Overall6.5/10Easier visas than about 65% of cities
Good to know
Good to Know
- For most nomad passports (US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, etc.) Chile is one of the easiest entries in the Americas: passport, onward ticket, done — no application, no fee, no e-visa.
- The old reciprocity fee that Americans, Australians, and others used to pay at the airport was fully abolished years ago — if you read about a $117 or $160 charge at Santiago airport, that information is outdated.
- Keep your paper Tourist Card safe for your entire stay; you must hand it back at departure or risk delays leaving the country.
- If you want more than 90 days in a calendar year, apply for the extension online through SERMIG before your first 90 days run out rather than relying on a border run, since border runs are capped and not treated as a reliable long-term strategy by immigration officers.
- Don't trust every website that advertises a 'Chile Digital Nomad Visa' — the Chilean government has no visa officially branded that way. What you actually apply for is a Temporary Residency permit under the independent-worker subcategory, processed through SERMIG.
- Processing for the temporary residency route is currently running 6–8 months, so start the paperwork well before your tourist stay runs out rather than waiting until you're already in Chile.
- The 3-year (extendable to 6-year) exemption on foreign-source income is one of Chile's biggest quiet advantages for remote workers — it's worth structuring your move to start this clock deliberately.
- Keep a personal log of your entry/exit dates — Chilean tax authorities are known to cross-reference immigration records against the 183-day residency threshold.
- On a straightforward tourist entry, remote work for foreign clients happens in a legal gray zone: it's not technically authorized, though enforcement against laptop-based work is minimal in practice.
Visa Free Entry
- Baseline Rule
- Most nomads enter Chile completely visa-free for tourism, no e-visa or pre-authorization needed for the largest passport groups.
- Entry Process
- On arrival at Santiago (SCL) or any land border, present a passport valid for the duration of stay (six months' remaining validity is commonly recommended). The border officer stamps the passport and issues a paper Tourist Card (Tarjeta de Turismo / Permanencia Transitoria), which records the exact number of days granted.
- Who Qualifies
- Citizens of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, all European Union member states, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and most South American countries (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Mexico) enter as tourists without a visa.
- Official Source
- https://serviciomigraciones.cl/en/permanencia-transitoria-permit/subcategories/tourists/
- Tourist Card Rules
- The Tourist Card must be kept and surrendered at departure; losing it can delay an exit until a replacement is obtained from Chile's International Police (PDI).
- Financial Requirement
- CLP 42,550
Immigration can ask tourists to show sufficient funds for their stay.
- Standard Duration Days
- 90
- Important Caveat For Nomads
- A tourist entry does not authorize any paid work performed for a Chile-based entity, and Chile's 2022 immigration overhaul (Ley 21.325) removed the old path of arriving as a tourist and converting to residency from inside the country — anyone planning to stay long-term or work locally needs to arrange the correct residence category in advance.
Extension Option
- How
- Apply online via Chile's Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG) before the initial 90 days expire for one additional 90-day period, effectively allowing up to 180 days total in a calendar year.
- Cost
- CLP 92,500
- Available
- Yes
- Alternative
- Some travelers do a border run (e.g., to Argentina) and re-enter to receive a fresh 90-day stamp, though this is capped at twice in succession and carries no legal right toward residency and can draw scrutiny from immigration officers.
Notable Exceptions
- Greek passport holders are limited to 60 days visa-free under a reciprocity arrangement, not the standard 90.
- Singaporean citizens get only 30 days visa-free.
- A stay on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is capped at 30 days regardless of nationality, even though mainland Chile allows 90 — this does not affect a Santiago-only stay.
- Some nationalities (per a rule change effective September 17, 2025) now require prior consular authorization before boarding a flight even for short tourist stays — this applies to specific non-Western passports, not the typical nomad passport pool.
Digital Nomad Visa And Tax
- Summary
- Chile has no visa category officially named a 'digital nomad visa.' Third-party visa-services sites sometimes brand Chile's Temporary Residency permit for independent/remote workers as a 'Digital Nomad Visa,' but the Chilean government (Servicio Nacional de Migraciones, SERMIG) does not use this name. The functional equivalent nomads use is the Temporary Residency Visa (Residencia Temporal) under the subcategory for independent workers / lawful remunerated activities, or the Rentista Visa for people living on passive income.
- Visa Ease Tier
- moderate
- Visa Ease Tier Rationale
- 90-day visa-free entry (extendable to 180 days) plus a viable but slow (6-8 month) temporary residency path for independent workers with modest income requirements and a favorable multi-year foreign-income tax exemption make Chile reasonably accessible but not effortless for long-term nomad living.
- Official Digital Nomad Visa Exists
- No
Pathways
Up to 2 Years
- Name
- Temporary Residency Visa – Independent Worker / Remunerated Activities subcategory
- Renewal
- Renewable
- Who Its For
- Freelancers, contractors, and self-employed people working for clients/employers based outside Chile.
- Key Condition
- You cannot work for a Chilean employer or take local clients on this permit; income must come from foreign sources.
- Processing Time
- Currently around 6–8 months due to post-2022 immigration-law backlogs; apply well before any tourist stay expires.
- Application Path
- Filed through the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), either from abroad via the relevant Chilean consulate or from inside Chile while on a tourist entry.
- Path To Permanent Residency
- After 2 years of continuous legal residence on this visa, you can apply for Residencia Definitiva (permanent residency).
Documents Required
- Valid passport
- Completed application form (submitted via SERMIG)
- Service contract or client agreements / letter authorizing remote work, or proof of self-employment
- Proof of recurring income (bank statements, invoices, payslips)
- Health insurance valid in Chile
- Clean criminal background check (apostilled, from country of residence)
- Passport photo meeting Chilean immigration specifications
Income Requirement
- Typical Amount
- CLP 1,275,000
- Note
- No single official statutory minimum is published for this subcategory; in practice applicants document sufficient recurring income, commonly cited around USD 1,500/month.
Rentista Visa (Passive/recurring Income)
- Renewal
- Renewable
- Duration
- Up to 2 years
- Who Its For
- People supported by pensions, rental income, or investment dividends rather than active remote work — freelance/contract income does not qualify for this category.
- Processing Time
- Around 6–8 months, similar backlog as the independent-worker category.
- Path To Permanent Residency
- Counts toward permanent residency after continuous residence.
Income Requirement
- Low End
- CLP 850,000
- High End
- CLP 1,275,000
- Note
- Commonly cited range for recurring passive income.
Tourist Entry / Permanencia Transitoria (Informal Short-term Option)
- Duration
- 90 days on arrival for most Western nationalities (US, EU, Canada, Australia, etc.)
- Who Its For
- Short stays; many remote workers informally work on laptops here, though paid work of any kind is not legally authorized on this status.
- Legal Caveat
- No paid work, including remote work for a foreign employer, is technically authorized on a tourist entry, though enforcement against laptop-based remote work is minimal in practice.
Extension
- Visa fee
- CLP 85,000
- Where
- Extranjería / SERMIG office, applied for before the initial 90 days expire
- Additional Days
- 90
- Max Total Per Year
- 180 days
Tax Notes
- Annual Filing
- Chilean tax residents file an annual return (Formulario 22) with the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII) in April, covering income from the prior calendar year (January–December).
- US Tax Treaty
- A US–Chile double-taxation treaty has been in force since December 2023, which can help American nomads manage overlapping obligations alongside the US Foreign Earned Income Exclusion and Foreign Tax Credit.
- Rut Requirement
- A RUT (Rol Único Tributario) tax ID is required for most banking, tax, and administrative matters once you have residency status.
- Tax Free Threshold
- Chile applies a 0% bracket on the lowest portion of taxable income before progressive rates kick in.
- Exemption Extension
- This exemption can be extended once for a further 3 years, giving a maximum of roughly 6 years before worldwide income becomes taxable in Chile.
- Tax Residency Trigger
- You become a Chilean tax resident once you accumulate more than 183 days of presence in Chile within any rolling 12-month period (days need not be consecutive). Some sources instead describe a related '180 consecutive days, or 180 non-consecutive days over two years' standard — treat 183 days in 12 months as the primary rule of thumb and confirm specifics with a tax advisor.
- Post Exemption Taxation
- After the exemption period ends, Chile taxes worldwide income at progressive rates from 0% up to 35–40%, depending on the source and bracket.
- Territorial System For Non Residents
- Non-residents (under the 183-day threshold) are taxed only on Chilean-source income; foreign-sourced remote income is generally not taxed by Chile.
- New Resident Foreign Income Exemption
- Once you do become a tax resident, Chile grants a temporary exemption: for the first 3 years of residence, you are taxed only on Chilean-source income, while foreign-source income (foreign salary, freelance income, dividends, etc.) remains exempt.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
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Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.