If you’re thinking about moving abroad, you’ve probably stumbled upon the word “expatriate” or “ex-pat” more than a few times. You might be wondering, just what is the meaning of expatriate?
First of all, it doesn’t mean “ex-patriot” as in someone who is a former patriot of their country. Actually the term has nothing to do with patriotism. This is what the dictionary says:
An expatriate (in abbreviated form, expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person’s upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin term expatriātus from ex ("out of") and patriā the ablative case of patria ("country, fatherland").
So there you go.
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If you want to retain your current nationality while becoming a citizen of Argentina, you should be just fine according to the laws in Argentina. (Your home country is a separate matter.)
Argentina has a policy of recognizing dual citizenship for minors who are under the age of 18. Upon turning 18, the citizen must make a formal declaration of “allegiance” to a country. How official this is, no one can say. For example, you might declare allegiance to one country but the other country can still classify you as a citizen. On that note, Argentina also has a policy of recognizing “dual nationality” but only requires dual nationals to use their Argentine passports when traveling in or out of the country.
Regarding your home country, that’s a big gray area. You can make all the allegiance pledges to another country all you want, but your home country has to agree to release you as a citizen. For example, in the U.S., losing one’s citizenship is a long and tricky process and requires you to apply and then get approval. And even then, you are still on the hook for any unpaid taxes the IRS might throw at you.
Argentina gives citizenship to applicants if they qualify in one of the following ways:
1. Born in Argentina: If you’re already born, it’s too late for you, but your future children could gain Argentine citizenship automatically if they are born in the country, or have parents who are already citizens.
2. A person who has lived in Argentina for at least two years can apply for citizenship.
3. Marriage to an Argentine citizen will enable citizenship after two years as well.