AR CITIZENSHIP | rubilar

You can apply for citizenship in Argentina as soon as you arrive by passing immigration sublet racial requirements because art. 20 of the National Constitution and art. 2.1 of Federal Citizenship Law 346 requires to be a domicilied inhabitant while immigration law has wide facilities for Mercosur native citizens which means it is a second class citizenship for "the latin race" explaining this why in many cases it is impossible to meet its requirements because for them you are undesirable immigration and the visas system applied inside Argentina seeks to ban you as Judge Taney of the Supreme Court of the US explains:

“A preliminary question arises regarding the meaning of citizen— that is, whether it means domiciled...inhabitant only or whether such an inhabitant should possess a particular status of civil privilege— which should be denied to anyone who is not white or of the race of citizenship (Codman Hurd, John, The Law of Freedom and Bondage in the United States, Vol. II, 1858, p. 342, opinion of the SC Judge Taney at "Dred Scott" leading case where slavery was declared constitutionally valid under the Bill of Rights of the US).

However, what makes unique the Argentine´s legal system from the rest of the world is the fact that the independence revolution from Spain on 1810 was done by the lawyers of the public defense of paupers and slaves who were highly specialized in the defense against the legal discrimination of immigration law (Medieval Doctrine of Inequality) and that is why they developed a sophisticated legal system that guarantees freedom (citizenship) under the doctrine of equality where the evidence is about the domicile instead of status because, regarding the things, we are all equals.

There is a common mistake among jurist, lawyers, prosecutors and even judges who usually assert that the National Constitution is a simple copy of the Bill of Rights of the US but, even it seems to have many institutions in common, it is because Constitutional law is always roman law, but the big differences are subtle because the US independence was declared by businessmen who were slave owners. This explains why they chose the Theodosian Code that is Medieval Roman Military Constitutional Law whose war prisoners status is known as slavery of infidels and foreigners explaining why paupers and slaves were banned from citizenship and why you become illegal, a fugitive running slave, if you overstay a tourist visa in the US because immigration law is military police for slaves.

While the AR Supreme Court established that, unlike other countries where citizenship is requested and it is a grace to grant it or not, in Argentina citizenship is required because it is a right to freedom without racial, economic, religious, ideological or by place of birth (nationality) discrimination because the Preamble states that the benefits of freedom that means citizenship, are for us, for our offspring and for all men (that means slaves in roman law) of the world who wish to live in Argentina, art. 15 of the NC declares free all slaves who arrive to AR soil and art. 14 of the NC recognize your right to entry, stay, move, leave and come back to Argentina; while the early definition of the Supreme Court of the United State for citizens was "white free man" in "Dred Scott" leading case.

The history of Argentina was written by deserters of the europeans armies like General Don José de San Martin who defeated the royal armies with his grenadiers who were natives americans, former slaves and criollos, lawyers of the public defence of slaves like General Belgrano, pirates like Admiral Guillermo Brown who created the AR Navy who was the first to get the AR letter of citizenship; because our national heroes were former slaves like Sergeant Cabral and Sergeant Major María Remedios Del Valle Rosas, mother of the country; women like Juana Azurduy who, being a woman 200 years ago, become general; among many fighters of freedom where only General Guemes, who died in battle, was from the local nobility.

For this reason, the AR institutions follow Justinian Roman Law where there are always 2 ways to achieved citizenship: one for white slaves (legal residents), one for african americans, natives and non latins.

Irregulars is how fugitive runing slaves were called in the XVII Century decisións of the Courts like "Somerset" where slavery was abolished in England using Justinian Roman Law, which is where the term and content of what we know today as Human Rights comes from because roman private law (Federal Law) recognize only one race: the human.

These very old rules described briefly where freedom means citizenship are the Federal Citizenship Law 346 that donates freedom for stateless: fugitive conscripts and slaves (Expats who do border runs), serfs (legal residents), paupers, religious and LGTB minorities, who were all of them attached to a master, to a King or to the land, explaining why in 170 years Argentina never repatriated a deserter of an army during a world war and, instead, granted them with the letter of citizenship that includes a 10 years immunity of military service according to art. 21 of the NC while art. 15 NC provides an immunity for illegal entry, art. 14 CN does the same regarding overstaying and art. 20 donates secular citizenship with a tax free exception that makes ridiculous the brand new DN visa that only creates bewilderment and perplexity in legal operators.

On the other hand, immigration law in Argentina follows old patterns for military settlers designed for the colonization of local "far west" known as "National Territories" because in 1860 the AR territory was 1/3 of the actual size of the country, National Territories that were under the military law and government of the Theodosian Code alike in the US until 1994 when Tierra del Fuego was provincialized creating a huge confusion on immigration agents, paralegals, lawyers and even judges because the fact is migration law is enforceable in the frontiers with other countries and with the former disputed Territories with border countries, foreign powers (the UK regarding Malvinas) and natives nations.

However, after World War I there was a strong influence of reactionary doctrines from Europe that were looking to resurrect the medieval ages based on religious and racist military laws of Nationality and citizenship (vassals and nobility)(foreign legal residents and national legal residents) that abolished, in all the dictatorships, the Federal Law 346.

For this reason dictatorships extended this Imperial (national) Territories system to the whole country because as Theodosian Code explains: by military defeat freedom is stolen and citizens become national legal residents.

The lack of an overwelming defeat of the local reactionary movement know as Peronism first and Macrismo later whom resurrected the Colonial system described before, created a complex scenario where fugitive slaves known as irregulars (those who do border runs), serfs (legal residents) and free nobility (citizens) coexist, competes and struggles on a daily basis at Federal Courts because every time the AR Constitution use the word freedom, this means citizenship and for this reason it is possible to enforce citizenship as the natural defense to deportation in the same way and with the same goal it was created 2.500 years ago in Roman Law: to abolish immigration law that is the constitutional act of a monarchy based on conquest rights. This is to say, the Republic born with straight citizenship abolishing the legal residency because the citizenship letter is a manumission act (full enfranchisement) from the social structure of a monarchy where people was attached to rigid casts as fugitive foreigners (slaves), serfs (legal residents that are second class citizens defined by religion, ideology or/ and race) and nobility (national legal residents, quasi citizens) and this is the explanation that why it is so difficult to change your status with the immigration law.

In short words, the Immigration Law grants the legal residency that is the second class citizenship for the native citizens of Mercosur who only have to show a clean criminal background while "undesirable" immigration has to show a working contract ("white slavery"), native family (legit causes of manumission of roman law) or to be a landlord abroad with tenants (rentista) because in Medieval Ages this meant you were a noble while at Federal Courts you get full citizenship for commoners by simple domicile for 2 years, to be a tenant not a landlord.

Our innovative strategy consists of litigating directly at Federal Civil Courts the recognition of your Argentine citizenship by passing the Immigration Office and its medieval requirements where racial discrimination is thinly disguised behind legality, regardless of how long you have been in Argentina, your legal status (whether you have a student or tourist visa, have stayed as a perma-tourist, entered the country illegally, or have received a deportation order or even an arrest order for deportation, for example) because Federal law recognize only one status and one race: freedom because it is natural status of human beings.

We take advantage of the fact that residency and citizenship, as described above, comprise two parallel citizenship systems governed on the basis of two different laws (Law 25.871 regarding nationality known as legal residency) and Law 346 (regarding full citizenship) and offices (Immigration Office at the Capital City and Federal Courts all around the country, respectively) because article 20 of the National Constitution prohibits coercive citizenship allowing you to choose between immigration and its Court Martial and citizenship law at Civil Courts where discrimination is null and void.

Using our highly specialized knowledge of International Private Roman Law also known as Federal Law when it is enforced inside the country without litigation with another country and 150 years of precedents of all the levels of the Federal Courts all around the country, we put together the strongest case possible for each individual to obtain the recognition of his status of a free born person: a citizen. As a result of far-reaching experience, since 2010, in advocating on behalf of a large number of clients all around the country at all levels of the legal system, including the Supreme Court, our firm is able to represent each unique situation very effectively in the courts. We work as specialists, customizing our knowledge in order to provide you with the best legal advice and litigation strategy for your particular situation in real time because we hace cases with over 28 Federal Judges all around the country and we are continuously pushing the envelope developing new leading precedents that allows you to apply just with your passport as soon as you arrive to Argentina in order to get citizenship after 30 months since your arrival.

We can achieve this as the Preamble of the Argentine National Constitution and its art. 20 are a simple continuation of the Edict of Caralla of 212 (also known as the Constitutio Antoniniana) wich granted roman federal citizenship to all the free men of the world: "We, the representatives of the people of the Argentine Nation, gathered in General Constituent Assembly by the will and election of the Provinces which compose it, in fulfillment of pre-existing pacts, in order to form a national union, guarantee justice, secure domestic peace, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves, to our posterity, and to all men of the world who wish to dwell on argentine soil: invoking the protection of God, source of all reason and justice: do ordain, decree, and establish this Constitution for the Argentine Nation"- Preamble to the Constitution of Argentina.

Because while the used of people involves all humans beings, the word men in roman law means slaves. This is why the only requirements are to be 18 years old for the civil capacity, to accept the donation of freedom and citizenship and to live here for 2 years by the time of the decision no mater your medieval legal status.

However, romans faced an unexpected fact: many slaves preferred to continue being under servitude. This explains the simple 3 requirements for Argentina citizenship where the most important is to apply for it because it means you accept the donation of freedom, otherwise you have legal residency.

History of Immigration in Argentina

Argentina has the most open citizenship law in the world because the NC donates freedom & full citizenship. When the National Constitution was enacted in 1860, the Argentine government faced an empty country with vast amounts of land, two thirds of them in dispute with strong Native American tribe, foreign nations and powers but few population. Our Constitution embodied the ideas of Alberdi (Expert in International Private law who wrote the Constitution that was 88 years ahead of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) for whom prosperity would be achieved only if the nation had a sufficient citizens because he just copied the policies that made the small city of Rome a world power. Populating the land was such a high priority that several articles of the National Constitution were dedicated specifically to accomplishing this goal. Articles 14, 16, and 20 set forth many benefits for all inhabitants (foreigners and citizens), including according civil rights to all. As regards the acquisition of Argentine citizenship, the National Constitution set a low threshold: the only requirements are to be 18 years old that is the legal age for civil law to be able to 2) accept the donation of freedom & citizenship through the application before a Federal judge and 3) 2 years of continuous possession of your domicile in the country (to be a tenant, not a landlord) that allows you in ancient Roman Law to become a legal owner of the land.

In the same vein, in 1869, Law 346, the “Citizenship Law,” was enacted with the objective of attracting 100 million immigrants. The plan worked, but with an undesired political inconvenience for the conservative party: 40 years later the son of an unknown immigrant was elected President. Since they lost the political power, the conservatives have never been able to win another election until former President Mauricio Macri who, in DNU 70/2017, ruled an aristocratic society based on legal requirements of a medieval kingdom of God that was abolished by Decree 138/2021.

However, a couple of decades later the conservatives on 1930, once again gained political ground by brute force. From 1930 until 1983, a series of dictatorships systematically restricted access to Argentine citizenship and the rights of immigrants. Jorge Rafael Videla enacted the last version of these xenophobic laws on Nationality (race) and citizenship, Law 21.795. The law had 25 requirements for being eligible for citizenship, including to speak and read Spanish, to have legal residency, and to have legal work while DNU 70/2017 was presented as an acclamatory decree in favor of the validity of the militar abolished laws of nationality and citizenship that were buried by the French Revolution and resurrected in the Nuremberg racial laws.

When democracy was restored, the original Law 346 was reinstated by Law 23.059 in 1984 with its original philosophy: the assimilation of foreigners into Argentine society. Argentina is, after all, a nation of immigrants. This liberal law and its accompanying presidential decree 3.213/84 remain in effect today.

Legal Residency (CABA 2nd class citizenship) v. the full Federal Citizenship of a republican democracy

Why, then, is it generally known within the expat community that dealing with immigration bureaucracy at Migraciones is a nightmare? The explanation for this paradox is three-fold.

First, Argentina has two separate systems available to foreigners: residency and citizenship. Residency involves an administrative procedure at Migraciones. Citizenship involves a pre-judicial procedure at Civil Federal Courts.

Second, both systems suffer from the effects of the series of brutal dictatorships and social unrest, during which foreigners and immigrants were unwelcome creating the conditions for the AR decadency. Xenophobic policies were the norm for more than half a century until democracy was restored. Although the xenophobic laws for both residency and citizenship have since been repealed (in 1984 and 2021), the burdensome bureaucracy still exists at both Migraciones and the courts today as an unfortunate remnant of these dark periods of Argentine history. Because the process can be undertaken without a lawyer, most applicants have continued to face the same bureaucratic roadblocks without seeking enforcement of the currently valid laws.

Third, when faced with a denial of residency from Migraciones, even it seems possible to contest this administrative discretion, people do not understand than migration law is military law for war times and appeals face a negative presumption in favor of the State because it is decided for a Court Martial for civilians. On the other hand, when dealing with federal courts for citizenship, you are under civil law dealing with civil judges whose role is of a notary of your freedom giving the applicant a wide range of defense tools like to alegate, produce private and public evidence, to appeal, recusal, apply over and over changing the judges until citizenship is recognized because your freedom cannot be litigated at civil courts since slavery was abolish meaning you have immunity of jurisdiction because your freedom can be lost, only, by the sentence of a Criminal Judge.

Law 346, the National Constitution, and the doctrine of the Supreme Court all clearly dictate that citizenship should be recognized to immigrants even though they may be facing “irregular” immigration situations (perma-tourists, illegal entry, expired visas, deportation orders and even arrest orders for deportation, etc.) because this is what to be an inhabitant means, a tenant not a landlord (legal resident). Armed with the law, one can appeal when met with resistance at lower levels of the court. This is why citizenship is a much more attractive option than residency for many foreigners because it was created 2500 years ago to by pass immigration laws, in fact, for being specific: to abolish immigration law that is the bill of [lack] of rights of a Monarchy.

Obtaining the Right to the Letter of Citizenship

The valid law governing citizenship (Law 346) set forth very simple requirements for accepting the donation of freedom & citizenship:

(1) to be 18 years old that is the legal age for civil capacity;

(2) to apply for citizenship before a federal judge that implies to accept the donation of citizenship because it is for free.

The only document you need to apply is your passport.

While the third requirement is necessary to get the letter of citizenship:

(3) to have been living in Argentina for 2 years; and

The procedure is all about asking information about your background to 6 different agencies plus evidence of your work and background from the country where you were born.

Furthermore, if you have Argentine parents, spouse or child, then citizenship is available immediately.

In facts, the citizenship procedure can be undertaken without a lawyer and is free of fees. Nonetheless, it is not easy to obtain citizenship when one is “irregular,” such as having been to Uruguay many times as a perma-tourist because there are old precedents from WWII that assimilate this practices to spying activities and this is why I always advice to overstay and pay the visa when you leave for good because in that case you are an inhabitant with full civil rights under civil Courts.

As explained above, for historic reasons, federal courts are still reluctant to recognize the rights of ¨irregular¨ immigrants. They usually request the following administrative requirements of medieval law for applying for an upgrade in the militar status:

(1) Legal residency

(2) Legal work

(3) That you speak, read and write Spanish

(4) That you renounce your native citizenship

(5) DNI with permanent residency

(6) Birth certificate apostilled and translated by public notary

(7) Certificate of a clean criminal record from your home country

(8) Certificate of a clean criminal record in Argentina

(9) CUIT or CUIL number

In order to overcome this discrepancy between the formalities requested by the courts and the actual requirements in the law, legal expertise is needed to assert one’s constitutional rights.

Dr. Rubilar contested the application of this requirement for obtaining citizenship, and met with success on 12 appeals during 2011, changing the precedents that have existed since 1978. Since then Dr. Rubilar had developed over 250 leading precedents and he has achieved over 120 declarations of unconstitutionality of DNU 70/2017 that required 2 previous years of legal residency before applying to citizenship.

On 2020 Dr. Rubilar presented an amicus curie to the President of Argentina explaining why the DNU 70/2017 should be abolished because it resurrected the medieval rules for war prisoners enacting the President its abolishment on March 2021.

On 2021 the language requirement was discarded by Supreme Court in a pool of cases where Dr. Rubilar had 7 Supreme Court Appeals granted.

Our law firm specializes in enforcing constitutional rights using Roman Law, International Law, laws and precedents from the Supreme Court and lower courts. First, regarding the relevant laws, the National Constitution is the supreme law in this country in equal hierarchy with roman private law (International Private Law or Federal law). It works as a catalog of guarantees to protect your freedom against the abuse of power of the government. Argentina is unique because every single judge, regardless of his position in the judicial hierarchy, is responsible for protecting and enforcing the National Constitution and the rights it guarantees. The relevant articles in the Constitution clearly favor grants of citizenship because art. 20 of the National Constitution recognized Human Rights 88 years before the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Second, regarding precedents from the courts, we have worked to accumulate a large body of positive case law and leading precedents that is our professional secret. Due to the fact that the citizenship law has existed unchanged since 1869 in its present form that is a continuation of roman law with 2500 years of history, the courts have issued many precedents on which we can rely on to provide a solution to almost every immigration situation we might face. Issued from the Supreme Court alone are over 100 years of jurisprudence enforcing the rights of inhabitants to live in this country. Citizenship has been granted to immigrants who lacked legal residency or entered the country illegally, or even to immigrants with criminal records in exceptional cases because this is what to be an inhabitant means because Kingdoms are networks of religious legality where you must be perfect, not human.

Dr. Rubilar has extensive experience dealing with Constitutional guarantees, both from a theoretical standpoint as a professor of law, and as a practical matter as a litigant enforcing Constitutional rights at Federal Courts since 2001. On 2011 he won several leading cases at the Federal Chamber of appeals that changed precedents of the last 40 years allowing applications for citizenship regardless of legal status, with “irregular”work (that means the work of slaves, to work "en negro" or under the table), and reducing to minimum the requirements (birth certificate or DNI or passport or CI instead of birth certificate plus DNI plus passport plus CI). Furthermore, the 2-year requirement should be fulfilled at the time of the sentence intead of at the beginning of the process, meaning that you can apply the day after you arrived because this protects you from deportation as far as you are a citizen in possession of status since the day you apply before the Federal judge and there is only a matter of evidence until you have the letter of citizenship in the same way a baby just born is a citizen even he has no id to probe it.

Strategic Benefits of Citizenship

Full freedom is a benefit itself. Once you get citizenship you do not loose it if you stay abroad like it happens with legal residency after 2 years. Your offspring also have the right to citizenship.

Argentina has a strong passport, is far enough of the European conflicts, is a neutral country that produce 10 times more food than necessary, and in its history Argentina does not repatriate deserters of foreign armies of countries in war.

Argentina also has an excellent and inexpensive medical infraestructure that makes it the less expensive civilized country were to retire.

Education is for free at all levels including UBA that is the best University in South America.

Argentina has an open society free of LGTB or racial or national discrimination.

LGTB marriage is legal and you can decide the gender you declare in the ID.

The Citizenship Procedure

The procedure for obtaining citizenship is comprised of presenting your application before a Federal Judge. Under Ley 346, the requirements are simple, but to put together the strongest case possible, we request that you provide us with various types of evidence. This includes, for example, evidence of your work, even if you”work under the table”, it means, without legal permission, in order to demonstrate to the judge that you have an “honest way of living” as required by the practice contra legem (against the law). Evidence varies from case to case, and we work creatively with each client’s situation to put together evidence showing that you merit citizenship. After we have gathered your documents and information, we accompany you to present the application at the court.

After the judge receives your application, the judge investigates your background by submitting requests for information about you to 6 agencies, including the immigration office, the police, Interpol, and RENAPER (Registro Nacional de las Personas). After about 7 months, responses to the reports are received. An edict is published in a newspaper, after which the judge makes the final decision. If he/she approves your case, then you swear an oath and are granted the “Carta de Ciudadanía.” The Carta is the official document that probes you are an Argentine citizen. With this document, you can apply for your Argentine passport, DNI, and other documents.

However, the pandemic changed the rules and Dr. Rubilar used this challenge that frozen most cases for 2 years to develope a new strategy taking in his shoulders the work of Courts achieving to reduce the standard delay of 18 months to just 4 month to have the file ready for the decision of the judge.

The procedure is for free. There is no filing fee at court. The only expenditure is the cost of publishing the “edict” in a newspaper for two days, announcing that you are to be granted citizenship.

Note also that you can apply for citizenship without a lawyer. However, unless you have permanent legal residency, work legally, speak and read Spanish and have basic knoledge of the National Constitution, among other requirements, you need specialized legal assistance to file your application successfully in court. For example, your application might be rejected at the courts if you do not already have a DNI, or cannot prove that you have been working legally in Argentina. For these cases, a lawyer who understands the legal precedents governing citizenship is crucial for success at court.

FAQS

What does 2 years of “continuous residence” in Argentina mean?

According to Roman Law, Supreme Court and the Federal Chambers:

1) You need to have been in Argentina for 2 years by the time your citizenship is granted. This means that you can apply the day after you arrived because citizenship is a donation and they are complete with the acceptance. This means you are an undocumented citizen since you apply before the judge but the evidence is going to be given after the 2 years are full filled.

2) Residency means that you live (are present most of the time in the country) in Argentina as a matter of fact, regardless of your legal status because every time we talk about the legal status we are debating if you are considered a slave or not, even if you do not realize it.

3) Continuous means that you did not change your address to another country. You can prove that your address has been in Argentina by demonstrating that you had the “will” to keep it in Argentina. Travelling abroad does not interrupt continuity.

Is there a requirement of permanent residency as a pre-requisite for citizenship?

This requirement was abolished in 1984 for citizenship because the legal resident is the second class citizen of a dictatorship. Citizenship and residency are governed by two legal systems that work in parallel. You can choose between the two because citizenship based on possession rights is secular while legal residency has an historical religious background.

Does working “under the table” fulfil the “honest way of living” requirement of the citizenship law?

Yes. This may seem surprising because it is one of the most frustrating problems that foreigners face when obtaining residency. Similar to Migraciones, federal judges request that you work legally (trabajo en blanco), as proven by a salary receipt, a CUIT or CUIL number, or a receipt of payment of taxes as a freelancer, for example. However, this is impossible to show if you do not already have legal residency. Dr. Rubilar contested the application of this requirement for obtaining citizenship, and met with success on appeal on March at the Federal Chamber of Capital Federal, Buenos Aires. The judges determined that working “under the table” qualifies as an “honest way of living” as required by Ley 346. The applicant only has to show proof of income and that the work is honest because when argentines talks about working "en negro" this means the work os slaves that always was allowed because they used to save money to buy their freedom being this the difference between catholic and protestant slavery.

What documentation do I need?

It depends. If you apply based on staying in Argentina for 2 continuous years (rather than an Argentine spouse or children), you will need:

a) any one of a DNI, CI, passport, or birth certificate;

b) certificate of your address (obtained from the police) is optional; and

c) evidence of your honest way of living (varies widely from case to case).