If you’re researching how to stay legally in Argentina, you’ll see two confusing terms everywhere in immigration forums and student groups:
Visa -365
Visa +365
These numbers are NOT names of visas — they’re internal categories that specify whether your residency is issued for less than one year or one year (or more).
But understanding the difference is essential if you want to know how long you can stay, how renewals work, and how to plan your life in Buenos Aires.
This is the clearest and most complete explanation for 2025, with real details students actually need.
⭐ 1. What the -365 visa means (“menos 365”)
Contents
“-365” simply means your student residency was granted for less than one full year.
For language students in Argentina, this normally includes:
- 90-day programs
- 180-day programs
- 6-month certificates
- any academic plan that immigration interprets as “under 12 months”
You are still receiving legal student residency, just with a shorter initial duration.
✔ Who usually chooses -365?
- People staying 3–6 months
- Travelers exploring South America
- Digital nomads testing Buenos Aires
- Students who want a lighter commitment
- Anyone unsure if they will stay an entire year
✔ What most foreigners don’t know: renewals are possible
This is the part everyone misunderstands:
Even if your first resolution is classified internally as -365, you can renew your student residency year after year as long as you remain enrolled in a valid school.
With schools like Wanderlust Spanish, students typically:
- Get their first residency (whether it comes out as -365 or +365 doesn’t matter)
- Renew the residency every year
- Stay up to 3 years legally as long as they continue a valid study program
So -365 does NOT mean you are limited to a short stay.
It only describes the length of the current approval, not your total time allowed in the country.
✔ Does -365 count for citizenship?
Yes.
All student residencies — whether -365 or +365 — count toward the 2-year requirement for Argentine citizenship.
⭐ 2. What the +365 visa means (“más 365”)
“+365” means your student residency is issued for 365 days or more.
For language students, this generally refers to:
👉 A full one-year student residency
This is the most popular path for long-term travelers, digital nomads, and people who want Buenos Aires as their home base.
✔ Advantages of +365
- Full 12 months of legal residency at once
- Free entry and exit from Argentina during the year
- Ideal for renting long-term
- Best option for building a life in Buenos Aires
- Counts toward the 2-year citizenship requirement
- Extremely stable for remote workers and long-term visitors
✔ How Wanderlust helps with +365
Wanderlust Spanish can:
- Issue 1-year academic plans
- Provide the correct certificates for +365 processing
- Allow payment in two installments while still issuing a full-year certificate
- Support students through renewals for up to 3 years total
Many students do:
- Year 1: first residency
- Year 2: renewal
- Year 3: renewal again
In all cases, they remain fully legal.
⭐ 3. Renewals: how they really work (the part nobody explains)
Regardless of whether your first resolution is -365 or +365:
- You can renew as long as you stay enrolled
- Renewals are done annually
- Schools like Wanderlust provide the updated certificate each year
- Students routinely reach 2–3 years of legal stay
- All of that time counts as legal residence for citizenship
Many foreigners believe they must “upgrade” from -365 to +365 — but this is incorrect.
What matters for immigration is:
- that you maintain enrollment
- that you stay inside the country legally
- that you renew on time
With those three conditions, your stay is extendable.
⭐ 4. Real-life differences between -365 and +365
If you choose -365:
- You start with a shorter residency
- You can still renew annually
- You have more flexibility if unsure
- Perfect for 3–6 month stays
- Lower initial commitment
- Great for travelers and nomads
If you choose +365:
- You start with a full year
- Ideal if you plan to stay long-term
- Best for building routines and stability
- Easier for renting and settling
- Perfect for Spanish fluency goals
- Best choice if you may pursue citizenship
In reality:
-365 = flexible
+365 = stable
Both work.
Both are legal.
Both allow yearly renewals with Wanderlust.
⭐ 5. Which one should YOU choose?
Choose -365 if:
- You’re staying half a year
- You’re traveling around South America
- You want a test run in Buenos Aires
- You’re keeping options open
- You prefer a lighter commitment
Choose +365 if:
- You want Buenos Aires as your home base
- You’re planning to stay 10–12 months or longer
- You want to learn Spanish deeply
- You want the comfort of one-year approval
- You might consider citizenship later
- You prefer stability
Most students at Wanderlust choose +365 when they know they want to remain longer — because they can then renew year after year, up to 3 years total.
⭐ Final thought
The difference between -365 and +365 is a technical detail inside the immigration system — but it determines the rhythm of your life in Argentina.
What matters most is that:
- both give you legal residency
- both allow you to renew annually (with a valid school)
- both count toward citizenship
- Wanderlust Spanish supports up to 3 years of continuous legal stay through student residency
Whether you stay 6 months or 3 years, Argentina gives you room to breathe, learn, grow — and Buenos Aires gives you a city worth staying for.
