The residence papers expediter / facilitator scam

In the past couple of years I have come to see two different expediters, or facilitators, extolled as the greatest thing since slice bread -- the last Coca-Cola in the desert, as a former boss would say -- only to find out later about the extremely unfortunate experiences undergone by perfectly nice, normal and smart people who have placed their trust in them to help them get their residence papers.

Many of the victims, as it happened, acted on recommendations found online from other expats who had used the services of these expediters. In some instances, the initial experiences were very positive, but later ones poor or disastrous.

Let me put this in context. A few years ago, the figure of the "expediter/facilitator" did not exist as such in Uruguay. Too few people settled here to warrant dedicated specialists. For staff of multinationals, there were always the law firms engaged as legal counsel by the companies. 

Every since the recent influx of expats, combined with the marvels of the Internet, an email address, a cell-phone and a few hours prowling the expat forums and gatherings was enough to launch several expediters´careers, in the cases that most concern us, as fleecers of foreigners. 

Bad experiences go from the petty, like being made to pay for unreasonably lavish meals while on meetings, to plain annoyance, like never really getting your papers in order. 

But it gets worse, down to outright legal and financial disasters, such as being conned by a husband-and-wife team into dubious real-estate purchases with the helpful services of a shadier still escribana. Or going through the unimaginable hell of having your deceased husband´s and your own identity papers taken hostage -- no ransom asked -- by the expediter at the time of your spouse´s death, resulting in a complete logistic and financial shut-down.

Our friend Eddie has written a very detailed article on the issue of obtaining residence, and why the facilitator services are not an absolute necessity. Still, for those who want or need the hand-holding or the convenience of delegating as much as possible of the process, I would go as far as advising to abstain from engaging anyone who does not have a proper business setup, with physical offices, and preferrably another line of business as well. 


That way, you will be ensuring you are not just a dollar or euro dispenser on legs, to be milked for all you have and who knows what else, but rather seen as a "business relationship" to cherish and cultivate for future business. A very active member of the Punta del Este expat community would fit that bill (she has an expatriate services firm, as well as being a partner in a real-estate firm), as would any reputable law firm willing to handle this process for you. 

And if you want to do it on your own, all you need, if you don´t speak great Spanish, is to have someone go with you as an interpreter to one or two interviews. That is, after you have gathered all the required documentation, had it stamped and sealed as demanded by authorities here, authenticated etc. in the Uruguayan consulates in your home country.