In an attempt to reduce Argentina’s debt, President Javier Milei announced a plan to issue passports to wealthy foreigners in exchange for cash or investments.
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Economy Minister Luis Caputo unveiled the so-called “golden passport” system at an investor event in Paris, saying applications should be open before the end of the year.
Applicants have two options: make a non-refundable contribution of €311,000 to the Argentine Treasury or invest €711,000 in a new government bond that must be held for seven years. Contributions would increase depending on family size, with a family of four having to pay €444,000, officials said.
Securing funding is key for Milei as he prepares to run for re-election next year. Argentina’s Treasury faces nearly 22 billion euros in foreign-currency debt repayments due in 2027. But after reducing its financing options by delaying a return to international bond markets, the government is looking for other sources of revenue.
A consortium of investment firms advising the government has estimated that the paid citizenship program could bring in up to 2.2 billion euros for Argentina if it receives the expected number of applicants.
“A sort of status symbol”
So-called “golden visa” programs have become increasingly common in cash-strapped countries struggling to attract deep-pocketed foreigners, with around 60 countries offering residency privileges in exchange for one-time investments. US President Donald Trump launched his own “gold card” program for the United States last year.
Citizenship for investment programs go further, offering more rights and a passport that opens doors abroad. Only a dozen countries have active programs, including small island states in the Caribbean.
“I think every wealthy American will think about this,” Nuri Katz, president of Apex Capital Partners, told Forbes. “It’s so unique that it will be seen as both an insurance policy and a sort of status symbol, like the Amex Black Card. As in ‘oh, you don’t have Argentina.’
Argentina, a G20 country of 46 million people home to a vast expanse of Patagonian wilderness and a culturally vibrant capital, is poised to become the first South American country to join their ranks.
“The Argentine passport is highly valued and accepted in more than 140 countries,” Caputo said, referring to destinations Argentines can visit without a prior visa – from China and Russia to Europe’s Schengen area and most of Latin America.
For wealthy people from countries facing visa restrictions, whether in Southeast Asia or the Arab world, Argentine citizenship could make international travel and business easier, said Kristin Surak, a professor at the London School of Economics and author of “The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires.”
“It’s not just about the benefits you get in Argentina,” she said. “You also get global benefits in terms of where you can go.”
Plan B passport
The customer base for these programs has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, industry experts say, with more Americans and Europeans — whose passports already offer plenty of visa-free travel — seeking to establish a foothold abroad as an escape route in a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty.
“The southern cone of South America is the ultimate Plan B destination. It is not on its way to a strategically important location. It is a region that still remains aloof from global armed conflicts,” said Christian Nesheim, editor-in-chief of Investment Migration Insider, a trade journal. “It is self-sufficient in terms of food, energy.”
A country with a history of military coups, defaults and soaring inflation that has long sent its own economic elite seeking opportunities abroad might seem an unlikely haven for investors seeking stability. But Milei is trying to make Argentina a destination for foreign wealth, cutting public spending, dismantling regulations and soliciting investment in the country’s vast oil and mineral resources.
Caputo said the idea for the Citizenship for Investment program emerged during Milei’s July 2024 visit to Sun Valley, Idaho, when tech executives expressed interest in obtaining Argentine citizenship.
A self-described “Anarcho-capitalist,” Milei has cultivated close ties with libertarian-minded tech billionaires such as Elon Musk, a strong supporter of Milei’s drive to shrink government. Last year, he brandished a chainsaw gifted by the Argentine leader as a symbol of his own campaign to cut U.S. government spending.
Another ideological ally is Peter Thiel, co-founder of the software company Palantir who temporarily moved his family to Buenos Aires in April. Company records obtained by The Associated Press show that a company linked to his investment firm, Thiel Capital, owns a 12 million mansion in the upscale Barrio Parque neighborhood. Thiel also obtained New Zealand citizenship in 2011, receiving a special exemption from the usual residency requirements.
“I think this ‘Peter Thiel in Argentina’ thing is maybe a bit of a proof of concept (for the citizenship program),” said Philippe Amarante, managing partner and head of government consulting at Henley & Partners, a consultancy that helps clients obtain passports around the world.
“It promotes the idea that independent, wealthy, successful people have choices everywhere in the world. And if you provide the right environments and the right habitats, the right ecosystem, they might choose you.”
Selling citizenship vulnerable to corruption
Golden passport programs have long drawn criticism due to their vulnerability to corruption. The Financial Action Task Force, the global money laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals are exploiting citizenship and residency programs to hide their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.
Dealing a blow to the investment migration sector, the European Union’s highest court declared Malta’s golden passport program illegal in April 2025, saying EU citizenship could not be sold. Other countries have also abandoned cash-for-residency programs, citing concerns ranging from dirty money to housing affordability.
Caputo has pledged to avoid such pitfalls, with intelligence and financial monitoring agencies helping to verify candidates’ identities, criminal records and sources of funds.
The goal, he explained, is to protect “the international status of Argentine citizenship.”
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