Strange Request From A Potential Employeer In Uruguay

[sleslie23]

Hi BAExpats,

Since many of you have a lot of experience traveling from country to country with work, I'll share a little anecdote with you to get your opinion.

I've recently been negotiating with a US company (medium-size, IT) that has an office in Montevideo. They approached me via Linked-In. My specific job function practically doesn't exist in South America, so they have been looking for someone for over 8 months.

All the interviews and negotiations with people in the US went well. I was happy with the people and company in general. And, most importantly, they met my somewhat high (for Uruguay) salary requirements. They made a verbal offer over the phone, which I accepted. All that remains was setting the start date and signing a written offer.

Now things begin to get weird. In order to set a start date, I have to begin the immigration process in Uruguay. This was a surprise because it requires me to take time off, travel to Uruguay out-of-pocket, and spend two days going to various appointments. Not ideal to have to take time off from my current job, but it's cool, because they offered a decent amount of relocation money.

They send me the requirements for immigration, one of which is that I have an address in Uruguay. I don't but asked if I can use their office. No, it has to be an address. "Can you stay with friends?" I don't have friends in Uruguay. "Oh, then you'll have to rent an apartment here." How can I rent an apartment in Montevideo when don't even have a formal job offer. "I understand, but migrations (sic) is a government agency and they aren't very flexible."

It seems absurd that their immigration process is for me to "stay with friends" or rent an apartment before I even have a job and probably 2 months before I would even start if I did. All my interaction with the US was pleasant and professional, but the Uruguayan HR team seems disfunctional to a degree that makes Argentina seem sane. I may be desperate to not be paid in AR pesos, but not THAT desperate.

Sorry for writing a book. I needed to get this off my chest. And I'm curious to see what you think.

 

[ajoknoblauch]

Hi BAExpats,

Since many of you have a lot of experience traveling from country to country with work, I'll share a little anecdote with you to get your opinion.

I've recently been negotiating with a US company (medium-size, IT) that has an office in Montevideo. They approached me via Linked-In. My specific job function practically doesn't exist in South America, so they have been looking for someone for over 8 months.

All the interviews and negotiations with people in the US went well. I was happy with the people and company in general. And, most importantly, they met my somewhat high (for Uruguay) salary requirements. They made a verbal offer over the phone, which I accepted. All that remains was setting the start date and signing a written offer.

Now things begin to get weird. In order to set a start date, I have to begin the immigration process in Uruguay. This was a surprise because it requires me to take time off, travel to Uruguay out-of-pocket, and spend two days going to various appointments. Not ideal to have to take time off from my current job, but it's cool, because they offered a decent amount of relocation money.

They send me the requirements for immigration, one of which is that I have an address in Uruguay. I don't but asked if I can use their office. No, it has to be an address. "Can you stay with friends?" I don't have friends in Uruguay. "Oh, then you'll have to rent an apartment here." How can I rent an apartment in Montevideo when don't even have a formal job offer. "I understand, but migrations (sic) is a government agency and they aren't very flexible."

It seems absurd that their immigration process is for me to "stay with friends" or rent an apartment before I even have a job and probably 2 months before I would even start if I did. All my interaction with the US was pleasant and professional, but the Uruguayan HR team seems disfunctional to a degree that makes Argentina seem sane. I may be desperate to not be paid in AR pesos, but not THAT desperate.

Sorry for writing a book. I needed to get this off my chest. And I'm curious to see what you think.

No expert on this matter, but I think you can use even a temporary address, such as a hotel or a short-term rental apartment such as http://www.bremenmontevideo.com. I haven't stayed there for some years but, when I did, they were extremely helpful.

 

[germano]

They send me the requirements for immigration, one of which is that I have an address in Uruguay. I don't but asked if I can use their office. No, it has to be an address. "Can you stay with friends?" I don't have friends in Uruguay. "Oh, then you'll have to rent an apartment here." How can I rent an apartment in Montevideo when don't even have a formal job offer. "I understand, but migrations (sic) is a government agency and they aren't very flexible."

Probably because they want to go through the local immigrations office and not through the consular process from abroad. That probably requires you to be in the country and therefore have an address. I have no experience with Uruguay but had a similar experience in another Latin American country.

 

[arlean]

SLeslie23, I hate to say anything really bad about Uruguay because it's a nice country but as far as I'm concerned the immigration process could challenge your sanity. I know there's plenty of hype about how easy it is but I say . . . . NOT! Well, if you're a retiree with none of the challenges you mention, perhaps it is. I could tell you some stories, but I think if you persist you can work things out.

I suggest you go to www.totaluruguay.com and tell them this story and ask for suggestions, You can mention Arlean from Four Flags Journal if you want . . . or not. They are really resourceful and someone should be able to help you--like just let you use their address for example. If that fails, I could ask my own acquaintances for you but since we've never met, probably best for you to ask. I hope you get back and let us know how it goes. Uruguay is really trying to set themselves up as an international IT center so it sounds great to me. I'm so sorry you're running into this ridiculousness with immigrations but I assure you there is more where that came from!

 

[citygirl]

Circle back with the US people and have them run interference for you. If they want you, they should be helping to facilitate the process.

 

[artigas]

sleslie23
Yes, everything you were told by your prospective employer makes sense here in Uruguay logic. First of all, getting a work permit is almost impossible, it will take many, many months, if not years. On the other hand as soon as you submit some basic immigration documents, you will be eligible to work immediately here, although it will take well over a year of repeated frustration before you actually ever receive your legal cedula. Its the way they weed out non-serious from committed would be Uruguayos. Uruguay bureaucracy is as bad as Argentina’s, but even worst when you consider that you can not bribe anyone nor will any “fixer” or “lawyer” be able to expedite your case. There are no work arounds here, its just following the rules, no matter how absurd, repetitive or contradictory they may be. It is unlikely that your prospective employer will want to deal with them at all. Along with basic documentation (pretty much the same as in Argentina), you will need an address here, and yes, immigration may and will likely visit you there to verify, so your employer can not really help. This is Uruguay, the trade off is that you will get paid in hard currency, pay top dollar for low quality everything and waste plenty of time and effort on mindless bureaucracy. So if the job is worth it, and you want to work here, rent a cheap place and look at it as an investment in your career upgrade. Contrary to popular belief, Uruguay is not an easier, hard currency version of Argentina, it is a conservative, bureaucratic inward looking socialist state which doesn't particularly want or need gringos, high tech or any fancy new ideas at all, just bring your dollars, enjoy the beach and then kindly go home. Good Luck.

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[ajoknoblauch]

sleslie23
Yes, everything you were told by your prospective employer makes sense here in Uruguay logic. First of all, getting a work permit is almost impossible, it will take many, many months, if not years. On the other hand as soon as you submit some basic immigration documents, you will be eligible to work immediately here, although it will take well over a year of repeated frustration before you actually ever receive your legal cedula. Its the way they weed out non-serious from committed would be Uruguayos. Uruguay bureaucracy is as bad as Argentina’s, but even worst when you consider that you can not bribe anyone nor will any “fixer” or “lawyer” be able to expedite your case. There are no work arounds here, its just following the rules, no matter how absurd, repetitive or contradictory they may be. It is unlikely that your prospective employer will want to deal with them at all. Along with basic documentation (pretty much the same as in Argentina), you will need an address here, and yes, immigration may and will likely visit you there to verify, so your employer can not really help. This is Uruguay, the trade off is that you will get paid in hard currency, pay top dollar for low quality everything and waste plenty of time and effort on mindless bureaucracy. So if the job is worth it, and you want to work here, rent a cheap place and look at it as an investment in your career upgrade. Contrary to popular belief, Uruguay is not an easier, hard currency version of Argentina, it is a conservative, bureaucratic inward looking socialist state which doesn't particularly want or need gringos, high tech or any fancy new ideas at all, just bring your dollars, enjoy the beach and then kindly go home. Good Luck.

Would you rather Uruguay were a corrupt patronage state like Argentina? For what it's worth, I did get coima'd by Uruguayan cops once when I inadvertently exceeded the speed limit.

 

[ghost]

Would you rather Uruguay were a corrupt patronage state like Argentina? For what it's worth, I did get coima'd by Uruguayan cops once when I inadvertently exceeded the speed limit.

Are you kidding "I inadvertently exceed the speed limit" in the driveway in Uruguay

 

[artigas]

Ajoknoblauch

I would prefer that both Uruguay and Argentina were countries with the rule of just, benevolent and reasonable laws. But we live in the world we live in. Corruption in Argentina is not some peculiar moral aberration, it is a coping mechanism suited to help people navigate the bizzare system of ill thought out bureaucratic and populist laws which inhibit the most basic functions of daily life. In Uruguay, the same laws exist, but the coping mechanism is different, it is the granting of non cash favours within the extended family. As Uruguay is small and family networks large, it works for those ( although it has its own costs) Uruguayans plugged into the system from birth. As a foreigner living here, you do not have that coping mechanism available to you, nor do you have the cash based system of Argentina, you are in the worst of both worlds. Its one thing to read international corruption indexes, or to pass through as a tourist, quite another to live and work in that world.

 

[sleslie23]

I definitely, though at the time unknowingly, benefited from the system of bribes in Argentina. The attorneys that my original company hired had "people" in the immigration office. Other than the first appointment to get my DNI, I never went to a single tramite and processes that were supposed to take two months took only 2 weeks. I would just leave my passport and DNI at the attorney's office and go back in a couple of days to pick them up.

Flash forward a few years. A new company and a new attorney. I had to go in person and spend hours and the "fixers" this attorney hired just sat and stared blankly at the walls. They made a small mistake in the paperwork, and it took me an extra 9 months to get my permanent residency. Well, actually 1 year and 9 months, but that's another story.

I would see the "fixer" from the original attorney. When she entered the building she would walk behind the desk besando all of the employees who worked there.