I received an email earlier today from the well-known travel author Lee Harrison, who is now living in Punta del Este. Lee is an authority on offshore life and is also a reader of this blog. He was kind enough to pass on the following very important information.
As of this past May, immigration is only accepting 10 new applicants per day. By their definition, a “new applicant†is someone who is turning in all of the paperwork to go “en trámiteâ€. It’s the day you get your fingerprints taken. On this day, you need to go to the main information desk and get a special number—1 through 10—printed on a green card. During my last few visits, they’ve had two agents working on these 10 new applicants, and 1 working on everyone else.
For all other business, such as checking on visa status or consultations prior to turning everything in, continue to take one of the old numbers off the roll. As usual, those who’ve taken a wrong number need to take another number and start the wait over.
The agent at the desk told me that this action was implemented to relieve the over-burdened system, and is not intended to limit the number of immigrants coming to Uruguay. She did not know how long this process would remain in place.
We have asked our law firm to follow up on this and will report more as we learn about it.
I saw this when I went for my permanent residence and posted it on my blog. Didn’t think it was important enough to make a big deal out of it. It has nothing to do (like the clerk said) about limiting immigrants.
I believe it’s there for two reasons.. first, to give brand new people an express line… they get called by a dedicated clerk who I expect is the leading expert in ‘newbies’. This clerk calls new applicants only until the 10 are exhausted. When I watched this for the first time, they went very quickly. I assume she was giving them further advice on what they needed to add or do that was missing.
The other reason is probably to try and get these more complicated (in the sense that the clerks found that many of these applicants had items missing), clients out of the way early in the day.
When I was there, 2 people got the wrong tickets.. they picked up the general tickets for the non newbies. Fortunately, these 2 started asking questions and those of us with more exprience, having read the announcement on the wall, directed them to the newbie cards, (not tickets).
Personally, I think it was a good idea… to split us into two streams.. one of the first cases of specialization I’ve seen in the government since I came here.
Left by Fish on July 5th, 2007
I thought I’d follow up a bit on the status of the visa backlog in Migración, and what they’re doing. Understandably, it’s a difficult topic to bring up with the employees there, without sounding like a condescending foreigner who’s either complaining about the holdup or criticizing their process, or both—something I’d have little tolerance for if I were on their side of the desk.
Luckily, I was able to speak to the same person that I spoke to last time, making it easier to inquire.
The first thing she mentioned is that the backlog has grown. A year ago, she said they could deliver a visa in 4 to 6 months. Half a year ago, they were forecasting upwards of 6 months, and today she said they’re telling new applicants that a year will be required. If you’re a US citizen who requires an Interpol/FBI background check, that clock doesn’t start until those have been received, which can take an additional six months, according to the Interpol office here in Montevideo (my own took 5 months).
The delay beyond six months has been inconvenient for some applicants whose required documents start expiring before the visa is granted.
The first thing Migración did to catch up of course was apply the 10-person daily limit on new applicants, mentioned in the posts above. This has had limited success however, since they sometimes didn’t get 10 new ones in a day anyway.
Also, she mentioned that immigration consultants are limited to two inquiries on behalf of clients without going through the line again. One consultant I spoke with confirmed that this was a strict limit, while another seemed to think she could get away with more…but in any case, the rule is two.
Now they’re also working overtime and Saturdays. She was quick to tell me however, that they’re not open to the public on Saturdays; they’re only working to reduce the visa backlog.
Also, they’re now occasionally (but not always) calling the applicant to let them know if there is a problem with the application or if more information is required. Normally, the only way the applicant knows there’s a problem is to come in, take a number and ask. She says that some folders sat there for a month or two before anyone inquired about them—adding to the log jam—so now they “try†to call.
I can personally vouch for the last two items, because they called me at home—on Saturday—to ask me to bring more information on my own application.
I should point out two things: One is that the inefficiency in Migración has not been typical of my experience with other government agencies or utilities, which run much more smoothly than in most places in Latin America. Also, for me, not having my permanent visa has not been a problem in any practical way. My experience so far has been that with my temporary cédula (which I got at the beginning) I’ve had access to everything I need…but I’ll be glad not to see the waiting area of the immigration office anymore.
Left by Lee Harrison on August 6th, 2007