Countries › Uruguay › Guide › 8. Immigration › Family members in Uruguay: residence for spouses, partners, children and parents of residents and of Uruguayans, family visas and travel rules for minors

Family members in Uruguay: residence for spouses, partners, children and parents of residents and of Uruguayans, family visas and travel rules for minors

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Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Stable

Uruguay recognizes family reunification as a right of migrants with parents, spouses, partners, unmarried minor children and adult children with disabilities; relatives of a temporary resident get the same term as the principal, and a family reunification visa exists for nationalities that need one. Spouses, partners, parents and siblings of Uruguayans are permanent residents by right on proof of the link, with a 90 business day decision term, and partners must have a judicially recognized and registered cohabitation; widows and widowers of Uruguayans keep the benefit while they do not remarry. Fees are the standard UI 557.30 plus UI 55.70 per person (about US$102), Brazilian and Paraguayan nationals are exempt from the filing fee, and minors resident more than a year need documented parental authorization to leave Uruguay unless travelling with their parents or on a Uruguayan passport.

USD figures use UYU 40.210 per US dollar (BCU, DLS. USA BILLETE, 27 October 2026) and UI amounts use UYU 6.6792 per Unidad Indexada (BCU, 27 October 2026), both from the BCU quotations service; UR amounts use UYU 1,940.77 (IMPO value table, September 2026, latest published). Conversions are for orientation only; DNM fees are set in UI and move with the index.

Key facts

Decision term for permanent residence of relatives of Uruguayans	90 business daysLey Nº 18.250 art. 33, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Residence filing fee per family member (Brazil and Paraguay exempt for permanent residence)	557.3 UIDNM procedure sheet, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Validity of parental authorizations from abroad	180 daysDNM procedure sheet, as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Time after entry on a family reunification visa to file for residence	30 daysDecreto Nº 356/018 art. 1 e), as of 2026-10-27 · in force
Maximum age of the marriage or birth certificate proving the link	1 yearsDNM procedure sheet, as of 2026-10-27 · in force

The rule

1. The State guarantees migrants the right to family reunification with parents, spouses, partners (concubinos), unmarried minor children and adult children with disabilities, in line with Constitution art. 40.Ley Nº 18.250, Art. 10, 2008-01-06 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Spouses, partners, parents and siblings of Uruguayans are permanent residents merely by proving the link, with a 90 business day decision term. They file with the Ministry of the Interior with civil status certificates (apostilled or legalized and translated when applicable), identity document or passport, criminal records from countries of residence of more than six months in the last five years and the Uruguayan vaccination certificate; parents or guardians may file for minors. Partner status must be proved by a registered judicial recognition of the cohabitation, and a widow or widower of a Uruguayan keeps the benefit while not remarried.
Cost to do it: UI 557.30 (about UYU 3,722 or US$92.57) plus UI 55.70 (about UYU 372 or US$9.25) certificate per person; Brazilian and Paraguayan nationals exempt from the filing fee (DNM sheet Permanente por vínculo uruguayo, updated 20 October 2026, which also lists children of Uruguayans).
Example: The Italian spouse of a Uruguayan files a Uruguayan marriage certificate issued less than one year before, their passport, the spouse's identity card, Italian criminal records and the vaccination certificate. / About US$101.82 in government fees.Ley Nº 18.250 art. 33 A (Ley Nº 20.075 art. 169); Decreto Nº 45/023; Decreto Nº 394/009, Ley 18.250 art. 33 A; Decreto 45/023 art. 1; Decreto 394/009 art. 16, 2023-02-08 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Spouses, minor children and parents of a temporary resident are themselves temporary residents and may receive the same term of stay as the relative they came with.
Cost to do it: UI 557.30 (about UYU 3,722 or US$92.57) plus UI 55.70 (about UYU 372 or US$9.25) per family member.Ley Nº 18.250; Decreto Nº 394/009, Ley 18.250 art. 34 (second list A); Decreto 394/009 art. 11 e), 2009-08-24 official text · verified 2026-10-27

4. For nationalities that need a visa, the family reunification visa is issued to people joining a relative who is a permanent resident or has a residence in process with means of living filed in legal form, with the relative's express consent. The stay equals the relative's residence, and the holder has 30 days from entry to file for residence; entry must take place within 180 days of issue.
Cost to do it: US$42 consular charge if granted (Ministry of Foreign Affairs visa sheet).Decreto Nº 356/018, Art. 1 e) and 2, 2018-10-29 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Minors: applications need an apostilled or legalized birth certificate and express authorization of the parents with parental authority; authorizations from abroad must be notarized by a Uruguayan notary and are valid 180 days, foreign custody judgments must be recognized by a Uruguayan court, and minors aged 4 or more must prove school enrolment (permanent residence sheet). Any minor, Uruguayan or foreign, habitually resident in Uruguay for more than one year needs documented authorization from the parents, the guardian or a judge to leave the country unless travelling with them or holding a valid Uruguayan passport. Children of migrants may enrol in school even if their parents are in irregular status, provisionally for one year if documents are missing.Decreto Nº 394/009; Ley Nº 18.250; DNM procedure sheets, Decreto 394/009 art. 18 and 48; Ley 18.250 art. 11, 2009-08-24 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. Once a migrant is covered by the National Health Insurance through work, the same rules as for nationals apply to extending coverage to children, spouses and partners; relatives who came with the migrant or later under art. 10 have the same health access rights.Decreto Nº 394/009, Art. 34 and 39, 2009-08-24 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Relative	Route	Term	Norm
Spouse, partner, parent or sibling of a Uruguayan	Permanent residence by right	Indefinite	Ley 18.250 art. 33 A; Decreto 45/023
Spouse, minor child or parent of a temporary resident	Temporary residence	Same as principal	Ley 18.250 art. 34; Decreto 394/009 art. 11 e)
Family of a permanent resident	Family reunification right; visa if nationality requires; then own residence filing	Per own residence	Ley 18.250 art. 10; Decreto 356/018 art. 1 e)
Mercosur national relative	Own Mercosur permanent residence	Indefinite	Ley 18.250 art. 33 B

Which route for which relative

Worked example

A US executive on a two year temporary residence brings a spouse and two children aged 8 and 12. Each family member files for temporary residence with the same term: four filings at UI 557.30 (about UYU 3,722 or US$92.57) and four certificates at UI 55.70 (about UYU 372 or US$9.25), a total of UI 2,452, about UYU 16,377 or US$407.30. The children need apostilled birth certificates and the school enrolment proof; if one parent stays in the US, that parent's authorization must be notarized by a Uruguayan notary and is valid 180 days.

Step by step

1. Map each relative to a route: link to a Uruguayan, Mercosur nationality, or derivative of a temporary or permanent resident.
2. Order fresh civil status certificates (less than one year old for marriage certificates) and apostille or legalize them; get sworn translations unless issued in Spanish or in Brazil.
3. For unmarried partners, obtain a judicial recognition of the cohabitation and register it; foreign partnership documents may not be enough.
4. Prepare parental authorizations and custody judgments for minors, recognized in Uruguay where needed.
5. File each person online, pay fees, attend the audience with originals, then obtain identity cards.
6. Before family trips abroad, check whether children resident over a year need a travel authorization.

Common traps

Unregistered partners: concubinato must be judicially recognized and registered (Decreto 394/009 art. 16).
Old certificates: marriage and birth certificates proving the link must be less than one year old.
Children leaving Uruguay with one parent without the other's documented authorization can be stopped at the border (Decreto 394/009 art. 18; Ley 18.250 art. 29 C).
Foreign custody orders must be recognized by a Uruguayan court before the DNM accepts them (DNM sheets).
Each family member pays separately and needs a separate re entry permit for each trip while the file is pending.

Sources

← Mercosur residence in Uruguay: permanent residence by nationality, the two year temporary option, fee exemptions and the Brazil border documentRemote workers and digital nomads in Uruguay: the Provisional Identity Sheet, 180 plus 180 days, no BPS registration, and the tax residence line →