Most CBI cost pages itemise a six- or seven-figure donation paid in a single wire. Argentina has none. The cash cost is a flat $4,000 21 CBI advisory fee plus roughly $1,200 to $2,500 in government and third-party filing fees, against a documented $1,500-per-month income floor and two years of continuous in-country residency before naturalization. Smallest fee in the portfolio. Largest time investment.
Framing
Argentina is not a CBI program. It is a residency-to-citizenship pathway. There is no government contribution; you prove income, you live the timeline, you naturalize.
Demonstrated passive income from a foreign source. ~$1,500/month floor, set regulatorily at five times the Argentine minimum salary. Four to eight months from engagement to DNI.
| Line item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| DNM state fees (temporaria submission) | ~$110 | Paid at filing via RaDEX. |
| Apostille fees (home country) | Varies | Typically $20–$50 per document. Budget for 2-4 documents. |
| Sworn Spanish translations | $300–$800 | Certified public translator. Mandatory for all non-Spanish documents. |
| Annual renewal fees (years 2-3) | ~$110 x 2 | Budget for two renewals before permanent status. |
| 21 CBI advisory fee | $4,000 | Flat engagement fee. Bitcoin-denominated. Covers file strategy, source-of-funds structuring, apostille coordination, sworn translation management, RaDEX filing support, and biometric scheduling. |
Typical all-in first-year total
Before 21 CBI fee. Excludes travel, accommodation, and in-country setup costs.
$1,200–$2,500
The 21 CBI advisory fee is a flat $4,000, payable in Bitcoin (BTC, Lightning) or USDT. Live BTC/USD equivalents at the Cost Calculator.
Same income floor of ~$1,500 per month, sourced from a government or private pension rather than passive investment yield. Same 4 to 8 month processing window. Same two-year naturalization timeline under Law 346 Article 2. The cost ledger above applies in full; only the source-of-income documentation differs. We route applicants into rentista or pensionado depending on which fits their income profile.
Rentista is not an investment. It is a demonstrated cash flow.
Minimum Qualifying Flow
What Qualifies as Passive Income
Bitcoin yield strategies (Lightning routing fees, node yield, covered-call premiums, institutional lending distributions) can qualify if they produce documented, third-party-verifiable periodic payments. We structure the documentation; your yield stays your yield.
Argentina’s CBI framework was established by Decrees 366/2025 and 524/2025. Operational capacity was paused on April 14, 2026 when the Ministry of Economy cancelled Tender 34-0001-CPU25 via Resolution 522/2026. The legal framework remains in force; the operational pipeline does not.
Pre-cancellation public signaling referenced approximately USD 500,000 as a contribution floor, but that number was never codified and we will not quote it as if it were. Eligible investment vehicles, source-of-funds standards, and processing timeline are not published either. We will update this section within 72 hours of any official government announcement.
For applicants who want to be in queue when the framework reopens, we maintain a waitlist and publish a 72-hour update on this page when an official announcement lands. Until then, rentista or pensionado is the buildable pathway.
BTC, Lightning, and USDT are our payment rails for the $4,000 flat advisory fee; credit cards and bank transfers also accepted as needed. The flat-fee structure on Argentina replaces our standard 5%-of-government-fees model, because there is no government contribution to take a percentage of.
Argentine government filing fees (DNM state fees, annual renewals) are paid in Argentine pesos at filing via RaDEX. That is the Argentine state’s rule, not 21 CBI’s framing; we coordinate the peso conversion at the point of filing. Translation and apostille fees are paid directly to the providers in whatever currency they accept.
Argentine rentista review focuses on the monthly arrival of foreign passive income into a Central-Bank-registered Argentine account. Source-of-wealth posture for Bitcoin yield is documented the same way we document it everywhere else: origin (mining, purchase, salary, business), custody (which wallets, which exchanges, since when), on-chain analysis, reconciliation against bank or exchange records. The Bitcoin-yield documentation matters for the income stream; the Bitcoin-position documentation matters for the bank account on the receiving end.
The full methodology is public: Bitcoin source-of-funds methodology.
At $4,000 flat advisory plus roughly $1,200 to $2,500 in government and third-party filing fees, Argentina is the lowest-cost program 21 CBI advises on. The trade-off is time: two continuous years of in-country residency before naturalization. Every other program in the portfolio buys speed with capital; Argentina spends time instead of money. The Argentine passport that lands on the other side ranks #15 globally, with 168 visa-free destinations including the Schengen Area, the United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea.
A flat $4,000 21 CBI advisory fee (payable in BTC, Lightning, or USDT), plus typical first-year government and third-party costs of $1,200 to $2,500: DNM state fees around $110 at filing through RaDEX, sworn Spanish translations at $300 to $800, apostille fees of $20 to $50 per document across two to four documents, and annual renewal fees of around $110 for years two and three. All-in first-year total: roughly $5,200 to $6,500 including the advisory fee. There is no government contribution.
Argentina is not a CBI program. It is a residency-to-citizenship pathway under Law 25,871 (rentista residency) and Law 346 Article 2 (two-year naturalization floor). There is no sovereign contribution to take a percentage of; we charge a flat $4,000 advisory fee rather than the 5% we charge on donation-based programs. The cost is structurally smaller because the route is structurally different. The trade-off is time: two years of continuous residency before naturalization.
Argentine immigration law requires rentista applicants to demonstrate roughly USD 1,500 per month in foreign passive income. The threshold is set regulatorily at five times the Argentine minimum salary, which is why the USD figure shifts modestly with peso adjustments. The income must come from a verifiable foreign source, arrive into an Argentine bank account registered with the Central Bank, and cannot be self-transferred from personal accounts abroad (Decree 366/2025). This is a capacity test, not a fee. The money is yours; it has to be documented as arriving monthly.
Yes, if it produces documented, third-party-verifiable periodic payments. Lightning routing fees from a well-positioned node, covered-call premiums on BTC positions, institutional Bitcoin lending distributions, and structured yield products can all qualify. The documentation has to show three things: foreign source, periodic arrival, third-party verifiable. We structure the documentation against Argentine standards; your yield stays your yield. Roughly the yield on $300,000 in 6% Treasuries, or the routing fees on a well-positioned Lightning node, satisfies the floor.
Rentista is for applicants showing roughly $1,500 per month from non-pension passive income (rental income, dividends, interest, trust distributions, business distributions with operational separation). Pensionado is for applicants showing roughly $1,500 per month from a government or private pension. Same income floor, same 4 to 8 month processing window, same two-year naturalization timeline. The two categories differ only in the source-of-income documentation; we route applicants into whichever fits.
Argentina's CBI framework was established by Decrees 366/2025 and 524/2025. Operational capacity was paused as of April 14, 2026 when the Ministry of Economy cancelled Tender 34-0001-CPU25 via Resolution 522/2026. The legal framework remains in force; the operational pipeline does not. The Ministry has not announced a reissue date. We publish updates within 72 hours of any official announcement. Pre-cancellation public signaling referenced approximately USD 500,000 as a contribution floor, but that number was never codified; we will not quote it as if it were.
BTC, Lightning, and USDT are our payment rails for the $4,000 advisory fee; credit cards and bank transfers also accepted as needed. Argentine government filing fees (DNM state fees, annual renewals) are paid in Argentine pesos at filing via RaDEX, per the Argentine state's rule. Translation and apostille fees are paid to the providers directly in whatever currency they accept; we coordinate but do not invoice for these line items.
Four to eight months from engagement to DNI issuance, with most of that window spent on document preparation, apostille coordination, and sworn translation (the RaDEX filing itself is fast). Then two years of continuous in-country residency under temporary status. Then naturalization under Law 346 Article 2, processed administratively by DNM (the naturalization forum moved from civil courts to DNM administrative on October 6, 2025, materially shortening the post-residency step). Total engagement to Argentine passport in hand: roughly two years and six months.
If Argentina is the right shape (rentista first, naturalization in year three, CBI when and if it reopens), the next step is a confidential call. We will give you our honest reading of fit, income documentation strategy, and two-year residency posture against your specific situation. Encrypted. No obligation.
Adam Juchniewicz, CEO, 21 CBI
