Argentine citizenship through the courts after DNU 366/2025: rulings and how to apply in 2026

In short

• Since 29 May 2025, DNU 366/2025 has moved naturalisation from the federal courts to Migraciones and required two years of lawful residence without a single trip abroad. Time on a precaria does not count.
• The courts disagree. Since September 2025 several federal courts have held these rules unconstitutional for individual applicants, and on 30 June 2026 the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared the citizenship provisions of the decree null in the Yang case.
• The State appealed: on 24 September 2026 the chamber admitted the appeal, and in October the case reached the Supreme Court. There is no decision yet.
• So today there are two routes: apply to Migraciones under the new rules, or go to a federal court under Law 346 with a challenge to the decree. The second route is chosen by people who do not meet the “two years without leaving” rule.
• No ruling guarantees the outcome of your case: each one covers its own applicant, and the Supreme Court may change the picture.

What DNU 366/2025 changed in citizenship

The decree did not touch the right of a child born in Argentina to citizenship by birth. It concerns only the naturalisation of adults — most often parents of an Argentine child, spouses of citizens and people living here on a residence permit.

Timeline: what the courts decided

Details of each ruling with links are in our News section.

What this means now

• The Migraciones route suits people who have spent two years on a residence permit without leaving the country. It is an administrative procedure in RaDEX, with no court.
• The court route is for people who have travelled, whose time was partly on a precaria, or who filed before the reform. They file a challenge to the decree and ask the court to decide citizenship under Law 346.
• Until the Supreme Court rules, practice varies: some judges accept these claims and decide citizenship, others refuse or split the claims. Appeals take months.
• If the Supreme Court upholds the Cámara Nacional Electoral, court jurisdiction returns for everyone. If it reverses, the new Migraciones system stays, and cases already decided for applicants will depend on their stage.

Who should consider going to court

• Parents of an Argentine child who have lived here for at least two years but have travelled — to visit family or for work.
• Parents of a child born in Argentina who do not yet have two years: the old regulation exempted them from the residence period, and claims are often built on that exemption.
• People who applied before 29 May 2025 or met the old law’s conditions by that date.
• People refused by Migraciones because of trips abroad.

If you have lived on a residence permit for two years and never left, Migraciones is usually simpler. Whether the courts now apply the old regulation’s exemptions is one of the main open questions: a lawyer assesses your chances from your documents.

How a court application works

1. Case review with a lawyer. They check your time in the country, trips, criminal records and documents, and choose the court: in Buenos Aires City citizenship goes to the federal civil and commercial courts, in the provinces to federal courts with electoral jurisdiction.
2. Documents. Foreigner DNI or precaria, passport, birth certificate, criminal record certificates from Argentina and from the countries where you lived, proof of residence and means of living. Foreign documents need an apostille and a sworn translation.
3. The claim. Usually a single filing asks the court to declare the decree inapplicable and to decide citizenship. The judge may accept both, refuse, or split them.
4. Proceedings. The court requests reports from Migraciones, the police and other agencies; the prosecutor gives an opinion. Both sides can appeal.
5. Decision and oath. After a favourable decision comes the oath (jura), then the citizen DNI and the Argentine passport.

Our experience: the founder’s case

Anastasia Zhuklova, founder of Nace Argentina, is going through this herself. Her daughter was born in Buenos Aires in June 2026; Anastasia obtained residency through her child and in August 2026 filed in court: a constitutional challenge and a citizenship claim in one filing. The first-instance judge split the claims; the court of appeals sided with Anastasia and sent the case back to first instance to be decided under the previous rules. The case is ongoing.

The main lesson from her case: prepare documents and proof of residence early, and leave a margin in your plans — every procedural turn adds weeks.

Timing and cost

• Timing is not set by law. Without appeals — several months; with appeals — a year or more. The Supreme Court ruling may speed cases up or slow them down.
• The main cost is the lawyer’s fee, agreed individually. Add apostilles and certificates from home, sworn translations and, after the decision, the DNI and passport at RENAPER rates.
• Promises of “guaranteed citizenship in 3 months” are a red flag: nobody can honestly guarantee that today.

Common mistakes

• Assuming an Argentine child automatically gives the parents citizenship.
• Travelling for long without counting the trips: they matter both at Migraciones and in court. The rules are in Travel and absence.
• Filing without recent apostilled and translated criminal record certificates.
• Relying on one headline ruling: each one concerns its own applicant.
• Missing the renewal of the precaria or residence permit while the case is pending.

How we help

We collect and translate documents, coordinate with an independent Argentine lawyer through our legal support, explain every step in Russian or English and track your residency deadlines while the case runs. An overview of all routes is in Argentine citizenship in 2026, and parents’ residency in Residency and DNI for parents of an Argentine child.