Company Formation in Argentina

Forming a company in Argentina is rarely just a registry filing. The corporate work runs alongside the foreign shareholder registration, tax activation and bank onboarding, and where the business is regulated, the licensing framework usually dictates what the entity should look like.

Jarsun, Ferreira & Calvo coordinates all of it: vehicle selection, registration of the foreign shareholder, incorporation, CUIT and tax activation, and the corporate file your bank will eventually ask for.

Who This Service Is For

We typically act for:

1. a.foreign companies incorporating an Argentine subsidiary;
2. b.founders and investors structuring a new local venture;
3. c.fintechs and regulated businesses whose entity must fit a licensing regime;
4. d.groups registering a foreign shareholder under Article 123 of the General Companies Law;
5. e.companies weighing a branch against a subsidiary; and
6. f.businesses that need the entity, the tax registration and the bank account working together before launch.

If you are still comparing market-entry models, start with our Doing Business in Argentina guide. This page covers the implementation work once you have decided to form.

Common Structures: SRL, SA, SAU and Branch

Most foreign-owned operations in Argentina use one of a small set of vehicles:

1. a.The Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (SRL), Argentina's limited liability company. A solid operating vehicle where ownership is stable and governance is simple. It is managed by one or more gerentes rather than a board.
2. b.The Sociedad Anónima (SA), the full corporate form, with shares, a board (directorio) and shareholders' meetings. Usually the better fit where governance formality, share-based capital, future ownership changes or regulatory expectations matter.
3. c.The Sociedad Anónima Unipersonal (SAU), an SA with a single shareholder. Useful for wholly owned subsidiaries, though it is subject to permanent state supervision under Article 299 and its capital must be paid in full at incorporation.
4. d.A branch under Article 118. Not a separate legal entity; the foreign parent operates directly and remains liable for the branch's obligations. It has its uses in project-based or parent-backed cases, but it is not the default for a long-term operating business.

A note on the SAS: although the simplified form exists, we generally do not recommend it as the default vehicle for foreign-owned or regulated businesses. Registry practice, banking onboarding and regulatory perception tend to favor the SRL or SA. The choice comes down to regulatory, banking, governance, tax and shareholder considerations. Speed of incorporation is usually the least important factor.

Foreign Shareholder Registration: Article 123

A foreign company that will hold equity in an Argentine entity generally must first register under Article 123 of the General Companies Law. The filing needs evidence of legal existence and good standing, constitutional documents, a corporate resolution approving the Argentine participation, the appointment of a local representative, beneficial ownership disclosures, and apostilled or legalized documents with sworn translation.

For entities domiciled in the City of Buenos Aires, the foreign shareholder registration and the incorporation of the local company can generally be filed together, with the local registration conditional on completion of the Article 123 registration. This sequencing improvement came with IGJ General Resolution No. 4/2026.

In practice the timing driver is the foreign parent's documentation, not the Argentine bylaws. Apostilles, sworn translations and beneficial ownership questions decide how fast the file moves.

How Jarsun, Ferreira & Calvo Works

Our formation work usually runs as a single project with these workstreams:

1. a.structure selection: SRL, SA, SAU or branch, checked against the regulatory model, the group's tax position and what banks will expect;
2. b.foreign shareholder registration under Article 123, or branch registration under Article 118, including document lists for the foreign jurisdiction and management of apostilles and translations;
3. c.bylaws and governance: managers or directors, domicile requirements, signing authority and any shareholder-level agreements;
4. d.registry filings before the IGJ or the relevant provincial registry, including publications and handling of observations;
5. e.CUIT, ARCA registration and fiscal key setup, so the entity can invoice, hire and operate;
6. f.banking readiness, meaning the corporate file banks ask for, with beneficial ownership and source-of-funds documentation; and
7. g.post-incorporation steps: corporate books, initial resolutions and any registrations the operation needs before going live.

For regulated businesses (payments, lending, crypto, securities) the license drives the entity design. If your project is a fintech, see our Fintech Market Entry in Argentina service and the Fintech Regulation in Argentina guide.

Why Foreign Companies Engage Local Counsel

Most of the difficulty in Argentine formations is sequencing. Tax activation needs the registration, banking needs the tax file, and a regulated launch needs all three; an error early in the chain costs months later. Foreign documents also fail more often for formal reasons (apostille chains, translation formalities, an outdated certificate) than for substantive ones. And an undercapitalized or generically structured entity creates friction with banks and regulators that is expensive to unwind.

Everything that follows in Argentina sits on top of the entity: employment, banking, regulatory filings and, eventually, repatriation or exit. It is worth doing once, properly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a foreign company own 100% of an Argentine entity?

Yes. As a general corporate-law matter there is no general prohibition on foreign ownership, subject to sector-specific restrictions (for example rural land, border zones and certain regulated industries). Wholly owned subsidiaries are common, including through the SAU.

Should we choose an SRL or an SA?

It depends. The SRL is often a strong, lower-maintenance operating vehicle for stable, closely held ownership. The SA suits share-based structures, more formal governance and settings where regulators or partners expect a corporation. We look at it case by case.

How long does formation take for a foreign-owned company?

With a foreign corporate shareholder, plan on a multi-week to multi-month timeline; eight to sixteen weeks is common, depending on the parent's jurisdiction, document formalities, registry workload and whether filings are handled as ordinary or urgent. Formations with local shareholders move faster.

Is the SAS a good option for a foreign-owned business?

Usually not as a first choice. The SAS can work in specific low-complexity cases, but for foreign-owned subsidiaries, and especially for regulated activities, the SRL and SA remain the more established vehicles before registries, banks and regulators.