Piriápolis Expats

Applying for Residency

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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, keep reading to learn about the Uruguay residency process for expats.

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)

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When To Consider Getting a Digital Nomad Permit

You might consider applying for a Digital Nomad Permit if 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
  • plan to work remotely (for yourself or a company outside of Uruguay) while you are in Uruguay
  • are over 60 and/or have pre-existing medical conditions and are being quoted a high fee to join a mutualista
  • need more time to gather documents for residency (such as proof of income); or
  • 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:

IMPORTANT: the cédula and criminal background check(s) might take several months to obtain, so if you are considering renewing your Digital Nomad Permit, you will want to begin the process of getting those right away.

Depending on work, taxes, 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 if you decide to abandon the permanent residency process.

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 to include minor children under a Digital Nomad Permit. Consult an expert.

Employees or Contractors of Companies in Uruguay

The Digital Nomad Permit is not available to people who work for a company in Uruguay, either as an employee or an independent contractor. These people typically skip the Digital Nomad Permit and apply for permanent residency immediately.

NOTE: if you are employed by a company in Uruguay, ask your employer if you are eligible for the fast-track visa and residency process.

Permanent Residency: Uruguayan Residency Process for Expats

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Permanent Residency Requirements

The Uruguay residency process for expats seeking permanent legal residency includes three parts:

  1. Permanent Resident Application with Immigration (this section)
  2. Cédula: apply for a cédula after you have your appointment for Permanent Residency
  3. Registration of Birth Certificate and related documents (marriage certificate, etc.)

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.

You will start the permanent residency process online by:

  1. getting an Uruguayan phone number if you have not yet done so. You can get a Uruguayan number and mobile plan from Antel, the main mobile phone company in Uruguay. 
  2. creating an online GUB.UY account
    • If you previously created a gub.uy account with your passport, for example if you have a Digital Nomad Permit, you will need to update the account with your cedula information as described here.
  3. 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-size 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).
      • 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.

NOTE: if you are employed by a company in Uruguay, ask your employer if you are eligible for the fast-track visa and residency process.

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.

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 the Uruguayan Residency Process for Expats

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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

  • You 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 (Certificado de Vacunación)

You must provide a valid Uruguayan Vaccination Certificate as part of your legal residency application. You do not need to rush to get all your vaccines before you arrive in Uruguay. You can handle the entire process locally for free.

How the Process Works

  • Gather Your Records: Bring any printed vaccination records with you to Uruguay, if you have them.
  • Visit a Local Clinic: Call or stop by a clinic to ask if you need an appointment or if there are walk-in options. Take your vaccination records, if you have them, to an official vaccination center (vacunatorio), such as the public health clinic or a local mutualista.
  • Get Free Missing Vaccines: The medical staff will review your records. If you are missing a required dose, they will give it to you. All mandatory vaccines in Uruguay are free for everyone.
  • Receive Your Certificate: The clinic will print, initial, and stamp your official Uruguayan vaccine certificate, a scanned copy of which you will provide to immigration as part of your residency application. You will also need the vaccine certificate to get your Health Card (Carné de Salud).

What Vaccines Are Required?

Check the CHLAEP Guide for Foreigners for details about which vaccines are required and how foreign immunization cards are validated.

Health Card (Carné de Salud)

After you have your vaccination certificate, you will need to get a carné de salud (public health card) for immigration, employment, and some athletic activities. You can easily and cheaply get the appointment to get the required tests. If you need a mammogram, pap smear, etc. those tests are also easy to obtain and are usually not expensive compared to U.S. out-of-pocket prices.

Ask the clinic for the current requirements when you make your appointment. Here are the reported requirements as of 2026:

  • Physical exam, including a vision check, dental check, and blood pressure screening
  • Blood and urine tests
  • Vaccination certificate
  • For women, a PAP smear depending on your age and how recent your last PAP smear was
  • For women, a mammogram depending on your age and how recent your last mammogram was
  • Any other tests or consultations as determined to be needed based on your medical history

Where to Get the Health Card

Cavica is one location in Maldonado where you can schedule an appointment to get your Health Card (carné de salud)

Alternatively, if you have already joined a mutualista, ask the clinic about getting the Health Card. For example, you can get your health card from Asistencial in Piriápolis if you are a member.

Proof of Income (Certificado de Ingresos)

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 showing the source of the income and the deposits into a bank account:
    • 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.
    • If you are retired and receiving US Social Security, you can print out your Social Security Benefits Letter.
  • The Escribano prepares the Income Certificate that you will provide to immigration. Ask the Escribano what documentation is required for your situation and which documents need to be translated by a certified Uruguayan translator.

Note that overall wealth, investment accounts, business or real estate in Uruguay or elsewhere will not necessarily suffice for proof of income. You will want to show monthly income deposited into a bank account (in Uruguay or in your home country).

Translation

All foreign documents submitted must be apostilled or legalized (Law No. 15,441) and translated into Spanish by a Uruguayan Certified Translator.

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