Uruguay has no income number for nomads. That cuts both ways.
The digital nomad permit asks you to declare you can support yourself. Retirees who want the import benefit show USD 1,500 a month.
Pages in this story
Most nomad visas publish a salary floor. Uruguay does not. You sign a sworn statement that you have the means to support yourself during your stay.
No number sounds easy. It also means no number to aim for. Keep clear records anyway, because a later residence application asks you to prove your means of living.
Start with the digital nomad permit
Uruguay’s permit for digital nomads is a provisional identity document. It is for people who work for companies based abroad or who work for themselves. It lets you settle in Uruguay for six months, renewable for six more.
You enter Uruguay as a regular tourist first. Then you complete an online form and sign a sworn statement that you have the means to support yourself.
Digital nomad permit
- Income
- No fixed amount published. You declare you have the means to support yourself.
- Length of stay
- Six months, renewable for six more.
- How to apply
- Enter as a tourist, then apply online.
If you decide to stay longer, you apply separately for temporary or permanent residence. The nomad permit does not turn into residence on its own.
Source: Uruguay XXI, digital nomad residence permissionUruguay Interior Ministry, residence categories
You sign a sworn statement that you have the means to support yourself during your stay.
What counts as proof
The nomad permit rests on your sworn statement. Residence is stricter. The permanent residence page asks you to show your means of living, and the Foreign Ministry guide says every proof of means must state a monthly amount.
Start a folder now: pay slips or client invoices, bank statements and a letter describing your work. The same records serve the permit and any later residence file.
Source: Uruguay XXI, digital nomad residence permissiongub.uy, permanent legal residenceUruguay Foreign Ministry, Vivir en Uruguay guide
Working here
Local jobs abroad are hard to get, and Uruguay is no exception. Plan on keeping your remote income.
The nomad permit is described for work for companies abroad or on your own account. Before you take Uruguayan clients or open a local business, ask the National Migration Office in writing whether your permit covers it. Residence is the usual route for a local working life.
Source: Uruguay XXI, digital nomad residence permissionUruguay Interior Ministry, residence categories
Retirement second: permanent residence and the retiree benefit
Retirees apply for permanent residence like other foreigners and show their means of living. Uruguay also offers a benefit for foreign retirees who obtain permanent residence under Law 16,340.
To qualify for the benefit, you show you are retired and receive at least US$1,500 a month from a pension or other income earned abroad. The Interior Ministry says the benefit covers bringing in household goods and one vehicle, which you cannot sell for four years.
Benefit for foreign retirees
- Income
- At least US$1,500 a month from a pension or other foreign income.
- Proof
- Retirement shown by a payment receipt.
- Benefit
- Import of household goods and one vehicle.
US$1,500 is the test for an import benefit. It is not a budget for rent, health cover and travel home.
Source: gub.uy, permanent legal residencegub.uy, benefit for foreign retirees who obtain permanent residence
Health insurance before Medicare
The nomad permit announcement does not list a health insurance rule. Buy international health cover before you arrive anyway.
Medicare usually does not cover care outside the United States, and Medicare drug plans do not pay for prescriptions bought abroad. Decide whether to keep Part B for visits home.
Source: Uruguay XXI, digital nomad residence permissionMedicare, travel outside the U.S.
US tax filing still applies
US citizens file a US return every year, wherever they live. A Uruguayan permit does not change that.
Ask a tax adviser who knows both countries how your remote pay, pension and Social Security are treated before you move.
All sources for this story
- Uruguay XXI, digital nomad residence permission
- Uruguay Interior Ministry, residence categories
- gub.uy, permanent legal residence
- Uruguay Foreign Ministry, Vivir en Uruguay guide
- gub.uy, benefit for foreign retirees who obtain permanent residence
- Medicare, travel outside the U.S.
- IRS, US citizens and resident aliens abroad
Read next
Page 1 of 4