Moving to Argentina checklist: your first month on arrival

An Australian passport permits tourist entry for up to 90 days, but a move needs its own immigration category. Start with a local phone, transport and an address. If eligible, file the appropriate residence application through RaDEX while in Argentina; tourist entry does not authorise local employment.

Days 1–3: make the arrival workable

1. Keep your entry evidence and a working connection. Migraciones may not stamp your Australian passport; its online transit record can document crossings. For a local number without a DNI (national identity card), Personal's tourist prepaid SIM explicitly accepts a passport. A SIM bought at an official outlet comes activated; one bought at a participating kiosk requires a visit to an official outlet with ID. Take an unlocked phone and passport. A travel data eSIM need not supply a local phone number, which matters when a form or provider asks for one.

1. Get a SUBE transport card before relying on commuter routes. The official SUBE site links to purchase points, online purchase, registration and top-ups; its FAQ explains where to buy one. The physical card pays for buses, subte and trains where SUBE operates. Registration helps protect a balance if a card is lost; follow SUBE's identity instructions rather than assuming a passport will work in every online registration field.

1. Arrange a temporary flat with a usable address. If you are settling in Buenos Aires, search furnished rentals on PlataPlace. Ask for the full price, cancellation terms and address documentation before paying. A temporary stay and a permanent-home lease can have different contractual terms; see the first-month rental guide before committing to a long lease. Your residence application asks for proof of domicile, so retain the address and whatever supporting evidence you receive.

Days 4–14: file residence if your category qualifies

1. Choose your legal category before starting RaDEX. Study, qualifying family, employment, rentista and pensionado are distinct residence grounds with different evidence. The residency guide for Australians sets out the route and timing. An in-country digital-nomad application follows a separate Migraciones procedure, not the standard RaDEX residence sequence. If you entered as a tourist, do not treat the visitor allowance as a substitute for residence.

1. Prepare the category documents, then apply while in Argentina. For RaDEX, create an account, complete the category form, pay the charges generated by the platform and upload your evidence. Migraciones emails an in-person appointment if the filing is ready for formalisation. Its general document rules call for a current passport, lawful entry and address; applicants older than 16 may need overseas police records from countries where they lived more than a year during the past three years. Overseas documents must be apostilled or consularly legalised, with non-Spanish documents translated by an authorised Argentine public translator and the translation legalised. Prepare the Australian police certificate and apostille before the RaDEX appointment if your category requires them.

1. Save the precaria and track its expiry. A residencia precaria (provisional residence certificate) may be granted for up to 90 calendar days while a residence decision is pending and can be renewed by Migraciones. During its validity it permits staying, exiting and re-entering, working and studying under the decree; it is not a final approval. Its time does not count toward the residence period required for permanent residence or naturalisation. Keep the document accessible when dealing with employers and authorities, and use Migraciones' issued expiry date rather than the date you pressed submit.

Weeks 3–4: set up identification, money and medical cover

1. Apply for your first foreign-resident DNI after residence is granted. The DNI is issued through RENAPER/Registro Civil; a precaria is not the DNI. Use your residence decision to follow the appointment instructions Migraciones gives for the first document. Do not promise a card during your first month: the decision may come later. Retain your current passport and immigration document while waiting.

1. Get the identifier required for your transaction. ANSES issues a CUIL (work and social-security number) free in person without appointment for eligible applicants. Its CUIL requirements list a foreigner's DNI or specified immigration-file/residence documents where a DNI is not yet available; a tourist passport alone is not a general CUIL route. ARCA's CDI (identification code) is for someone without CUIL/CUIT who needs, for example, to open a bank account or buy a registrable good; ARCA's CDI procedure lists a nonresident passport route. CDI does not replace tax registration or a work identifier.

1. Ask for a peso account using the ID you have. BCRA's immigrant account policy describes a free peso savings account using a RENAPER DNI or passport; an individual app can impose different onboarding checks. At a staffed bank, ask about a caja de ahorro en pesos para inmigrantes if passport verification fails online. A wallet's CVU is not a bank CBU: Wise's peso bank transfer asks for a 22-digit CBU and the recipient's 11-digit CUIT/CUIL. The newcomer bank-account guide explains the distinction before you send money to the wrong type of account.

1. Arrange medical cover for non-emergency care. Emergency treatment is protected regardless of migration status, but the August 2026 national-hospital procedure requires insurance or advance payment for habitual care by people without permanent residence in nationally run facilities. Provincial and city arrangements need not match that national procedure. Compare a local prepaga (private health plan) for its actual hospital network and exclusions, and retain travel cover for evacuation if relevant; the health insurance guide covers the choice. In a medical emergency dial 107; 911 is another emergency number.

1. Save the Australian Embassy contacts and Smartraveller advice. The Australian Embassy in Buenos Aires is at Villanueva 1400; its consular phone is +54 11 4779 3500. Read the current Argentina advice on Smartraveller and use its update-subscription option for travel alerts. Do not assume an embassy registration creates immigration status or replaces insurance. For after-hours emergency consular assistance the Embassy lists +61 2 6261 3305.

What the first month cannot finish

A RaDEX submission begins a residence process; it does not deliver an approved residence or DNI on a fixed first-month timetable. Keep the precaria valid if one is issued, respond to your in-person appointment, and use the grant rather than an application screenshot for steps that require established residence. For a filing affected by family circumstances or document history, we recommend Lucero Legal.