Argentina Emigration and Immigration

Online Records

 * CEMLA Centro de Estudios Migratorios Latinoamericanos Database of immigrant arrivals in Argentina.
 * Ancestros Argentineos Information on Argentine immigration in Argentina.
 * Apellidos Argentineos Databases and other information regarding Argentine immigrants in Argentina
 * Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild Choose a volume and then choose Argentina under "Listed by Port of Departure" or "Listed by Port of Arrival".
 * 1623-1816 Padrones y relación de extranjeros e indios, 1623-1816
 * 1817-1821 Pasaportes, 1817-1821 Passports issued to persons leaving through the Port of Buenos Aires for destinations within Argentina and in other parts of the world.
 * 1821-1871 Entradas y salidas de pasajeros, 1821-1871, lists for disembarkation at and embarkation from the Port of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Includes some passports.
 * 1882-1920 Barcos de Agnelli Passenger lists 1882-1920
 * 1882-1950 Immigration Records of Argentina, index
 * 1882-1960 Ships arrived to the Port of Buenos Aires between 1882 and 1960, index by ship. Click on the name of the ship to view the list of passengers. Not complete.
 * 1883-1937 Argentina, Migration Records, 1883-1937, images, Passenger lists and other migration records housed at the Archivo General de la Nación in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
 * 1883-1937 Argentina, registros migratorios, 1882-1937 images, Buenos Aires (Argentina). Departamento Documentos Escritos, Archivo General de la Nación (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
 * 1921-1939 Reseñas de pasaportes de varios consulados, 1921-1939; images only - includes those in Argentina
 * 19th Century Entrada de Pasajeros a Argentina (Passenger entry to Argentina, XIX century)

Cultural Groups

 * British Settlers in Argentina and Uruguay
 * Gen Francesa Helps and links to databases for French immigrants to South America.
 * Irish Settlers in Argentina
 * The story of the Irish in Argentina, indexed
 * Five thousand Welsh Patagonians
 * History and records of Welsh Nonconformist churches in Patagonia, 19th/20th century Censuses and records of proceedings of the immigrants and Indian populations who lived in Buenos Aires and some of the old tax districts of the Viceroyalty of Rio de La Plata.
 * 1822-1889 Irish to Argentina (1822-1889)
 * 1822-1929 Irish Passengers to Argentina (1822-1929)
 * 1829-1902 Various documents concerning emigration and other papers of the Council of State, 1829-1902 Various documents concerning emigration for the Swiss canton of Valais to South America, notably Argentina and Brazil.
 * 1870-1945 Auswandererkartei von Rußlanddeutschen nach Argentinien, 1870-1945, images of index cards, arranged alphabetically by surname, for German-speaking emigrants from Russia to Argentina. Provides information on place of origin, state of allegiance, birth and death date and place, religion, date of emigration, destination abroad, profession, full name of spouse, birth and death date and place, place and date of marriage; names, birth places and dates of children, their residences and spouses' names. Information often incomplete.
 * 1870-1945 Auswandererkartei von Rußlanddeutschen nach China und Nordamerika : 1870-1945 Index cards, arranged alphabetically by surname, for German-speaking emigrants from Russia to China, North America, Argentina, elsewhere. Includes birthplaces and dates for both spouses and children, date of emigration and destination, place and date of marriage, children's names and documentary references.
 * 1890-1960 Passenger Lists Leaving UK 1890-1960 at FindMyPast; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Argentina
 * 1904-1914 Germany, Bremen Passenger Departure Lists, 1904-1914 at MyHeritage; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Argentina
 * 1920-1939 Germany, Bremen Emigration Lists, 1920-1939 at MyHeritge; index & images ($); includes those with Destination of Argentina

National Archives
People desiring to leave Argentina were required to request permission from the government. These records are available for research in the National Archives of Argentina. Records of genealogical value at national archives include: protocols of scribes (including wills, powers, titles of land, etc.), probate courts, censuses, data and titles of lands, church records, civil records, court records, military records, emigration lists, land records, colonial records, and more.
 * 1883-1937 Argentina, Migration Records, 1883-1937, images, Passenger lists and other migration records housed at the Archivo General de la Nación in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
 * 1883-1937 Argentina, registros migratorios, 1882-1937 images, Buenos Aires (Argentina). Departamento Documentos Escritos, Archivo General de la Nación (Buenos Aires, Argentina)

General Archive of the Nation (Archivo General de la Nación) Av. Leandro N. Alem 246 Buenos Aires Telephone: (54 11) 4339-0800 int. 71037
 * Contact
 * Website
 * Request certified copies of immigrant income The step by step to request digitized copies of the registry of entry of immigrants by sea.

Other Records of Departure
Other records that might have information on immigrants include:


 * Permissions to emigrate.
 * Newspaper announcements.
 * Probates of relatives who stayed.
 * Church records (annotations).
 * Police Lists/ Registrations.
 * Passports.
 * Court Records.

Finding the Town of Origin in Argentina
If you are using emigration/immigration records to find the name of your ancestors' town in Argentina, see Argentina Finding Town of Origin for additional research strategies.

Argentina Emigration and Immigration
"Emigration" means moving out of a country. "Immigration" means moving into a country. (See Immigration into Argentina.) Emigration and immigration sources list the names of people leaving (emigrating) or arriving (immigrating) in the country. These sources may be passenger lists, permissions to emigrate, or records of passports issued. The information in these records may include the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, destinations, and places of origin or birthplaces. Sometimes they also show family groups.

Emigration

 * People from Argentina known as Argentines whom live overseas in communities across the Americas (like Uruguay and Brazil until the 1990s), western Europe (esp. Spain, Italy, Germany, France and the U.K.) and elsewhere (i.e. Israel), mainly are political refugees from the military junta in the late 1970s and 1980s.
 * Some Argentines chose to leave their country during the troubled years of government turmoil in the 1970s and 1980s.
 * Emigrants from Argentina left records documenting their migration in the country they left as well as in the country they moved to.
 * Most Argentinian emigrants left through Buenos Aires or the major cities with international transportation.
 * There are records of departures including emigration lists, passport records, and passenger lists.
 * The information in these lists varies over time but usually includes the emigrants’ names, ages, occupations, and destinations. In addition, relationships and last residence or birthplace may be given.

Brazil Online Records

 * The data banks on Argentine emigrants to the United States, Argentina and Brazil (Cerca_Le_Tue_Radici: registri di sbarco delle navi giunte nei porti di New York, Buenos Aires e Vitoria, limitatamente ai passeggeri di nazionalità italiana.
 * Brazil Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Brazil Background

 * Most Argentines outside Argentina are people who have migrated from the middle and upper middle classes.
 * The first wave of emigration occurred during the military dictatorship between 1976 and 1983, with principally to '''Spain, USA, Mexico and Venezuela.
 * The last major wave of emigration occurred during the 2001 crisis, mainly to Europe, especially Spain, although there was also an increase in emigration to neighboring countries, particularly Brazil, Chile and Paraguay.

Canada Online Records

 * Canada Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Canada Background

 * The Canadian Immigration Act of 1952 resulted in an increased number of skilled and educated Argentine immigrants to Canada. The majority were fleeing the economic decline and political turmoil following the Revolución Libertadora. An average of 400 Argentines immigrated to Canada annually from 1964 to 1972.
 * Beginning in 1973, increased instability, terrorism and high inflation in Argentina created another wave of immigration to Canada. The rate of immigration increased to more than 1000 persons annually during the mid-1970s. The influx lasted until 1983, coinciding with the progress of Argentine democracy.
 * The highest concentrations of Argentine Canadians are in Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.

France Online Records

 * France Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

France Background
Argentinians in France in 2012 numbered 11,899 (or up to 15,000).

Israel Online Records

 * Israel Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Israel Background

 * Argentine Jewish immigration to Israel has been, and still is, the largest and most significant migratory flow from South America. This is because Argentina has one of the largest Jewish communities in the world. Because of this, many Jewish Argentines are able to make aliyah and become Israeli citizens through the Law of Return. The Argentine community in Israel is about 50,000 people, although some estimates put the figure at 70,000, making it one of the fastest growing groups in the country.
 * Since the establishment of the State of Israel there has been an Argentine Jewish migratory flow to Israel although this flow has fluctuated over time.
 * Argentina has maintained long and stable relations with Israel. The South American nation was always opened to immigrants, and Jews were no exception to this except for a brief period when Jewish immigration was banned. Despite this, thousand of Jews entered Argentina and made it their home.
 * It was not until the 1976 Argentine coup d'état when a large number of Jews fled the country in search of safety.
 * The number of Argentine Jews emigrating to Israel greatly increased throughout the period of the Dirty War. Many of them settled permanently in Israel while others returned to Argentina after the fall of the junta.
 * Many Jewish Argentines choose Israel as an alternative to settle due to political and economic instability that has rocked Argentina in recent decades.
 * It was during the Argentine crisis of 2001 when Israel saw the largest number of olim from the South American country.
 * The 1992 attack on the Israeli embassy and the 1994 bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires also helped create an impetus for Jews to emigrate.
 * There is a significant number of non-Jewish Argentines, having, or being married to somebody who has, at least one Jewish grandparent, who choose Israel as their new home, either permanently or temporarily.

Spain Online Records

 * Spain Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Spain Background

 * Between 1857 and 1940, more than 2 million Spanish people emigrated to Argentina, mostly from Galicia, Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria in northern Spain, Catalonia in northeast Spain, and also from Andalusia in southern Spain.
 * As a result of political, social and economic problems that hit the country in recent decades, many Argentines chose to emigrate, mainly to other countries in the Americas or countries where their parents and/or grandparents came from (mainly Spain and Italy).
 * In 2018, 256,071 Argentines lived in Spain. 18,390 lived in Catalonia, with 13,387 in Barcelona. 12,635 lived in Andalucia, with 6,589 in Málaga. 10,526 lived in Valencia, with 5,510 in Alicante. 9,706 lived in Madrid, and 6,746 lived in the Balearic Islands.
 * The Argentines are the fourth most numerous Latin American community in Spain.

United States Online Records

 * The data banks on Argentine emigrants to the United States, Argentina and Brazil (Cerca_Le_Tue_Radici: registri di sbarco delle navi giunte nei porti di New York, Buenos Aires e Vitoria, limitatamente ai passeggeri di nazionalità italiana.
 * United States Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Uruguay Online Records

 * Uruguay Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Uruguay Background

 * Many Argentine-born persons reside in Uruguay, for a number of reasons. Both countries share the same language, culture and ethnicity and their populations bear striking similarities. There is no need for special migration documents, and circulation is relatively easy. Uruguay is a small, quiet country, with wide beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, so many Argentines choose Uruguay as their usual holiday destination, some of them even as permanent residence. Argentine people come to Uruguay in search of a better quality of life.
 * The 2011 Uruguayan census revealed 26,782 people who declared Argentina as their country of birth.[6] In 2013, there were almost 6,000 Argentine citizens registered in the Uruguayan social security.

Immigration into Argentina

 * Ethnic groups of Argentina in Wikipedia, a more thorough list of immigrants from many countries.
 * Argentina is considered a country of immigrants. Argentines usually refer to the country as a crisol de razas (crucible of races, or melting pot).
 * In colonial times, the ethnic composition of Argentina was the result of the interaction of the pre-Columbian indigenous population with a colonizing population of Spanish origin and with sub-Saharan African slaves.
 * Between 1857 and 1950, Argentina was the country with the second biggest immigration wave in the world, at 6.6 million, second only to the United States. *However, immigration did not have the same impact in the whole country. According to the 1914 national census, 30% of Argentina's population was foreign-born, including 50% of the people in the city of Buenos Aires, but foreigners were only 2% in the provinces of Catamarca and La Rioja (North West region).
 * Most Argentines are descended from the 19th- and 20th-century immigrants of the great immigration wave to Argentina (1850–1955), with a great majority coming from European countries, particularly Italy and Spain.
 * Argentina is home to a significant Arab population; including those with partial descent, Arab Argentines number 1.3 to 3.5 million, mostly of Syrian and Lebanese origin. As in the United States, they are considered white. The majority of Arab Argentines are Christians belonging to the Maronite Church, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches.
 * The Asian population in the country numbers around 180,000 individuals, most of whom are of Chinese and Korean descent, although an older Japanese community originating from the early 20th century still exists.[282]
 * From the 1970s, immigration has mostly been coming from Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru, with smaller numbers from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Romania.

History

 * After independence was won, the government encouraged immigration. Free land, tools and animals were given to these new colonists if they would work on the land for five years.
 * In 1824, the Commission of Immigration began advertising to attract European immigrants to create new agriculture communities in the vast open lands outside the great Buenos Aires. One of the first groups sponsored came from the British Isles in Feb 1825, departing from Glasgow and Liverpool. Some of the first Irish settled in these outskirts Buenos Aires and south of Santa Fe.
 * Starting around 1853, the project to colonize took force. Immigrants with contracts settled in the provinces of Santa Fe, Chaco, and Entre Rios. In 1857, these contracts brought families from Switzerland, the Piedmont area in Argentina, and the Haute–Savoie and Savoie departments in France. Russians and Germans also began coming at this time.
 * Until 1876, Santa Fe and Entre Rios were at the head of the new colonization movement.
 * After this wave of contracted immigrants, other independent immigrants came.
 * By 1875, 68,277 new immigrants had entered Argentina. From 1870–1890, a million and half more came. In the latter part of this period, hundreds of Russian Jewish Refugees came and settled the province of Entre Rios.
 * The Welsh came and settled the southern zone of the country.
 * The latest of the new arrivals were Koreans, Chinese, Taiwanese, and the Africans.
 * Most immigrants to Argentina arrived at the port of Buenos Aires or crossed the Uruguay border from Montevideo.

French Online Records

 * France Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

French Background

 * French Argentines form one of the largest ancestry groups after Italian Argentines and Spanish Argentines.
 * Between 1857 and 1946, 261,020 French people immigrated to Argentina.
 * Besides immigration from continental France, Argentina also received, as early as the 1840s, immigrants with French background from neighboring countries, notably Uruguay.
 * In 2006, it was estimated that around 6 million Argentines had some degree of French ancestry, up to 17% of the total population.[4]
 * During the first half of the 19th century, most French immigrants to the New World settled in the United States and in Uruguay. 13,922 Frenchmen, most of them from the Basque Country and Béarn, left for Uruguay between 1833 and 1842.
 * In 1852, Argentina overtook Uruguay and became the main pole of attraction for French immigrants in Latin America.
 * From the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, Argentina received the second largest group of French immigrants worldwide, second only to the United States. Between 1857 and 1946 Argentina received 239,503 French immigrants - out of which 105,537 permanently settled in the country.
 * French immigration to Argentina can be divided in three main periods, as follows:
 * France was the third source of immigration to Argentina before 1890, constituting over 10% of immigrants, only surpassed by Italians and Spaniards. During the first period (1852–1890), French immigration was similar, in numbers and in features, to that of Italians and Spaniards. It belonged to a larger movement of emigration of Basque people, from both sides of the Pyrenees.
 * from 1890 to 1914, immigration from France, although reduced, was still significant;
 * lastly, after WWI, the flow of French immigrants was minimal and only grew again after WWII to finally stop in the 1950s.

German Online Records

 * Germany Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

German Background
German immigration to Argentina occurred during five main time periods: pre–1870, 1870–1914, 1918–1933, 1933–1940 and post–1945.
 * In the first period numbers were generally low; of note are the colonias alemanas, first founded in the province of Buenos Aires in 1827.
 * During the second period, Argentina experienced a boom in immigration due to massive economic expansion in the port of Buenos Aires and the wheat and beef producing Pampas. German immigrants began establishing themselves and developing newspapers, schools, and social clubs. A new, Germanic-Argentine identity gradually developed among the population.
 * During the third period, after a pause due to World War I, immigration to Argentina resumed and German speakers came in their largest numbers. This can be attributed to increased immigration restrictions in the United States and Brazil as well as the deteriorating conditions in post-World War I Europe. The two largest years of German immigration to Argentina were 1923 and 1924, with approximately 10,000 each year. Though found throughout Argentina, over 80% of these were located in Buenos Aires, Misiones, or Entre Ríos in 1933. Further, attendance at German schools rose from 3,300 in 1905 to 12,900 in 1933.
 * During the penultimate period, from 1933 to 1940, Argentina experienced another surge in German immigration. The majority were German Jews although other German opponents of Nazism also arrived. Half of the 45,000 German speakers who immigrated at this time settled in Buenos Aires. They comprised 28% of total immigration to the country, as mass migration to Argentina was slowing.
 * The final period of German immigration to Argentina occurred between 1946 and 1950 when President Juan Perón ordered the creation of a ratline for prominent Nazis, collaborators and other fascists from Europe. During this period, Argentine diplomats and intelligence officers, on Perón's instructions, vigorously encouraged these groups to make their home in Argentina.
 * The country received 12,000 immigrants from Germany between 1946 and 1952, a smaller number than in previous periods.

Irish Online Records

 * Irish Settlers in Argentina
 * The story of the Irish in Argentina, indexed
 * 1822-1889 Irish to Argentina (1822-1889)
 * 1822-1929 Irish Passengers to Argentina (1822-1929)
 * Ireland Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Irish Background

 * Irish emigrants from the Midlands, Wexford and many counties of Ireland arrived in Argentina mainly from 1830 to 1930, with the largest wave taking place in 1850–1870. The modern Irish-Argentine community is composed of some of their descendants, and the total number is estimated at 500,000–1,000,000.
 * Argentina is the home of the fifth largest Irish community in the world, the largest in a non-English speaking nation and the greatest in Latin America.
 * Most of those who left Ireland arrived in Buenos Aires attracted by the possibility of better living conditions, as the economic, social and political conditions in Ireland at the time were quite poor, but the emigrants came from counties and social segments in which the economic conditions were not the worst (Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Wexford).
 * Others, in turn, left after receiving favorable descriptions of the country from friends and family who had already arrived in Argentina.
 * The real or perceived possibility to becoming landowners in the Río de la Plata region (Argentina and Uruguay) and consequently joining the South American landed gentry, was the most important factor attracting thousands of young men to the area. Others had arrived earlier as merchants, artisans and mercenaries.
 * For Irish immigrants, the new lands of the Southern Cone of South America brought further interest for immigration to purchase large land tracts for bargain prices, working first as labourers, then in "halves" or "thirds" in the sheep-farming business, and finally renting and purchasing land.

Italian Online Sources

 * 1882-1920 Agnelli Ships - Records of the entry of Italian immigrants Agnelli Boats is a registry of the entry of Italian immigrants organized by year and by ship.
 * 1882-1929 Centro Altreitalie Three databases, available online, with the landing lists of Italians in Argentina, Brazil and the United States.
 * Apellidos Italianos Databases and other information regarding Italian immigrants in Argentina
 * Italy Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Italian Argentine Background

 * Italian settlements in Argentina, along with Spanish settlements, formed the backbone of today's Argentine society. Argentine culture has significant connections with Italian culture in terms of language, customs, and traditions.
 * Italian is the largest ethnic origin of modern Argentines, after the Spanish immigration during the colonial population. It is estimated that up to 30 million Argentines have some degree of Italian ancestry (62.5% of the total population).
 * Italians began arriving in Argentina in large numbers from 1857 to 1940, totaling 44.9% of the entire postcolonial immigrant population, more than from any other country (including Spain, at 31.5%). In 1996, the population of Argentines of partial or full Italian descent numbered 15.8 million when Argentina’s population was approximately 34.5 million, meaning they represented 45.5% of the population. Today, the country has 30 million Argentines with some degree of Italian ancestry in a total population of 40 million.

Spanish Online Records

 * Spain Emigration and Immigration – Wiki page with additional larger databases which also include Argentinians

Spanish Argentine Background

 * Spanish settlement in Argentina took place first in the period before Argentina's independence from Spain, and again in large numbers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Between the 15th and 19th centuries, the Spanish Empire was the sole colonial power in the territories that became Argentina after the 1816 Argentine declaration of independence. Thus, before 1850, the vast majority of European settlers in Argentina were from Spain.
 * A substantial Spanish descended Criollo (Latin Americans who are of solely or of mostly Spanish descent) population gradually built up in the new cities, while some mixed with the indigenous populations (Mestizos), with the Black African-descended slave population (Mulattoes) or with other European immigrants.
 * Since a great portion of the immigrants to Argentina before the mid-19th century were of Spanish descent, and a significant part of the late-19th century/early-20th century immigrants to Argentina were Spaniards, the large majority of Argentines are at least partly of Spanish ancestry.
 * In the post-colonial period (1832-1950), there would be a further influx of Spanish immigrants to Argentina from all over Spain during the Great European immigration wave to Argentina, after the creation of the modern Argentine state. Between 1857 and 1960, 2.2 million Spanish people emigrated to Argentina, mostly from Galicia, the Basque Country, Asturias, Cantabria, and Catalonia in northern Spain, while significantly smaller numbers of immigrants also arrived from Andalusia in southern Spain.
 * Galicians make up 70% of the Spanish post-colonial immigrant population in Argentina. The city with the world's second largest number of Galician people is Buenos Aires, where immigration from Galicia was so profound that today all Spaniards, regardless of their origin within Spain, are referred to as gallegos (Galicians) in Argentina.
 * Roughly 10-15% of the Argentine population are descended from Basque people, both Spanish and French, and are described as Basque Argentines. They gather in several Basque cultural centers in most of the large cities in the country. A common practice among Argentinians of Basque origin is to identify themselves "French-Basques". This is because of French culture being considered more "fashionable" than Spanish among the average Argentinian.

For Further Reading

 * Ethnic groups of Argentina in Wikipedia
 * Irish Argentine in Wikipedia