A child of immigrants can already have a Uruguayan passport without being a Uruguayan citizen. It sounds like a mistake, but that is how the current rule works. If the child was born abroad, holds permanent residency in Uruguay, and has a parent who acquired citizenship through naturalization, the family may apply for a passport. The passport does not give the child citizenship in their own right.
On October 14, the government published a bill that would allow children to receive their own naturalization certificate, known as a carta de ciudadanía legal. This is not a passport, and it is not a document a child receives automatically when a parent naturalizes. The bill does not say when a passport showing Uruguayan nationality would become available.
What the Bill Says
In Article 1, the government proposes recognizing all naturalized citizens as Uruguayan nationals from the date their citizenship certificates are issued. Article 2 would allow a legal representative to apply for such a certificate on behalf of a child under 18. The certificate’s effect would be suspended until adulthood; at 18, the person would have to confirm in person that they intend to become a citizen.
The parent does not have to be naturalized. The bill calls for a separate application for the child, not citizenship passed down automatically from a mother or father.
As of October 23, 2026, this is a bill. A family can check a child’s eligibility for a passport under the rule already in force. It cannot yet obtain a certificate under the proposed rule.
The Legal Obstacle
The central problem is in the Constitution itself. Article 75 bars the issuance of a citizenship certificate to anyone subject to a ground for suspension of citizenship under Article 80. And Article 80 expressly includes being under 18. The government proposes issuing a certificate to a child and suspending its effect until adulthood. The Constitution says that, where a ground for suspension exists, the certificate cannot be issued.
Parliament has the power to interpret the Constitution. Whether interpretation alone is enough to overcome this prohibition is disputed. We are neither declaring the bill doomed nor treating the problem as settled.
Practical questions would remain. Adults seeking naturalization generally need three years of residence in Uruguay if they have family there, or five years if they do not, along with good character and property or an occupation. How would those requirements apply to a child? Could a parent’s income count? At what age would an application be accepted? The Electoral Court’s current rules were written for adults.
If a child’s certificate is suspended until age 18, when and under what conditions would the Interior Ministry list Uruguayan nationality in that child’s passport? The bill gives no answer. The rules for issuing certificates and passports would have to be brought into line.
How Brazil and Spain Handle It
The closest example is Brazil. There, a representative can obtain provisional naturalization for a child whose permanent residence was registered with the Federal Police before the age of ten. After reaching adulthood, the person has two years to request final confirmation. A passport for such a child is expressly provided for. Uruguay proposes a similar model of confirmation in adulthood, but has yet to define the application age, time frame, or passport procedure.
In Spain, a child under the parental authority of a Spanish citizen can opt for citizenship even if the parent acquired it after the child was born. The choice requires a separate application; citizenship does not transfer automatically. Uruguay’s bill also requires a separate application, but unlike the Spanish rule, it does not tie the child’s eligibility to the parents’ citizenship.
Uruguay’s proposal stands out against restrictions on migrants in several countries, though it is not the only move in this direction. Canada is reducing its planned intake of temporary workers and students while also expanding the transfer of citizenship to some children born abroad.
What a Family Can Do Now
If a parent has naturalized, start with the current rule for a child’s passport. Check three conditions: the child was born abroad, holds permanent residency in Uruguay, and has a parent who acquired citizenship through naturalization. That passport is a travel document. By itself, it does not make the child a citizen.
A new law could give the child their own citizenship certificate. When a passport showing Uruguayan nationality might follow will become clear only after the law is passed and the Electoral Court and Interior Ministry put procedures in place. Until then, we do not build either an issuance age or a passport replacement date into a family’s plans.
(Sorting out your family’s documents for a move to Uruguay? Write to us. We’ll check the rules in force and flag separately what depends on a future law.)