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Property

Uruguay — Foreign Property Ownership Rules

Uruguay places essentially no foreigner-specific restrictions on buying residential property — foreigners have the same purchase, registration, and ownership rights as citizens, anywhere in the country including coastal and border areas. The main legal restriction (Ley 19.283) targets foreign states or state-linked entities acquiring rural agricultural land, not private individual buyers.

VerifiedAggregated real-estate advisory reporting (TheLatinvestor, La Cité Real Estate) on Uruguayan foreign property ownership rules — Uruguay's foreigner-friendly, unrestricted property-ownership regime is a well-established and consistently-reported fact across Latin American real-estate advisory sourcesLast reviewed: 2026-08-31

Why this matters

This is one of the more foreigner-friendly property regimes in Latin America, and property purchase itself is also one of the recognized pathways toward Uruguayan residency.

Key facts

  • No nationality-based restrictions or special permits are required for a foreign individual to buy residential property anywhere in Uruguay, including coastal areas like Punta del Este and border regions.
  • There is reportedly no national minimum purchase price a foreigner must meet to buy property.
  • Ley 19.283 restricts foreign states or state-linked structures from acquiring rural land for agricultural exploitation — this does not apply to private individuals buying a home.
  • Foreigners can hold property in their own name or via a Uruguayan corporate structure (S.A.) with no added restriction versus a citizen doing the same.

Required documents

  • RUT tax number

Related topics

residencybuying-process

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