How to obtain Residency, Citizenship and a Second Passport

1. Introduction

Uruguay has a stated policy of welcoming foreign nationals who wish to come and live in the country. There is no immigration quota, nor does Uruguay´s immigration authority discretionally reject applications. It is not required that the applicant invest in the country, either. As long as the applicant meets the requirements listed below permanent resident status is always granted.

An important thing to bear in mind is that Uruguay will issue permanent residency to applicants who can actually show that they spend time in the country, as opposed to simply filing for residency and leaving without returning. During the 12 to 18 months that it takes to obtain residency after you apply, you should at least be able to spend a total of six months in Uruguay per year. The six months do not have to be in one stretch of time and you may freely leave and re-enter Uruguay (and, naturally, you may stay indefinitely). Once you become a permanent resident, there is no longer a stay requirement and you will lose your resident status only if you stay out of the country for more than three years.

If, after residency, you also wish to obtain Uruguayan citizenship (and a second passport), you need to wait three years (if married), or five years (if single). This period starts to run from the moment you first arrived in Uruguay to file for residency, and –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 which mainly consist of gathering paperwork that prove your connection with the country).