Uruguay – 8th September, 2026 – As more Americans consider Uruguay as a second residence, a long-term Plan B or a place to build a new life, Uruguayan attorney and notary Matías Ruvira Pérez del Castillo is seeing that interest at close range through his work with U.S. clients.
For many Americans thinking seriously about life abroad, Uruguay is not necessarily the first country that comes to mind.
The small South American nation, situated between Argentina and Brazil, has long maintained a relatively low international profile. But for a growing number of Americans seeking stability, quality of life and more flexibility in where they live, that discretion has become part of Uruguay’s appeal.
Ruvira has watched the shift from Montevideo.
Uruguayan attorney and notary, Matías Ruvira Pérez del Castillo is the founder of Estudio RVA, a boutique law firm based in Montevideo that assists international clients with immigration, relocation, real estate, corporate, tax, legal and notarial matters in Uruguay.
The practice began in 2021 with a narrower purpose: helping foreigners obtain Uruguayan legal residency. What started as an immigration practice gradually became broader as clients began asking for help with everything that came after residency.
Today, Estudio RVA has a team of approximately 12 professionals. Through ResidenciasUy, its specialized immigration and relocation practice, the firm handles hundreds of residency processes each year. According to RVA, approximately 70% of the firm’s current clients come from the United States.
For Ruvira, the growth of Estudio RVA is also rooted in something personal.
“I have always been deeply attached to Uruguay,” he says. “I wanted to find a way to connect Uruguay with the rest of the world and introduce the country to people who might be able to build a new life here or develop a connection with it in some other way.”
Why Uruguay?
There is no single profile of an American looking at Uruguay.
Estudio RVA works with clients from across the United States. Families account for an important share of that demand, along with retirees considering where they might spend the next stage of their lives.
Their circumstances vary, but Ruvira says the conversations often return to similar themes.
“Many of the people we speak with are looking for peace, stability and quality of life,” he says. “They want to know that there is somewhere else where they could build a comfortable life if they decided to.”
For some, the decision begins with a degree of dissatisfaction with their current environment. For others, there is no immediate intention to leave the United States.
What they want is optionality. Many Americans who contact RVA are not initially planning a permanent relocation to Uruguay. They are establishing a second residency, exploring another country or creating a long-term alternative for themselves and their families.
Uruguay offers an unusual proposition for that kind of client. It is a politically and institutionally stable democracy. Foreigners can own property in Uruguay without being citizens or legal residents, and the country combines a relatively relaxed lifestyle with established legal and financial institutions.
But Ruvira believes institutional features explain only part of Uruguay’s appeal.
“Uruguay has a particular way of life that is difficult to communicate until you actually experience it,” he says. “There is a sense of peace here. Life moves at a different pace, and for many of our clients that becomes increasingly valuable.”
His view is not merely professional.
“I meet people through my work who have the ability to choose where they want to live,” Ruvira says. “Personally, I would not choose to live anywhere else.”
Residency is often just the beginning
Most relationships between RVA and its American clients begin with legal residency.
For many foreign nationals establishing ties with Uruguay, the residency process also provides a path to obtaining a Uruguayan identity card, known as the cédula de identidad. The cédula is an important practical milestone that makes it considerably easier to interact with local institutions and becomes part of everyday life in the country.
But obtaining residency and actually building a life in Uruguay are two different things.
“For us, residency is often just the beginning of the relationship,” Ruvira says. “Clients initially come to us because they want their residency and their Uruguayan ID. Once they start spending time here, the questions become much broader.”
Where should they live? Should they rent or buy? How does the local banking system work? What healthcare options are available? Where should their children go to school? What happens if they want to move a business or establish a company in Uruguay? What are the tax implications of spending more time in the country?
Those questions pushed RVA beyond its original immigration practice.
The firm now assists international clients across immigration, relocation, real estate, corporate, tax, legal and notarial matters. The aim is to give foreign clients a single professional team in Uruguay capable of coordinating the different issues that arise as their connection with the country develops.
In practice, Ruvira says, most clients who establish a significant connection with Uruguay ultimately require more than one service.
Some obtain residency and do nothing further. Others establish local banking relationships or spend several months each year in the country. Some purchase property. Others relocate their families or bring businesses and investments to Uruguay.
And occasionally, a backup plan becomes something else entirely.
When plan B becomes plan A
Ruvira recalls a married couple from New York who first approached Uruguay with a familiar objective.
They wanted a Plan B.
They began their residency process without having decided to permanently leave the United States. Uruguay was an alternative, a country where they could establish legal status and know they had the option of living in the future.
Then they came to Uruguay.
The trip was originally tied to the start of their residency process, but experiencing the country firsthand changed the conversation.
“They came with the idea of having Uruguay as an option,” Ruvira recalls. “After being here, meeting people and experiencing what everyday life was like, they started thinking about staying. Their Plan B started becoming their Plan A.”
RVA has seen versions of that story repeatedly.
For Ruvira, it points to an important part of Uruguay’s appeal. The country can be researched from abroad, but much of what attracts foreigners to Uruguay has to be experienced directly.
Montevideo offers the infrastructure of a capital city while maintaining a comparatively relaxed pace. Coastal communities extend east toward Punta del Este and beyond. Distances are manageable, and everyday life can feel distinctly removed from the intensity of much larger metropolitan areas.
“The first visit is often when the idea becomes real,” Ruvira says. “There is a big difference between reading about Uruguay and imagining yourself actually living here.”
What relocation looks like after the paperwork
For those who decide to make the move, immigration paperwork is only one part of the process.
That realization led RVA to develop dedicated relocation and soft landing services alongside its legal work.
In one recent case, the firm’s team assisted a family through the practical stages of establishing themselves in Uruguay. That included helping them explore different neighborhoods, secure a rental property, evaluate schools for their children, obtain local healthcare coverage and establish local banking relationships.
Individually, these are ordinary tasks. Managing all of them at once in an unfamiliar country is considerably more complicated.
That is the problem the firm’s relocation practice is intended to address.
“A successful relocation is not simply about receiving an approval from immigration authorities,” Ruvira says. “It is about reaching the point where you can actually live normally in the country.”
Local guidance can be especially valuable because Uruguay’s administrative system is not always intuitive for newcomers.
Ruvira is candid about that.
“Uruguay is a wonderful country, but unfortunately not every administrative process is designed in the most intuitive way for a foreigner,” he says. “Whether someone works with us or another local professional, having people on the ground who understand how things work can make a very significant difference.”
He also sees the residency process as something more than a bureaucratic requirement.
“For many foreigners, this is their first real interaction with Uruguay,” he says. “I think it is very important that it is an excellent one.”
A different kind of international practice
As RVA’s client base has become increasingly international, the firm’s work has evolved around a practical reality: foreign clients rarely experience immigration, real estate, banking, tax and legal issues as separate categories.
A family moving to Uruguay experiences them all at once.
An entrepreneur establishing residency may later need a company. A retiree exploring the country may eventually buy an apartment. A family obtaining a second residency may decide two years later to relocate permanently.
RVA’s model has developed around those overlapping needs.
Estudio RVA combines its legal and notarial practice with ResidenciasUy, its immigration and relocation division, and a real estate practice that assists international clients looking to purchase or invest in property in Uruguay.
Despite the firm’s growth, Ruvira says he remains personally involved in the matters that pass through RVA.
That involvement is tied to the reason he began working with international clients in the first place.
“What I enjoy most is seeing the relationship people develop with Uruguay,” he says. “Sometimes they contact us knowing almost nothing about the country. Then they come here, obtain residency, start spending time here and eventually build a completely new part of their lives in Uruguay.”
Building a connection with Uruguay
Not every American obtaining Uruguayan residency will move permanently. Nor is that necessarily the objective.
Some want a second residence. Some want geographic diversification. Some are considering retirement. Others are looking for a different environment in which to raise a family, invest or establish a business.
What connects many of them is the desire to have another option.
For Matías Ruvira, helping create that option has become the central purpose of the practice he started in 2021.
“Uruguay is a peaceful country with an exceptional quality of life,” he says. “At a time when the world can feel increasingly unpredictable, I think that is exactly what many people are searching for.”
And for some Americans arriving with a Plan B, the biggest surprise may be realizing they no longer see Uruguay as the backup.
About Estudio RVA
Estudio RVA is a boutique law firm based in Montevideo, Uruguay, founded by attorney and notary Matías Ruvira Pérez del Castillo. The firm assists international clients with residency, immigration, relocation, real estate, corporate, tax, legal and notarial matters. Through its specialized practice ResidenciasUy, Estudio RVA helps individuals and families establish a legal and practical connection with Uruguay, providing personalized support throughout the relocation process and beyond.
Media ContactCompany Name: Estudio RVAContact Person: Press OfficeEmail: Send EmailCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://rva.com.uy/en/home/
