UruguayWork residence permit

Temporary residence in Uruguay

A status for foreign nationals who come to Uruguay to work as employees, to study or to carry out religious activity and who are not yet applying to live there permanently. The application is filed online through the government portal, after which the originals are brought in person to the National Directorate of Migration. Each category — workers, students, ministers of religion — assembles its own set of documents on top of the general certificates. The status is limited in time and has to be renewed.

Source: GUB.UY — Residencia Legal - Temporaria (Dirección Nacional de Migración)

Who can apply for temporary residence

The conditions depend on why you are moving to Uruguay — work, study or ministry in a religious organisation. Each category needs its own set of supporting documents.

Working under an employment contract

You have an employer in Uruguay ready to confirm the position and the term of employment in writing
The salary is no lower than the national minimum wage
You plan to stay for anything from a few months to a couple of years

Students

Enrolled at a Uruguayan educational institution
You can evidence means of support — your own or from a relative
The studies fit within the period allowed for the programme

Ministers of religion

Sent by a church or religious congregation
The organisation confirms in writing that it will support you and stand guarantor for the whole period of stay
The activity is temporary rather than permanent in character

When the programme will not suit

You are a national of a member or associated state of MERCOSUR

MERCOSUR temporary residence (Residencia Legal — Temporaria Mercosur) — a separate procedure with the same cost and validity, but its own list of grounds

You plan to be in Uruguay only briefly and all you need is an identity document for that period

A provisional identity sheet (Hoja de identidad provisoria) valid for up to 180 days

You already have grounds for permanent residence, for instance Uruguayan roots or a family link

Permanent residence through a Uruguayan link (Residencia Legal — Permanente por vínculo uruguayo)

You live in the border zone and cross the border regularly without moving to Uruguay for good

A special border document (Documento especial fronterizo)

What it costs

Examination of the temporary residence applicationUI (Unidad Indexada) is the Uruguayan unit of account, linked to inflation and recalculated every six months	557,3 UI
Migration certificate for obtaining the identity documentIt evidences your migration status and history of entries and exits; it is needed in order to obtain the Uruguayan identity document afterwards	55,7 UI
Re-entry permit when leaving before the procedure is completePayable for each separate trip while the residence has not yet been finalised	+225,6 UI
Total government feesThe sum of the mandatory rows in the table. “Re-entry permit when leaving before the procedure is complete” adds 225,6 UI. Charges with no official price list are in the list below.	613–838,6 UI

Paid separately

Apostille or consular legalisation of foreign documents — Paid by the applicant separately; not required for documents issued electronically or for documents from Brazil
Sworn translation of documents into Spanish — Needed if the applicant does not speak Spanish, and paid separately from the state fee

Documents to gather

The documents are filed in PDF format for the online application and must be no more than a year old at the time they are examined; foreign documents must be legalised or apostilled, except those issued electronically and documents from Brazil.

A passport-style photograph
The original identity document used to enter the country
A valid visa, if one is required for your country
A certificate of no criminal record covering the last five years — from the country of residence and from the country of birth
A valid vaccination certificate
A health certificate from an authorised medical institution
For employees — a letter from the employer describing the position, the term of employment and a salary no lower than the minimum, plus the company's notarial details or a BPS employment history
For students — a certificate from the educational institution and proof of means of support, their own or from a relative
For ministers of religion — a certificate from the church or congregation describing the activity and guaranteeing support, plus notarised confirmation of the organisation's standing
For minors — a legalised birth certificate and the written consent of the parents holding parental authority

How the process runs

The application is filed online, but the procedure is only completed by attending the agency's office in person.

1
Logging into the personal account on the government portal
Sign in with a portal account, Identidad Digital, TuID or another digital identity.
2
Choosing the type of residence and filling in the form
In the online form you state the ground for your stay — work, study or religious activity.
3
Uploading the documents
All the documents are attached to the application in PDF format.
4
Paying the state fee
Payment is made by bank transfer or through the payment collection network.
5
Receiving the decision by email
The agency notifies you that the application has been approved or that missing documents must be supplied.
6
Booking the in-person appointment
Once approved, the applicant books the date and time of the visit on the official website.
7
Attending the National Directorate of Migration in person with the original documents
up to 10 minutes' lateness is tolerated
The final step of the procedure. If you are more than 10 minutes late or fail to attend at the appointed time, the fee you have paid is not refunded and the appointment has to be booked again.

Timelines and rights

Work

The status is issued for a specific occupation: work under an employment contract, study at an accredited institution, or ministry in a recognised denomination.

Who you can bring with you

This page sets out separately only the requirements for minor children; provisions on spouses and other dependants are not given here.

Minor children moving together with the applicant

A legalised or apostilled birth certificate and the written consent of the parents holding parental authority are required. If one of the parents is absent, a notarised power of attorney valid for 180 days is needed.

Renewal and the grace period

The renewal must be filed no later than 90 days before the current temporary residence expires. The documents filed for the renewal, as with the initial application, must be no more than a year old.

Frequently asked questions about Temporary residence

Can you leave Uruguay while the temporary residence application has not yet been approved?

Yes, but before travelling you must obtain a re-entry permit (permiso de reingreso) from the National Directorate of Migration — this document is required precisely by those who have not yet completed their residence application and want to travel abroad intending to return. The permit is obtained online or in person for each separate trip.

What do you have to do after the residence is approved in order to obtain the Uruguayan identity document?

First you need to obtain the migration certificate (certificado migratorio), which evidences your migration status and history of entries and exits and is expressly listed as necessary for obtaining the identity document. It can be ordered online through the personal account or in person at the agency's offices.

How does this procedure differ from residence for nationals of MERCOSUR?

If the applicant is a national of a member or associated state of MERCOSUR, a separate MERCOSUR temporary residence procedure applies, with the same cost and the same validity but its own list of permitted grounds. The ordinary temporary residence this card is about is open to applicants of any nationality.

What happens if the documents turn out to be incomplete when they are filed?

The agency will point out the missing documents once and give you the chance to supply them; a repeat application with an incomplete set is no longer accepted. At the in-person appointment up to 10 minutes' lateness is tolerated — if you fail to attend at the appointed time the fee you have paid is not refunded.

What salary do you need to obtain residence on an employment contract?

The employer must confirm in writing that the applicant's salary is no lower than the national minimum wage. From 1 January 2026 that minimum is set at 24,572 pesos a month, and from 1 July 2026 it rises to 25,383 pesos.

Other ways to move to Uruguay

Every route in one list — migration programmes: Uruguay.

The terms and the amounts are checked against official sources — the link sits under each section.Last checked on: 7 August 2026.