How to Qualify for Residency or Citizenship in Uruguay

Some of the first questions we all ask are:

Must I be a legal resident before I can buy real estate?

How can I live in the country legally?

Are my property rights protected there?


You don´t need legal residency to buy real estate in Uruguay. You can just cross the border into Uruguay and buy real estate. The Uruguay government claims to protect the rights of Uruguay citizens and foreigners equally the same.

There are two ways that you can live in Uruguay without getting on the wrong side of the Uruguay immigration laws.

1. Take a bus, the hydrofoil, or the ferry across the river to Argentina every 90 days. Go shopping. Go out to dinner. Go to the opera. As you cross the border back into Uruguay, you automatically renew your tourist visa.

Or, if you choose to live on the Atlantic coast of Uruguay, and you are a U.S. citizen, get a visa for Brazil and take a mini-vacaton there every three months. Many non-U.S. citizens do not need a visa to enter Brazil from Uruguay, but U. S. citizens must obtain a visa to enter Brazil.

When I lived in Bariloche, Argentina, in the Andes near the border with Chile, I crossed a mountain pass into Chile every three months. In winter it was not unusual for the pass to have snow and ice. In Uruguay you don´t even have snow and ice to contend with.

But why even do that if you don´t have to? If you have $500 a month retirement or from another source, or you can find a job or a way to work in Uruguay, you´re in. Well, almost. You just need to jump through a few hoops.

You must provide documents to immigration as follows:

1. Your birth certificate

2. Your marriage certificate. If you are divorced or your spouse has died, just to be on the safe side, bring a copy of your divorce decree or the spouse's death certificate. This is just an overview. If you do decide to obtain legal residence, I suggest you check with an immigration attorney regarding your own circumstances.

3. Police record from your home country as well as anywhere else you have lived in the last five years. (For U.S. citizens, this is obtained at the Interpol office in Uruguay.)

4. Documented proof that you meet the income requirements. At present that requirement is $500 per month. This income can come from a pension, retirement fund, rental property either in Uruguay or elsewhere, income from a company you own, or a job contract in Uruguay. Really almost any income, if sufficient, will qualify you for residence.

These documents must be obtained before leaving your home country. They must be legalized at the Uruguay Consulate in your home country and legalized in Uruguay at the Foreign Ministry.

You must also provide a certified translation of all documents into spanish language.

My own immigration attorney suggests gathering the documents, having them authenticated, then sending them to him just to be sure everything is in order before leaving for Uruguay.

You then enter Uruguay as a tourist and present your papers to immigration. Once you have submitted the papers, and before you are approved, you are allowed to ship personal and household items into the country duty free. You do not have to wait until official approval. However, there is a process of posting the duty amount for the incoming goods just in case you do not follow through with your residency. But once you do, the deposited amount is returned to you.

It can take 8 months to a year and a half for temporary residency. It may well depend on whether you do it yourself, use an attorney or representative, and even what representative you use and the connections that person has with immigration. As you probably know, much of what happens in Latin America depends upon who you know.

There are also some medical requirements. Women are required to have a mammogram and all applicants must have a tetanus shot. I have no idea why tetanus. Living in Uruguay is not that much different from any other developed country--I am only reporting the current requirements.

After one year as a temporary resident, you may apply for permanent residence. In three to five years, you may apply for citizenship and a second passport.

Although I prefer to work with a knowledgeable attorney or representative, a number of expats here successfully obtained their residency without an attorney.

If anyone has had a different experience from what is reported here, your input is appreciated. As we all know, things change often in Latin America and your input could be important to someone just now taking this step.
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© Arlean Kelley 03/11/2009 All rights reserved.

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