Work in Argentina

Argentina is a South American country bordered by Chile to the West and South, Bolivia and Paraguay to the north and Brazil and Uruguay to the northeast. This is one of the most popular destinations for foreigners and English speakers looking to work in South America. View our guide and apply today.

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How to Work in Argentina

Argentina is officially known as the Argentine Republic and is comprised of 23 provinces and the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, the nation’s capital. Argentina is a recognised regional and middle power and is the third largest economy in Latin America. It has the fifth highest nominal GDP per capita.

On the country’s western fringe are the Andes mountains and the South Atlantic is located to the south and east. In the centre of the country lies the Pampas an area of fertile lowlands, to the south of that is the Patagonia, a vast plateau to the South.

The generally temperate climate ranges from subtropical in the north to sub polar in the far south. The north is characterized by very hot, humid summers with mild drier winters, and is subject to periodic droughts. Central Argentina has a temperate climate, with hot summers with thunderstorms, and cool winters; and higher moisture at the east. The southern regions have warm summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall, especially in mountainous zones.

Keen to work in Argentina as a foreigner? View our guide!

Jobs in Argentina for Foreigners and English Speakers

Argentina has had plenty to cry about in recent times.

In December 2001 it plunged into economic and political turmoil after defaulting on a US$132 billion loan repayment – the largest non-payment in history. This financial meltdown doomed Argentina to five different presidents within two weeks and caused widespread civil chaos in which 27 people were killed amid rioting and looting.

Since then the economy has recovered but due to the Covid-19 pandemic tourism has been badly affected.

How Easy is it to Get a Job in Argentina

As a foreigner you are at an immediate disadvantage. Unless you can speak fluent Spanish and are prepared to take a sizable pay cut or even willing to do an internship in Argentina you will find it extremely difficult to find work in a professional industry unless employed by an international company. To be eligible to work you also need a work permit.

You can find work in most industries and some international companies have offices in Chile. Some of the best ways for foreigners to find paid employment include working in tourism, hospitality, IT and business. If you want to go backpacking or spend a gap year in Argentina, you could apply to teach English in Argentina which is really popular.

Seasonal Jobs in Argentina

Looking for short term, summer or winter jobs? Argentina has some highly rated ski resorts which hire ski instructors, chalet/hotel staff, childcare staff and hotel/hospitality roles. For summer work, language schools and summer/activity camps hire staff for language exchanges.

Working in Argentina FAQ

Hours and salaries

Salaries in Argentina took a downfall after the crisis. Recently wages are rising again. The minimum wage in Argentina 2,670 Pesos a month. The amount of wage varies according to the level of education you have.

The average yearly wages were as follows:

• People with an academic degree AR$ 66,759-176,293, or £8787.53- £23,205.62.
• Doctorate AR$ 58,326-162,896 or £7677.50 – £21,442.16.
• Associates Degree AR$ 57,505-168,445 or £7569.44 – £22,172.58
• High school diploma AR$ 50,232-126,000 or £6612- £ 16,585

Many people in Argentina work without having a contract, they earn on average AR$ 305/month. Average wage levels vary according to geographical location.

The legal maximum working time is 8 hours/day and 48 hours/week. However, the regular working week cannot exceed 44 hours/week for daily work, 42 hours/week for night work or 36 hours/week where work is performed in hazardous or unhealthy environments. Work is normally not permitted on Saturday afternoon and Sundays.

Where to look for work

Popular places to find jobs include the larger cities like Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Rosario, Mendoza, Tucumán, La Plata, Mar del Plata, Salta, Santa Fe, San Juan, Resistencia and Santiago del Estero.

Most jobs can be found online or locally. The importance of learning the local language come to the forefront when job hunting in Argentina. There are several expat newspapers in Argentina you can try, such as the Buenos Aires Herald. Jobs in Argentina are not only found in the Argentinean media, looking at foreign newspapers like Le Monde and Le Figaro (France), and other papers from Germany and the USA.  As well as print media the internet is an invaluable tool to help you find work.

When you’ve found a job that you’d be interested in doing apply in writing with a CV and covering letter, ideally in Spanish. Interviews for professional high paying jobs often come in several rounds and can include physiological and psychological tests.

Moving to Argentina FAQ

Argentine VISAs

Applying for a VISA in Argentina can be a long drawn out process so it pays to get your application in early and prepare for the move long in advance. Argentina is very bureaucratic countries with its civil servants having an overt fondness for paperwork. Applications for a work Visa need to be initiated by your employer and these applications often take a lot longer than the standard ones.

Immigration in Argentina is extremely complicated but for virtually every instance you will be required to provide the following documentation.

• Passport with a validity of at least 1 year after the visa is issued.
• Four standard-size passport photos (4×4; preferably light blue background; ¾ profile right side).
• Certified birth certificate in an international form.
• Statement of good conduct. This will normally be a transcript of your criminal record from your national police (obviously, they will be looking for a transcript that does not contain any offences on it).
• Medical statement (this form is issued by the consulate).
• Certified declaration of not having any criminal antecedents (signed in presence of consul).
• Payment of the application fee.

Regulations change regularly so it is a good idea to check to see if any have been made to your application process.

Permanent VISAs

To be able to claim a permanent residency Visa you have to be either the parent to, child of or married to an Argentinean citizen and it must be applied for from an Argentinean consulate. Keep in mind that the parents of an Argentinean citizen applying for a permanent visa need to proof the family link by means of a legalized birth certificate of their child.

The applying spouse needs to present a legalized marriage certificate. If this certificate is not presented in Spanish or stated on an international form, an accredited translator has to provide a certified translation (in some cases the Argentinean consulate may be able to provide this service).

Citizenship

You can only apply for Argentinean citizenship if you’ve been living in the country for a number of years (at least two years).  To apply for joint citizenship you have to be a citizen of the following countries that Argentina has an agreement with these are; Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Italy, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Spain, Sweden and United States.

Money in Argentina

The Peso is the currency of Argentina and is identified rather confusingly with the Dollar symbol. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. The current version of the Peso came into circulation in 1992 and was fixed to the US Dollar, but  after the fiancial crisis of 2001 this fixed rate system was abandoned. 

Peso notes currently in circulation are AR$ 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100. Coins in circulation are of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 centavos and 1 peso. Be very careful with accepting change in Argentina. Especially in Buenos Aires there is a large amount of counterfeit money in circulation.

Cost of living

The cost of living in Argentina is noticeably cheaper than in the UK. If you move to the nation with a good amount of funds saved up then you can easily live comfortably. However if your emigrating in search of work and have not much saved then you could find it a struggle as wages are very low.

Opening a Bank account

To open a bank account in Argentina will need to show a valid passport and proof of residency. The amount needed for a minimum deposit varies from AR$1,000 to the need to provide a valid employment contract which ranges from 6 months to 1 year. Bank accounts in Argentina can opened with Pesos or US Dollars.

As an example, Banco La Nación has the following requirements for foreigners to open an account:

• Bring your original Identification Document and a copy
• Proof of domicile (gas bill, telephone bill, etc.)
• Your CUIL ( Código Único de Identificación Laboral)/ CUIT ( Código Único de Identificación Tributaria) / CDI (Carnet de Identidad)\ CUIL is a number given to every employee upon starting to work for an employer. CUIT is a personal number you need to pay taxes. CDI is your Identification Card number.

Initial deposit. To open an account in pesos, this should be at least AR$10. For a dollar account, the initial deposit is US$ 500. Annual maintenance costs of the account are AR$ 6 for a peso account, and US$ 2 for a dollar account. The costs include a Maestro debit card.

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