Australian Embassy in Buenos Aires: consular services

The Australian Embassy in Buenos Aires is at Villanueva 1400, C1426BMJ, and its consular telephone number is +54 11 4779 3500. For an urgent consular matter outside office hours, call +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas; routine passport and notarial appointments are booked through the embassy website.

How to contact the embassy and emergency services

The embassy handles Australian consular work; it cannot grant Argentine residence or act as your insurer. In a medical emergency in Argentina, call the local emergency service first. Smartraveller warns that Australian officials cannot pay your hospital or medical-evacuation bills; the Medicare overseas guide explains why an Australian Medicare card will not cover treatment here.

How to renew an Australian passport in Buenos Aires

Australian citizens can lodge passport applications at the embassy. An adult can send a renewal by post only if they are over 18 and the previous passport meets all these conditions: it was issued when they were at least 16, issued on or after 1 January 2006, originally valid for at least two years, contains the same name, date and place of birth and gender, and has not been reported lost, stolen or cancelled. Being eligible for the normal adult renewal form does not by itself establish that a posted application qualifies.

A previous-passport renewal for a child aged up to 15 can be lodged by post under the embassy's PC8 rules. A first child passport application, or any application for someone aged 16 or 17, must be lodged in person by appointment. An adult who does not meet every postal condition should use the embassy's passport instructions and appointment process rather than mailing an incomplete application.

1. Use the Australian Passport Office forms and the embassy's passport instructions to determine the correct application type and documents.
2. If the application must be lodged in person, book an embassy appointment for each applicant. Bring the required documents and a credit or debit card.
3. If eligible to post, follow the embassy's postal instructions for your particular renewal type; do not send a first child application by mail. For an urgent trip, contact the embassy about an emergency passport. Emergency passport applications and passport collections do not need a booking during standard office hours.

How much passports cost from 1 September 2026

The embassy's fee schedule effective 1 September 2026 publishes these amounts. The overseas surcharge is additional to the passport application fee; the combined rows below are sums of the published components, not separate charges.

Card payments only: the embassy does not accept cash or cheques. ARS amounts can vary monthly with exchange rates, so use the live embassy fee page for the amount payable at your appointment. The embassy's passport-instructions page still mentions older surcharge amounts; the dated fee schedule above is the source for these September 2026 figures.

Which documents can the embassy notarise?

The embassy certifies true copies and photos, witnesses signatures and statutory declarations, issues certificates of no impediment to marriage, and legalises eligible documents by apostille. Its notarial work is limited to documents Australian in origin or intended for use in Australia. Ask the authority receiving your document what form it accepts before booking: an embassy stamp will not correct a document it does not require.

On the 1 September 2026 fee schedule, witnessing a signature or certifying a copy costs AUD $90 / ARS $94,220; an apostille costs AUD $105 / ARS $109,925; a certificate of no impediment costs AUD $181 / ARS $189,490. Fees for notarial work are non-refundable and paid by card. Only certified copies of original documents and apostilles can be submitted by mail; request mailing instructions from consular.buenosaires@dfat.gov.au first. For Argentine residency documents, the AFP check and apostille guide deals with the Australian document chain, while the visa requirements guide covers entry. The embassy is not an Argentine immigration office.

Can you vote in an Australian election from Argentina?

Federal voting is not compulsory for Australians overseas. If you intend to return to Australia within six years, are an Australian citizen and are at least 18, you can register with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) as an overseas elector. If already enrolled, the AEC says registration is possible from three months before departure until three years after leaving; its overseas wizard also distinguishes notifying the AEC of travel from registering as an overseas elector. Your Argentine address is a postal/contact address, not a new Australian electoral division.

If you move overseas indefinitely with no intention of returning, notify the AEC: after the applicable period you are removed from the federal roll and cannot vote while unenrolled. Non-voting overseas can also affect enrolment status. Use the AEC overseas enrolment instructions and its Australians overseas page for the current forms and voting options at the next election. Embassy passport and notarial appointments do not register you to vote.

Where to get current travel advice

Smartraveller's Argentina advice carries current safety information and the embassy contact details. At its 21 July 2026 update, the country-level advice was exercise normal safety precautions, with exercise a high degree of caution in Rosario because of crime and violence. Advice can change; use the live advice for your destination and travel dates. Its insurance and emergency guidance still matters after you move. The first weeks in Argentina checklist covers the other arrival tasks outside the embassy's role.