- Permanent residence as a stepping stone to citizenship
- How can you get Uruguayan citizenship?
- Grounds for the acquisition and loss of Uruguayan citizenship
The South American destination is considered not the most popular in the world for emigration, but if you choose this region for permanent residence, then you will not find a country better than the Eastern Republic of Uruguay. In recent years, the state's immigration system has been in a difficult situation, as it receives several thousand requests every day on how to obtain Uruguayan citizenship.
Such attention of foreign citizens to the republic has led to the fact that the naturalization procedure has become more complicated, specialists of immigration services have become more serious about checking the documents presented by potential applicants for Uruguayan citizenship, as well as checking their compliance with the conditions of naturalization, in particular, permanent residence in the country. … Below we will tell you in more detail about what the future holder of a Uruguayan passport should prepare for.
Permanent residence as a stepping stone to citizenship
Naturally, for Uruguay, as well as for other countries, the same ways and mechanisms of admission to citizenship are characteristic. For immigrants, the main procedure is naturalization, today it has become more difficult to obtain citizenship, but if a person has serious intentions, approached the paperwork responsibly and fulfilled all the requirements, he will receive a positive decision.
It all starts with a temporary residence permit, the next stage is the registration of a permanent residence permit, the so-called identification document. With its appearance, a person can start preparing for admission to citizenship, although this document also allows one to obtain the privileges that the indigenous people of the country have, with the exception of the right to take part in local and state elections.
How can you get Uruguayan citizenship?
The process of obtaining citizenship of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, in general, is somewhat more complicated than the previous stage, but, as you know, "the road will be mastered by the one walking." The first difficulty concerns compliance with the terms of residence, the following time frames have been established: five years of permanent residence on Uruguayan land for potential citizenship seekers; three years for married couples.
But you need to be prepared for the fact that the Uruguayan authorities will extend the period of stay due to the large number of immigrants coming to the country. In addition, throughout the entire period, potential applicants will face numerous checks, since the relevant services really want to be convinced of the seriousness of the intentions of future citizens to live and work in Uruguay.
Another important condition for obtaining Uruguayan citizenship is the presence of a permanent stable income. If a person receives a high salary, and not in an envelope, but confirmed by appropriate papers, then the chances of becoming a full-fledged citizen increase significantly. Moreover, as practice has shown, there are various options: work in a public or private company; organizing your own business and working "for yourself"; organization of a company with the hiring of employees.
It is clear that the first way is the simplest, requiring little effort from a potential applicant for citizenship. At the same time, it is quite difficult for an immigrant to find a high-paying job. Starting your own business requires a good knowledge of local legislation, studying the situation in the Uruguayan market, paying taxes and insurance.
Grounds for the acquisition and loss of Uruguayan citizenship
The Constitution of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay provides opportunities for citizenship through other mechanisms. According to the law, citizenship is automatically granted to persons “by birthright,” that is, those born in this country, regardless of what nationality the parents belong to.
The second way of "natural citizenship" is "by origin", that is, children born abroad become citizens of Uruguay, provided that one of the parents has a Uruguayan passport. The third most common method is naturalization, the main condition for passing the procedure is the age of majority of an applicant for the high title of a citizen of the Uruguayan republic.
Other conditions include the time of residence in the country, integration into the local society, knowledge of history, respect for culture, traditions, religions, obedience to the Constitution and laws. It is interesting that the periods of residence for families and “bachelors” are different: a family needs to live for three years to start naturalization, for a person who does not have a family, the period of permanent residence is set at five years.
The institution of dual citizenship operates in Uruguay, but only persons who have acquired the so-called natural citizenship can use it. A person who has passed naturalization and received a passport of a citizen of Uruguay must renounce the citizenship of the previous place of residence.
