By Montevideo Attorney, Mark Teuten

This week we continue the article that we begin last week about bringing your gold into Uruguay.Several readers have asked questions about how things work in practice, particularly in cases where one wants to declare more than 10,000 US dollars.

On your arrival in Uruguay you will need to complete a customs form that may be given to you in the airplane or is available in the room where you stand in line to get your passport checked and stamped. The form  includes a declaration as to the amount of cash, traveler’s checks, or precious metals being imported.

In the case of amounts over 10,000 US dollars, you should tick the box marked “Si” (Yes) and in the section A 1 and 2 below include the market value of those items.


Once you have brought the gold into the country there are safe deposit boxes available in many banks, some exchange houses, and companies specializing in offering safe deposit boxes.

The alternative to bringing in a quantity of gold (or cash or other precious metals) personally is to arrange for a professional carrier to bring them in. I understand that people have had good experiences with a company called VIA MAT. As a professional service, though, they are subject to the Central Bank controls referred to in my previous article, so that certain information will have to be supplied before shipping is possible.

Mark Teuten, Teuten Abogados
Montevideo – Uruguay
Tel: + (598 2) 9088638