On August 24th a new Presidental Decree was posted that concerns all foreigners residing in Uruguay. The official Decree is posted on the Presidential Departments web-page, in Spanish, as a PDF, found at the following link: http://www.presidencia.gub.uy/_web/decretos/2009/08/EC1320%20.pdf

Although there aren’t too many changes to the process, it is exciting to see that the “carnet de salud” which entitles ones with a low enough income to free health care in public hospitals, is now available to both legal residents and non-resident foreigners. If a foreigner has sufficient means, they wil be enrolled in the “mutualista” program just as Uruguayan foreign nationals.

While many foreigners have been taking advantage of this system for a long time, it is good to Read more