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Uruguay: how residence and citizenship work

Residence tests, reporting duties, social security, living base and citizenship for Uruguay, with the official source for each.

Short answer

Uruguay's personal income tax (IRPF) mainly reaches Uruguayan-source income, but resident individuals are also taxed on capital income from non-resident entities and, under the text in force from 1 January 2026, on capital gains from those assets. People who become tax residents can opt, once, for a limited-period alternative treatment of that foreign capital income; the terms changed for people becoming resident from 1 January 2026.

Key facts

Tax basisMainly territorial
Tax yearCalendar year (the IRPF taxable event occurs on 31 December)
Taxes citizens abroadNot as a general rule
Residence tests recorded3
RegionSouth America

How Uruguay decides tax residence

Each test is recorded separately with its own ID. Meeting or missing one test does not settle residence on its own.

UY-RES-01Day count183 days · Calendar yearNot professionally reviewed

More than 183 days in the calendar year

An individual is a tax resident if they stay in Uruguay for more than 183 days during the calendar year. Sporadic absences are counted as days in the country under conditions set by regulation, unless the person proves tax residence in another country.

Source: Texto Ordenado 2023 (DGI), Título 7, artículo 2 (IMPO)Day method: not recordedChecked: November 8, 2026
UY-RES-02Ties testNot professionally reviewed

Main base of activities or economic or vital interests in Uruguay

An individual is also resident if the main nucleus or base of their activities, or of their economic or vital interests, is in Uruguay. The detailed criteria are set by regulation and should be checked with the DGI.

Source: Texto Ordenado 2023 (DGI), Título 7, artículo 2, literal BChecked: November 8, 2026
UY-RES-03PresumptionNot professionally reviewed

Presumption: spouse and dependent minor children living in Uruguay

The law presumes, unless shown otherwise, that a person's vital interests are in Uruguay when their spouse and dependent minor children habitually live in the country.

Source: Texto Ordenado 2023 (DGI), Título 7, artículo 2Day method: not recordedChecked: November 8, 2026

Arriving, leaving and part years

No part-year or exit-tax rule was verified for this record. Residence is assessed per calendar year (UY-RES-01), and the IRPF taxable event occurs on 31 December of each year.

Reporting duties to check

  • One-time option for new tax residents (Form 0306). People who became resident from 2020 could opt once to pay non-resident income tax (IRNR) on foreign capital income for the year of the change and the ten following years, or IRPF at a reduced rate with no time limit, with the option made on Form 0306. For people becoming resident from 1 January 2026, article 24 bis allows IRNR on that income for the year of the change and ten following years, subject to a real estate investment above UI 12,500,000, an annual investment of at least UI 625,000 in qualifying funds, or meeting the 183-day test each year, and to not having been resident in the two prior years; later options include IRPF at half the rate for five years or an annual fixed amount. Check the DGI regulations for how these apply. Source

Social security

Uruguay appears on the CRA's list of countries with a social security agreement with Canada; check the Banco de Previsión Social and each agreement for coverage and terms.

Living base

The Migration Law admits foreign nationals as non-residents or residents, and divides residents into permanent and temporary; a permanent resident is someone who enters intending to settle permanently and meets the legal conditions. Migration residence and tax residence are separate: tax residence follows the IRPF tests in UY-RES-01 to UY-RES-03.

How visas, permits and tax residence differ

Citizenship

The Constitution (article 75) gives foreign nationals of good conduct a right to legal citizenship after three years of habitual residence if they have a family in Uruguay and capital, property or a profession, science, art or industry, or after five years without a family in Uruguay; the political rights of legal citizenship can be exercised three years after the letter is granted. The General Assembly can also grant it for notable services.

Read the citizenship guide

Questions to take to a professional

  1. Did I spend more than 183 days in Uruguay this calendar year, and which absences count as days in the country?
  2. Would the DGI see my main base of activities or economic or vital interests as being in Uruguay?
  3. Which of my foreign income items fall within capital income from non-resident entities under the 2026 text?
  4. If I became resident before 2026, which option did I make or can I still make, and how do the 2026 transitional rules affect it?
  5. If I become resident from 2026, which of the article 24 bis conditions could I meet, and what happens after the initial period?
  6. Does becoming a Uruguayan tax resident change my tax residence or filing duties in my previous country?
  7. Which migration residence category fits my plans, and how does it relate to the residence period for legal citizenship?

Official authorities

Sources

Other countries in South America

🇦🇷 Argentina🇧🇷 Brazil🇨🇱 Chile🇨🇴 Colombia
Countries covered
Uruguay
Sources
10 sources listed above
Tax year
Current rules as checked
Review
Not professionally reviewed
Sources checked November 8, 2026