Distinctions Between Naturalized and Natural-Born Citizens in Uruguay

The internet and international community are full of rumors claiming that Uruguay treats naturalized citizens as second-class thus limiting their rights, excluding them from nationality recognition, or marking their passports differently. While this concern was once grounded in real administrative practices, recent changes implemented by the Uruguayan government have eliminated these distinctions at both the passport and legislative-documentation level. Passports for all citizens natural or naturalized now list “Nationality: URY,” and proposals are underway to standardize legal definitions across national laws.

This article explores the current legal structure, clarifies what rights are truly affected, and examines whether Uruguay is ready to reconcile its inclusive identity with its constitutional framework.

Constitutional Categories of Citizenship in Uruguay

Uruguay’s Constitution explicitly distinguishes between “ciudadanos naturales” (natural-born citizens) and “ciudadanos legales” (legal citizens, i.e. naturalized citizens).

• Natural-born citizens (“ciudadanos naturales”) include all people born on Uruguayan soil (jus soli) and also the children of Uruguayan parents born abroad, provided they take up residence in Uruguay and register in the Civic Registry. (Uruguay thus recognizes a limited form of jus sanguinis for descendants who settle in the country.)
  
  
• Naturalized citizens (“ciudadanos legales”) are foreign nationals who acquire Uruguayan citizenship by meeting legal requirements (residency, good conduct, etc.) and obtaining a citizenship card (Carta de Ciudadanía). The Constitution outlines criteria for this legal citizenship – for example, a certain period of habitual residence (3 or 5 years depending on family ties), possession of property or practice of a profession, or by special grace of Parliament for notable services.
  

Importantly, Uruguay’s legal framework makes a semantic distinction between nationality and citizenship. The Constitution does not use the word “nacional” for naturalized persons, only classifying citizens as natural or legal. In practice, however, both natural and naturalized individuals are citizens of Uruguay with constitutional rights and duties – the differences lie in a few specific political rights and eligibility criteria.

Voting Rights and Civic Participation

All Uruguayan citizens, whether by birth or naturalization, ultimately enjoy the core political rights of suffrage (voting) and participation in public affairs. The Constitution affirms that “Todo ciudadano es miembro de la soberanía de la Nación; como tal es elector y elegible…” (“Every citizen is a member of the Nation’s sovereignty; as such, he/she is an elector and eligible [for public office]…”). However, the Constitution imposes a waiting period for naturalized citizens before they can exercise those rights:

• Three-year waiting period: A newly naturalized citizen cannot immediately vote or hold offices upon receiving citizenship. Article 75 of the Constitution states that “Los derechos inherentes a la ciudadanía legal no podrán ser ejercidos… hasta tres años después del otorgamiento de la respectiva carta [de ciudadanía]” – in other words, the rights that come with legal (naturalized) citizenship are suspended for three years after the citizenship certificate is granted. During this period, the person is a citizen, but may not vote in elections or be a candidate. (This rule applies to those naturalizing by the regular residency process; those granted citizenship by special parliamentary grace are typically exempt from the waiting period, as the article specifically mentions the delay for the cases in incisos A) and B).)
  
• After three years: Once this period elapses, a naturalized citizen is in “ciudadanía en ejercicio” (citizenship in effect) and gains the full right to vote in all elections, just like a natural-born citizen. Thereafter, they are also eligible to run for offices (with some additional tenure requirements for higher offices, discussed below). By contrast, natural-born citizens have no such waiting period – they become electors at age 18 upon registering in the Civic Registry, with voting being mandatory for all registered citizens.
  

Aside from this temporary disenfranchisement of new naturalized citizens, there are no differences in voting rights – after the three-year mark, naturalized Uruguayans vote on equal terms with native Uruguayans in national and local elections. Uruguay’s system is otherwise quite inclusive; voting is obligatory for all citizens, natural or naturalized, once they are eligible.

Eligibility for Public Office and Political Positions

Uruguayan law also differentiates between natural and naturalized citizens when it comes to holding certain public offices, primarily by imposing minimum years of citizenship for naturalized persons or excluding them from the highest offices:

• Public employment: The Constitution provides that “Todo ciudadano puede ser llamado a los empleos públicos” – every citizen may be called to serve in public employment (civil service). However, mirroring the voting restriction, newly naturalized citizens cannot hold public posts for the first 3 years. Article 76 says “Los ciudadanos legales no podrán ser designados sino tres años después de habérseles otorgado la carta de ciudadanía”. This means a naturalized person must wait three years after citizenship before he or she can be appointed to any public job or position. (Notably, the Constitution carves out an exception that even non-citizens can be professors in higher education, so academia is open regardless of citizenship.)
  
• Legislative office: To serve in the national legislature, naturalized citizens must meet a longer citizenship tenure than natural-born citizens:
  
  • For the Chamber of Representatives (Diputados), one must be a “ciudadano natural en ejercicio” or a “ciudadano legal with 5 years of exercise,” and in both cases at least 25 years old. In other words, a natural-born citizen can run for Representative as long as they are 25, but a naturalized citizen can only run after at least five years of holding citizenship (and being past the initial suspension period).
    
  • For the Senate (Senadores), the requirement is a natural citizen in exercise or a legal (naturalized) citizen with 7 years of citizenship, with a minimum age of 30. So a naturalized person must wait at least seven years after naturalization before being eligible for the Senate.
    
  • These rules also extend to equivalent positions at the departmental (provincial) level. Departmental legislators (members of Departmental Juntas) likewise need to be natural-born or have 3 years of legal citizenship (and be 18 or older). A Department Intendente (the head of a department, similar to a governor/mayor) must have the same qualifications as a Senator – i.e. natural-born or 7 years legal citizenship – plus be a resident or native of that department.
    
• President and Vice-President: The highest offices of the nation are reserved for natural-born citizens. The Constitution is unequivocal that “Sólo podrán ser elegidos [Presidente y Vicepresidente] los ciudadanos naturales en ejercicio, que tengan treinta y cinco años de edad”. A naturalized citizen cannot become President or Vice-President of Uruguay. (In Uruguay, “ciudadano natural en ejercicio” essentially means a natural-born citizen who is actively exercising his/her rights – i.e., not suspended from citizenship for any reason. Age 35 is the other requirement.) This is comparable to provisions in many countries that restrict the presidency to citizens by birth.
  
• Other high posts: Uruguay’s Constitution and laws impose similar citizenship-duration rules for certain high-ranking posts. For example, to be a Supreme Court Justice, one needs to be a natural citizen or a legal citizen with 10 years of exercise of citizenship, in addition to other qualifications. These requirements underline the general principle: naturalized citizens are eligible for almost all offices, but often only after a certain number of years as citizens. This ensures they have a genuine link to the country over time. The only absolute bar for naturalized citizens is the Presidency (and Vice Presidency); all other offices become accessible with enough years of citizenship and meeting age/qualification criteria.
  

In summary, naturalized citizens can hold public office at all levels, but they face time-based eligibility requirements that natural-born citizens do not. Natural-born Uruguayans can pursue most offices as soon as they meet the age (and any professional) requirements, whereas naturalized Uruguayans must accumulate a few years as citizens (3, 5, 7, or 10 years depending on the office) before qualifying. These provisions are enshrined in the Constitution and ensure a distinction in political eligibility without outright excluding naturalized individuals from participation (except for the role of President).

Legal Protections and Responsibilities

Outside the realm of voting and office-holding, naturalized citizens generally enjoy the same legal protections, civil rights, and responsibilities as citizens by birth. Both categories are equal under the law in terms of fundamental rights – e.g. freedom of expression, religion, due process – and obligations like paying taxes and obeying laws. The Constitution does not create two tiers of everyday civic status; it speaks of all “habitants” and “citizens” broadly when guaranteeing civil rights. Once the initial waiting periods have passed, a naturalized Uruguayan is for most intents and purposes treated the same as a natural Uruguayan in daily life and under the legal system.

However, there are a couple of technical distinctions in status defined in law:

• Nationality vs. citizenship: Uruguay’s Constitution famously states in Article 81 that “La nacionalidad no se pierde ni aun por naturalizarse en otro país…” – Nationality is not lost even by acquiring another country’s citizenship. This refers to those who are Uruguayan by birth: a natural-born Uruguayan remains a national of Uruguay for life (unless they explicitly renounce it), even if they take up a foreign citizenship. By contrast, “La ciudadanía legal se pierde por cualquier otra forma de naturalización ulterior.” – a naturalized citizen loses his/her Uruguayan citizenship by naturalizing in another country. In practical terms, a natural-born Uruguayan can hold dual nationality and will not be stripped of Uruguay’s nationality, but a person who became Uruguayan through legal citizenship is at risk of losing that status if they later adopt a new nationality elsewhere. This is a legal protection difference: the bond of a natural-born citizen to Uruguay is considered unbreakable, whereas a naturalized citizen’s link can be broken by an act of acquiring a new citizenship. (It’s worth noting Uruguay’s doctrine has been that naturalized citizens are not granted “nationality” in the traditional sense – they keep their original nationality legally, while Uruguay grants them citizenship rights. This nuanced stance is what Article 81 codifies.)
  
• Suspension of citizen rights: Uruguay outlines various grounds on which any citizen’s rights can be suspended (e.g. being under criminal indictment, being declared legally insane, serving a prison sentence, etc.). These apply to all citizens equally. However, there are two specific grounds that apply only to naturalized citizens: (i) if a naturalized citizen’s “buena conducta” (good conduct) is found lacking after naturalization – essentially, if they behave in serious contradiction to the standards expected (for example, a criminal conviction that indicates bad conduct) – and (ii) if they join organizations that use violence or incite violence against the fundamental institutions of the nation. The Constitution says these two causes for suspending citizenship rights “solo regirán respecto de los ciudadanos legales”. In other words, a natural-born Uruguayan cannot lose their political rights for “lack of good conduct” or extremist associations (beyond normal criminal penalties), whereas a naturalized Uruguayan could have their citizenship rights suspended for those reasons. This reflects a higher standard of loyalty expected from those who chose to become Uruguayan citizens. It’s a safeguard mechanism: for instance, if someone naturalized and then became involved in anti-democratic movements or serious crime, the state could suspend or even revoke their citizenship. For natural-born citizens, such conduct might lead to punishment, but not loss of nationality or citizenship rights (except during imprisonment).
  

Aside from such provisions, in everyday legal protection, a naturalized citizen is just as protected by Uruguay’s laws as a native citizen. They can own property, work in private sector jobs, travel on a Uruguayan passport, and are entitled to the same constitutional guarantees of rights. Likewise, responsibilities like military service (in Uruguay’s case, there is no conscription in modern times) or civic duties apply equally. The Constitution’s distinctions are narrowly focused on the political sphere and maintaining national integrity, not on creating an underclass of residents.

Addressing the Rumor of “Second-Class” Citizenship

There has been an “online rumor” or perception that naturalized Uruguayans are treated as second-class citizens or not truly Uruguayan. This stems from the formal distinctions discussed above, but it is important to clarify the reality:

• No difference in fundamental rights: Naturalized citizens are not denied any fundamental civil rights by virtue of being naturalized. They enjoy the same protection of law, and after the initial 3-year period, the same voting rights as any Uruguayan. There is no legal provision that, for example, bars naturalized citizens from voting (beyond the temporary wait) or from living anywhere, speaking freely, accessing courts, etc. In fact, the Constitution declares all citizens as part of the national polity. Claims that naturalized individuals are broadly disenfranchised or lack rights are not supported by the law. The differences that do exist (office holding restrictions, etc.) are explicitly defined and limited in scope.
  
• Specific political limitations: The differential treatment is confined to the political domain – mainly the waiting periods for suffrage/office and the exclusion from the presidency. These are real legal distinctions (as cited above) but they do not extend to everyday discrimination in law. After a few years, a naturalized Uruguayan can even serve in parliament, judiciary, or as a department mayor; the only office perpetually closed is the presidency. This is a common type of distinction in many countries (for example, many democracies require heads of state or government to be native-born). Thus, while one might term it a “distinction” between classes of citizens, it is narrowly tailored – not an across-the-board lesser status. Uruguay’s Constitution in Article 8 also broadly proclaims equality of all people before the law, which applies to citizens regardless of origin.
  
• Passport/Nationality issue: Much of the recent debate – and likely the “rumor” – has been fueled by how Uruguay issues identity documents to naturalized citizens. Until recently, Uruguayan passports of naturalized citizens contained a note of the person’s original nationality instead of listing “Uruguayan.” For example, a Venezuelan who became a citizen would have a Uruguayan passport stating nationality: Venezuelan. This administrative practice caused confusion and real inconvenience, as other countries treated those passport-holders as foreigners from their birth country (requiring visas, etc.), effectively not recognizing them as Uruguayan nationals. This was perceived as the state itself labeling naturalized Uruguayans as “not fully Uruguayan,” and thus created an impression of second-class status. However, this is being corrected. In April 2025 the government announced passport changes: going forward, passports will list “Nationality/Citizenship: URY” for all Uruguayan citizens, whether natural or naturalized. The place-of-birth field will also be removed to avoid confusion. These changes align Uruguay with international norms and underscore that naturalized citizens are to be recognized as Uruguayan nationals in documents.
  
• Ongoing reforms: There is recognition at high levels that the natural vs. legal distinction can be problematic. The United Nations and local civil rights groups have urged Uruguay to reconcile this issue. Bills have been introduced in Parliament to affirm that “es nacional de Uruguay todo ciudadano, sin distinción de si es natural o legal” – “every citizen of Uruguay is a national of Uruguay, whether natural or legal”. This interpretative law would make it unequivocal that naturalized Uruguayans must be treated identically in status. While there is debate whether a constitutional amendment is needed for complete clarity, the direction is toward eliminating any lingering ambiguity about the equality of all citizens.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, Uruguay’s laws do distinguish between citizens by birth/descent and those by naturalization, but only in limited respects such as waiting periods for political rights and barring naturalized persons from the presidency. There is no evidence in the law of broader discrimination in rights or protections – after a few years, a naturalized Uruguayan enjoys the same voting power and can hold most offices just like a natural-born citizen. The “second-class citizen” characterization is not an accurate portrayal of the legal status; it is more a critique of the few formal differences that do exist. Uruguay’s constitutional framework, while dualistic in terminology, still regards both natural and naturalized persons as ciudadanos uruguayos with equal fundamental rights. Recent and proposed changes (e.g. in passports and legislation) further indicate Uruguay is moving toward erasing the practical distinctions, reinforcing that all citizens are fully Uruguayan.

Research Sources

• Constitución de la República Oriental del Uruguay
  Articles on citizenship categories and rights:
  • Justia Uruguay – SECCIÓN III, CAPÍTULO I
  • Justia Uruguay – SECCIÓN III, CAPÍTULO V
  • PDF via Georgetown University
• Diario La R
  “Ciudadanos legales tendrán pasaporte con la ciudadanía uruguaya” (16 Apr 2025), on passport nationality policy change:
  • https://grupormultimedio.com/ciudadanos-legales-tendran-pasaporte-con-la-ciudadania-uruguaya-id155082/
• El País (Uruguay)
  “ONU le solicita a Uruguay que recapacite sobre la ciudadanía legal: ¿qué sucede?” (2023), discussing legal distinctions and reform proposals:
  • https://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/sociedad/onu-le-solicita-a-uruguay-que-recapacite-sobre-la-ciudadania-legal-que-sucede
• Wikipedia – Nacionalidad uruguaya
  Overview of nationality law and constitutional practice:
  • https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nacionalidad_uruguaya