days; for 20 more days the Registro Civil may register the baby on its own initiative, and after that only through an administrative or court procedure with evidence. Do not wait.
• Where: many Buenos Aires clinics have their own Registro Civil office; at others (for example, Hospital Británico) you book an online appointment through miBA.
• What you need: passports of parents without residence; an apostilled marriage certificate with a sworn translation. If you are married, one parent can attend. If not, both attend — otherwise the father will not be recorded.
• If the parents do not speak Spanish, they attend with a sworn translator.
• Registration is free. You receive the Argentine birth certificate (partida / acta de nacimiento).
• Argentina has no patronymic field, and whatever you enter at registration stays in every document.

Stage 4. The baby’s DNI and passport

• DNI — the first one is free if issued before six months. The baby is brought in for a photo and biometrics; at some Registro Civil centres in Buenos Aires the DNI can be processed in the same visit as the registration.
• The Argentine passport is issued by RENAPER; both parents usually attend, and if one cannot, their notarised consent is needed. Fees from March 6, 2026: 100,000 pesos regular, 200,000 pesos express, 330,000 pesos urgent.
• The apostille on the Argentine birth certificate is issued by the Foreign Ministry (Cancillería), online via TAD. Without it, the baby’s documents in your home country cannot be processed.

This stage usually takes 3–6 weeks after the birth; if your tickets home are already booked, order the express passport right away. Details in “Baby documents after birth”.

Stage 5. Documents for your home country

With the apostilled birth certificate and its translation, the parents go to their country’s consulate in Buenos Aires: birth registration, citizenship, the baby’s passport. For Russia, see “Russian citizenship for a child born in Argentina”; for other countries, see “Birth by country”. Check the document list with the consulate before booking: translation requirements and whether both parents must attend differ.

If you are staying in Argentina and not going home, some procedures at home (insurance, benefits, social security numbers) can be handled by a relative under a power of attorney — we plan this in advance.

Stage 6. The parents’ residence and DNI

• Since DNU 366/2025, parents of an Argentine citizen receive temporary residence by family reunification for up to three years, renewable; permanent residence is no longer granted straight away.
• The application is filed online in RaDEX while you are in Argentina — each parent files their own. You need a passport, police clearances (the Argentine one is requested inside RaDEX), proof of address and lawful entry, the baby’s birth certificate and DNI. Foreign documents must be apostilled and sworn-translated.
• The temporary residence fee for non-MERCOSUR nationals is 100 UMSM (Migraciones’ table sets 1 UMSM = 1,000 pesos); a priority appointment adds 50 UMSM.
• While the application is processed, you receive a precaria valid for 90 days. It is renewed online in the last 10 calendar days; the fee is 10 UMSM. With a precaria you can live and work legally, but it does not count towards citizenship. Details in “Precaria in Argentina”.
• After approval — the foreigner’s DNI, 20,000 pesos.
• After three years of temporary residence you can move to permanent residence, provided you have not been abroad for more than six months.

Details and common mistakes in “Parents’ residence and DNI”.

Parents’ citizenship and the courts

Since October 2025 naturalisation has been handled by Migraciones through RaDEX: it requires two years of continuous lawful residence without leaving the country, a DNI, a police clearance, proof of income and a CUIT/CUIL. These rules are being challenged: the Yang case is now before the Supreme Court, and other courts’ rulings apply only to their own applicants, so the route is chosen with a lawyer for each family. The timeline of rulings and both routes in detail are in “Argentine citizenship in 2026”.

Non-standard scenarios

• Your husband arrives later or leaves earlier. If you are married, one parent can register the birth, but for the baby’s passport RENAPER generally needs both parents or the absent parent’s notarised consent. If he has to leave, get the passport done first.
• One parent flies out with the baby alone. A minor leaving Argentina with one parent needs the other parent’s authorisation — before a notary (escribano), legalised, or at Migraciones by appointment. Arrange it before the second parent leaves.
• Unmarried parents. Both attend the registration; also check how your consulate records paternity.
• The baby needs a passport fast. The urgent passport costs 330,000 pesos; process the baby’s DNI on the same day as the registration if possible.
• You are staying in Argentina. Apply for residence right after the baby’s DNI, watch your precaria dates and avoid long trips abroad while the application is pending.

Document checklist

The full list of steps is in our 40-step checklist.

How we help

We guide families through every stage — from document checks to the precaria and the parents’ DNI: we arrange the translator and the clinic and go with you to the Registro Civil, RENAPER and Migraciones. All of this is part of the Premium package; the trip budget is in “How much does it cost to give birth in 2026”.