Uruguay
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Uruguay considers scrapping witness hearings in the legal citizenship procedure
The Uruguayan Senate is considering a bill that would end the mandatory witness testimony requirement in legal citizenship applications, making documentary evidence the primary standard of proof. The bill, drafted by the Uruguayan Electoral Court (Corte Electoral), amends a 1928 statute that has stood almost unchanged for nearly a century.
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A procedure dating from 1928
Legal citizenship in Uruguay is governed by Law 8,196 of 2 February 1928, which sets out how a foreign national proves the conditions laid down in Article 75 of the Constitution. Those conditions are unchanged: good moral character; an occupation, capital or property in Uruguay; and habitual residence of three years for those with a family established in Uruguay, or five years otherwise.
Under the law as it stands, every applicant must produce a witness to give evidence at a separate hearing. Where a witness cannot recall information about the applicant, the Court must ask for a replacement and schedule a new hearing, leaving applications that are otherwise fully documented waiting.
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Applications up sharply, waits lengthening
According to Subrayado, Electoral Court minister José Garchitorena said that over the past ten years citizenship applications have risen from around 500 a year to more than 2,000. To meet the demand, the Court has increased staffing and devolved the procedure to regional offices.
Such a procedure now takes three to six months once under way. However, according to Subrayado, a representative of the organisation Somos Todos Uruguayos said foreign nationals wait up to a year simply for an appointment to begin the process.
Documents in place of testimony
Garchitorena said the witness is no longer necessary and is often an obstacle for applicants, to the point where the Court repeatedly has to request a replacement. Under the bill, applicants would prove residence and identity through documentary evidence, with witness testimony reduced to a supplementary measure in exceptional cases.
The bill also broadens the definition of family — the factor determining whether the three-year or five-year residence threshold applies — instead of tying the concept mainly to marriage as the 1928 framework does.
Progress through parliament
The Electoral Court drafted the original text and submitted it to Senate President Carolina Cosse, before members from several parties brought it before parliament. The Uruguayan Chamber of Deputies has passed the text and referred it to the Senate, where the Constitution and Legislation Committee is now considering it.
Supporters argue that the bill requires only a simple majority because it amends procedure rather than the conditions for citizenship. Legal citizenship allows foreign nationals to hold a Uruguayan passport and to apply for public sector employment, and brings entry on the National Civic Register three years after it is granted.
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