Do You Need to Get Residency?
Plenty of people spend a significant amount of time each year in Uruguay, buy real estate in Uruguay, etc. without residency or a cédula. That strategy requires being aware of and keeping track of the amount of time you can be in Uruguay as a tourist and ensuring that you do not work illegally in Uruguay or otherwise run afoul of the immigration and tax laws of Uruguay or the country you emigrated from.
For those of you ready to apply for temporary or permanent residency, this section is for you.
The guide discusses the two options used by most foreigners:
- Apply for a Digital Nomad Permit, followed by an application for permanent residency; or
- Apply for permanent residency (no Digital Nomad Permit).
Digital Nomad Permit (Temporary Residency)
When To Consider Getting a Digital Nomad Permit
- you plan to stay in Uruguay longer than the 90 days allowed for tourists (180 days with an extension), but not more than 12 months
- you plan to work remotely while you are in Uruguay
- you are over 60 and/or have pre-existing medical conditions and are being quoted a high fee to join a mutualista
- you need more time to gather documents for residency (such as proof of income), for example if you are just starting a business in Uruguay or online
- you need time to decide if you’ll apply for residency (i.e., use this option instead of a scouting trip)
Uruguay offers a 6-month Digital Nomad Permit, a type of temporary residency, that you can receive very simply, affordably, and quickly. The Digital Nomad Permit is applied for online after you arrive in Uruguay.
If you later decide to apply for permanent residency, you can apply while in Uruguay as a Digital Nomad with the same process as explained below.
The application for the Digital Nomad Permit does not require proof of income (other than a sworn statement that you can support yourself) or a criminal background check.
How to Apply for a Digital Nomad Permit
You will need a valid passport.
If your passport is from a country requiring a visa to enter Uruguay, you will also need that. This guide does not address those situations.
Create a gub.uy account and apply online.
Here’s a step-by-step video of how to apply online for the Digital Nomad Visa
- When uploading documents (passport and affidavit), upload a SCANNED version, not a photo or screenshot. You can have documents scanned at a local paperleria (a store that sells school supplies and paper, and usually offers printing, copies, and scanning) or use a scanning app on your phone. For example, you can open Google Drive, click + to add a document, then select “scan” to add the document to your Google Drive.
- After you submit your application, you will get a receipt with a barcode. Bring that to Aibtab to pay, then be sure to go back into your online application to finish the submission.
Renewal of a Digital Nomad Permit
If you want to renew the Digital Nomad Permit for an additional 6 months, you will need:
- a criminal background check for your country of origin AND any country where you have lived in the prior 5 years, and
- a Uruguayan vaccination certificate.
Depending on work tax, and other factors, you might consider applying for permanent residency instead of renewing the Digital Nomad Permit since you must obtain additional documents either way. You can begin the permanent residency process with only your U.S. passport. After applying for permanent residency, you will remain “in process” for up to two years. During that time, you can either gather the required documents for permanent residency or decide to leave the country.
Benefits of Starting with a Digital Nomad Permit
- You will likely receive temporary residency as a Digital Nomad much quicker than waiting for a permanent residency appointment.
- With the Digital Nomad Permit, you can obtain a cédula which allows you to work, might open more affordable health care options, etc.
- If you will be starting a business in Uruguay, a new remote position with a company outside of Uruguay, or self-employment, you can do that as a Digital Nomad. Doing so will give you more time in Uruguay (beyond the two years after your permanent residency appointment) to establish a steady and sufficient stream of income, proof of which is needed for permanent residency.
Families With Minor Children
There is conflicting information about whether families with minor children can receive a Digital Nomad Permit. Current guidance indicates it is not currently possible. Consult an expert.
Permanent Residency
Permanent Residency Application Process
If your passport is from a country requiring a visa to enter Uruguay, you will need to start with that. This guide does not address those situations.
Otherwise, you will start the residency process online by creating an online GUB.UY account and submitting your residency application online.
After your initial online application is approved, you will get an email directing you to the website to schedule an in-person residency appointment.
At your in-person appointment, you must present your passport and a passport photo(see other requirements below for minor children)
At your appointment, you will be told which documents you are required to provide (income verification, birth certificate, criminal background check, etc.). You will have two years from your initial appointment to submit the required documentation (see exception below for minor children).
Permanent Residency Application for Minor Children
One exception to ability to get documents within two years following the permanent residency appointment applies to minor children. If you have children under age 18, the start of the in-person process you must present the following:
- An apostilled, translated, notarized, and registered birth certificate for any family member under 18 years old, and
- Apostilled, translated, and notarized parental consent if both parents will not be present at the in-person appointment:
- express parental authorization to reside in Uruguay. If this authorization is not given in person, a power of attorney (valid for 180 days) must be presented, in which those who exercise legal representation over the minor authorize a third party (or one parent to the other) to express this authorization.
- If a power of attorney issued abroad is granted, it must be notarized by a Uruguayan Notary Public. It must expressly state that it grants authorization to reside in Uruguay.
See here for the official description of the necessary documentation for permanent residency, including the specific requirements for minor children.
See below for more information about getting the documents you need.
After you have your in-person permanent residency appointment, you are eligible to get a cédula (national ID card) which often opens easier paths to things like health care, insurance, etc. See below for more information about getting a cedula.
Leaving Uruguay While Residency Application is In Process
After you have your appointment for permanent residency, you will get a cédula (ID card) that says “residencia en trámite” on the back. That means “residency in process”. Once the residency process has been initiated and until the residency is granted, a re-entry permit (permito de reingreso) must be paid each time the applicant leaves the country.
Re-entry Permit
It is the procedure carried out by a foreigner before the National Directorate of Migration when, not having completed the residency procedure, to travel outside the country with the intention of returning to it. Apply here. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, there is a link to download step-by-step instructions.
Documents Needed for Residency
Criminal Background Check
You will need an apostilled criminal background check from the federal government of your home country AND any other country where you have lived in the past five years. This requirement applies to any family member 18 years or older.
U.S. citizens already in Uruguay can request an apostilled FBI criminal background check at Interpol in Montevideo. Address: Dirección General de Lucha Contra el Crimen Organizado, Ministerio de Interior, Maldonado 1109, 11100 Montevideo, Departamento de Montevideo, Uruguay. There is no fee for this service, but you will pay for mailing and the FBI fee.
- Visit Interpol in person to request an appointment. You will receive information about the process and what to bring with you to your appointment.
- U.S. Passport
- Address in Uruguay
- Last address in the U.S.
- Phone number in Uruguay
- Debit card or credit card (you will write the card information on a form authorizing the FBI to charge that card when your request is processed)
- Which immigration office in Uruguay to send your background check (the office processing your residency application)
- Attend your appointment to be fingerprinted and complete the background check forms.
- At your appointment, Interpol will give you a sealed envelope to send overnight via FedEx or DHL to the FBI.
- The apostilled criminal background check will be returned directly to Interpol, which will have it translated and sent to the immigration office you indicated.
- Interpol will call you to confirm the background check has been received and sent to immigration.
If you are a U.S. citizen and still in the U.S., you can use a third-party service provider such as National Background Check to get your apostilled FBI criminal background check. It will be sent to you and you will need to have it translated by a Uruguayan certified translator before submitting it to immigration. The background check should be obtained no more than 6 months before your immigration appointment.
If you have lived in a country other than the U.S. within the past five years, you will be required to get an apostilled and translated criminal background check from that country. You might reach out to that country’s Consulate in Uruguay for information about obtaining a criminal background check.
For example, one expat was able to email the Ecuadorian Consulate in Montevideo and receive information about how to request the criminal background check and apostille online and pay for it at a local Uruguayan bank.
Birth Certificate
For people born in the U.S, you will need an apostilled certified long-form birth certificate from the state where you were born. You can request a certified long form copy of your birth certificate directly from the vital records office of the state where you were born and then have that document apostilled by the Secretary of State (or Secretary of the Commonwealth in some states) in that state.
Another option is to order the certified and apostilled birth certificate from a third-party service provider such as vitalcheck.
NOTE: you are not required to have the birth certificate at the time of your appointment for permanent residency. You will not submit the birth certificate to immigration. Instead, you will register the certificate with the Civil Registry. It is acceptable not to have registered your birth certificate before your appointment for permanent residency. The immigration office will tell you which documents you must register at the Civil Registry, give you instructions for where and how to do so, and tell you when you must complete that step. If all of the other requirements are met, other than the registration of the birth certificate, you can be granted permanent residency with a provisional 1-year cédula (ID card) with up to two renewals (a total of three years) to allow you time to register the birth certificate.
Marriage Certificate, Divorce Decree, Death Certificate of Spouse, and Name Change
If you have a name change, you will register your marriage and/or divorce documents, or other documents (such as a court decree) evidencing your name change. You will follow a similar procedure to get any of these documents that are applicable to you and register them with the Civil Registry.
School Certificate
If you have minor children, you will need school records and a schooling certificate.
Vaccination Certificate
You will need proof of vaccinations, but don’t need to get proof of vaccination before you arrive in Uruguay. You can easily get any required vaccinations for free in Uruguay. The clinic will then give you a vaccination certificate to provide to immigration and that you will use to get your Health Card.
Health Card
You will need a carne de salud (public health card) for immigration, employment, and some athletic activities. You can easily and cheaply get the appointment with the required tests. If you need a mammogram, pap smear, etc. those tests are easy to obtain and are not expensive compared to U.S. out-of-pocket prices.
Proof of Income
You will need to provide proof of your monthly income to show that you have sufficient monthly income to support yourself.
The monthly income requirement is not a fixed amount, and the immigration agent has some discretion. In practice, applicants generally demonstrate income above at least the Uruguayan minimum wage per person, though the final determination is discretionary.
A Uruguayan Income Certificate (certificado de ingresos) by an Escribano is required to prove source(s) of income.
- You provide proof of your monthly income:
- If you are employed, you can provide a letter from your employer indicating your income and verifying that you are permitted to work remotely. Ask the Escribano for details about the employee letter.
- If you are self-employed or have rental income, you can hire a local Uruguayan accountant to draft an Accountant’s Income Certificate which you will bring to the Uruguayan Escribano. Ask the Accountant for details about the business and income information needed.
- The Escribano prepares the Income Certificate that you will provide to immigration.
See here for a detailed explanation of how to provide proof of foreign (non-Uruguayan) income.
Note that overall wealth, investment accounts, business or real estate in Uruguay or elsewhere, will not necessarily suffice for proof of income.
Translation
All foreign documents submitted must be apostilled or legalized (Law No. 15,441) and translated into Spanish by a Uruguayan Certified Translator.