Chile visas and residence permits for Indians and Bangladeshis: Brief on all catagories

Chile has a high-income economy. It is one of the Latin America`s stable and prosperous countries with GDP $ 23,500 (2015 est.). Click for info Successive Chilean Governments have actively pursued trade liberalizing agreements. Rightnow, the immigration policies of Chile has been modernized and updated. Any foreign-born citizen interested to enter Chile for tourism, business or settlement has to  undergo a systematic process. All types of visas both entry visas and residence permits are online.

         

Contact for details on updated visa information. Chile Embassy in New Delhi
Embassy address: A16/1 Vasant Vihar 110057 New Delhi, India Telephone: +91 11 43100400 Fax: +91 11 43100431

Entry visas to Chile:

Tourist Visa: Chile entry visa may be simple or multiple depending on the motive of the visa applicant. The motive may be tourism, business, health care, sports, religious or similar purpose. The applicant is not entitled to work in Chile. To qualify this type of visa, the applicant must possess a valid passport, economic solvency, invitation letter / sponsor letter from a person or from a company (Chilean or a foreigner with Chilean residence permit with Chilean ID). The Chilean consulate may ask for more documents depending on the case. 

Visa on work contract: This type of visa is issued to persons who has a legal and valid work contract with Chilean company. Normally this visa is granted for a duration of one year renewable for another year leading to permanent residence while in Chile. The requirements of work permit visa are notarised and legalized work contract from Chile, medical certificate, passport, letter from employer justifying the hiring. Work permit visa is a residence permit.

Other entry visas: Chile entry visas are also issued to relious people, artists, sportsmen, investor, family people and students. For each case the general requirements are same. Apart from the general requirements, the consulate will ask for specific documents. 

For updated information please refer to the link: Click for info

How to apply:  At first the visa applicant has to register with the Chile Ministry of Foreign Affairs website following the link. Apply for Chile visa  The applicant has to enter all requested data correctly and authentically. It should be mentioned that all information will be saved into the ministry archive.
After applying online, the applicant may track the status. When informed, the applicant has to visit the consulate with all original documents along with passport for an interview. After that, the applicant has to wait. If the visa is approved, the term "PAYABLE" can be viewed in the status bar of the registered webpage. That means, the applicant has to visit the consulate immediately to receive a payment slip for paying the visa fee in the bank. After payment and submitting the bank deposit slip to the consulate, the visa will be delivered within two to three days. Chile visa is valid for ninely days. It means the visa holder must enter Chilean territory within 90 days counting from the date of issuance of the visa.

Temporary Residence Permit (TR): If someone enters Chile with a tourist or business visa other than a residence visa, he is entitled to apply for a residence permit while in Chile. There are many catagories for applying residence permit application.

Work contract and work permit: This is one of the most flexible system. The applicant has to grab a job in a Chilean company. There are available advocates and deed writers (contador) who are legally authorised to prepare a work contract. The contract has to be prepared with the established format of Chilean Ministry of Labour and be signed by both employer and worker in front of a Notary public. After signing, the temporary visa application should be submitted to the immigration office before the expiry of the existing visa (minimum 15 days before) to avoid any problem. Documents that will be necessary are copy of passport, existing visa copy, three color photo with name, filled in application and other specefic documents indicated in the checklist. The catagories of temporary residence are :
- Tourist visa to Temporary residence visa
- Tourist visa to Student visa
- Tourist visa to Business visa
- And many more.

For updated information on Chilean Residence permit, please follow the links: Residence with work contract     Temporary Residence Permit

Important facts for residence permit / visa applicants: 1. Even if the applicant`s existing visa is expired for any reason, he can still apply for residence permit. In this case, he must contact the related Ministry (Intendencia) to explain the reason for being irregular. The office will impose a fine (approximately 150 USD depending on the days). The fine is payable at a local bank.

2. Original passport is NOT to be submitted while applying for a residence permit. After applying, the immigration will issue a form sealed, signed and numbered along with the applicant`s photo. This is valid for 4 months. With this document the applicant may exit from or enter into Chile multiple times. While the application is in process, the applicant must NOT stay more than 90 days outside Chile lest the application should be cancelled automatically.

After applying, the status of the residence visa can be traced online. Within 4 months (normally), the visa will be approved provided all taxes are regularly paid and other documents are authentic. After approval, a bank voucher can be viewed online that should be downloaded and printed. After paying the fees as per the voucher, original passport alongwith the payment voucher should be submitted to the immigration for stamping of residence permit. It will take at least one week to get the visa stamped.

Chile ID card: After the stamping of residence permit, it must be registered with the PDI International Police within 30 days of the visa issuance. The PDI office will issue a certificate. Then the visa holder must go to Civil Registration office for Chilean ID (carnet). It will take 15 days to get the carnet. For more info on Chilean ID card, please follow the link: Chile ID for foreigners info

Chile Permanent Residence (PR): Temporary residence permit holder should apply for a permanent residence before the expiry of the temporary residence visa. Work permit visa holder has to wait for two years while temporary residence visa holder has to wait for one year for applying for permanent visa. In each case visa must be applied before expiry of visa. Permanent Residence info

Note: This is a general and primary information of Chilean Entry, residence permit rules. For updated information please visit the immigration link: Residence permit info details

IF YOU REQUIRE MORE INFORMATION ON ANY SPECEFIC POINT, DON`T HESITATE TO E-MAIL ME AT:  lamithila@gmail.com