Uruguayan passport

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]

Uruguayan passport Pasaporte uruguayo
Uruguayan passport front cover
Picture page of a Uruguayan e-Passport
Type	Passport
Issued by	Uruguay
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility	Uruguayan citizenship
Expiration	10 years

Older uruguayan passport with "URUGUAYA" Nationality in the field.

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

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

Main article: Visa requirements for Uruguayan citizens

Countries and territories with visa-free entries or visas on arrival for holders of regular Uruguayan passports.

  Uruguay

  ID card travel

  Visa free access

  Visa on arrival

  eVisa

  Visa available both on arrival or online

  Visa required

See also

• List of passports
• Visa requirements for Uruguayan citizens

External links

• DNIC (Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil | Ministerio del Interior) - Pasaporte (in Spanish)

Notes

1. Only natural-born citizens—individuals born within the national territory, as well as children of a Uruguayan father or mother—hold Uruguayan nationality.