07/12/2021
URUGUAY: PERMANENT RESIDENCY AND CITIZENSHIP
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1. INTRODUCTION
Uruguay has a stated policy of welcoming foreign nationals who wish to come and live in the
country. There is no immigration quota, nor does Uruguay’s immigration authority
discretionally reject applications. It is not required that the applicant invests in the country,
either. If the applicant meets the requirements listed below, permanent resident status is
always granted.
An important thing to bear in mind is that Uruguay will issue permanent residency to
applicants who can show that they spend time in the country, as opposed to simply filing for
residency and leaving without returning (“paper residency”).
Once you’ve become a permanent resident, there is no longer a requirement to spend time in
the country; you will lose your resident status only if you stay abroad more than three years.
2. REQUIREMENTS TO OBTAIN PERMANENT RESIDENCY
The required documents to apply for Permanent Residency are:
a) Valid Passport
b) 2 passport-sized picture
c) Revalidated Immunization Certificate (Valid Tetanus and MMR – Measles, Mumps
and Rubella – shots for adults): if your certificate is valid, you will need to present it at
the moment you undergo your medical check-up so you avoid getting the vaccines
again. In case you do not have the shots required, you can get them along with your
During the period of 8 to 18 months that it takes to obtain permanent residency, you need
to show the authorities your willingness to reside in the country, meaning that you should
spend most of that period in Uruguay (you may enter and exit the country as you wish). If
you spend just half the time in the country during the application process, you must show
that you intend to set your residence in Uruguay through additional means (an activity; if
married, by showing that your spouse is also in Uruguay; that your children under 18 are in
a local school, etc.).
If, after becoming a Uruguayan Permanent Resident, you also wish to obtain Uruguayan
citizenship and a second Passport, you need to wait three years (if married), or five years
(if single). This period starts to run from the moment you first arrived in Uruguay to file for
residency, and you need to spend at least six months out of each of those 3 or 5 years in
the country to obtain citizenship (besides other formal requirements which mainly consist
on gathering paperwork durmedical exam, free of charge. If you cannot receive the vaccines
due to medical reasons (i.e.: allergies), you will need to present a
current letter from your doctor specifying so. This letter does not
require an apostille/legalization. The certificate ought to be
presented when filing for residency at the NMO. Minors require the certificate as
well. The shots required for minors are: BCG, HB-DPT-Hib, Polio, MMR, Chicken pox,
Pneumococcal, Hepatitis Type A, DPAT, DT.
d) Birth Certificate: There is a useful online service to obtain Note: if your current name differs from the one on your birth certificate/passport,
the court document supporting the change will be needed. This is true for spouses
that have changed names in order to use their husband’s.
e) Marriage certificate: This is optional. The advantage of filing a marriage certificate is
that it enables only one of the spouses to have to prove an income source (see “d”,
below).
f) Police record: To prove that one has a clean police record, he or she must obtain a
police certificate from the country of birth, from the country which issued the
applicant’s passport (if different from the country of birth) and from those countries
where he/she resided during the last five years, if different from country of origin. If
you used different names after the age of 18, you need to obtain police records with
ALL your different names/aliases.
US citizens may request the police record in Uruguay (at the local Interpol office), or
request it from the FBI in the US and bring it to Uruguay, duly apostilled.
g) Proof of Income: The Proof of Income (POI) requirement is fulfilled by proving that you
have a steady stream of income to support yourself (and your family, if applicable).
The amount of income you declare must be consistent with your lifestyle. The POI
may be proven in several ways: a pension, dividends, rental income, or a work contract
with a company in Uruguay, among others.
Note: We review the source of income with you, to ensure that it is acceptable for
immigration purposes. A simple bank statement will not suffice as POI, since it does
not prove a steady stream of income. Thus, the prior verification that the documents
you submit are correct is of great importance.
Note 2: In addition, you must prove that the income is received in Uruguay, so it’s
convenient to open a bank account in the country, which is easy, and can be done in a
day, at some banks.
The police record cannot be more than six months old on the date you file it with
Uruguay’s immigration authority.
The Proof of Income document cannot be more than six months old on the date
you file it with Uruguay’s immigration h) Medical check-up: A brief and simple medical checkup is required,
from one of several authorized private clinics in Uruguay. This
exam is fast, and it is not a screening test. You will need to present your Immunization
certificate to avoid getting the vaccines again.
i) Proof of address: Uruguay requires that applicants have an actual address in Uruguay
(a property, owned or rented) which you must provide by simply stating it in the
application. A hotel address is acceptable, if you do not have another address when
filing the application.APOSTILLE/LEGALIZE YOUR DOCUMENTS BEFORE YOU SEND THEM
Documents “d”, “e”, “f” and “g” need to be duly Apostilled (if your country is part of
the Apostille Treaty: i.e.: The United States) / Legalized (if the country is not a signatory
member of the Apostille Treaty: i.e.: Canada) in your home country.
Apostilles/Legalizations are stamps, which you obtain locally, at a state office for
Apostilles and at the Uruguayan closest Consulate for Legalizations, and make an official
document valid internationally.
All consulates are familiar with the Legalization procedure. After you identify the
competent Uruguayan consulate, call them, and explain that you will send documents
for legalization. They will ask you to send the documents, a check/money order for the
legalization fee, and a self-addressed stamped envelope to return the documents to3. THE PERMANENT RESIDENCY APPLICATION PROCESS
We’ll detail all the relevant steps of the process to facilitate understanding:
1. First, let us know when you intend to travel to Uruguay (to file your application) and
we’ll organize an agenda that fits your travel plans and we’ll agree on all dates with
you for all different appointments.
2. Gather the necessary documents that you need from your home country detailed on
chapter 2 above. Note that item “f” is optional if you are a US citizen: you can request
it at the Interpol Office in Uruguay (see step 10 below).
3. Scan and send us the documents by email, so we can verify that they are correct.
4. Once we confirm that the documents are correct, please send (by FedEx, UPS, or DHL)
or bring the originals to us with you. When we receive them, we will work on them:
We will have them translated by an official Uruguayan Public Translator on your
behalf
We shall prepare the notary document created by a conveyance attorney (locally
called “escribano”) required by the National Migration OfficeIf some of your documents needed Consulate legalization (this
is the case of documents issued in countries that are not
members of the Apostille Convention) they will need a Foreign
Ministry stamp and we’ll get it on your behalf.
5. Enter Uruguay as a tourist. If you come from the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, Japan, or Latin America, you don’t need a visa.
6. As previously agreed and following the organized agenda, we’ll es**rt you to the
National Migration Office (NMO) to submit your application. You do not need to
submit all the required documents at once (although you can, if you have them all
ready).
In this instance, you only need to bring:
Your passport
Two photos (passport-sized)
Revalidated Immunization certificate (Tetanus and MMR shots)
If you file with minors, both parents need to be present and the birth certificate for
the parents and the minors, plus the marriage certificate, must be filed (duly
apostilled and officially translated).
7. When you file your application (step 6, above), the NMO issues a document which
enables to have your temporary Uruguayan identity card, called “cédula de identidad”
issued. A week later, it will be ready for pick-up at the National Civil Identification
Office and we’ll es**rt you when you chose to do so.
8. If you are a US national and did not obtain the background check in the US, we’ll take
you to the local Interpol office to request your police record. This appointment must
be booked in advance, and will be included as one of the items in your organized
agenda.
9. We’ll take you to the medical check-up at a private clinic to obtain your health card.
This appointment also must be booked in advance, and we’ll be included in your
agenda. We usually schedule both the Interpol visit and the medical check-up, back-to-
back, on the same day. They each take around an hour.
10. We’ll request your Immunization certificate revalidation on your behalf.
11. During the following days of your application request, we file the rest of the
documents on your behalf, to complete your file at the NMO, that is, those that were
not submitted initially.
After you file your application at the NMO, your file will go through several stages. We’ll
monitor the process, and provide answers to the NMO on routine questions they sometimes
have. The NMO may request an update on the POI halfway through the process, to make sure
that you still have means to support yourself.
The NMO may also request a brief interview with the applicant, to confirm information on the
documents that have been filed. We’ll es**rt you to the interview, if it occurs.Permanent Resident status is usually granted within six to twelve months
(on average) if you stay in the country longer than you are outside while the
file moves forward through the process. In the meantime, you will be a
“Temporary Resident”, with a Uruguayan National Identification Card
(“cédula de identidad”) from the beginning, and as such, you may stay in the country
indefinitely (or come and go), and even bring your household goods import tax free.
After you obtain Permanent Resident status, you are issued the definitive identification card.THE ADVANTAGES OF OBTAINING PERMANENT RESIDENCY STATUS
The advantages of obtaining permanent residency status are, mainly:
Once you have your permanent residency, you’ll be able to apply for citizenship (and a
Uruguayan passport) in 3 years (if married), or in 5 years (for single applicants). Time
starts to count from the day you first arrived in Uruguay to file for Permanent
Residency, regardless of when Permanent Resident status was granted.
You will be able to stay in Uruguay indefinitely (from the moment you file your
application).
You’ll be able to work in any trade.
You’ll obtain a National Identification Document, called "Cédula de Identidad", and
local health insurance.
You’ll have easier travel requirements among South American countries.
You will be able to bring your personal belongings and household goods duty free.
