Retiring in Uruguay: Residence, Taxation of the French Pension and Access to Care

A French citizen enters Uruguay without a visa for 90 days, with an extension of up to 180 days possible from the National Directorate of Migration (France Diplomatie). To settle for the long term, the retiree applies for permanent legal residence on gub.uy, with a gub.uy account or a recognised electronic identity. For a person of independent means, a retiree or a pensioner from abroad, the DNM page provides for a notarised certificate stating their status, the nature of the income, the nominal monthly amount received and how it is received in Uruguay. For this category, the page sets no minimum income amount.

The file also includes a valid identity document, a criminal record certificate of national scope from the country of origin and the countries of residence over the past five years, a health card and a vaccination certificate issued by an authorised provider (decree 136/2018) and, if needed, a marriage certificate less than one year old. Foreign documents are apostilled or legalised and translated by an Uruguayan sworn translator. The fees are 557.30 UI for residence, 55.70 UI for the migration certificate needed for the identity card and 225.60 UI for a re-entry permit each time you leave the country during the procedure. An interpreter is required at the hearing if the applicant does not speak Spanish.

The processing time is not given on the page: ask the DNM, which hands out 50 numbers a day in Montevideo for the submission of documents. The guide to drawing your pension abroad details the formalities on the French side.

Law 16.340 reserves advantages for foreigners who acquired retiree status abroad and obtain permanent residence. According to the official gub.uy sheet, whose last displayed update is old, you must show a pension receipt, receive at least 1,500 US dollars a month in retirement or other income from foreign sources, and meet one of two investment conditions: buy a main home with a minimum value of 100,000 dollars, inalienable for 10 years, or hold Uruguayan government securities with a minimum nominal value of 100,000 dollars, kept at the Bank of the Republic for at least 10 years.

In return, the beneficiary can import their movable property and personal effects, as well as a motor vehicle that cannot be sold for 4 years from its entry and must be insured before being driven. The procedure is free; it is done online, or in person at the nearest Uruguayan consulate from abroad, or with the DNM for anyone already in Uruguay with temporary status. As the sheet is old, the current thresholds and conditions are to be confirmed with the DNM or a consulate before filing the application.

The social security agreement of 6 December 2010 provides that pensions are paid without reduction, whatever the country of residence or the nationality of the beneficiary, with the exception of non-contributory solidarity benefits (CLEISS, articles 5 of the agreement and 4 of the arrangement). The tax question is separate: a non-resident is taxable in France on French-source income, subject to the tax treaty concluded with their country of residence, and pensions fall within this scope when the fund is based in France (impots.gouv.fr).

Uruguay does not appear on the list of international tax treaties on impots.gouv.fr. In the absence of a treaty, domestic law applies: the fund withholds tax at source, the minimum rate is 20% up to an income ceiling set each year, then 30%, and the taxpayer can request the average rate if that arrangement is more favourable to them. These thresholds are updated every year: check them on impots.gouv.fr when filing your return. The country of residence may for its part require all income to be declared.

On the Uruguayan side, tax residence is determined according to the DGI’s criteria, which include physical presence in the country. A new tax resident can opt, only once, for a specific regime for investment income from foreign sources: the IRNR during the year of the change and the following ten tax years, or the IRPF at 7% with no time limit. The treatment of a pension from a foreign source is not specified on the pages consulted: confirm it with the DGI. See also the page on working in Uruguay.

The S1 form, which allows a retiree living in the European Union to be treated at France’s expense, does not apply to Uruguay, a country outside the EU (ameli.fr, the Assurance Maladie website). CLEISS specifies that the France-Uruguay agreement provides no reimbursement of care received in Uruguay on the basis of the French pension. Two options are given: voluntary membership of the CFE if you hold French nationality, or taking out insurance with a private company. See the guide to retirees’ health insurance abroad and the S1 form user guide.

The CFE offer for retirees has a contribution that depends on age and the plan chosen, with no health questionnaire and no possible exclusion, with immediate cover if you join before departure or within three months of settling, and no waiting period on returning to France. During a temporary stay in France, a retiree who draws a pension from a basic scheme, can show at least 15 years of insurance and has no activity is reimbursed for their care; a hospital stay of more than one month requires prior recognition. The spouse who accompanies them is not covered and must have insurance.

If tax residence is no longer in France, the CSG, the CRDS and the Casa (social levies on income) are no longer withheld; a health insurance contribution of 3.2% on the basic pension, 4.2% on the supplementary pension and 7.1% on a self-employed worker’s pension may apply (CLEISS). Retirees of the general scheme are handled by the CNAREFE, attached to the CPAM (the local health insurance office) of Seine-et-Marne. The page on retiree insurance abroad completes the overview.

The national minimum wage, revised periodically and around 25,000 pesos a month, offers a benchmark for local income levels, and the “Economic indicators” block of this page updates the country’s indicators (inflation, exchange rate). The authorities do not publish a standard retiree budget; the calculation starts from an actual rent, the health subscription or insurance, utilities and transport. The monthly income criterion of 1,500 dollars in law 16.340 gives an order of magnitude of the resources expected for the privileged regime.

Retirees often concentrate in Montevideo, which has 1.745 million inhabitants and the specialist services, as well as on the coast, notably in Maldonado, and along the Uruguay River at Salto or Paysandú, according to France Diplomatie’s list of main cities. Safety and daily-life advice appears on the page on living in Uruguay.

A French citizen who has also worked in Uruguay can draw two pensions. The agreement totalises the periods completed in both countries, calculates a theoretical pension, then prorates it according to the share of periods completed in each country; the higher amount between the national pension and the prorated pension is paid. The Uruguayan scheme combines a public pay-as-you-go system run by the BPS and an individual savings scheme run by the AFAPs, with a common old-age pension at 60 and 30 years of insurance, according to CLEISS.

Law 20.130 of 2 May 2023 provides for a gradual reform: pensions under the new system will be granted only from 2033, with an age that rises by one year per generation for people born from 1973, up to 65 for people born in 1977 and after. The guide to quarters worked abroad explains the effect of totalisation on the French pension; Expavy helps you compare the health covers suited to this profile.