Argentina to sell citizenship for $350,000 as Milei hunts dollars for debt payments

Argentina announced Friday it will sell citizenship to wealthy foreigners, offering a passport accepted in more than 140 countries in exchange for a cash contribution or government bond purchase — a move that would make it the first South American nation to join a small club of countries that trade citizenship for money.

At an investor event in Paris, Economy Minister Luis Caputo introduced the program, noting that applications are expected to open before year's end. With nearly $25 billion in foreign-currency debt payments coming due in 2027, President Javier Milei's government is under financial pressure, and its options have grown more limited by its reluctance to re-enter international bond markets.

Applicants have two routes: a nonrefundable $350,000 contribution to the Argentine Treasury, or an $800,000 investment in a new zero-coupon government bond held for seven years. Family members can be included — spouses and adult children for an additional $100,000 each, minors under 18 for $25,000. A family of four, officials said, would pay roughly $500,000 under the contribution option.

The Argentine passport is highly valued, accepted in more than 140 countries.— Luis Caputo, Argentine Economy Minister

A group of investment firms advising the government put the program's potential yield at as much as $2.5 billion for Argentina, assuming applicant numbers meet expectations. The government said the resources obtained would be used to continue strengthening the country's fiscal and financial position.

The program requires no physical residency in Argentina, but will include background checks and anti-money-laundering vetting. On X, the economy ministry stated that investments would be subject to a "rigorous evaluation process guaranteeing the traceability of funds, the prevention of money laundering, and national security."

Argentina's foreign investment position underscores the urgency. According to the OECD, Argentina attracted $3.134 billion in foreign direct investment in 2025 — a fraction of the $76.877 billion drawn by Brazil and $40.871 billion by Mexico — the lowest level of any major Latin American economy.

According to Caputo, the concept took shape during Milei's July 2024 trip to Sun Valley, Idaho, after tech executives there expressed a desire to acquire Argentine citizenship. Milei, a self-described 'anarcho-capitalist,' has cultivated ties with libertarian-minded tech figures. In April, Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel temporarily relocated his family to Buenos Aires; corporate records obtained by the Associated Press show that a company tied to his investment firm, Thiel Capital, holds a $13.5 million mansion in the city's upscale Barrio Parque neighborhood.

I think that this 'Peter Thiel in Argentina' story is maybe a bit of a proof of concept (for the citizenship program).— Philippe Amarante, managing partner and head of government advisory, Henley & Partners

About 60 nations offer residency privileges in exchange for investment, but citizenship-by-investment programs — which go further, granting a passport and full civic rights — number only around a dozen, concentrated among small Caribbean island states. Argentina's entry into that group as a G-20 nation of 46 million people is a significant expansion of the concept.

According to experts, demand in the market for such programs has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic. Wealthy people from Southeast Asia and the Arab world have long sought passports that ease international travel and business. But increasingly, Americans and Europeans — whose own passports already offer broad visa-free access — are looking for a foothold abroad amid geopolitical uncertainty.

The Southern Cone of South America is the ultimate Plan B destination. It's not on the way to anywhere strategically important. It's a region that's always staying out of global armed conflict.— Christian Nesheim, editor, Investment Migration Insider

It's not only the benefits that you get within Argentina. You also get benefits globally in terms of where you can go.— Kristin Surak, professor, London School of Economics and author of 'The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires'

The announcement arrives in a politically charged week for Argentine sovereignty questions. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld a 2023 Milei decree repealing a 15-percent cap on foreign ownership of rural land that had been in place since 2011. Veterans of Argentina's 1982 war with Britain over the Falkland Islands bitterly opposed the decree; Yahoo News reported that they accused Milei of "putting the Republic of Argentina up for sale." A demonstration has been called for next week, and the opposition plans to challenge the land law change in parliament.

Golden passport programs have drawn sustained criticism from international watchdogs. The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has cautioned that citizenship and residency programs are vulnerable to exploitation by criminals seeking to hide their identities, move illicit funds, and escape accountability. A ruling handed down by the European Union's top court in April 2025 found Malta's golden passport program to be unlawful, on the grounds that EU citizenship cannot be treated as a commodity. Concerns over illicit money and rising housing costs have also led a number of other countries to abandon their own cash-for-residency schemes.

For Milei, who faces reelection next year, securing a new stream of dollars is both an economic and political imperative. Alongside spending cuts, deregulation, and efforts to attract investment in oil and mineral resources, the citizenship program forms part of a wider push to position Argentina — a country with a history of military coups, debt defaults, and runaway inflation — as a magnet for foreign wealth.

Why it matters — Argentina's program sets a precedent as the first South American citizenship-for-sale scheme from a G-20 nation, testing whether a country with a volatile economic history can attract wealthy foreigners — and whether the revenue can meaningfully dent a $25 billion debt wall.

Reported by reuters.com, ft.com, nytimes.com, imidaily.com, abcnews.com, yahoo.com