What salary can one get in Uruguay? This is a question relevant for many potential immigrants that selected the Latin American Republic for temporary or permanent residence.
Uruguay is an attractive country for relocation. It will offer expats a stable economy, well-developed infrastructure, high-quality healthcare, a mild climate, stunning beaches, and much more.
Residence and citizenship processes are quite straightforward, and each person will find a good option. The crime rate is low, and Uruguay is in general considered one of the safest destinations in South America.
However, relocation is just the first step. If you want to live in comfort, you need to have a permanent source of income. And if this is passive income that never fails, like in the case of pensioners or rentiers, you are safe – otherwise, you will have to think about employment in a new state or starting your business.
It would be useful to see which amount of income to aspire to in order to live a quiet comfortable life without a shortage of money and compelled restriction of your needs. What salary is paid in Uruguay today? What job can a non-resident get? Who gets the highest salary?
In addition to Uruguay, we have a number of other offers in Europe, in the Middle East, or offshore jurisdictions. Get your citizenship by investment as Plan B or obtain a residence permit in affordable countries like Serbia to be close to Europe – and we will provide all the help you need! Contact our specialists to book a session – we help to choose a suitable jurisdiction for free!
FREE EXPERT CONSULTATION
on economic citizenship programs,
how to choose a jurisdiction
and get a foreign passport.
on economic citizenship programs, how to choose a jurisdiction and get a foreign passport.
Cost of Living Matters
Uruguay is a wonderful country located on the Atlantic coast that is open for starting your business and permanent residence for the majority of foreigners. Today you can obtain a residence permit and Uruguayan citizenship. But it is important not just to relocate to faraway countries but also to provide for financial expenses that may be beyond your ability to handle.
Reference: in 2023, the minimum salary in Uruguay is USD 540 (21,106 Uruguayan pesos), and the average salary in the country is USD 970. According to analysts, the monthly expenses per person will make up about UYU 60,553 (USD 1,540).
One of the best solutions is to register a company in Uruguay or get a rentier visa available for wealthy people with a stable income from USD 1,500 per month from foreign sources. Foreign retirees with the same level of income as rentiers will not be short of funds, either.
However, foreign retirees have to invest in the country’s real estate or securities from USD 100,000 to obtain the right to a residence permit in Uruguay.
We propose you to take a look at our offers in Uruguay and use the professionals’ services. We will help you open a bank account abroad, buy real estate, get a residence permit, register a company, and find the best objects for investment!
How Can a Foreigner Find a Job in Uruguay?
If you want to get employment in Uruguay, you will need to complete a number of formalities. By default, foreigners do not need to get a work permit in Uruguay. However, if you want to get a job, you need to have an ID document of the Republic of Uruguay.
What can you do if you have a residence permit but you are planning to work in the Latin American jurisdiction? In this case, Uruguay’s Ministry of Labor and Social Security allows a foreigner to be employed even if he or she does not have a Uruguayan ID document. But this is a short-term work permit that will last while you are getting a residence permit in Uruguay. In the future, you will have to provide an ID document and get your salary from the employer on a perfectly legal basis.
Reference: unlike other developed countries, Uruguay does not offer an employment program that gives the right to a residence permit. Also, you cannot obtain citizenship or the right to permanent residence by investing in real estate (except for retirees) or securities of the state.
Salary in Uruguay by Professions and Industries in 2023
How much do Uruguayan employers pay their employees in 2023?
- The average salary in Uruguay is 830 euros.
- The average salary in microcompanies is 550 euros.
- If you are working in a small enterprise (under 100 full-time employees), the salary in Uruguay is on average 750 euros a month.
- If a company has more than 100 employees, employers pay on average about 1,000 euros.
- The largest salaries in Uruguay are paid to the employees of large companies that have at least 250 full-time employees (1160 euros).
Highly-qualified specialists (foreigners included) working in international companies get the highest salaries in Uruguay. In 2023, such structures offer remuneration from 1,500 to 10,000 euros and more – depending on the profession.
Now we will talk about average salaries across the countries in different industries. The information was collected from several sources, including the pages of the National Statistics Institute (INE) and open sources. We also took into account the feedback of citizens living in Uruguay.
Salary in the Sphere of Education in Uruguay
The average salary paid to teachers and lecturers in Uruguay is 560 euros and more. The highest remuneration is paid to university lecturers (from 1150 euros), while a school teacher earns about 850 euros a month.
IT Specialists: Salary in Uruguay
IT specialists have a higher income than on average in the country:
- Software Developer: €1,520
- Java Developer: €1,490
- iOS Developer: €1,350
- Data Processing Specialist: €1,300
Highly-skilled IT specialists can earn much more, of course. According to the data presented by a consulting company in Uruguay, multinational (or international) companies provide the following remuneration to technical specialists:
- System or IT Manager – from 227,556 to 341,334 Uruguayan pesos (from 5,125 to 7,688 dollars)
- Software Development Manager – from 422,604 to 455,112 Uruguayan pesos (from 9,519 to 10,251 dollars)
- Head of E-Commerce Development Department – up to 8,054 US dollars
According to the IT specialists that have relocated by now, they found it very easy to get a residence permit and an ID document in Uruguay.
Design
The average salary in the design sphere in Uruguay ranges from 750 to 1010 euros. The remuneration level of other employees amounts to:
- UX/UI Designer – €1010
- Game Designer – €1010
- Interior Designer – €900
- 3D Designer – €840
- Web Designer – €810
If you work remotely as a freelancer, you may have a higher salary and simultaneously live in Uruguay. However, you will need to get a residence permit for that.
Salary Paid to Office Employees in Uruguay
The administrative staff and office employees in Uruguay get on average 800–1100 euros a month if they are employed by an ordinary republican institution. If they get a job in a large international company, the remuneration level is higher and may reach 10,000 euros a month.
Medicine
The average salary of medical workers in Uruguay ranges between 570 and 2,000 euros. For example, a Head Doctor receives 2,000 euros, and the Head of the Department — 1,600 euros. In the times of the pandemic, the vacancies of medical workers were the most relevant ones, and a doctor could get 5,000 euros and more.
Retail
An average labor remuneration in the retail industry in Uruguay is 700 euros. A sales manager receives 900 euros, a store manager — 820 euros, and a car salesman gets about 790 euros a month.
If you get employment in a large world-level car trade corporation, for instance, the salaries of procurement specialists will be as follows:
- Procurement manager receives a salary of up to 6,000 US dollars
- Coordinator of customer support service gets 2,000 US dollars and more
- Operations manager should get at least 8,000 US dollars if we rely on the promises of consulting companies
Reference: the salaries mentioned here and later on (above the average ones in the country) are not the official information provided by the National Statistics Office of Uruguay. They are provided by consulting agencies and international employers in Uruguay.
Beauty Sphere
As for the beauty sphere in Uruguay, the salaries here are not very high, but they are not low, either. For example, a massage therapist receives from 880 euros a month, while a private practitioner (an on-site therapist or the one working in his or her salon) can get up to 5,000 euros and more. A fitness coach gets from 880 euros, while a hairdresser’s salary comes up to about 900 euros.
Production
An engineer is one of the most demanded occupations in Uruguay as it is relevant in the car industry, computer sector, agroindustrial complex, construction, etc. The salaries of such highly-qualified specialists may reach the following indicators:
- Factory Manager – from 201,550 to 260,064 Uruguayan pesos (4,539 and 5,857 US dollars)
- Chief Engineer – from 113,778 to 169,042 Uruguayan pesos (2,562 and 3,807 US dollars)
However, according to the official statistics, the level of salary in the production and engineering sphere in Uruguay in 2023 is different from the remuneration a good specialist can get in a world-class corporation:
- Operation Engineer – from €980
- Chief Engineer – from €920
- Design Engineer – from €910
If you want to have a really good salary after relocation to Uruguay, it is better to find a relevant vacancy in advance and study the real feedback of employees.
Working Staff Without a Profession
In 2023, the minimum salary in Uruguay (including for workers without any profession) cannot be lower than USD 540. But this labor remuneration is not always sufficient for a foreigner who wants to live a comfortable life, and you will have to find an additional source of income. Today the working staff in Uruguay receives the following salaries:
- Packer – €610
- Waiter – €580
- Call Center Operator – €570
- Printer – €570
- Loader – €540
If you want to get a job in Uruguay, you will need to know Spanish. English is not enough.
What Professions Are in Demand in Uruguay?
Work offers in Uruguay are mainly connected with the sphere of technologies as the country currently lacks these specialists.
Here are some professions that tend to migrate from Uruguay on a major scale in 2023:
- E-commerce Sphere Specialists
- System Analysts
- Customer Support Service Employees
- Marketing Specialists
- PR Specialists
- Programmers
- Professionals in the Information Technologies Area
- Web Developers
- Communication and Telephony Specialists
- Accounting Analysts, and other professions
However, even if you officially fill one of the vacancies, the level of salary will not always correspond to the cost of living in the country. And the best option in this situation is to have a passive additional/main income or create a personal business in Uruguay.
In the first case (passive income) you can invest abroad, own securities, or receive dividends from a share in the foreign business. Other good options include real estate (rent, sale) and remote work (freelance) for a foreign employer.
Is Uruguay Suitable for Life and Business?
In conclusion, we would like to note that Uruguay is one of the most expensive countries in Latin America, but the prices are not higher than in Paris, for example. The main criterion that makes it possible to assess how expensive life is will be your income and the amount of capital.
You can take a very long time trying to figure out the best and most comfortable option, and there is no guarantee that you will find a place that combines low taxes, a comfortable climate, and a suitable mentality.
If you want to make the right choice or at least know what to find and where, please carefully study all the countries open for immigration (depending on the current country) and use the assistance of experienced specialists of our international portal. Contact us at info@offshore-pro.info.
