Uruguay

DGI tax service explanation on tax holidays. Anyone who became a tax resident of Uruguay starting in 2020 may choose once one of two options: either pay IRNR for the year of the change of residency and for the ten following tax years, that is 10+1 years with no tax on foreign income from movable capital - dividends, interest and the like; or pay IRPF at a rate of 7% without a time limit instead of the usual 12%. The choice is made once with form 0306 and is not changed afterwards, and when filing, the person declares that in the previous tax year they had no basis at all for being considered a tax resident of Uruguay. The benefit applies only to capital income: a resident's employment income still falls under IRPF category II. For those who became residents before 2020 there was a 5+1 scheme, which law 19.937 allowed to be extended to ten years under two conditions at once: real estate in Uruguay worth more than 3,500,000 indexed units, bought after 22 January 2021, and actual presence in the country for at least 60 calendar days a year.

The Social Insurance Bank (BPS) calculates the average salary across all jobs on which contributions are paid. For 2025, for employees it is UYU 56,920 a month (men 62,796, women 51,072), in December 2025 prices. Average across all contributions, by department: Montevideo 59,836, Canelones 51,386, Maldonado (Punta del Este) 48,054, nationwide 53,127. Caveats: this is an average per job, not per person, so someone with two jobs is counted twice; informal employment is not included; the amount is before contributions and IRPF tax; it is an average, not a median. The statistics institute INE does not publish a separate average salary; its ECH survey measures household income: in Q1 2026 the median is UYU 73,000 a month per household and the average is 97,541 (excluding aguinaldo). The minimum wage under the decree of 26 December 2025: UYU 24,572 from 1 January 2026 and UYU 25,383 from 1 July 2026. The average for employees is 2.2 times the minimum wage. In dollars at the end-of-September 2026 rate (40.06): the average is about 1,420, the minimum wage about 634.

The minimum wage in Uruguay was set by a decree of 26 December 2025: UYU 24,572 from 1 January 2026 and UYU 25,383 from 1 July 2026. The average for employees (UYU 56,920 per BPS for 2025) is 2.2 times the minimum wage. In dollars at the end-of-September 2026 rate (40.06): about 634.

Migration Service page, updated 19 February 2026. There are six types of residency: permanent for any foreigner intending to live in the country, permanent under Mercosur, permanent through a family tie with a Uruguayan (child, spouse, partner, brother or sister), temporary Mercosur for up to two years with renewal, temporary general for a term of 6 months to 2 years with renewal, and a special border document for Brazilians. For ordinary permanent residency you need: a valid foreign passport (and if the country requires a visa to enter Uruguay, a valid visa, without which the application will not be accepted), certificates of no criminal record from the country of birth and from all countries where the person has lived for at least six months in the last five years, all with an apostille or legalisation and translation by a Uruguayan sworn translator, a carné de salud and vaccination certificate from a medical facility licensed by the Ministry of Health, and proof of means of subsistence (medios de vida) - a notarised income certificate or a BPS employment history. Electronic documents that can be verified are accepted without an apostille. If the applicant does not speak Spanish, they must come to the appointment with an interpreter. A case that has been started must be completed at the same office where it was filed.

Article 75 of Uruguay's Constitution and the Electoral Court page, updated 27 May 2026. Legal citizenship is given to a foreigner of good conduct who has a family in Uruguay and, in addition, capital in circulation, property in the country or a profession, after three years of permanent residence (residencia habitual); without a family in the country - after five years under the same other conditions. The residence must be genuinely permanent: absences cannot exceed six months in a row, otherwise the count of three or five years starts from zero. The term and the availability of means of subsistence are confirmed by a BPS employment history, a pension, one's own firm, a certificate from a professional fund or, for example, a medical history with visits at least once every six months. Two witnesses over 25 are also needed, who have known the applicant for the entire required period and who are not relatives, employees, employers, military or police. The applicant does not need to submit a criminal record certificate; the office requests it itself. Another three years after obtaining citizenship, the credencial cívica is issued, that is the right to vote. In Montevideo reception is in person only, at Ituzaingó 1467, from 10:00 to 14:30.

ASSE page, updated 9 April 2026. For the free category and for FONASA beneficiaries, a visit at any ASSE facility across the country is free, and nothing at all is paid for vouchers and tickets (co-payments). FONASA covers the worker, their children under 18, children with disabilities over 18 and a dependent spouse or partner. If the family's income is above the threshold of the free category, you can pay a monthly ASSE contribution - this is also how non-residents and those who have not yet started applying for residency are enrolled. A certificate (constancia) that residency is being processed is enough to apply; those without a Uruguayan identity document submit documents from their country of origin for all members of the household plus income certificates. The enrolment itself is free and is done in person at any registration point. The second system is private mutualistas (IAMC), whose contributions and co-payments are capped every year by the Ministry of Health: the co-payment cap for July 2026 is 880 pesos, and the Costo Promedio Equivalente benchmark is 6,858 pesos a month per person.

Uruguay's Interior Ministry, preliminary statistics for 2025, presented on 26 January 2026. There were 369 intentional homicides, that is 10.3 per 100 thousand residents, down 3.4% from 2024 (382 cases). Homicides of teenagers under 18: 19 against 23, down 17.4%. Femicides 18 against 22 - the lowest figure since 2013. Robberies down 10% (15,656), thefts down 8.3% (100,337), fraud, including internet fraud, down 16.7% (26,181). In total 287,078 crimes were registered over the year, 4.7% fewer than in 2024; 13 of the 15 tracked types showed a decline. At the same time, more than half of the country's homicides fall on one department - Montevideo, 210 cases out of 369.