Moving to Uruguay

Citizenship of Uruguay

Uruguayan citizenship gives Americans a real, legal path to living permanently in a peaceful, welcoming country far from global conflicts. Family immigrants can apply for citizenship after 3 years of living in Uruguay, and single applicants after 5 years.

Assistance in Obtaining Uruguayan Citizenship

We've been helping foreigners, including Americans, obtain Uruguayan citizenship for more than 10 years — exclusively through legal naturalization. That means we first help you obtain Uruguayan permanent residency, then guide you through the entire process until citizenship is granted. Our citizenship assistance is only available after you've completed the permanent residency process with us — we work exclusively with clients we've already gotten to know through that process. This is a serious commitment, and we can only vouch for people we've known for years. In fact, one of the citizenship requirements is having 2 witnesses who have known you personally for 3 or 5 years, depending on your case.

Cost of Assistance in Obtaining Uruguayan Citizenship

For clients who previously obtained permanent residency with our help, the cost of assistance through to citizenship is $1000.

Requirements for Applying for Citizenship

Once you've obtained permanent residency in Uruguay and decided this is where you want to stay for good, here's what you'll need to meet in order to apply for citizenship.

  • Only foreigners aged 18 and over can apply for legal citizenship. Children of foreign residents must wait until they turn 18 to apply for Uruguayan citizenship.
  • Families need to live in the country for 3 years before applying, while single applicants need 5 years. Throughout that period, you must reside in Uruguay for at least 6 months each year — otherwise, the clock resets.
  • Two witnesses who have known you personally for 3 years (married applicants) or 5 years (single applicants) must be present at the interview. Witnesses cannot be related to you as family members, employees, employers, military personnel, active police officers, or election officials.
  • To pass the interview, you'll need enough Spanish to understand simple questions and give simple answers.
  • You must be able to prove means of subsistence and show you've paid taxes to BPS.

You can find more information on citizenship requirements at the official Corte Electoral website.

Ways You Cannot Obtain Uruguayan Citizenship

Different countries have different paths to citizenship. Some offer it in exchange for a large investment or property purchase; others make it nearly impossible to obtain at all. In Uruguay, foreigners without Uruguayan relatives can only become citizens through naturalization. Here are a few routes Americans sometimes assume exist but don't:

  • Unlike some countries, Uruguay does not offer a "golden passport" — there's no citizenship-for-investment program.
  • Uruguayan citizenship isn't granted for purchasing real estate, regardless of the property's value.
  • Having a child in Uruguay grants citizenship only to the newborn — the parents receive a simplified path to permanent residency, not automatic citizenship.

Roadmap for Obtaining Uruguayan Citizenship

Legalizing your status in another country can feel overwhelming given the complexity and unclear timelines involved. To make the whole process — from your first consultation to holding a Uruguayan passport — easier to picture, we've laid out a visual step-by-step plan. Timelines below are counted from your date of arrival in the country.

  1. 1

    Consultation

    We discuss your situation, your goals, and possible paths forward. This is where you decide whether Uruguay is the right fit for you.

  2. 2

    Appointment with Migration Office

    Once you've decided to move to Uruguay, the next step is scheduling an appointment with the Migration Office to submit your permanent residency documents. Booking remotely lets you arrive in Uruguay just a couple of weeks before your appointment and receive your residence permit within a month of submitting. By your appointment date, you'll need to have your documents ready — apostilled birth, marriage, and criminal record certificates, plus a few others we'll walk you through during the consultation.

  3. 3

    Document Preparation

    We translate your required documents and you complete a medical examination.

  4. 4

    Submission of Documents to Migration Office (2 weeks)

    As your authorized representatives and translators, we go with you to the Migration Office and submit your documents for permanent residency.

  5. 5

    Receiving Your First Cédula – Residency Permit (1 month)

    Within a month of submitting (or within a week if you choose the expedited option for an additional fee), you'll receive your Cédula en trámite — a plastic local ID card that serves as a 2-year residency permit.

  6. 6

    Permanent Residency (1 years)

    After one to two years of waiting, you'll be approved for your Cédula legal — permanent residency.

  7. 7

    Citizenship (4–6 years)

    After 3 years (married applicants) or 5 years (single applicants) of living in the country without breaking the residency terms — meaning more than 6 months in Uruguay each year — you can apply for citizenship. Citizenship applications are reviewed within 1–1.5 years.

  8. 8

    Uruguayan Passport

    Once you have citizenship, you can order a Uruguayan passport for international travel.

To get a consultation on Uruguayan citizenship, you can:

  • Contact us via Telegram or WhatsApp.
  • Send us an email. You're welcome to write a brief note outlining your situation and questions — we'll respond as soon as possible with options that fit your case.

FAQ

The "Nationality" field in the Uruguayan passport contains the holder's original citizenship, causing automated airport systems to treat it as a foreign passport — leading to manual checks and, in rare cases, denial of entry. This issue has been officially acknowledged by Uruguay at the 189th CIDH session and will be resolved.

Yes, but you must be present in Uruguay for more than 183 days per year.

A witness must hold Uruguayan citizenship and have a credencial.

Citizenship cannot be obtained without witnesses — build social connections with Uruguayans well in advance.

Simple questions are asked: where you live, what you do for work, your parents' names. Brief or simple answers are sufficient.

Witnesses must explain how long and under what circumstances they have known you, describe your character, and know your date of birth, previous place of residence, children's names, and occupation. Prepare them in advance by providing a written biography.

A1–A2 is sufficient — the questions are simple and the interview is not a language test.

No re-apostilling is required. You will need Uruguayan documents confirming your eligibility (e.g., tax payment records). The full list of requirements will be provided at your first visit to the Corte Electoral.

Citizenship can only be obtained from age 18. If an adult dependent child applies simultaneously with you, they will receive citizenship at the same time. If you obtain citizenship first, the child must apply independently after turning 18.

Uruguayan citizens can visit over 150 countries without a prior visa, including all Schengen zone countries, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Israel, Singapore, and most of the Americas. The Uruguayan passport is considered one of the most travel-friendly in the world.

A Uruguayan passport allows visa-free stays in Schengen countries for up to 90 days within any 180-day period for tourism or business. For long-term residence, work, or study, a visa or residence permit is required.

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