Uruguay Visas, Taxes and Money for Digital Nomads

Uruguay’s nomad permit is a Hoja de Identidad Provisoria (provisional identity sheet) for digital nomads, created in 2022 by a change to the rules of the migration law (Decree 238/022). It is a short-term residence for people who work remotely from Uruguay for organisations based abroad.

• Who: remote employees, freelancers and business owners of any nationality who work for employers or clients outside Uruguay. You don’t register with Uruguayan social security, and you can’t work for Uruguayan employers on this permit.
• Income: there is no minimum income. You sign a sworn statement (declaración jurada) that you have the means to support yourself.
• Length: 180 days, renewable once for another 180 days, so a year in total. The decree says that after that you must apply for another residence category if you want to stay.
• Fees: 55.71 indexed units (UI), which is roughly $10, plus the cost of the identity card. The fee can’t be paid from abroad.
• Identity card: once approved, you get a Uruguayan cédula (identity card) from the Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil, which makes bank accounts, phone contracts and rentals much easier.
• Family: the permit is individual. Check with the DNM how a partner or children can stay with you beyond a tourist stay.

Documents

For the first 180 days:

• A copy of the passport or ID document you entered, or will enter, Uruguay with.
• A signed sworn statement on the official form, with a signature that matches your passport.

For the renewal:

• Your valid Uruguayan cédula.
• A new sworn statement.
• A criminal record certificate from every country where you have lived for six months or more in the last five years, apostilled or legalised and translated into Spanish (Brazilian documents don’t need translation). It must be a national-level certificate, and is needed only for people over 18.
• A vaccination certificate from a Uruguayan vaccination centre, showing you meet the Uruguayan vaccination schedule.

Start gathering the criminal record certificates early, since apostilles from abroad take time.

How to Apply

You apply online through the gub.uy portal, which needs a gub.uy user account or another digital ID, or in person at the DNM’s residence office in Montevideo or one of its regional offices (including Colonia, Maldonado and Piriápolis). You upload the documents and choose how to pay. Once the application is approved, you get an email telling you to go to the Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil to have the provisional identity sheet and cédula issued. Most nomads apply after arriving on a tourist stay. If you don’t speak Spanish, bring an interpreter to in-person appointments.

After a Year

The nomad permit can’t be renewed a second time. To stay on, you apply for temporary residence or permanent residence under the general categories of the migration law, usually with proof of stable income such as a pension, rental income, investments or a job. Citizens of Mercosur countries have an easier route under the Mercosur residence agreement.

Citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries don’t need a visa to visit, and get 90 days on arrival. Citizens of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and other Mercosur and associated countries can enter with a national ID card. Some nationalities need a visa in advance.

You can extend a tourist stay with a prórroga de permanencia temporaria at a DNM office. Apply in person, with your passport, at least 15 days before your permitted stay ends.

If your permitted stay has already run out, you can still regularise it with an expired-stay extension (prórroga vencida), which costs more than a normal extension. Sort it out before you leave, so you don’t have problems at the border or on your next visit.

• Tax residence: you become an Uruguayan tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Uruguay in a calendar year, or if your main base of business or economic interests is in Uruguay. Having a spouse or dependent children living in Uruguay is presumed to make you resident.
• Source rule: Uruguay’s personal income tax (IRPF) is mostly territorial. Income from work is generally treated as Uruguayan-source when the work is done in Uruguay, even if the employer or client is abroad. Taxable labour income of residents is taxed at progressive rates from 0% to 36%.
• Foreign investment income: residents pay 12% on foreign dividends and interest, and from 2026 on more kinds of foreign capital income. New tax residents can choose a special regime with relief on foreign investment income for a period of years; the rules were tightened from January 2026, and it doesn’t cover pay for work done in Uruguay.
• No special nomad regime: the nomad permit removes the need to register with social security, but it doesn’t create a tax exemption. A one-year stay on the permit can make you tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Uruguay in a calendar year.

How the rules apply to remote workers paid from abroad isn’t well tested, and enforcement against short-stay nomads has been rare. This is a general guide, not tax advice. If you stay more than half a calendar year, get advice from an Uruguayan accountant. Our digital nomad taxes guide explains the general principles.

Uruguay’s currency is the Uruguayan peso (UYU), at about 40 pesos to the US dollar in October 2026. US dollars are widely used alongside it: rents, property, cars, hotels and some big purchases are often priced in dollars, while everyday spending is in pesos. Prices with U$S are in dollars, and those with $ are in pesos.

ATMs from BROU (the state bank) and private banks such as Itaú and Santander accept foreign cards, and many dispense both pesos and US dollars. Expect a fee per withdrawal and low limits, and always decline the ATM’s currency conversion. Cards and contactless payments are accepted almost everywhere in Montevideo and the bigger towns.

Opening a bank account normally needs a cédula, proof of address and proof of your income, and banks apply strict checks on where money comes from, so it can take a few weeks. Most nomads on short stays manage with a foreign card and Wise. Uruguayan accounts can hold both pesos and dollars, which is useful for paying rent in dollars.