When you arrive in Uruguay, you’ll be granted a 90-day Uruguay visitor’s permit. Immigrations will stamp your passport with the pass. US citizens traveling to Uruguay do not need a special visa.
If you want to stay in Uruguay beyond the 90-day period, you’ll need to renew your visitor’s permit.
There are two ways to accomplish this.
- The first option is to exit the country and re-enter. The easiest and most common way people do this is by taking the Buquebus ferry to Buenos Aires. Of course you can take a trip anywhere outside of Uruguay, but Buenos Aires is the closest and least expensive option.
- The second option is to renew your Uruguay visitors permit is to visit the Immigrations office in the Ciudad Vieja area of Montevideo. The Immigrations office is located at Misiones 1513, esquina (at the corner of) 25 de Mayo. Visit their website for more information.
The process is very simple. When you walk into the Immigrations Office, approach the front desk, present your passports and tell the person at the desk that you need a “Prorroga de permanencia temporaria” (a temporary extension of stay).
They will take the information from your passport and write it down on a slip of paper and give you a number. Take the slip of paper and your number and take a seat in the area to the left of the counter. There is a television screen with the numbers being called so it makes it really easy to understand when it’s your turn.
When it’s your turn, walk to the station indicated on the screen and hand the person your passport and the slip of paper from the counter. They will print out the forms for the extension of stay and ask you to sign them.
You’ll then go to the Caja (cashier) and pay the fee of UY $366 each. You’ll take your receipt to a third desk and pick up your stamped extension of stay papers, where you’ll be told that in 90 days you will need to exit the country (you can only use this process every other time you need to renew your visitor’s permit).
You must keep the extension of stay forms with your passports, as they don’t actually stamp your passport at the Immigrations office. If you need to renew your Uruguay visitors permit and don’t want to leave the country, this is a great alternative.
Another thing to note is that once you apply for permanent residency in Uruguay, you will no longer need to renew your visitors permit.