Uruguay, a place to stay.

Guide 01

Residency, ID card and passport

Residency is applied for at the National Migration Office. With it you get your Uruguayan ID card (cédula) and, over the years, you can obtain legal citizenship and a passport.

Which residency applies to you

• Permanent residencyFor those who want to live in Uruguay permanently.
• Temporary residencyFor those coming for a period of time, for example for work or study. It can be extended.
• Mercosur citizensThey have their own residency procedure.

Usual documents

• Passport or ID documentAnd a passport-size photo.
• Criminal record certificateFrom your country of birth and wherever you lived in the last 5 years, legalized or apostilled.
• Valid health cardIssued in Uruguay by a provider authorized by the Ministry of Public Health, plus your vaccination certificate.
• Means of supportSufficient income to support yourself. If it comes from abroad, it is proven with a notarial certificate.
• Birth certificateRequired by the Civil Identification Office to issue the ID card. A marriage certificate only if the relationship needs to be proven.

While your residency is in progress, you can already get your ID card as a resident in process at the National Civil Identification Office.

Legal citizenship and passport

1. 01

   Habitual residence

   3 years if you have a family established in Uruguay, 5 years if not. If you are away longer than allowed, the count starts over.

2. 02

   Constitutional requirements

   Good conduct and having capital, property, a profession, an art or an industry in the country (article 75).

3. 03

   Citizenship Letter

   It is granted by the Electoral Court. The procedure currently includes witnesses; a bill under discussion would base it on documentary evidence.

4. 04

   ID card and passport

   With the legal citizen ID card you can apply for a Uruguayan passport. In 2025 the way the passport identifies legal citizens was corrected: check the current situation when you start the process.

Guide 02

Tax residency and the Tax Holiday

Tax residency determines where you pay taxes. Since January 1, 2026, under Law No. 20,446, access to the Tax Holiday has been separated from tax residency and has new requirements.

The benefit

The Tax Holiday exempts passive foreign income (such as dividends and interest) in the year you obtain residency and the following ten: 11 years in total. After that, this income is taxed at 12%.

Ways to qualify from 2026

• Living in Uruguay more than 183 days a yearYou qualify for the Tax Holiday without having to invest, as long as you meet that condition every year.
• Real estate investmentReal estate worth more than UI 12,500,000, about USD 2 million.
• Contribution to innovation fundsAn alternative with annual contributions of approximately USD 100,000.

New in September 2026: a new decree made the real estate route more flexible. Properties bought since September 1, 2025 count, they no longer have to be urban and they can be the same ones you used for tax residency.

If you were already a tax resident

Those who obtained tax residency and exercised the option by December 31, 2025 remain under the previous regime, unchanged.

It is a technical regime that depends on each case. Before deciding, check with an accountant.

Guide 03

Buying with cryptocurrency

In Uruguay you can buy a property with cryptocurrency, always through a notary and following the same transparency rules as any other purchase.

What the DGI says

In Ruling No. 6,419, the DGI held that cryptocurrencies are intangible movable property and not money. Therefore, paying for real estate with them is an exchange (asset for asset) and not a sale.

• ITP (transfer tax)It is paid as in any transfer, on the official value of the property set by the Cadastre.
• Seller's income taxThe property's tax cost is compared with the market value of the cryptocurrency: it is advisable to keep documentation supporting that value.
• Source of fundsThe notary applies the same due diligence as in any purchase.

Providers regulated by the Central Bank

Since July 2026, the Central Bank has had a comprehensive framework for virtual asset service providers: exchanges, custody and transfers. Companies already operating may apply for authorization between September 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027. In addition, crypto-asset transfers must identify the sender and the recipient, like an international bank transfer.

Before you transact, check that the provider is authorized by the Central Bank or has applied for authorization.