Being a couple, living together, registering a union and getting married are different legal situations. None of them, on its own, gives Argentine citizenship. This page keeps four questions apart and is general information, not legal advice or a promise of any outcome.
1. Marriage at the Buenos Aires (CABA) Civil Registry
According to the city’s official page, both spouses need a valid DNI (or, for an expired temporary DNI, a valid passport plus the DNM electronic certificate of precarious residence). At least one spouse must have a CABA address on the DNI, and two witnesses with a valid DNI and an Argentine address are required. Widowed or divorced people provide the matching civil-status certificates; handwritten-signature certificates usually need legalization by the Ministerio del Interior. If you married and divorced abroad, a separate authorization procedure comes first. You book online and must upload the documents within 48 hours of the reservation email or the appointment is cancelled. The page lists a fee for each additional witness set by the tariff law; amounts change, so check them on the day.
2. Unión convivencial and the certificado de convivencia
The city’s page for registering a unión civil convivencial asks, in general, for at least two years of prior cohabitation (an exception applies if the couple has children together), adult partners, at least one DNI with a CABA address, single, widowed or divorced status, and two adult witnesses who are not close relatives. The procedure runs through the TAD platform and, under the current tariff law, is free. That does not make translations, apostilles or independent advice free. A certificado de convivencia is a different document: do not assume that the one you hold will be accepted for the same purpose. Do not apply for a registration with back-dated cohabitation or untrue witness statements. CABA’s rules are not automatically the same in other provinces.
3. Residency through a spouse or family link
The DNM’s family reunification page lists the spouse, parent and child (single, under 18, unemancipated or with a disability) of an Argentine citizen or of a temporary or permanent resident, with legalized birth or marriage certificates as proof. Where the sponsor is Argentine or a permanent resident, a stay of up to three years may be authorized; otherwise the residency follows the sponsor’s period. That page does not mention the unión convivencial. DNM Disposición 4880/2015 article 1 (as replaced by Disposición 6206/2017) recognizes a union registered in the local registry, with effects analogous to marriage only for specific purposes, including admission under Law 25.871. Check with the DNM how your registered union is treated before choosing a category. See also family reunification.
4. Marriage, residency and citizenship
Marriage, a registered union or a partner’s permanent residency does not by itself grant citizenship or a passport. Decree 3213/1984 article 3(f) lists having a native-born Argentine spouse or child among the grounds for naturalization regardless of length of residence, but the ordinary route under Law 346 article 2, as amended by DNU 366/2025, asks for two years of continuous legal residence without trips abroad. DNU 366/2025 articles 44 and 45 keep residency and citizenship files started before 29 May 2025 under the rules in force when they began. In late June 2026, according to press reports, the Cámara Nacional Electoral found unconstitutional, in a citizenship case, the part of DNU 366/2025 that moved citizenship applications to the DNM. The scope and final effect of that ruling are not yet clear, so check on the day you apply which authority and which rules govern the citizenship route for your own file. Nor should a registered union be assumed to have the same citizenship effect as marriage. See the citizenship guide.
Before you apply
- Confirm your partner’s citizenship or residency document and its expiry date.
- Decide which legal document you actually have: a marriage record or a registered union.
- Check the address, witness, civil-status and date requirements with the Registro Civil.
- Check apostille or legalization and Spanish translation requirements.
- Check the current DNM / RaDEX channel and fees on the day.
- For legal interpretation or representation in your case, consult a qualified professional.
Related: residency guide · contact us.