Chile visa and entry requirements

Chile's migration service says the transitory stay permit cannot run past the validity of your passport or travel document, and the UK Foreign Office says your passport should have an expiry date after the day you plan to leave Chile. The migration service lists an identity card, without the need for a passport, as a document for entering Chile only for nationals of Mercosur countries and Bolivia.

No official source we read lists a vaccination certificate required for entry.

No official source we could read states a travel-insurance requirement for entry to Chile. Canada's travel advice says to make sure you get travel insurance that includes coverage for medical evacuation and hospital stays.

No official source we could read states an onward-ticket requirement for visitors to mainland Chile. The UK Foreign Office says that to enter Rapa Nui (Easter Island) you must show a return ticket.

Chile's foreign ministry says every foreigner entering as the holder of a transitory stay permit must show the border authority lawful means of support for their stay. No official source we could read states an amount. The ministry lists proof of the applicant's own economic means among the requirements for a prior authorisation or visa.

• Sworn agricultural declaration (Declaración Jurada SAG) — SAG's Digital Affidavit for Entry to Chile asks you to declare the plant and animal origin products, goods and currencies (money) you carry in your luggage or means of transport. It says the procedure is free of charge, individual and mandatory for all persons over 18 years of age, and that the form can be completed with or without an internet connection, up to one day before your entry, and is valid only for the date of arrival you indicate. SAG's information page says the declaration is made on special forms (digital or paper) and that failing to declare risk products leads to sanctions and fines. (from one day before arrival online, or on arrival) dj.sag.gob.cl ↗(opens in a new tab)
• Tarjeta Única Migratoria (TUM) — Chile's migration service says the PDI hands you the Tarjeta Única Migratoria (TUM) when you enter Chile, and lists a valid TUM as a document that allows you to leave the country. (on arrival)

Holders of a Permanencia Transitoria permit who stay up to 180 calendar days after it expires are fined from half to 10 UTM, with an exception for certain residents. Those who stay more than 180 calendar days after expiry are fined 1 to 10 UTM. Fines are cut by 50% when offenders report themselves to the Migration Service or the Police and this leads to the infringement being detected. Children and adolescents are exempt from all fines. To leave Chile, all fines for migration infringements must be paid, through the SERMIG Portal de Trámites and the web platform of the Tesorería General de la República.

• Boarding fee (derecho de embarque) — International flights: US$ 25 to destinations more than 500 km from the boarding airport; to destinations up to 500 km away, the equivalent of the first-category boarding fee on domestic flights.

  Passengers boarding at Chilean airports pay a boarding fee for the use of terminal facilities and services. On international flights it is US$ 25 to destinations more than 500 km from the boarding airport, and the equivalent of the first-category domestic boarding fee to destinations up to 500 km away.

Chile's customs service says that if you enter or leave Chile with cash or bearer negotiable instruments of USD 10,000 or more, or the equivalent in other currencies including the Chilean peso, you must declare it to customs.

• The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) says Chilean law requires people to declare under oath, on special forms (digital or paper), any plants, animals, products of plant or animal origin (including handicrafts), agricultural chemical or biological products, veterinary medicines or animal feed they bring in. It says SAG border inspectors check them whatever their quantity, packaging or how long ago they were obtained; products that do not meet the requirements are not allowed in and are destroyed, and failing to declare risk products leads to sanctions and fines.