The Uruguayan government has enacted a new immigration law—effective later in October—that will offer expedited 30-business-day processing of permanent residence permits and accompanying work authorization to MERCOSUR nationals. It is expected to issue implementing regulations and specify application requirements within the next several weeks. Residence permit applications, which will be less burdensome, can be filed with the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs or at a Uruguayan consulate abroad.

MERCOSUR, which is a Spanish-language acronym for Southern Common Market, is a Latin American trade bloc composed of the member states Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Under the new law, those who were born in a member state and carry a valid passport from that country are eligible for the expedited processing.

It is expected that MERCOSUR nationals will be able to apply for permanent residence immediately upon arrival in Uruguay. This is a drastic acceleration compared to the current law, which requires MERCOSUR applicants to reside in Uruguay for two years while holding a MERCOSUR temporary residence permit. Moreover, applicants will no longer need to reapply for travel permits or renew their local identification card (cédula) annually. This beginning of relaxed border controls within the MERCOSUR bloc is reminiscent of a younger European Union, which later gave birth to the Schengen Area.

Also included in the change are the legal or de facto spouse, sibling, parent or grandchild of a Uruguayan citizen born abroad, making it easier for certain immediate relatives to be together in Uruguay.

* Not admitted to the practice of law.

 

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Photo of Ian Macdonald Ian Macdonald

Ian R. Macdonald Co-Chairs the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s International Employment, Immigration & Workforce Strategies group. He focuses his practice on developing, assessing and managing global mobility programs for multinational companies on a range of challenges affecting the movement of people capital

Ian R. Macdonald Co-Chairs the firm’s Labor & Employment Practice’s International Employment, Immigration & Workforce Strategies group. He focuses his practice on developing, assessing and managing global mobility programs for multinational companies on a range of challenges affecting the movement of people capital domestically and internationally, including secondment agreements, benefits transferability, local host country employment concerns and immigration.

Ian and his team work closely with companies to manage and modify, where needed, corporate immigration programs to maximize efficiency, service and regulatory compliance levels. He is experienced with the full range of business immigration sponsorship categories (visas and permanent residence), anti-discrimination rules to reduce or eliminate risk of employment litigation, employer sanction cases, and I-9 and E-Verify compliance. Ian assists clients with establishing risk-based performance standards (RBPS) and Department of Homeland Security protocol, providing risk assessment assistance to corporations subject to Chemical Facility Anti-Terrorism Standards (CFATS) and assisting clients with ITAR/Export Control compliance within the immigration context.

Ian has developed strategic relationships abroad that he utilizes when working with clients to ensure compliance with foreign registration requirements. He is experienced with analyzing complex global mobility opportunities on country-specific matters to facilitate the transfer of personnel. Ian is also experienced in counseling employers on immigration strategy as well as immigration consequences of mergers and acquisitions, reduction in workforces, and furloughs.

Prior to joining the firm, Ian worked for the United Nations, various non-governmental think tanks and corporate law firms in London, Washington, D.C., New York and Atlanta.