Guidance

Argentina: Knowledge Base profile

Published 1 May 2024

About: Argentina

This document contains useful information about Argentina which will assist HM Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email the HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 2.0
• published for Home Office staff on 18 April 2024

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Argentina: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Argentina.

Names in Argentina consist of:

• a forename
• an optional middle name
• a surname

Single mothers must register the child with their surname, if the father has not recognised the child. If the father subsequently recognises the child, the surname can be changed to:

• his or de
• a double barrelled surname using the father’s surname followed by the mother’s surname.

Change of name

Name changes are allowed.

Argentina citizens over 18 years can change their name through court order only. If the change of name is allowed the persons birth record will be amended and the Registro Nacional de las Personas can issue a new identity card and passport. Identity cards and passports can only be issued using the personal details on the birth record.

Passports issued before 2011 may show a married woman’s surname as her maiden surname followed by ’de’ and her husband’s surname. As this is not the woman’s legal name in Argentina it will not be replicated into any passport or identity card issued after 2011.

Transgender citizens can change their name on their documents.

Argentina: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Argentina.

Dual nationality is recognised in Argentina.

Argentina: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Argentina.

Legitimacy

Since 1985 Argentina does not recognise a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. This means that all births are considered legitimate whether a child’s parents are married or not.

Before 1985 Argentina recognised a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births. A child born before 1985 was considered:

• legitimate if the parents were:
  • married at the time of the birth
  • married after the birth of the child
• illegitimate if their parents never marry

Parental responsibility

Unmarried fathers have automatic parental responsibility as long as they are named on the child’s birth certificate.

Argentina: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Argentina.

Adoption is legal in Argentina.

Argentina: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Argentina.

Egg donation is legal in Argentina. Surrogacy requests are considered on a case by case basis by an ethics committee.

Argentina: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Argentina.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Argentina. They can have their birth records altered to show their gender of choice.

Argentina: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Argentina.

Civil partnerships and same sex relationships are recognised in Argentina.

Only civil marriages are legal in Argentina. Couples may also choose to have a religious ceremony.

Argentina: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents from Argentina.

There is no central registry of births, marriages or deaths in Argentina.

Argentina does not laminate customer documents.

Argentina issues digital documents, as well as physical documents. For HM Passport Office purposes, physical documents must be provided.

Birth certificates

The Argentina Registry Office issue birth certificates. Both parents are named on the birth certificate.

Births must be registered at the Registry Office in the area where the birth took place, within:

• 40 days if born in a hospital
• 1 year if born at home or elsewhere

Late registrations are allowed.

If a mistake is made on a certificate, marginal notes are added.

Birth certificates can be amended under the following limited circumstances:

• parental recognition
• adding the mother’s surname
• correcting errors

A transgender citizen can have their birth records altered to show their gender and name of choice.

Hospitals issue a certificate signed by the attending doctor for all births that take place in a hospital, these contain both parents’ names.

Marriage certificates

Marriages are registered at the Registry Office at the time of the ceremony, couples are then issued a certificate and family book.

Death certificates

Death certificates are issued for all deaths.

Identity documents

Identity cards are mandatory in Argentina these are called Documento Nacional de Identidad (DNI). Foreign nationals living in Argentina will normally have a DNI for foreigners (extranjeros).

Identity cards and passports can only be issued using the personal details on the birth record.