Uruguay digital nomad visa (2026)

Who can apply

No nationality is barred, but people who need a visa to enter Uruguay must obtain it first.

• Self-employed or working for companies abroad
• Entered Uruguay regularly as a tourist
• Able to support yourself during the stay

Income requirement

You need to show at least No minimum income set. No threshold is published; applicants sign a sworn statement and, per Uruguay XXI, declare they can support themselves during the stay.

Documents you need

• Copy of the identity document used to enter Uruguay
• Signed sworn statement in the official format
• For renewal: Uruguayan ID, criminal record certificates, and a vaccination certificate

How to apply, step by step

1. Enter Uruguay as a tourist
2. Start the procedure online with a gub.uy user, attach documents and pay
3. After approval, go to the National Civil Identification office to complete issuance

Where and how to apply

Uruguay has no consular nomad visa. The permit is a Hoja de Identidad Provisoria issued under article 8(B) of Decree 394/009, as rewritten by Decree 238/022, and it can only be requested after you have entered Uruguay regularly, usually as a tourist. The deciding body is the Ministry of the Interior's Dirección Nacional de Migración (DNM). Online, you log in to the gub.uy portal with a validated ID Uruguay account (the national digital ID with a card reader, Abitab's Identidad Digital or Antel's TuID also work), choose the 'ND (Nómadas digitales)' option, enter your stay dates and Uruguayan address, upload the ID you entered with and the signed sworn statement, and pay. The form also asks which of the 17 departmental offices should handle the file. In person, the Montevideo desk is the Departamento de Residencias Temporarias at Mercedes 1004 (weekdays 09:00-15:00), and there are migration inspectorates in Artigas, Colonia, Maldonado, Paysandú, Rivera and other departments. Spanish is the working language, and the official page tells non-Spanish speakers to bring an interpreter. Once DNM approves the request, the actual document is issued by the Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil (DNIC).

Timeline

1. Enter Uruguay regularly Before applying
   Use a passport or ID card valid for entry. Nationals of countries that need a visa must get one first, because the application asks for it.
2. Set up a validated gub.uy account Not stated officially
   The online procedure needs a validated ID Uruguay user or another accepted electronic identity. Without one, file in person at a DNM office.
3. File the 'ND' request and pay Stay period of up to 180 days
   Enter start and end dates (the form rejects periods over 180 days), attach your entry document and the hand-signed sworn statement, and pay 55.71 UI. Payment cannot be made from abroad.
4. Answer any observations from DNM Not stated officially
   If an official asks for corrections, the file comes back with comments, and you can edit the data and add up to five extra attachments before resubmitting.
5. Collect the document at DNIC Not stated officially
   Approval arrives by email with instructions to go to the civil identification office to obtain the provisional identity document.
6. Renew once Up to another 180 days
   The renewal uses your Uruguayan ID number. It also needs the Uruguayan vaccination certificate and criminal record certificates for every country where you lived six months or more in the five years before arrival.
7. Move to a residence permit if staying longer After the renewal period
   Decree 394/009 lets you apply for temporary or permanent residence under its articles 4 and 7. You do this with DNM through a separate procedure.

Proving your income

No minimum income and no bank statements are required at the first application. For the nomad option the online form asks only for your entry document and the sworn statement (declaración jurada) on the official template. The statement must be signed by hand, and the signature must match the one in your ID. Uruguay XXI describes the statement as a declaration that you can support yourself during the stay. Decree 238/022 frames eligibility around the activity itself. You must work remotely from Uruguay for entities based abroad, and you declare the activity and its end date. Unlike the standard provisional identity document, the nomad option does not ask for an employer letter or a notarial certificate. Paperwork gets heavier only if you later apply for residence. The DNM's permanent residence requirements then ask for proof of 'medios de vida'. For people living on income from abroad, this is a notarial certificate stating the type of income, the monthly nominal amount and how it is received in Uruguay. Uruguay's official Live in Uruguay guide says foreign documents must be apostilled or legalised and translated into Spanish by a Uruguayan public translator, except documents issued in Brazil. Translations by a Uruguayan consular agent are also accepted.

Bringing your family

Neither Decree 238/022 nor the gub.uy procedure mentions spouses, partners or children for the nomad option, and no extra income is set per dependant. The online form is filed per person, using that person's own entry document and sworn statement. Accompanying adults would therefore normally file their own request, but the official pages do not say this outright. For longer stays, article 34 of Migration Law 18.250 lists spouses, minor children and parents of people in the temporary residence categories as eligible for temporary residence themselves. Spouses, partners recognised by a court, parents and siblings of Uruguayan citizens have their own permanent residence route. For minors in residence procedures, the official guidance asks for the express consent of both parents or the guardians, and no criminal record certificate. The nomad permit does not allow employment on a Uruguayan payroll, according to Live in Uruguay. No official page reviewed says whether a family member holding a provisional document could take local work.

Health insurance

The official requirements for the nomad option do not include health insurance, either at the first application or at renewal. What the renewal does require is a certificate from a vaccination centre in Uruguay confirming that you meet the national vaccination schedule under Decree 136/018. Plan a visit to an authorised vaccination centre during your first months. If you later apply for temporary or permanent residence, DNM asks for a valid Carné de Salud Laboral, an occupational health card issued by public or private providers authorised by the Ministry of Public Health. Live in Uruguay notes that some tests are best arranged before travel: proof of a current tetanus vaccination, laboratory tests from the last 90 days and, for women, recent cervical screening and (over 40) mammography results. Private cover is not a legal condition of the nomad permit. Because none is required, the official pages also set no minimum coverage or start date.

Cost and processing time

The fee is 55.71 UI (indexed units, paid in Uruguayan pesos; cannot be paid from abroad). Processing takes not stated. Budget extra for translations, certified copies and health insurance.

After you arrive

• File the 'ND' request online or at a DNM office after entering, and keep the dates you enter within 180 days.
• Give a real Uruguayan address: the form requires department, locality, street and number, plus a phone number and email.
• After the approval email, go to DNIC to obtain the provisional identity document. The renewal form later asks for front and back photos of your valid Uruguayan ID.
• Nomads under Decree 238/022 do not have to register with Uruguay's social security bodies, unlike other provisional-document holders.
• Before renewing, get the Uruguayan vaccination certificate and order national-level criminal record certificates for every country where you lived 6+ months in the last five years, apostilled or legalised and translated.
• Count your days: spending more than 183 days in Uruguay in a calendar year makes you a tax resident under the IRPF law. DGI issues tax residence certificates to individuals through a gub.uy procedure.

Tax

The nomad decree and the gub.uy procedure say nothing about income tax. The rules come from the IRPF law (Title 7 of the DGI's consolidated text). Under article 2, an individual is tax resident if they spend more than 183 days in Uruguay during a calendar year, with sporadic absences counted as the regulations set out unless residence elsewhere is proven. They are also resident if Uruguay is the main base of their activities or of their economic or vital interests. A spouse and dependent minor children living in Uruguay create a presumption of vital interests. Article 6 treats as Uruguayan-source income anything from activities carried out, assets located or rights used in Uruguay, and also taxes residents on certain capital income from non-resident entities. The official pages reviewed do not explain how this applies to salary or fees from abroad earned while working from Uruguay. For newcomers, article 24-Bis (added by Law 20.446 of December 2025) lets people who become tax resident from 1 January 2026 opt, once, to pay the non-resident tax (IRNR) instead of IRPF on that foreign capital income, for the year of arrival and ten more years. The option normally requires a property investment over UI 12.5 million or yearly fund investments of at least UI 625,000. People who meet the 183-day test each year can use it without those investments, provided they were not tax resident in the previous two years. The regime covers investment income only, not earnings from work. The earlier option under article 24 closed on 31 December 2025.

Does it lead to permanent residence?

The provisional document is a short-stay instrument, not a residence permit. Article 8 of Decree 394/009 allows one renewal of up to 180 days. A foreigner who wants to stay longer may then apply for one of the residence categories in articles 4 and 7 of the decree. The Ministry of the Interior's guide describes temporary residence as a stay of more than 180 days and less than two years, tied to a documented activity. It also says applicants who meet the criteria can go straight to permanent residence without first holding temporary residence. For non-Mercosur nationals, the general permanent residence file is lodged with DNM in person. It requires a photo, the identity document used to enter, the Uruguayan vaccination certificate, apostilled and translated criminal records, a valid health card and proof of means of living. DNM's published requirements (2021 edition) listed a fee of 557.30 UI plus 55.70 UI for the certificate used to obtain the ID card. They also listed a re-entry permit of 225.60 UI for each trip abroad while the file is pending. Nationals of Mercosur and associated states have a separate route: a two-year temporary residence, renewable once, and a Mercosur permanent residence. No official page says that time spent on the nomad document counts toward any later requirement.

Why applications get refused

• Entering without the visa your nationality requires, or not having entered through a regular border control, since the request relies on lawful entry.
• A sworn statement that is not on the official template, not signed by hand, or signed differently from the ID document.
• Requested stay dates longer than 180 days, or trying to pay the fee from outside Uruguay.
• Renewal files with state, provincial or departmental criminal records instead of national ones, without apostille or legalisation, or without a Spanish translation (Brazil excepted).
• Renewal files missing the Uruguayan vaccination certificate or a valid Uruguayan ID.
• Not answering DNM's observations, or using the permit for work on a Uruguayan payroll, which the nomad category does not cover.

Cost of living in Montevideo

1-bedroom rent

UYU 25,000-39,500 per month in the city centre; UYU 20,000-31,200 outside the centre (Numbeo, 6 Nov 2026)

Coworking desk

No dated price data found

Rents are quoted in Uruguayan pesos; Numbeo figures are crowd-sourced ranges rather than official statistics.

Good to know

• The procedure can also be done in person at the Temporary Residence department in Montevideo
• Bring an interpreter if you do not speak Spanish when attending in person

Visiting first? Entry rules for popular passports

84 passports can enter Uruguay visa-free for a short stay, a common way to try the country before applying. Check Uruguay visa requirements for your passport.

Official source

gub.uy – Hoja de Identidad Provisoria

Not yet confirmed on an official source: processing time. Check these with the consulate before you apply.