Expats and Foreigners: How to Get a DNI
For non-Argentine citizens, getting a DNI – the Documento Nacional de Identidad or National Identity Card – opens doors and makes life a little bit easier here in Argentina. With a DNI you are less of a visitor and more of a fully functioning member of society. You can open a bank account, get a contract for a cell phone, enjoy discount rates for tourist attractions and national flights, and rent or purchase property. Here’s how to get your hands on a DNI when you weren’t born in Argentina.
Who Can Get a DNI
In order to apply for and receive a DNI you need to be authorized to stay in the country on a permanent or temporary basis. This usually means you get your DNI alongside your permanent residency papers. Permanent residency is available to non-Argentine citizens that meet a variety of requirements – check here for more details about permanent residency in Argentina.
DNI as Part of the Permanent residency Application
You can get your new DNI when you complete the paperwork for your permanent residency. You need to go through this procedure with an appointment at the main Dirección Nacional de Migraciones office – Av. Antártida Argentina 1355 in Edificio 4. Get your appointment online at www.migraciones.gov.ar . The process for getting your permanent residency is by far more complex than getting a DNI: find out all about permanent residency for non-Mercosur citizens here. Once you’ve had your permanent residency paperwork stamped you simply walk over to the DNI line, pay your fee, and wait for your document to turn up at your house.
DNI after Residency
Or, you can do the DNI process after your residency is already completed. For this you can go to the Centros de Documentación Rápida (main office is Hipólito Yrigoyen 952) authorized by the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones in Buenos Aires city, or to the Registros Civiles in the province or elsewhere in the country. Find out more about these two ways to get your DNI in Argentina at the government website.
Required Documents for DNI Application
You need to prove your identity with a valid and current passport from your place of birth or an identity card if you are from a Mercosur country. You also need the documents stating your eligibility for permanent or temporary residence issued by the Direccíon Nacional de Migraciones and a Certificate of Domicile – this is proof of your address in Argentina and is issued by the police authority in the city of Buenos Aires and by the Civil Registry offices in Buenos Aires province. If the person requesting the DNI is under 16 years of age they need a birth certificate that has been translated and legalized. Also take two passport-sized headshots of yourself.
Check to make sure these requirements are current on the Direccíon Nacional de Migraciones website because laws and processes change frequently.
How Much is a DNI?
Again, you need to check the current prices because as you are not doubt aware, the cost of living in Argentina tends to rise on a regular basis. As of June 2014, it cost $35 pesos for a citizen of a Mercosur country, and $40 pesos for a citizen of a non-Mercosur country.
DNI to Your Door
You will get your DNI, which is a plastic credit card-sized card, delivered by a courier. You need to have kept the piece of paper with the document and tramite number so you can sh
ow it to the courier in order to sign for your new DNI.
Newsflash: From the 1st June you can process your DNI through the internet. Complete the data regarding your identity, print the numbered ticket, pay at a bank or through online payment, then go to an authorized office to have your biometric data taken, and your DNI will arrive at your door.