Residency, relocation, citizenship and immigration procedures can be really stressful and time-consuming for expats in Uruguay. So it’s essential to find a Uruguay relocation specialist with all the knowledge and the contacts to make your experience the fastest and most stress-free possible.
Mobility LC is a concierge relocation service based in Montevideo which aims to make your relocation as “clear, smooth and positive as possible”. The founder, Laura Canepa, is an Italian-Uruguayan, with extensive experience in the Uruguayan foreign service. She knows all the players. As an international commerce graduate she’s the perfect resource for companies and entrepreneurs. Not only that but she speaks fluent English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian.
We had heard a number of expats in Uruguay speak highly of their experiences with Mobility LC and after spending time with Laura and some of her clients we are delighted to recommend her to our readers.
What relocation services are offered to expats in Uruguay
- Applying for residency and Uruguayan ID (known as the cédula)
- Tax residency
- Work permits
- Getting Uruguay and/or Italian citizenship and passports
- Opening a bank account and/or safety deposit box
- Obtaining health insurance
- Getting permits such as a driver’s license or a gun permit
- And whatever else you need to make your Uruguay landing smooth
What you should know
Guru’Guay usually only recommends services that we have used ourselves. However we settled in Uruguay almost two decades ago. So after being tipped to check out Mobility LC we talked to Laura and loved her warm, can-do attitude. Then to make sure she was a great option for our readers we interviewed a number of her clients. Here’s what they told us.
Proactive, North American-style business mentality – Finn, USA
Finn and his partner Syna live near Punta del Este and have worked with Laura to obtain their residency, driving licences and insurance coverage. Finn admits that he writes lengthy emails and found himself consistently impressed by Laura’s answers. “She is exceptionally skilled at handling the details,” he said. Finn bought a motorcycle and wanted to do the registration alone. He confessed that it took him four months and seven visits to the city hall. “We’ll never do things alone again,” he laughed. They are currently working with Laura to get Uruguayan citizenship.
A force to be reckoned with – bureaucrats beware – Syna, USA
Syna and Finn had initially engaged another firm and had never met the principals. Syna stresses that Mobility LC is a CONCIERGE service. “She is your partner and you’re in this together,” said Syna. The couple praised how Laura stays current with the law and the players. “Her relational skills are exceptionally strong,” said Syna “and she deals with bureaucracy really well. She is a force to be reckoned with when others are stalling–but does it with total diplomacy.” They gave Mobility LC a 10+ rating. “We are so enthusiastic because of the contrasting experience we had,” says Syna. “We know lots of people who are taking years to get residency.”
The cédula process was a nightmare until I involved Mobility LC – Mary, Ireland
Laura helped Mary who moved to Uruguay from Ireland to get her temporary cédula, open a bank account and get her driver’s license. She doesn’t speak good Spanish and found things “very confusing”. It did not help that she lives on the coast, and it is not uncommon for Immigration to expect applicants to return multiple times. After hiring Laura she said, “I just turned up for appointments with the documents she told me to bring.” She loved working with Laura saying that “Laura makes everything simple and she knows all the people we dealt with which really helped. […] The cédula process was a nightmare until I involved her.”
Very knowledgeable and on top of procedures – Phil, USA
Phil retired to Montevideo three years ago from Florida. He initially contact Laura after he ran into problems opening a bank account. Since then Laura has helped him with online banking (his Uruguayan bank’s website is not so user-friendly) and with buying a car when he was back in the States (he gave her the requirements and she tracked down a dealer). They have discussed his acquiring Italian citizenship. He praises her efficiency, promptness and how she anticipates problems.
Warm and friendly – Luisa, Mexico
Despite the fact that Luisa speaks Spanish, living out on the coast she found that the Uruguayan residency process was “not streamlined”. She decided to hire Laura who she described as “warm and friendly” and gave her 10/10 for her services. She praised Laura’s efficiency and attention to detail. She loved how Laura respected deadlines and sent frequent updates.
Contact
Email residency@mobilitylc.com or visit the Mobility LC website.
Due to the pandemic situation and a significant increase in enquiries, response times may be 48 to 72 hours. Mobility LC thanks you for your patience and understanding.

14 Responses
My husband and I relocated to Uruguay from Sweden in 2018, and in every step of the way, Laura has been a miracle to work with. She has helped us with the residency process, guided us in how to get our medical insurance sorted, supporting me all the way through the process of becoming a citizen and many, many other things that you don’t even know you need help with before you relocate. Laura is extremely supportive and friendly, knowledgeable and very well connected in all the different institutions. She is the kind of person that goes the extra mile for all her clients, and I can highly recommend Laura if you are planning to move to Uruguay!
What a wonderful testimony, Malin. — Karen
A shout out to Laura Canepa for guiding us through the residency process. She is top drawer and we would gladly recommend her to anyone considering Uruguay residency.
Wonderful to read this, Ken!
Even before we landed in UY, Laura walked us through the process of amassing the necessary documents needed from over 20 different government and financial agencies in the USA. We submitted our residency application a few weeks after arrival and 5 months after that we have our permanent residency. This would literally not be possible without Laura. She is smart, professional, knowledgeable, patient, resourceful, efficient and effective. We had a dream of living in UY full time and thanks to Laura we get to live that dream every day faster than we could have imagined.
This is so great to read, Victor. Thank you so much for sharing.
Mobility LLC and Laura Canepa helped my family immigrate from the United States to Uruguay and she obtained our permanent residency in a period of less than nine months during a very difficult time in the pandemic. We received kind, caring, professional advice throughout the immigration process. Mobiliy LLC provided introductions to real estate and banking professionals and coordinated translations and all services in an timely fashion. We received prompt answers at every stage in the process.
I am aware that the permanent residency process has taken some time for other friends whom we have met here. That was not our experience. I attribute the rapid granting of our residency to the focus of Mobility LLC and the knowledge of the migrations process. Ms. Canepa was kind and caring throughout the process and has remained available for further migration needs.
Residency in just nine months – and in a pandemic! That is excellent. Congratulations, Mobility LC. Thank you for providing feedback–it’s so helpful for other readers. — Best wishes and welcome to Uruguay, Karen
El mejor servicio y la mejor atención !!! Sabe de lo que habla y lo que promete, se cumple !!
Es una gran profesional y conoce a fondo todos los vericuetos de los sistemas burocráticos. Es un placer tratar con ella
Sumamente recomendable
I won’t write much about my own experience with LC because the others on the page have done it so well. I will just say this: Don’t waste your time trying to figure it out, even if you speak Spanish. Laura knows the system and knows the people. Let Laura handle it, even if you look at the requirements and say to yourself “this should be easy”.
My husband and I began discussing application for permanent residency in Uruguay after our second visit to this very fine country in 2018. We began by studying on our own the various requirements as they were described at on-line sites and in certain books we purchased. Though we were able to understand and comply with some of the requirements, we realized that we would benefit from the advice and guidance of a professional in the country.
From our research, we had the contact information for a law firm in Montevideo, but the firm did not respond to our inquiries. Our next step was the web site for the US embassy in Montevideo. There we found Laura Canepa’s name and contact information. We consider ourselves very lucky to have found her for these reasons.
1. She responded to our initial inquiry promptly and with valuable information.
2. She has extensive knowledge of what documents and information are required, the form in which the documents and information must be presented, and though the submissions are comprehensive, only the necessary and sufficient items.
3. She knows the physical steps in the process, obtaining critical appointments with officials and other professionals at key points.
4. She was with us at every step of the way, providing information to officials on our behalf, translating questions for us and our answers, and insuring a smooth process. We speak some Spanish, though we are hardly fluent, and hearing spoken Spanish is a challenge. Having a trusted native speaker as an agent is a huge benefit.
5. She demonstrated that she is a known person at almost every office, and I’m certain that her professional relationships facilitated the process.
6. She seems to have boundless patience and equanimity. Nothing we encountered caused her to lose focus.
7. In the interest of full disclosure, after we established our relationship for this process, we learned that Laura attended a university on a Fulbright scholarship, not my alma mater, in our home city. It’s truly a small world.
Though we have not yet completed our process, we are well underway as residencia en tramite, and we would not be this successful without Laura’s knowledge, skill, and help. We give her the highest recommendation.
Ken, this is wonderful to read. As you probably know, here at Guru’Guay we only recommend professional that we personally know and trust and–if we have not used them ourselves (how I WISH I had had the forethought to hire a professional to take me through the residency process – it would have saved me much grey hair!!)–we vet carefully. Laura came to us HIGHLY recommended through multiple sources and it is lovely to read your kudos as well. Thank you so much for taking the time to share. Best wishes, Karen
Quero agradecer a Mobility LC pelo esforço e dedicação pelos serviçoa prestados para obter a minha residência e revalida do diploma no uruguay .
Diante do serviço prestado pela Mobility LC , não posso deixar de observar alguns pontos que me surpreendeu positivamente. • Clareza • agilidade e flexibilidade no atendimento comercial; •Boas formas de pagamento; • Precisão e pontualidade nos prazos acordados;
Obrigado,Laura ! Você é a prova de que o sucesso se alcança através de talento, determinação e trabalho duro. voce esta de parabéns pelo excelente trabalho realizado.
um abraço! Soarez – Brazil
[This comment was added to Guru’Guay’s old site on 01/11/2018]
My family of 4 relocated to Montevideo about 2 years ago and we were so glad to have hired Laura to manage our residency applications. Laura made everything incredibly easy – she did all the leg work and only called us to appear at government offices when required. We would show up at the time she scheduled with us and be in and out in 10 minutes. Very VIP. And our residency came through much faster than most of our friends of similar nationalities. I think she’s efficient because she is on top of your process and your paperwork – at any moment she knows exactly where in the process your application is and is constantly checking on it and pushing it through. And when complications arise, as they inevitably do sometimes, her connections and familiarity with the system resolve them quickly. And on top of everything she’s just a nice person to be around. Also will mention we found her pricing very competitive. No need to shop further, you’ll be in good hands with Laura!
[This comment was added to Guru’Guay’s old site on 23/01/2019]