If you’re planning to stay in Argentina legally for more than a few months, you’ll quickly discover that two visas stand out for foreigners who want to live in Buenos Aires without a work contract:
1. The Rentista Visa
2. The Student Visa (Residencia Transitoria por Estudios)
Both allow legal residency.
Both allow you to stay long-term.
Both can even count toward the 2-year requirement for Argentine citizenship.
But they are completely different in requirements, difficulty, cost, and lifestyle.
Here is the most complete, simple and updated comparison for 2025 — written in a way real people can understand.
⭐ 1. The Rentista Visa: what it is and who it’s for
Contents
The Rentista Visa is a type of Temporary Residency for people who can prove a stable passive income from abroad.
Examples include:
- Property rental income
- Dividends
- Trust income
- Long-term contracts that do NOT require working in Argentina
- Passive investments
It is meant for foreigners who can support themselves without working in the country.
✔ Requirements (updated 2025)
This visa is paperwork-heavy. To apply you need:
- Proof of passive income (above immigration’s threshold, usually USD 2,000+/month)
- Documents apostilled
- Official translations in Argentina
- Proof of address
- Criminal background check (home country + Argentina)
- Bank statements showing stable income deposit
- Proof the income is passive (not active work)
Most applicants need a lawyer because the process is strict.
✔ Validity
Usually 1 year, renewable each year.
✔ Difficulty level
High.
Most applications get delayed unless documents are perfect and properly legalized.
✔ best for:
- People with strong passive income
- Remote investors
- Retirees
- People planning long-term settlement
- People who want long-term stability from day one
⭐ 2. The Student Visa: simple, flexible and extremely popular
The Student Visa is a Transitory Residency granted to people enrolled in a valid academic program — including Spanish schools registered with immigration.
Unlike the Rentista Visa, it does NOT require:
- apostilled income documents
- high monthly income
- complex financial proof
- years of paperwork
- lawyers
This is why it has become the most common legal path for travelers, digital nomads, and people who want to live in Buenos Aires without stress.
✔ Requirements
Much lighter:
- Passport
- Enrollment certificate from a valid school
- Payment confirmation
- Local background check
- Optional: background check from home country (depending on nationality)
Schools like Wanderlust Spanish issue the correct documents within 24 hours, which is why more than 150+ students obtained residency through this program in 2024–2025.
✔ Validity
From 90 days up to 1 full year (+365).
✔ Renewals
This is where the Student Visa becomes powerful:
With Wanderlust Spanish, you can renew the student residency every year for up to 3 years while you continue a valid academic program.
So even if your first residency is classified internally as -365, you can still extend your legal stay for multiple years.
✔ best for:
- Travelers
- Digital nomads
- People testing Buenos Aires before fully committing
- Long-term visitors who want simplicity
- Anyone wanting the easiest legal residency in Argentina
- People curious about citizenship in the future
- Those wanting to learn Spanish genuinely
⭐ 3. Costs: rentista vs student visa
Rentista Visa
- Lawyer fees: USD 800–1,500+
- Apostilles + translations: expensive
- Monthly income requirement: high
- Renewal cost: high
- Time cost: high (appointments + paperwork)
Student Visa
- Only requires paying your program
- No lawyer needed
- No apostilles required
- Fast appointment times
- Much cheaper total cost
It’s not even close.
If affordability and simplicity matter, the Student Visa wins.
⭐ 4. The citizenship factor (very important)
Here’s the truth most foreigners don’t know:
👉 Both the Rentista Visa and the Student Visa count toward Argentine citizenship.
Citizenship requires:
- 2 years of continuous residence
- Clean criminal record
- Judge approval
It does not require:
- a specific visa type
- a work contract
- permanent residency first
So a foreigner can, legally, build their 2 years through:
- Rentista residency
- Student residency
- Or a combination
This means:
If you stay 2–3 years with Wanderlust’s renewable student residency, you already meet the legal requirement for citizenship.
This is one reason the Student Visa has become so popular among long-term expats.
⭐ 5. Which visa should YOU choose?
Here’s the honest breakdown:
✔ Choose the Rentista Visa if:
- You have high passive income
- You want a classic “temporary residency” status
- You’re settling in Argentina long-term from day one
- You don’t mind bureaucracy
- You can handle apostilles, translations, delays, and lawyers
This is a good path if you’re already financially established.
✔ Choose the Student Visa if:
- You want the simplest legal residency
- You don’t have passive income to prove
- You want to stay in Argentina smoothly
- You want a flexible, renewable residency
- You want to learn Spanish
- You want a fast entry into legal status
- You’re exploring the city before committing long-term
- You want the option of applying for citizenship after 2 years
- You prefer low bureaucracy and fast approval
Most travelers — and even many expats — choose the Student Visa because it’s easy, legal, effective, renewable, and enough for citizenship.
⭐ Final thought
These two visas belong to two different worlds.
The Rentista Visa is a formal, demanding, traditional path for financially established expats.
The Student Visa is the flexible, friendly, accessible path that lets you:
- stay legally
- learn Spanish
- integrate into Buenos Aires
- renew for up to 3 years
- and even qualify for citizenship later
And with schools like Wanderlust Spanish, the entire process becomes fast, simple, and human — the opposite of the Rentista experience.
