How to Get Residency in Chile in 2026: Permits, Fees and the Kast-Era Rules
GUIDES · CHILE
Key Facts
- —What it is A guide to legal residency in Chile, a stable OECD economy that tightened its border in 2026.
- —Who it’s for Workers, retirees, investors, students and partners of Chileans who want to live in Chile legally for more than a tourist stay.
- —The rules Law 21.325 sets two steps: temporary residence of up to two years, then definitive (permanent) residence after 24 months in most cases.
- —What it costs Temporary permits cost US$0 to US$2,890 depending on nationality; definitive residence costs about US$148.
- —The catch Most permits must be requested from abroad; a tourist in Chile generally cannot switch to residency on the spot.
- —What is still open Kast’s bills on expulsions and clandestine entry were still in Congress, aimed at irregular migration rather than legal applicants.
Residency in Chile runs through one online system, fifteen permit types and a fee table set by nationality. Here is how it works in 2026, step by step.
Chile remains one of the more orderly places in Latin America to settle legally. That holds even as President José Antonio Kast takes a hard line on irregular migration. For an American or European, the legal route is clear but strict: apply from abroad and document everything.
How residency in Chile works under Law 21.325
Chile’s Migration and Foreigners Law, Law 21.325, was enacted in April 2021. It took full effect in February 2022, when its regulation appeared in the official gazette, the Diario Oficial.
The law sets three statuses. Permanencia transitoria is a short stay, such as a tourist visit. Residencia temporal is temporary residence. Residencia definitiva is permanent residence.
Temporary residence is granted for up to two years, according to the National Migration Service (Servicio Nacional de Migraciones, or SERMIG). Seasonal workers are the exception: their permit can last up to five years.
The details sit in Decree 177 of the Interior Ministry, dated 10 May 2022. It divides temporary residence into subcategories, each with its own documents.
Everything runs online through SERMIG’s Portal de Trámites Digitales. You log in with a SERMIG account or with Chile’s ClaveÚnica digital identity once you have one.
Which residency permit fits you
SERMIG lists fifteen temporary residence subcategories. Most foreigners from North America and Europe will use one of five.
Paid work (subcategory 2). This covers lawful paid activity, either employed by a company based in Chile or with a formal job offer. The permit lasts up to two years and can be extended for two years at a time.
With a job offer, SERMIG first grants a 90-day permit. Once you enter Chile, you have 45 days to file the final contract, and the permit is then extended by one year.
Retirees and rentistas (subcategory 11). Retirees need a pension. Rentistas need steady income from property or financial assets. In both cases the income must cover at least basic needs, measured against indicators from the Ministry of Social Development and Family.
SERMIG does not publish a fixed minimum income for this route. Private guides such as Expat.cl suggest roughly US$1,000–1,500 a month in passive income, but that is practice, not law.
Investors (subcategory 13). This targets legal representatives and senior managers of foreign companies investing at least US$500,000 in Chile. It also covers managers and specialists hired by firms in which a foreign investor holds at least 10 percent.
Family reunification (subcategory 1). This is for relatives of Chileans or of holders of definitive residence. Spouses and dependants of other permit holders can also apply as dependants under Article 74 of the law.
Students (subcategory 3). This covers study at institutions recognised by the Chilean state.
Citizens of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have their own Mercosur route, subcategory 15, under the principle of reciprocity. Bolivians may use a national identity card instead of a passport.
No digital nomad visa, and what remote workers do instead
Chile has no dedicated digital nomad visa. None of SERMIG’s fifteen subcategories is built for people who work remotely for a foreign employer.
Many remote workers enter as tourists, which usually allows 90 days. Expat.cl notes that this lets people keep working for foreign clients but not for Chilean companies.
Those with pension, rental or investment income can use the rentista route. Freelance or salary income generally does not count, because the income must be passive.
A tourist who wants to stay longer can ask for an extension of the short stay. SERMIG charges US$100 for that step. A separate work authorisation for tourists costs 150 percent of the paid-work permit fee for your nationality.
Step by step: applying from abroad
For most people, residency in Chile starts outside the country. SERMIG’s own subcategory pages for work, retirement, investment and Mercosur all say the application can only be filed from abroad.
Only a few groups may apply from inside Chile. SERMIG names people with family ties to Chileans or to definitive residents, current temporary residents changing subcategory, and humanitarian cases.
Step 1: Gather documents. Every adult needs a valid passport, a criminal record certificate and a recent colour photo on a white background.
The passport must be valid for at least one year when you apply from abroad. The criminal record certificate must cover your home country or anywhere you lived in the past five years.
That certificate must be no older than 60 days. Foreign documents such as pension certificates or leases must be apostilled or legalised.
Step 2: File online. Create an account on the Portal de Trámites Digitales, pick your subcategory and upload the files as PDFs.
Step 3: Pay. Your file is not processed until you pay through the portal of the Treasury, the Tesorería General de la República. SERMIG may later ask for a fee difference.
Step 4: Answer requests. SERMIG can ask for missing papers or send you to a consulate for an interview. If it rejects the application, you have 10 working days to file supporting documents for an appeal.
Step 5: Download the electronic stamp. Approval arrives as an estampado electrónico. You must download it within 120 working days of approval.
Step 6: Travel. After downloading the stamp, you have 90 calendar days to enter Chile. Your permit starts running on the day you arrive.
Step 7: Get your cédula. After activating the stamp, you have 30 calendar days to book an appointment with the Civil Registry, the Registro Civil. There you receive a foreigner’s identity card.
The number on the card, your RUN, also serves as your tax number, or RUT, for banks, leases and job contracts. It is the key that unlocks daily life.
In August 2026, SERMIG launched a free certificate called Habilitación Laboral. It carries a QR code and lets employers verify that a foreigner is allowed to work.
What residency in Chile costs
Temporary residence fees depend on your passport. SERMIG still links a nationality table from Exempt Resolution 129194 of 3 July 2020. Its values are in US dollars but paid in pesos.
The table has three columns: a general temporary permit, the former contract-based work visa and a student visa. SERMIG says the paid-work permit follows the former contract column.
For US citizens the table shows US$205, US$190 and US$160. Canadians pay US$265, US$265 and US$175. Germans pay US$85 in all three, and Swiss citizens US$100.
Spanish citizens pay nothing. Italians pay US$261, US$261 and US$187. British citizens face the highest general fee: US$2,620, US$1,160 and US$870.
Australians pay US$225 for a general permit but US$2,890 for the paid-work permit, the highest figure in the table.
Definitive residence costs 142,726 pesos (about US$148). It is free for spouses of Chileans and for children under 18.
A naturalisation letter costs 39,742 pesos (about US$41), or 7,949 pesos (about US$8) for spouses, widows, widowers and parents of Chileans.
For fee calculations, SERMIG used 925.25 pesos per US dollar, valid until 30 September 2026. All other conversions in this guide use 967.36 pesos per US dollar, the open.er-api rate for 30 September 2026.
From temporary to definitive residence
Permanent status is the real goal for most long-term residents. SERMIG requires at least 24 months of temporary residence for applications filed after 14 May 2022.
That falls to 12 months in some cases. SERMIG names family ties with Chileans, official missions, pensions, investments and cultural or scientific contributions.
It rises beyond 24 months for low income, unstable work, migration infractions or breaches of labour, tax or environmental law. Absences also count against you.
Absences of up to two months keep the 24-month rule. Two to six months away raises it to 30 months, six to twelve months to 36, and more than a year to 48.
Your temporary subcategory must allow the move to permanent status. Apply through the same portal, and keep your cédula valid while you wait.
If papers are missing, SERMIG gives you 60 calendar days to complete the file. After definitive residence, naturalisation is the last step, and SERMIG says it takes about three years on average to process.
To apply for Chilean nationality, you must be at least 18, hold valid definitive residence and have lived in Chile for five years. SERMIG counts those years from the electronic stamp of your first temporary permit.
Definitive residents who are spouses, parents or close relatives of Chileans can apply after two years of continuous residence. Naturalisation is voluntary, and its main benefit is the right to vote and stand for elected office.
What changed under President Kast in 2026
As of 20 September 2026, the core residency rules had not changed. Law 21.325, Decree 177 and SERMIG’s fifteen subcategories remained the framework.
What changed was enforcement against irregular migration. Kast took office on 11 March 2026. That day he signed decrees on border barriers and military support in the north, Rio Times reported.
In late March, SERMIG director Frank Sauerbaum said the government would not carry out a mass regularisation. The plan, prepared under the previous government, would have covered about 182,000 registered migrants, according to AFP via CRHoy.
In May 2026 the Senate approved in general a bill that makes clandestine entry a crime, SERMIG reported. In June, Kast announced a constitutional reform to lengthen detention of irregular migrants before expulsion, NTN24 reported.
A separate bill on administrative expulsions went to a joint committee of both chambers in July, according to El Mostrador. It would cut the time to challenge an expulsion from ten days to five.
For a legal applicant, the practical message is simple. Keep your permit current, respect deadlines and avoid any gap in status, because the cost of an irregular stay is rising.
Common mistakes and how to avoid them
The most common error is arriving as a tourist and expecting to switch. For most subcategories that is not possible, so apply before you travel.
The second is stale paperwork. A criminal record certificate older than 60 days, or an unapostilled pension letter, will stall the file.
The third is missing the stamp and ID deadlines. Mark 120 working days to download, 90 days to enter and 30 days to book the Registro Civil.
Finally, plan for time abroad. Long trips can stretch the path to definitive residence from 24 months to as many as 48.
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What Is Not Known
Whether Kast’s migration bills will pass, and in what form, is not known. They target irregular migration, but final texts could still touch procedures that legal residents use.
How SERMIG maps every new subcategory to the 2020 nationality fee table is not fully explained on its website. Applicants should check the exact amount shown in the portal before paying.
SERMIG does not publish a fixed income threshold for retirees and rentistas. Approval depends on its reading of basic-needs indicators, so the income that suffices is a judgement call.
Processing times are not guaranteed. SERMIG gives no standard waiting time for temporary residence, and naturalisation alone averages about three years.
Sources: Rules, fees and deadlines come from the National Migration Service (SERMIG), Law 21.325 and Decree 177 in the Diario Oficial, with political developments from Chilean and regional media. All accessed 20 September 2026.
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- diariooficial.interior.gob.cl
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- crhoy.com
- ntn24.com
- elmostrador.cl
- expat.cl
- open.er-api.com
More: Chile news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for residency in Chile while I am there as a tourist?
Usually not. SERMIG says most temporary residence subcategories, including work, retirement, investment and Mercosur, can only be requested from abroad. Exceptions include people with family ties to Chileans or definitive residents, current temporary residents changing subcategory, and humanitarian cases.
How much does a Chilean residence permit cost?
Temporary residence fees depend on nationality under a SERMIG table in US dollars. US citizens pay US$205 for a general permit, US$190 for the paid-work permit and US$160 as students, while Spanish citizens pay nothing. Definitive residence costs 142,726 pesos, about US$148, and is free for spouses of Chileans and children under 18.
Does Chile have a digital nomad visa?
No. None of SERMIG’s fifteen temporary residence subcategories is designed for remote workers. Many enter as tourists for up to 90 days, while those with pension, rental or investment income can use the retiree and rentista route.
How long until I can get permanent residence in Chile?
SERMIG requires at least 24 months of temporary residence in most cases. It can fall to 12 months for family ties with Chileans, pensions, investments or official missions. Absences of more than two months raise the requirement to 30, 36 or 48 months.
Has President Kast changed the rules for legal residency?
As of 20 September 2026, Law 21.325 and its fifteen subcategories still set the rules. Kast’s changes have targeted irregular migration, including border measures, the end of a planned mass regularisation and bills on clandestine entry and expulsions that were still in Congress.
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