Travel to Uruguay: Medical insurance mandatory
There’s been some confusion around whether it’s necessary to have health insurance to enter Uruguay since recent changes to travel requirements. We explain.
Mark Teuten explains Uruguay’s 2018 vaccination requirement for residency. It’s an update to his primer on how to get residency in Uruguay.
Uruguay has been experiencing an increase in immigration. Especially amongst citizens from tropical climes like Venezuela, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. So the Uruguay Ministry of Public Health now requires anyone applying for permanent residence to show proof of vaccination.
Previously the only requirement to get a medical certificate for residence purposes was an up to date tetanus jab. Now the authorities require proof that adults (over 18) in addition have the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination.
The health ministry’s decree does not state that the proof needs to be legalised, but getting it legalised/apostilled will avoid problems. We understand that a translation will not be necessary if the certificate is in a Roman alphabet language. Otherwise a translation will be required.
Children under 18 must be able to show they have been given all the vaccines required for Uruguayan children. These are currently: measles (at five years old), Hib B vaccine, chickenpox, hepatitis B (at twelve), diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, hepatitis A, PCV13 and polio.
Any applicant who is not able to show they have been given these vaccinations can simply go to any vaccination centre to get the vaccinations done. Vaccinations are given for free at any public health centre or paid at a private one.
Since vaccinations can be done free of charge in public health centres, it is not a financial burden for applicants. However most applicants will find it easier to bring a vaccination certificate with them.
The Ministry of Health points out that having up to date vaccinations is already a requirement for Uruguayan nationals. So enforcing them for applicants for residence is simply requiring equality with locals.
And it’s important to note that if a person can show an allergy or other medical condition which means they should not have a vaccination, this is sufficient to exclude the requirement.
Mark Teuten is a British lawyer based in Montevideo since the 1990s. He has law degrees from both the UK and Uruguay. He can help you with your residency applications, setting up a registered company and other legal matters. Guru’Guay has recommended him to our readers who have praised his trustworthiness, clarity, prompt communication even over great distances and careful advice regarding courses of action.
This is part of the Guru’Guay series on relocating to Uruguay.
This article is for information purposes only. Please consult with a lawyer as to your particular circumstances.
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2 Responses
Very helpful
Thanks for taking time to comment, Bill. If you found this useful, I’d recommend you sign up for our newsletter (out every last Saturday of the month) and get the latest on moving to Uruguay as well as our other news from Uruguay. Best wishes – Karen