I will say, getting my Uruguayan National Drivers license was painless and quick, but through ignorance took me almost 2 years being in this country to get!
When we first arrived in this country we had a facilitator help us through the process of getting our Permanent Cedulas. I do and did appreciate being hand- held during all the steps it took, to receive this document. Not speaking any Spanish, overwhelmed with moving to a new country, a new hemisphere and not knowing the streets etc... was stressful enough, so yeah, I could now after 2 years probably do it all by myself but it was a benefit to me back then to receive help.
As most of you know moving to a new country involves lots and lots of paperwork, I even had to get our marriage license "translated" into a Uruguayan one, also my birth certificate, our immigration guide Peter, helped everything go smoothly. The problem was with the word "translation". Marriage and birth certificates do need a translation and years ago US citizens could get USA drivers' licenses translated like the other documents, but the US Embassy now no longer helps provide this. I was told, I would need to start all over again and take a "REAL" drivers test, Practical and written and all in Spanish (which I don't speak). So I procrastinated, my original Washington State License was expiring and I was fast approaching one year of residency and still thinking why bother if I have to take the basic tests anyway?
The final advance preparation in getting my Uruguayian Drivers license involved my getting a small "okay to drive" examine from one of the approved clinics used for this Driving purpose. We tried a nearby SUAT Clinic but they said MVD was where we had to go. They said, we would need to call first and make an appointment (an Hora) not true. I took the #21 bus from the Geant Mall down to the SUAT clinic located in the Futbol Stadium and just asked for "the examine needed to obtain a drivers license"(Licensia de conducir) and immediately filled out some paper work then I went downstairs to be examined. It was a piece of cake! The Doctor asked me if I needed glasses, wore contact lenses or had any health problems. I said no! Then he took my blood pressure, next he had me cover each eye, then while he pointed at an eye chart I said the letter he pointed at out loud. Finally the funniest test was the Hearing Test! The Doctor goes behind a screen an "whispers" a few numbers (like 1, 7, 6 Etc...) and you have to repeat it, first covering one ear then the other! He even spoke the numbers in English for me to make it less stressful/confusing which it wasn't. He wished me well, I went upstairs and paid $461 Pesos and was given the necessary paperwork to bring to the DMV Bureau.
I don't know if it's because I'm younger than Wally or because I had that renewed Washington State license but My Uruguayan license is valid till the year 2020! unlike Wally's D. License which (this first time) is only good for 2 years! (2011) Next time he can apply for a 10 year one. Great for me!
Well this account of MY Turn, didn't take 2 days to blog but was so detailed it probably felt like it, so here's a photo taken outside of City Hall I thought you'd appreciate. It's me of course showing you my Drivers License! What else would you be looking at?
Hello there. One question, how does the new uruguayan tax system will hit you, if at all, now that uruguayan residents are expected to pay taxes on deposits and/or goods they might have abroad?
ReplyDeleteLook up, look way up....it's it's..... just a statue..!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this - I finally went through the process, and found it relatively painless (the word they stamp is 'homologación' by the way. But mine is good only for two years - odd.
ReplyDelete~ doc