Fees for Visas and Permits in Chile

How much does a Chilean visa cost? SERMIG sets fees by decree, and they vary by your nationality and visa type. This page covers how visa fees and UTM-indexed fines work, the current temporary and tourist visa fee tables, and what the official schedule currently lists for permanent residency and citizenship.

How Chile visa fees work

Chile calls these payments derechos migratorios (migration dues), or simply "fees" in plain English. SERMIG (Servicio Nacional de Migraciones) sets them by decree. It applies a principle of reciprocity with each applicant's country of citizenship ^[1]. This is why the fee for the same visa category differs by nationality.

You pay through the Tesorería General de la República (TGR, General Treasury of the Republic) online payment portal, reached from SERMIG's Digital Procedures Portal. If you apply from outside Chile, you pay before SERMIG forwards your file for review. If you apply from inside Chile, you pay only after SERMIG issues a favorable qualification decision ^[2].

SERMIG's Director may reduce a permit fee on an exceptional, case-by-case basis, including on grounds of reciprocity with the applicant's country ^[3]. The same discretion applies when you request an extension or renewal, which is subject to the same fee structure ^[3].

Chile Temporary visa fees

The table below lists the current temporary-visa fee tier by nationality, in US dollars, as published on SERMIG's official migratory fee schedule (aranceles migratorios) ^[2]. There are three columns because the work visa and the student visa each carry their own fee tier. Every other category of Chilean temporary visa uses the "Temporary Visa" column.

Chile Tourist visa fee

A tourist visa fee only applies if your nationality does not have a visa-exemption arrangement with Chile, so you must apply for a permanencia transitoria (transitory stay) visa in advance of travel ^[1]. If your nationality has a visa-exemption arrangement, you do not pay a tourist visa fee to enter. See the Chile tourist visa page for the full list.

The table below lists the fee, in US dollars, and the permitted stay for each nationality that must apply for a tourist visa in advance, for both single-entry and multiple-entry visas.

Tourist visa extension fee

If you extend your permanencia transitoria for the additional 90 days the law allows, the extension fee is USD 100 per adult. Minors are exempt ^[4].

Work authorization fee for tourists

Permanencia transitoria holders cannot normally do paid work in Chile. Exceptionally, SERMIG can authorize specific, sporadic paid activities (public performances, sports, conferences, expert consulting, or border-zone activities under a bilateral agreement). That authorization is itself subject to a fee, except for the cases exempted under Article 51 of Ley 21.325 ^[1][5].

Check the official fee schedule for the current amount before applying. Working without this authorization risks a fine of about 5 UTM and, for repeat offenses, expulsion ^[1].

Fines and penalties for migration infractions

Migration infractions under Ley 21.325 are fined in UTM (Unidad Tributaria Mensual, or Monthly Tax Unit), an indexed accounting unit, not a fixed peso figure. UTM values are updated monthly by Chile's Servicio de Impuestos Internos (Internal Revenue Service), so the peso amount of a UTM-denominated fine changes from month to month. SERMIG determines and applies the actual sanction under Ley 21.325, Artículos 105-119 ^[1].

Minor infractions carry fines from 0.5 to 10 UTM: late ID-card application (0.5-2 UTM), failing to report an address change (a warning up to 2 UTM), unauthorized work (0.5-5 UTM), an expired permit up to 180 days (0.5-10 UTM), leaving a designated border zone (0.5-5 UTM or a 90-day entry ban), and an incomplete passenger list filed by a carrier (1-5 UTM per person) ^[1].

Serious infractions carry higher fines: facilitating illegal entry or exit (50-100 UTM), transport companies carrying undocumented passengers (10-20 UTM per passenger), employing an unauthorized foreigner (1-200 UTM per worker, scaled by company size and doubled for repeat offenses within 2 years), and overstaying more than 180 days (1-10 UTM) ^[1]. A worker who reports the employer's violation is exempt from sanction ^[1].

Requesting an extension after your permit has already expired adds a late-renewal fine on top of the extension fee: 0.25-5 UTM if you apply within 180 days of expiry, 5-10 UTM after 180 days ^[3].

Reductions and exemptions apply ^[1]:

• Self-reporting an infraction cuts the fine by 50%.
• Paying within 5 business days of the sanctioning resolution cuts it by a further 25%.
• A first-time minor infraction may be substituted with a written warning instead of a fine.
• Force-majeure or fortuitous-event circumstances, raised during the objection stage, exempt you from non-expulsion sanctions altogether.

Expulsion voids any pending fine.

If SERMIG imposes a fine or other sanction, you can challenge it. Administrative appeals under Ley 19.880 suspend the contested act ^[6]. Expulsion specifically can be appealed to the Court of Appeals within 10 calendar days, with access to free legal aid ^[1].

Permanent residency fee

A Residencia Definitiva (permanent residency) fee applies. It is calculated from a minimum non-remunerative income reference. Foreigners with a Chilean spouse and minors under 18 are exempt from payment ^[3]. Decreto 296 does not set a fixed CLP figure. SERMIG publishes the current amount on its aranceles migratorios schedule ^[2].

As of 2026-07, that official schedule listed the permanent residency fee at 142,726 Chilean pesos for foreigners in general, with foreigners married to a Chilean citizen and minors under 18 exempt from payment ^[2][7]. Check the official fee schedule before paying, since SERMIG updates these figures periodically.

Chilean citizenship fee

DS 5.142/1960 Art. 12 sets naturalization fees as a share of an obsolete unit called the sueldo vital (Santiago monthly vital wage): 50% of one sueldo vital for the general regime, 10% for a foreigner with a Chilean spouse, a deceased Chilean spouse, or a Chilean child ^[8]. That unit was abolished decades ago. No rate table converts it to current pesos. SERMIG determines the CLP figure by administrative conversion, published on its fee schedule ^[2].

As of 2026-07, that schedule listed the standard naturalization fee at 39,742 Chilean pesos, reduced to 7,949 Chilean pesos for a foreigner with a Chilean spouse, a foreigner widowed of a Chilean spouse, a foreigner with a Chilean child, or a foreigner adopted by a Chilean citizen ^[2][7][9]. Fees are paid at the second of four stages, after SERMIG deems the application admissible ^[9]. Check the official fee schedule for the current figure before paying, since SERMIG updates it periodically.

References

1. [1]
   Ley 21.325 — Ley de Migración y Extranjería (Spanish) [law text]
2. [2]
   SERMIG — Aranceles Migratorios (fee schedule) (Spanish)
3. [3]
   Decreto 296 — Reglamento de la Ley 21.325 (Spanish) [law text]
4. [4]
   SERMIG — Prórroga de Permanencia Transitoria (Spanish)
5. [5]
   SERMIG — Permanencia Transitoria: Autorización de Trabajo (Spanish)
6. [6]
   Ley 19.880 — Establece Bases de los Procedimientos Administrativos (Spanish)
7. [7]
   SERMIG (English) — Immigration Fees
8. [8]
   DS 5.142/1960 — Ley sobre Nacionalización de Extranjeros (Spanish) [law text]
9. [9]
   SERMIG — Nacionalidad: Opción a la Nacionalidad — requisitos y pago de derechos (Spanish)