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Passport & Mobility

Argentina or Brazil? Neighbours with near-identical passports

South America's two largest economies issue passports of almost equal reach. The real differences lie in how you qualify, how long it takes, and what each country asks of you first.

Updated 7 min readSourced from official announcements

Key facts

  • Henley Passport Index, July 2026 edition: Brazil 170 destinations (15th), Argentina 169 (16th). Both open about 170.
  • Both need a B1/B2 visa for the United States and a visa or eTA for Canada.
  • Both enter the Schengen area visa-free for 90 days in any 180 and China visa-free for 30 days until 31 December 2026.
  • Brazil: naturalisation after 4 years' residence (1 year in some cases), Portuguese required, no investment route.
  • Argentina: 2 years' residence, or a US$350,000 contribution under the new investment programme (legal status under appeal).

Argentina and Brazil share a long border, membership of Mercosur and a famous football rivalry. Their passports are also nearly twins. If you compare them only by visa-free reach, there is almost nothing between them.

For an investor the real question is different. Which of the two can you actually obtain, and on what terms? Here the two countries diverge sharply.

Two passports in the same ranking band

In the July 2026 edition of the Henley Passport Index, Brazil sits 15th with 170 visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations. Argentina sits 16th with 169. Other trackers place the two a place or two apart, in either order.

A one-destination difference is noise. Rankings change several times a year as countries add or remove visa rules. For planning purposes, treat both passports as opening about 170 destinations.

Both passports also sit just below Chile, which leads South America at 174 destinations on the same data. Mexico and Uruguay follow at 156.

Where the two passports open the same doors

The overlap is close to total for the destinations that matter most to internationally mobile families.

Destination Argentine passport Brazilian passport
Schengen area Visa-free, 90 days in any 180 Visa-free, 90 days in any 180
United Kingdom Visa-free with an ETA (£20) Visa-free with an ETA (£20)
United States B1/B2 visa required B1/B2 visa required
Canada Visa, or eTA if you hold a US visa or held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years (air travel only) Same rule
China 30 days visa-free until 31 December 2026 30 days visa-free until 31 December 2026
Mercosur states DNI accepted as a travel document; residence rights for citizens by birth, or after 5 years for naturalised citizens National ID accepted; same residence rule

Two points stand out. First, neither passport gives visa-free access to the United States or Canada. This is the main weakness of both. Second, Canada treats Argentina and Brazil identically. Both appear on Canada’s list of visa-required countries whose citizens can use an electronic travel authorisation instead, if they hold a valid US non-immigrant visa or held a Canadian visitor visa in the previous ten years.

Where they differ: reciprocity and the United States

Brazil applies visa reciprocity strictly. On 10 April 2025 it reinstated visa requirements for citizens of the United States, Canada and Australia, because those countries still require visas from Brazilians. This does not change what a Brazilian passport can do, but it reflects a foreign policy that prefers symmetry to concessions.

Argentina has taken the opposite approach with Washington. On 28 July 2025, President Javier Milei and US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem signed a statement of intent for Argentina to rejoin the Visa Waiver Program, which it left in 2002. Progress has been slow, and no date exists. We cover the detail in Can Argentines travel to the US without a visa?

If US visa-free travel is your main goal, neither passport delivers it today. Argentina simply has a formal process under way.

How you become a citizen: the decisive difference

This is where the comparison stops being close.

Brazil: residence first, then naturalisation

Brazil has no citizenship-by-investment programme. Under Article 65 of the Migration Law (Lei 13.445/2017), ordinary naturalisation requires:

  • at least 4 years of residence in Brazil;
  • the ability to communicate in Portuguese;
  • civil capacity under Brazilian law; and
  • no criminal conviction (or full rehabilitation).

Article 66 reduces the residence period to 1 year for applicants with a Brazilian child or a Brazilian spouse or partner, or for people who have given relevant service to Brazil or stand out for their professional, scientific or artistic ability. Citizens of Portuguese-speaking countries need only one year of uninterrupted residence under the Constitution. Extraordinary naturalisation is available after 15 years.

Investors can obtain residence through Brazil’s VIPER investor permit, with BRL 500,000 in a Brazilian business or BRL 1 million in real estate (BRL 700,000 in the North and Northeast). The first permit lasts four years. The passport comes only after the naturalisation clock has run, and after the language test.

Argentina: two routes

Argentina’s Ley 346 of 1869 allows naturalisation after 2 continuous years of legal residence, through an application to a federal judge. That is already one of the shortest ordinary routes in the Americas.

In addition, Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) 366/2025 created a route for foreigners who make a “relevant investment”, regardless of residence time. On 2 October 2026 the government announced the programme terms:

  • a US$350,000 non-refundable contribution to the National Treasury; or
  • a US$800,000 subscription to a dedicated public bond.

Family members cost extra: US$100,000 for a spouse, and US$25,000 for each child under 18. The official example of a couple with two minor children totals US$500,000. Applications open in the fourth quarter of 2026. See what the programme costs and the eligibility requirements.

Legal caveat. On 30 June 2026 the Cámara Nacional Electoral declared DNU 366/2025 unconstitutional. The government has appealed to the Supreme Court and says the decree remains in force while the ruling is not final. No Supreme Court decision had been published by 2 October 2026. Read our legal status briefing before you commit funds.

Dual citizenship on both sides

Argentina allows multiple nationality, and naturalised citizens do not have to give up their original passport. Brazil changed its Constitution in 2023: Amendment 131 removed the rule that Brazilians lose their nationality by acquiring another one. Loss now happens only on an express request, or when a court cancels a naturalisation for fraud or for an attack on the constitutional order.

In practice, a family can hold both passports if it qualifies for both. The constraint is usually the applicant’s original country, some of which restrict dual nationality. See our guide to dual citizenship.

A combined strategy

The two passports also connect through Mercosur. An Argentine citizen by birth can live and work in Brazil under the Mercosur Residence Agreement, and residence in Brazil starts the naturalisation clock there.

There is a catch for new citizens. Article 2 of the Agreement defines a national as someone who holds nationality by origin, or who has held it by naturalisation for at least five years. A person who becomes Argentine through investment cannot use the Mercosur route straight away. The DNI still works as a travel document in the region from day one. We explain this in Mercosur residence rights for new Argentine citizens.

Which is right for you?

If you already live in Brazil, speak Portuguese and have four years to spare, Brazilian naturalisation is a strong, low-cost option. The passport is marginally stronger and carries no legal question mark.

If you need a South American passport without relocating, Argentina is the only one of the two that offers an investment route. It carries a cost, a pending court case and some unpublished details. A qualified adviser can help you weigh these against your timeline. For a wider view, see how Argentina compares with other programmes.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

Is the Brazilian passport stronger than the Argentine passport?

Only marginally. In the July 2026 edition of the Henley Passport Index, Brazil shows 170 visa-free destinations and Argentina 169. In practice, both open about 170 destinations, and the gap changes during the year.

Can Argentine or Brazilian citizens visit the United States without a visa?

No. Neither country is in the US Visa Waiver Program, so holders of both passports need a B1/B2 visitor visa. Argentina signed a statement of intent to rejoin the programme in July 2025, but no date has been set.

Does Brazil offer citizenship by investment?

No. Brazil offers investor residence, but citizenship requires ordinary naturalisation, normally after four years of residence and with Portuguese language ability. Argentina has announced an investment route to citizenship, subject to a legal challenge now before the Supreme Court.

Can I hold both Argentine and Brazilian citizenship?

Argentina permits multiple nationality, and since Constitutional Amendment 131 of 2023 Brazilians no longer lose their nationality simply by acquiring another. Whether your current country allows it is a separate question.

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