Eligibility quiz
Can your pension, rental income or other income of your own support you in Uruguay?
Benefits
Benefits for youBenefits for you
Live in Uruguay indefinitely
You can live and settle in Uruguay for an unlimited time.
Your residence can be cancelled in certain circumstances.
Study in Uruguay
You have equal access to education on the same legal basis as Uruguayan citizens.
A particular programme may have its own entry conditions.
Work in Uruguay
You have the same work rights as Uruguayan citizens when seeking a job and in pay and working conditions.
You also have equal access to job training.
Travel with ID
You can hold a Uruguayan resident identity card, which is valid for three years and must be renewed.
You can use a valid identity card to travel to Mercosur countries and associated countries.
For the rest of the world, you need a valid passport, and the destination country's rules apply.
Find housing
You have equal legal access to housing on the same basis as Uruguayan citizens.
Housing programmes have their own conditions, and a home is not automatically provided.
Use healthcare
You can use healthcare on the same basis as other people living in Uruguay.
Care is available through public services, mutual health providers or private insurance.
The rules for each service apply, and not every treatment is free.
Use social security
You have equal legal access to social security on the same basis as Uruguayan citizens.
Each programme has its own conditions, which may include registration and contributions.
Payments and pensions are not automatic.
How to apply
Applying from inside UruguayApplying from inside Uruguay
Gather your documents
Prepare the required documents for your application.
See required documentsFill in the application
Sign in with a gub.uy account or another accepted electronic ID, accept the terms and select “Permanente”. Fill in the Residencia Legal – Permanente form and attach the required documents as PDFs.
Start your applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I start a Residencia Legal Permanente application online in Uruguay?”
Submit your application
Send your completed online application to Uruguay’s National Directorate of Migration.
Submit your applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I submit my Residencia Legal Permanente application online in Uruguay?”
Pay the fee
Pay the application fee by bank transfer or through a payment collection network. Look for the payment confirmation in your email.
Find payment optionsSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I pay the Residencia Legal Permanente application fee in Uruguay?”
Wait for the review
Watch your email for the migration office’s response. If it asks for corrections, follow the link to your inbox, make the corrections and send them back.
Follow your applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I follow my Residencia Legal Permanente application in Uruguay?”
Book an appointment
When your online application is accepted, use the link in your email to choose an available office, date and time in your inbox. Confirm the booking and look for the confirmation email.
Book your appointmentSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I book an appointment for Residencia Legal Permanente in Uruguay?”
Go to your appointment
Go in person to your chosen migration office with the identity document you used to book and all your original documents. Arrive on time: arriving more than 10 minutes late, missing the appointment or lacking a required document can mean losing the appointment and your payment.
Find your officeSearches DuckDuckGo for “Where are the offices for a Residencia Legal Permanente appointment in Uruguay?”
Wait for the decision
Watch your email and respond to any requests for missing documents through your inbox; send missing documents together, not in separate batches. Keep the approval email: it confirms your permanent residence in Uruguay.
Follow your applicationSearches DuckDuckGo for “How do I follow my Residencia Legal Permanente application in Uruguay?”
Documents needed
Family certificates and recordsFamily certificates and records
Birth certificates *
Provide the birth certificates needed to show the relationship between the people in your application. Get them from the offices that hold the birth records.
* Only if you need to prove a family relationship between people in your application.
May need translationMay need apostille/legalisationConsiderations
Things to think aboutThings to think about
Residence can be cancelled
Your residence can be cancelled if you spend more than three years outside Uruguay.
It can also be cancelled for obtaining the status by fraud, certain convictions for intentional crimes, or repeated offending.
Other grounds include breaking conditions attached to a state subsidy or a tax or fee exemption, terrorism, acts violating human rights and certain other conduct.
Cancellation is not carried out if you are the parent, spouse or partner in a cohabiting relationship of a Uruguayan citizen.
You can challenge a cancellation through the administrative process, which suspends it.
You cannot be expelled until an adverse decision is final.
Discuss
Online communitiesOnline communities
r/uruguay
Spanish Reddit group for people interested in Uruguayan local life
Join on Redditr/monte_video
Reddit group for people interested in Uruguayan local life
Join on Redditr/LegalUruguay
Spanish Reddit group for people interested in Uruguayan local life
Join on RedditConsultation
Talk to a professionalTalk to a professional
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