How do you get a cédula in Uruguay in 2026?

You generally need a Certificado de Residencia (residence certificate) from the Dirección Nacional de Migración showing that residence is accepted or in process: Apply for a residence permit. Identificación Civil (DNIC) then takes biometrics and issues the plastic card. Pure tourist stays do not create a normal foreigner cédula.

Bring your passport, the Migraciones certificate trail, address proof, and the civil papers DNIC expects for foreigners. Birth certificates usually need apostille or legalisation, Spanish translation by a traductor público, and registration in the foreigners section of the Registro Civil before the ID desk runs smoothly. Photos and fee payment follow the current DNIC checklist. Book the official appointment rather than a reseller queue.

With a cédula you can open accounts at BROU and major private banks, sign longer leases, buy resident phone plans, enrol children in schools, and join a mutualista: Open a bank account and Public and mutualista health. Many desks treat the number like a national customer key. A provisional card marked for residence-in-process is often enough for those daily steps while Migraciones continues reviewing the full file.

When Migraciones later issues a definitive decision, return to Identificación Civil to update the record so the card matches permanent or temporary status correctly. Do not let a provisional card expire while the file is still open; renew through the documented Migraciones and DNIC path. Setup fees and apostille costs sit outside ordinary monthly bands: How expensive is Uruguay, Monthly budget, and Montevideo cost of living.

Some non-residents use a RUT tax identifier from DGI for limited business or tax activity before a cédula exists, yet that does not replace the ID card for ordinary consumer life. Plan the residence certificate as the real unlock.