Uruguayan passport
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|---|---|
 Uruguayan passport front cover | |
 Picture page of a Uruguayan e-Passport | |
| Type | Passport |
| Issued by |  Uruguay |
| Purpose | Identification |
| Eligibility | Uruguayan citizenship |
| Expiration | 10 years |
Uruguayan passport (Spanish: Pasaporte uruguayo) is a travel document issued by the Oriental Republic of Uruguay to Uruguayan citizens. It grants the bearer international passage in accordance with visa requirements, serves as proof of citizenship and facilitates access to consular services provided by the country's embassies worldwide. Passports are issued by the National Directorate of Civil Identification, an agency of the Ministry of the Interior.[1]
For travel within Mercosur—as well as Chile and Bolivia—Uruguayan citizens do not need a passport, as they may use their national identity document instead. Since October 16, 2015, the Ministry of the Interior has issued biometric passports that meet ICAO and U.S. Visa Waiver Program standards.[2]
According to the 2025 Henley Passport Index, Uruguayan nationals had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 157 countries and territories, ranking the Uruguayan passport 23rd in terms of travel freedom.[3]
Legal citizens
[edit]Since the Constitution of Uruguay distinguishes between “nationality” and “citizenship,” only those born in the country, or children and grandchildren of an Oriental if born abroad, are considered “Uruguayan nationals.”[4][5] Consequently, Uruguay does not grant nationality through naturalization but instead confers legal citizenship to foreign residents who meet certain requirements.[A][6][7] Because of this constitutional terminological distinction, a foreigner who became a legal citizen and obtained a Uruguayan passport would have their original nationality listed in the passport’s “nationality” field, which caused complications with visa requirements and international recognition, since nationality—not citizenship—is the basis for these procedures.[8][9]
In April 2025, the National Directorate of Civil Identification decided to replace the passport’s “Nationality” field with a “Citizenship/Nationality” field, using the URY code for both natural and legal citizens, so that the issuing country of the document and the citizenship of its holder coincide.[10]
Visa requirements
[edit]
See also
[edit]External links
[edit]- DNIC (Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil | Ministerio del Interior) - Pasaporte (in Spanish)
Notes
[edit]- ^ Only natural-born citizens—individuals born within the national territory, as well as children of a Uruguayan father or mother—hold Uruguayan nationality.
References
[edit]- ^ "Decreto N° 296/016". www.impo.com.uy. Archived from the original on 2024-11-19. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Emiten hoy el primer pasaporte electrónico" (in Spanish). 16 October 2015. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
- ^ "The Official Passport Index Ranking". Henley & Partners. Archived from the original on 2025-07-25. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ Risso Ferrand, Martín (2005). Derecho Constitucional (in Spanish) (2nd ed.). Montevideo: Fundación de Cultura Universitaria. ISBN 9789974209633.
- ^ "Civil Register Inscription: Birth - Embajada de Uruguay en los Estados Unidos". 2021-06-23. Archived from the original on 2025-05-17. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Uruguay modificará sus leyes para que los residentes legales puedan acceder a la nacionalidad y todos sus beneficios". infobae (in European Spanish). 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "ONU le solicita a Uruguay que recapacite sobre la ciudadanía legal: ¿qué sucede?". EL PAIS. 2022-06-04. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ ""Todos somos uruguayos" lucha para que niños y adolescentes extranjeros pueden obtener ciudadanía uruguaya". subrayado.com.uy (in Spanish). 2025-04-10. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ swissinfo.ch, S. W. I. (2024-04-03). ""Uruguayos de segunda": extranjeros con ciudadanía pero sin la nacionalidad". SWI swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- ^ "Ministerio del Interior actualiza información en pasaportes para cumplir con normativa internacional". Ministerio del Interior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2025-07-26. Retrieved 2025-08-01.
- Council regulation 539/2001 [1]
- Council regulation 1932/2006 [2]
- Council regulation 539/2001 consolidated version, 19.1.2007 [3]
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