The global rich like Peter Thiel are eyeing the exit door. Argentina wants to be a ‘serious contender’ in the migration game

Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel made headlines when he decided to relocate with his family to Buenos Aires earlier this summer, purchasing a mansion in an exclusive neighborhood and meeting with President Javier Milei and senior government officials. 

This is exactly the plan, it turns out — Argentina wants more people like him. The country has been preparing for the last year to launch a full citizenship-by-investment scheme. In July 2025, Decree 524/2025 established an Investment Citizenship Programs Agency within its Ministry of Economy that would allow, for the first time, foreign investors to apply for citizenship without needing to reside in Argentina first. The exact parameters are still being worked out, with the Financial Times reporting that wealthy foreigners may be able to obtain Argentine citizenship in exchange for a non-refundable donation of about $500,000 or buying $1 million in zero-coupon government bonds, citing people familiar with the government’s plans.

The sheer scale of the plan is what sets it apart from anything the citizenship-by-investment industry has tried before, according to Nuri Katz, the founder of Apex Capital Partners, who said he has spent considerable time in Argentina and is aware of the government’s processes.

“This is a country of over 40 million people, and the opportunities, the business opportunities that are available in Argentina are endless,” he told Fortune. The largest countries to previously offer citizenship for investment—Montenegro and Malta—are small nations by comparison, he noted.

Katz pointed to several selling points for wealthy investors. The country sits on Vaca Muerta, one of the world’s largest shale oil and gas formations, which has been geologically compared to the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas by experts, alongside major lithium, gold, silver, soy, corn, beef,........

© Fortune