Judging from the phone calls and conversations I have had, it seems as if some people just don’t understand (or refuse to understand?) plain English.
In my previous post, I quoted attorney Mark Teuten as saying, in part, that housebhold goods…”can be brought in free of tax within 6 months of the grant of permanent residence.” That seems pretty clear to me, but it obviously is NOT CLEAR to some people.
The duty-free exemption only applies for the 6 month period AFTER you get your permanent residency, NOT while your residency is pending!!!! If you bring in household goods before your permanent residency is granted, you will be required to put up a deposit ranging from hundreds to even thousands of dollars.
If you are not sure about your residency status here are some ways to check:
- If you don’t have a cedula, you don’t have permanent residency.
- If your cedula has words on the back like “provisoria” or “in tramite”, you don’t have permanent residency.
- If your cedula has “Residcencia Legal” on the back, you DO HAVE permanent residency.
You might get your cedula quickly, especially if you are handicapped. But, in my experience, you will not get your permanent residency in less than about 1 year. My friend and coworker Borko received his 365 days after arriving here and his was the quickest of which I am aware.
People are being told things other than this, especially by some less than professional “Immigration Consultants”. It may be that there is a language problem, or it may be that they are simply economical with the truth. That is not for me to judge.
An old Southron saying applies here, “I have no dog in this fight!”
My goal here is simply to help others avoid the mistakes I have made–which are legion–or about which I know–which are legion times 10!
David,
I brought my things in almost a year prior to getting permanent residency, and you do in fact have to post a bond (called a guarantee), for 100% of the “value†of the shipment.
The value is basically whatever you say it is. With a bit of help from Aduana, I valued mine at $12,000 for everything in my house in Punta del Este and my apartment in Montevideo.
I was given three options for the guarantee.
One was to give the $12,000 directly to Aduana. I didn’t like that option, since no one apparently does it and there seemed to be little precedent for how to handle my money once it was there.
The next option was to secure it with insurance. I was quoted a premium of about $450, and told I’d have to put 50% down. So that ties up $6,000, plus you’d pay the $450 premium.
The last option was to secure it via Banco de la Republica. In this case, you buy a Certificate of Deposit for $12,000 (or whatever your value is), and the bank guarantees that they won’t let you cash it in until Aduana signs off on the fact that you’ve gotten residency. They charge 1.2% of the value to issue the guarantee. So I paid $144 for the guarantee, but since I collected interest on the CD, it actually cost me less than that.
Once I got residency, I took a copy of my new cédula, the CD, and a certification from Immigration to Aduana, and they signed off the same day.
True, it tied up $12,000. But at least it was in my own account, with me getting the interest…little that it is. To me, it was worth it to get everything shipped to me a year before I finally got permanent residency.
Left by Lee Harrison on June 17th, 2008
Hi All
My husband and I applied for residency the first week of November, 07. We have just been notified (July 3) that we have been accepted as permanent residents. Our cedulas will be made when we make the trip back to UY. Thats only 8 months so guess sometimes it is possible to get it in less than a year.
Sharon
Left by sharon42 on July 9th, 2008
Send me an eMail and I will foward you the latest law related to this subject, which was recently signed by the President.
Left by interdev on August 13th, 2008