Investing Your Way In
There is no investor visa. An investor reaches residency the same way everyone else does - by proving means of support on the ordinary permanent residency route, as a company owner or shareholder. Where investment does buy something specific is tax: holding property or a promoted business project above stated thresholds is itself a ground for tax residency, without any day count.
At a glance
- Dedicated investor visa
- None
- How an investor gets residency
- Ordinary permanent residency, means of support
- Investment threshold for residency
- None published
- Property threshold for tax residency
- Over 15,000,000 UI
- Business project threshold for tax residency
- Over 45,000,000 UI
Requirements
- For residency: apply for ordinary permanent residency and prove means of support as a company owner or shareholder
- A notarial certificate justifying that status and the monthly income you receive from the activity, with full verification of the company
- For tax residency instead: property worth more than 15,000,000 Unidades Indexadas, or over 45,000,000 UI invested in a business with a promoted investment project
In detail
Three countries, three postures on money
Colombia publishes capital thresholds and gives them their own visa - 650 minimum wages for direct investment, 350 for property - and still takes five years to permanent residency. Uruguay has no investor visa and no threshold: an investor proves means of support like anyone else, but investment above stated amounts buys tax residency outright. Argentina has no investor residency either, and instead put investment into its citizenship law, where a relevant investment reaches naturalisation with no residence period at all.
Exceptions by origin
No exceptions recorded
Nothing we have read treats any nationality differently for this topic. The rule above applies to everyone.
What the law says
«Empresario, Accionista -S.A., SRL, SAS, etc -.**: Deberá justificar dicha calidad y el ingreso mensual que percibe por su actividad, mediante certificado notarial que incluya el contralor completo de la empresa»Our translation - not official
Businessperson, Shareholder - S.A., SRL, SAS, etc -: must justify that status and the monthly income received from the activity, by means of a notarial certificate including full verification of the company.
The test is the income the business produces for you, not the capital you put in. Colombia by contrast sets explicit capital thresholds of 350 and 650 minimum wages.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Uruguay's migration directorate, within the interior ministry. Publishes the requirement list for each residency category on gub.uy, including the Mercosur routes and the means-of-support categories.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Like its Argentine counterpart this is the administering agency's own description rather than the law. Uruguay's statute deliberately leaves periods and procedures to regulation, so these pages can change without Ley 18.250 moving at all. The pages do carry their own última actualización date, which is more than most agencies offer.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Serán residentes quienes posean una inversión en bienes inmuebles por un valor superior a 15:000.000 UI (quince millones de Unidades Indexadas).»Our translation - not official
Those who hold an investment in real property worth more than 15,000,000 UI (fifteen million Indexed Units) will be residents.
Tax residency and immigration residency are separate questions here, and investment answers the tax one directly while leaving the immigration one to the ordinary route.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Uruguay's tax authority. Publishes a guide to the grounds for tax residency with worked examples, and the procedure for obtaining a residency certificate.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The guide explains the grounds without reproducing the statutory text, so the underlying Título 7 of the Texto Ordenado has not been read directly. Its investment thresholds are expressed in Unidades Indexadas, which revalue without any page changing, so the peso equivalent silently ages.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«El valor de la inversión debe superar 45.000.000 UI (cuarenta y cinco millones de Unidades Indexadas)»Our translation - not official
The value of the investment must exceed 45,000,000 UI (forty-five million Indexed Units)
The investment is valued under the IRAE rules, and the promotional declaration has to be still in force at 31 December of the year claimed.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Uruguay's tax authority. Publishes a guide to the grounds for tax residency with worked examples, and the procedure for obtaining a residency certificate.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The guide explains the grounds without reproducing the statutory text, so the underlying Título 7 of the Texto Ordenado has not been read directly. Its investment thresholds are expressed in Unidades Indexadas, which revalue without any page changing, so the peso equivalent silently ages.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
Practical notes
Scoped to the residency pages read. There may be investment promotion regimes outside the migration and tax pages we have looked at.
- administersResidencia Legal - Permanente, means of support
Dirección Nacional de Migración (Uruguay)
About this source
Uruguay's migration directorate, within the interior ministry. Publishes the requirement list for each residency category on gub.uy, including the Mercosur routes and the means-of-support categories.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Like its Argentine counterpart this is the administering agency's own description rather than the law. Uruguay's statute deliberately leaves periods and procedures to regulation, so these pages can change without Ley 18.250 moving at all. The pages do carry their own última actualización date, which is more than most agencies offer.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- administersCausales de Residencia Fiscal
Dirección General Impositiva (Uruguay)
About this source
Uruguay's tax authority. Publishes a guide to the grounds for tax residency with worked examples, and the procedure for obtaining a residency certificate.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: The guide explains the grounds without reproducing the statutory text, so the underlying Título 7 of the Texto Ordenado has not been read directly. Its investment thresholds are expressed in Unidades Indexadas, which revalue without any page changing, so the peso equivalent silently ages.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source