Uruguay is an attractive destination for foreign nationals seeking residency, tax planning opportunities, and long-term stability in Latin America. However, obtaining legal residence or citizenship in Uruguay involves specific eligibility rules, documentation requirements, and administrative procedures that vary depending on the applicant’s profile.
An experienced Uruguay immigration lawyer helps individuals, families, and investors navigate residency options, tax residency considerations, and related legal matters such as company formation and permanent residence.
This guide explains how Uruguayan immigration law works, who qualifies, and why legal support is essential to ensure a smooth and relocation process.
Key Takeaways
- A skilled Uruguay immigration lawyer can help you with your move by dealing with administration, advising you of the relevant laws, and strategically planning your future.
- The main practice areas of Uruguayan immigration lawyers are immigration, corporate, civil, family, and property law. These fields combined help make for a pleasant move to Uruguay.
- There are a range of different visas available for those seeking immigration. These include work visas, residency visas, and student visas. Each category offers advantages and disadvantages that we walk you through.
- Bringing your family or business with you is a vital part of the process. Lawyers are necessary to help you do this and smooth over the difficult aspects of immigrating.
- We can help you with Uruguayan immigration by dealing with the paperwork and other administration, picking and planning the right visa for you, and guiding throughout the entire process.

A lawyer with knowledge of Uruguay’s law can drastically ease the process of immigration by assisting with the following:
- Clear Guidance: An Uruguay immigration lawyer has deep knowledge of the country’s immigration rules. Additionally, they will know about specific laws adjacent to relocation, including property law, and family law.
- Mistake Avoidance: Hiring an experienced immigration lawyer prevents costly errors that could delay or jeopardize your application.
- Custom Strategies: Our experienced team can create personalized solutions based on your specific immigration case.
- Communication: Uruguayan lawyers can communicate directly with the authorities, as well as with you to smooth the entire process and keep you informed.
- Time and Cost Savings: Professional guidance reduces delays and unexpected expenses. This helps to speed up your application by ensuring all documentation is filed on time and correctly.
- Peace of Mind: Having a legal professional to manage your case provides reassurance and comfort throughout the process. We are here to guide you every step of the way.

Tailored Visa Applications
Uruguay Immigration Lawyers help clients to find the right visa for their needs. This speeds up the process and helps avoid unnecessary delays or wasted time. They guide you during the crucial document gathering phase to make sure you do not miss anything and slow down your application.
Naturalization and Citizenship
A lawyer will help guide you along the path of naturalization toward citizenship. This is important for those seeking permanent relocation in Uruguay. The process is long but, with the right guidance, it does not need to be intimidating.
Family Reunification
For those looking to reunify family members in Uruguay, an immigration lawyer is the ideal solution. They will tell you which of your relatives qualify, what the process is, and prepare all the necessary paperwork. The assistance that a Uruguay immigration lawyer provides can be invaluable in speeding up the processes involved.
Corporate Law
Immigration is not just a physical move as it is also a financial one. Moving with your assets tends to be expensive and a lawyer can help you better understand how to structure them. This can reduce costs and administrative burdens while helping you streamline your corporate finances.
Investment Immigration
Uruguay offers a residency-by-investment program that requires a minimum investment of $510,000 – $525,000 in real estate or a ~$2,18 million investment in a business. This process is administration heavy, so a lawyer helps greatly to ease that difficulty.
Services Post-Arrival
Once you have arrived in Uruguay, your immigration obligations remain ongoing. A lawyer ensures that you are compliant with all necessary laws and regulations. They can also assist with day-to-day necessities like opening a bank account and finding health insurance.

Costs for an Uruguay immigration lawyer will vary based on the services that you require:
- Basic Advice/Consultation: ~$300
- Full Residency Services: $450 – $1,200
- Golden Visa Application: $5000+
Additionally, budget for apostilled documents and translations which can cost from $30 to $40 per page.
Uruguay provides a range of visa options designed to accommodate workers, investors, students, and those pursuing residency, making it an attractive destination for immigration.
Visas are generally applied for at Uruguayan consulates in your home country, with final processing by the Dirección Nacional de Migración (National Migration Directorate) in Montevideo.
Applicants typically need a passport valid for at least six months, passport photos, completed forms, proof of financial means, health insurance, and clean criminal records. However, specific requirements will vary depending on visa type.
Uruguay Independent Means Visa
The Uruguay Independent Means Visa is one of the easiest ways to stay in Uruguay for longer than a tourist visa. It is a program that enables residency in the country and is designed for individuals who can support themselves and their family through passive income that they have earned outside of Uruguay.
The visa has other names such as the Rentista Visa or the Passive Income Visa. Applicants for the visa must be able to show a minimum monthly income of $1,500. The exact number for your family will vary based on the number of dependents you are bringing.
Valid sources of income include pensions, rental properties, dividends, annuities, or long-term foreign employment. We help our clients understand the exact requirements for this visa and guide them throughout their application process. This way, no deadlines are missed and your application processes smoothly.
How Can Global Citizen Solutions Help You?
Global Citizen Solutions is a boutique investment migration consultancy firm focused on finding the right residency or citizenship by investment program for individuals wishing to secure their future and become global citizens. With offices in Portugal, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Brazil, our multilingual team guides individuals and families from start to finish, providing expert advice considering freedom, mobility, taxation, and security.
- We have helped hundreds of clients from 35+ countries in all the top residency by investment and citizenship by investment programs. With an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the area, we provide our clients with solid guidance.
- Our team has never had a case rejected. Our 100 percent approval rate sets us apart from our competitors and guarantees that you can expect a successful application.
- Our transparent pricing covers all the processes from opening your bank account, document certification, and legal due diligence to investment and submission. As there is one fee for the entire process, you can be confident that you will not face any hidden costs later.
- All data is stored within a GDPR-compliant database on a secure SSL-encrypted server. You can be safe knowing that your personal data is treated with the utmost security.
- Global Citizen Solutions provides an all-encompassing solution. Our support can continue even after you receive your passport. We offer additional services such as company incorporation, Trusts, and Foundations formation.
- The BeGlobal Onboarding System® allows you to access the status of your application every step of the way, something that sets us apart from our competitors.