Uruguay
is an open country to foreign citizens: not only for those doing business
or buying property, but also for those seeking residency.
Any foreign citizen that meets certain basic requirements
can apply for residency. In addition, if one wishes to, one can subsequently
apply for citizenship, and a second passport.
1. The process:
The most important thing you should
bear in mind is that Uruguay does not have an immigration quota,
nor does it discretionally reject applications. As long as you meet
the simple requirements that are listed below (birth certificate, clean
police record, proof that you can support yourself, an address, and time
spent in the country), the residency is granted. It is the manifest
policy of the government to invite people to move to Uruguay.
The residency application is filed before the “Direccion
Nacional de Migracion” (DNM), Uruguay’s immigration authority. The
key, when applying, is to make sure that the required documents are presented
in due form (with the required stampings and wording).
The process starts with the request for an appointment
at the DNM, through a letter (of which we´ll send you the text).
The next step is to gather the documents that are
required for the filing. The documents one submits at the DNM must be previously
stamped at the Uruguayan consulate in the country where they were issued
(if the country where they were issued does not have a Uruguayan consulate,
we´ll advise which correspondent consulate applies). This stamping
procedure is called "legalization", and all Uruguayan consulates are familiar
with it. (Note: "legalization" is not synonymous with "Apostille".
Apostilled documents won’t be accepted; they need the Uruguayan consulate’s
stamp.)
To verify where the competent Uruguayan consulate
is, feel free to email us, and we’ll provide the contact information.
Once you have all the documents, we’ll ask you
to send them to us, so we can verify that they are correct, and have them
stamped at Uruguay’s Foreign Ministry, plus, have them translated into
Spanish by a certified interpreter.
Once you arrive in Uruguay, you need to do two
things before filing your residency application: a brief medical check-up
(which we’ll book for you) and a police record, if applicable (see below).
It usually takes twelve months
to obtain residency from the day you submit your application.
2. A word on the address requirement and the permanence
in the country that is required:
Uruguay requires that the applicant who files for
residency have an actual address in Uruguay (a property, owned or rented)
and that the person reside in the country.
On the requirement to spend time in the country:
During the 12 months that it takes to obtain residency after you file,
you may freely come and go in and out of Uruguay (and you may stay indefinitely,
since you are a “temporary resident” awaiting the “permanent resident”
status). But you must also spend considerable time in Uruguay.
If you have to move around for different reasons (work, travel, second
homes elsewhere), you should at least be able to spend between four and
six months in Uruguay, during the application process.
Once
you become a permanent resident, there is no longer a stay requirement.
You will lose your resident status only if you stay out of the country
for more than three years.
If, after residency, you wish to pursue citizenship,
then you need to wait three years (if married, or with a family) or five
years (if single). To be able to obtain citizenship- you need to
spend at least six months out of each of those 3/5 years, in the country
(besides other formal requirements).
3. The required documents
The required documents are:
a) Your birth certificate.
b) Your marriage certificate: this is optional.
You may file it or not. The advantage of filing a marriage certificate
is that it enables only one of the spouses to have to prove a source of
income (see “e”, below).
c) Your criminal record: To prove that one has
a clean police record, he or she must present a police certificate from
the country of origin, from the country which issued the applicant’s passport
(if different from the country of origin) and from those countries where
one resided in the past five years. In the case of U.S. citizens,
the U.S. record is requested in Uruguay, at the local Interpol office.
d)
Tetanus shot: If you have a vaccination report showing your last tetanus
shot, you’ll avoid getting one at the medical check-up in Uruguay. If by
any chance you cannot be given this shot (i.e. allergies) you´ll
need a letter issued by a doctor, specifically stating you cannot get the
shot, and the reason why. Minors (under 18) must bring their vaccination
reports as they will not be vaccinated at the clinic in Uruguay.
e) Proof of Income. The Proof of Income requirement
is fulfilled by proving that you have a steady stream of income of at least
USD 6,000 per year (or USD 500 per month). If the applicants are
a married couple, only one of the spouses needs to prove an income source.
The proof of income can be proven in a number of
ways: a pension, dividends of any nature, lease income, or a work contract
with a company in Uruguay, to name common examples. A simple bank
statement will not suffice as proof of income, since it does not prove
a steady stream of income.
You have to prove that the income is actually received
in Uruguay, so it’s convenient to open a bank account (if you don’t have
one already) in the country, which is easy, and can be done in a day at
some banks.
