The following information was provided to the DIRB an official with the Uruguayan embassy in a 8 September 1995 interview.

The cedula is the official identity card of every Uruguayan citizen. The cedula includes the citizen's name, address, birthdate, birthplace, fingerprints, photo and signature. It has a seven digit code number that allows the authorities to differentiate a Uruguyan born citizen from a naturalized one. The cedula is mandatory and its number remains the same throughout the owner's life. The same number is assigned to the replacement cedula if the original is lost. The official stated that in order to register any changes in address and to take a new photograph, the cedula must be renewed every 10 years, but the source could not confirm until what age this practice must be followed. Hence, a cedula is reissued or renewed only if it has been lost or if it has reached its ten year limit.

A voter registration (credencial civica) is issued when a citizen reaches 18 years of age, the legal age to vote in Uruguay. This registration needs to be shown at the "electoral
table" (mesa electoral) at election time and is obtained at the "electoral court" (Corte electoral). The number of the voter registration is composed of three letters and a several-digit indicating the district of the citizen. This number remains the same throughout the citizen's life.

A Uruguayan passport is valid has a duration of 5 years. A new passport has to be issued in case it is lost. The documents required to obtain a passport are the cedula, the voter registration for those over 18 and a "certificate of good behavior" (acto de buena conducta) showing no criminal record.

The source stated that the cedula number appears in the passport, but could not indicate whether it also appears in the voter registration. The source told the DIRB that the Ministry of the Interior decided to begin the policy of indicating the number of the cedula in the passport in 1994. The DIRB could not obtain information on the current status of this policy.

Information on the documents mentioned in this Response can also be found in Responses to Information Request URY15864.E of 30 November 1993 and URY12149 of 5 November 1992, available at your Regional Documentation Centre.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to
be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Embassy of the Republic of Uruguay, Ottawa. 8 September 1995. Interview with an official.