Relocating and Gun Ownership in Uruguay

Hi Fernando,
Glad to hear you’re still enjoying your new home country.  My mother and I are going through the residency application for Uruguay.  I re-read today your sole blog on this country.  Would appreciate any leads, tips, anything.  As I mentioned, we lived in Argentina and still know a few people there but we don’t know anyone in Uruguay.  I still can handle Spanish and could make new friends.  My mother is in her late 70s. She takes high blood pressure medicine but otherwise generally in good health.  Do you think it may be difficult to obtain health insurance for her?  Also would you know what laws governs the import/export and ownership of precious metals in-country? I couldn’t find anything readily on the internet.  Also did you just take what you could with you, two pieces of luggage, or did you have things shipped to you?
 thanks
 Saludos
 Dan

Hi Dan, since you already lived in Argentina you already have a good idea of what its like to be in a Latin country. Uruguay being just across the river from Buenos Aires, Uruguay is strongly linked to porteños and Argentina in general so it wont be that much of a change. On the other hand and one of the things I like the most about it, there’s much less corruption in Uruguay and while crime is increasing its not nearly as bad. There’s an important American expat community in Uruguay as you’ll quickly see googling about it. Uruguay is still a Latin American country, certainly not a first world country but as close as it gets for Latin American terms. I’ve mentioned it several times, it would be one of my first choices if I had to stay in South America.

Uruguay has pretty acceptable free medical care, so once you get your residency you can have medical care for both of you. I’d still ask about it in the embassy for more details. I know you can have private medical care but I’ve read that even then some people prefer the free one because its not tainted by financial interest when it comes to medical care and treatments.  A good private provider would be very good no doubt, but its just nice to know that you always have the free medical care just in case. Private health insurance for your mother may be hard to get and it will certainly be expensive, but give that if the residency gets through, you’ll have the free one. Again, its better to ask in the embassy and expat blogs so as to know which clinics are best and other details of relevance.

About gold, yes, you can own precious metals in Uruguay, buy and sell them, but you’ll be taxed if you enter precious metals to the country.
Yes, when I left we took two suitcases each, that was it. We left stuff back in Argentina and sometimes family and friends traveling bring us some of it. When you do something like that you see how little you need to get by and that what really matters in life, well, its certainly not stuff. It is nice though, having your things, your belongings, there´s nothing wrong with that and I sure would like to have a nice firearms collection again some day (heck, gear is piling around me already!), but I know I don’t need it to live happily.

Hello Ferfal,
Love your blog. My wife and i have plans to relocate to Uruguay in the near future. My only concern is being able to take my firearms with me. That will make or brake the deal. I do not intend on leaving my Tools behind. I own a 12 gauge pump shotgun and an AR 15 semi automatic M4 style Carbine chambered for 5.56 and .223 ammo. I will be purchasing A pistol caliber rifle soon and possibly a pistol as well. I would like to know if those two rifles are allowed and if so what do i have to do to enter the country legally with my firearms?
You may respond in Spanish or English if you like.
Regards,
D-

Yes, you can bring your firearms to Uruguay. What you need to begin with is a “tenencia”(gun ownership), for this you’ll have to ask around gunstores and clubs in Uruguay because you require a psychiatric test, firearms handling course among other standard paperwork. Clubs and gunstores usually have people that can do these things for you. The M4 though, that may be very hard or even impossible to import. There’s a chance there’s some collectors license or loophole of some sort, but if there is one I don’t know of it, and most likely it will be expensive. You can have your handguns though, shotguns, lever action carbines and bolt guns, even a carry license is possible eventually with additional instruction and paperwork, but you should start with the “tenencia” ownership. Basically you can be armed ok in Uruguay, maybe not AR and AKs, but still good enough to have your basic defensive tools.
This link of American expats may be of help regarding guns. Notice that you cant escape anti gun American liberals even if moving to Uruguay!
http://board.totaluruguay.com/Expat/Owning_guns_in_Uruguay
Join the forum discussion on this post!
FerFAL