Chile Immigration Laws and Immigration Policy, a review

Do you have a question about immigration laws in Chile? In this article, we list the current laws and decrees that govern immigration and nationality in Chile, as well as the changes that occurred in the last few years. We start with the list of the main Chilean immigration laws, followed by a review of each relevant law.

Principal laws and decrees regulating immigration in Chile

Law 21325 (April 2021) - Chile Immigration Law

The immigration law 21.325 was published in April 2021, 8 years after the start of the legislative process. The law encompasses two main changes: the creation of the National Migration Service (SERMIG) and its regional branches, and a new framework for visas and permanent residency applications. It is the primary migration statute. It sets the definitions, visa categories, rights, sanctions, and procedures that every decree below implements. SERMIG's own stated goal for the law is to "standardize the procedures and processing times throughout the country, by centralizing the analysis, but decentralizing the attention, orientation, inclusion, and delivery of benefits, in addition to promoting coordination and communication with civil society, municipalities, and regional governments" ^[1].

Decree 296 (February 2022) - Regulation of the Immigration Law

The decree 296 is the "application decree" (in Chile, a "reglamento") of the immigration law 21.325. It specifies the legal processes and norms related to immigration in Chile, and defines in more depth the roles of the various actors in the immigration process, such as the immigration service, the civil register, the police department, and the consulates of Chile abroad.

Decree 23 (January 2022) - Categories of Permanencia Transitoria (transitory stay)

The Decreto Supremo 23 (Government Decree 23) defines the subcategories of Permanencia Transitoria (transitory stay) in Chile: tourism and other short-stay purposes (up to 90 days), crew members of international passenger/cargo transport, individuals covered by a bilateral or treaty-based reciprocity agreement, and residents of designated border areas. It applies to all of these subcategories, not only tourism, and details the associated requirements for each one ^[2].

Decree 177 (May 2022) - Categories of temporary visas

The Decreto Supremo 177 (Government Decree 177) details the categories of temporary visas in Chile. These are the 16 subcategories of temporary residence permits defined under Article 70 of Ley 21.325 ^[3], from work and family reunification to investors and students. Decreto 177 also lists the required documents for each category.

DS 5.142/1960 (October 1960) - Naturalization of Foreigners

Decreto Supremo 5.142/1960 ("Ley sobre Nacionalización de Extranjeros") is Chile's naturalization statute. It is the substantive and procedural law that governs how a foreign resident becomes a Chilean citizen. It predates Ley 21.325 by six decades but remains in force: Ley 21.325 Articles 84 and 87 expressly route both the grant and the procedure of Chilean nationality back to DS 5.142/1960, and Article 85 adds a faster "qualified naturalization" track on top of it ^[3].

DS 5.142/1960 Article 1 assigns the naturalization decision to the President of the Republic, countersigned by the Minister of the Interior. Article 2 sets the standard eligibility test: the applicant must be at least 18 years old, hold permanent residency (Residencia Definitiva), and have more than five years of continuous residence in Chile. A written renunciation of the applicant's origin nationality is also listed as a requirement. This clause is likely superseded in practice by the 2005 constitutional reform, Ley 20.050, which ended automatic loss of Chilean nationality on acquiring another one ^[4]. Confirm the current requirement against SERMIG practice before relying on it ^[5]. Minors aged 14 or older with five years of residence, permanent residency, and guardian authorization may also apply, and minor children of a recognized refugee may naturalize as soon as one parent obtains their own naturalization card, with no other requirement (Article 2, inciso 5). Articles 4 to 9 set out the application, documentation, and police-report procedure, and Article 8 lists the grounds on which a naturalization card can later be cancelled.

Separately from standard naturalization, Ley 21.325 Article 85 lets permanent residents with at least two years of continuous residence apply through a faster "qualified naturalization" (nacionalización calificada) track if they are the spouse of a Chilean (married 2+ years), a blood relative of a Chilean up to the second degree, or the child of a former Chilean ^[3]. This is the source of the "two years" figure that applies only to applicants with a qualifying Chilean family tie. The five-year period under DS 5.142/1960 Article 2 remains the standard rule for everyone else. See the citizenship section for how these routes apply in practice.

No PDF of DS 5.142/1960 is currently hosted on this site. Consult the official text at BCN Ley Chile.

Recent changes in the Chile visa policy and immigration law

The last significant changes to the core migration framework were the publication of the Chilean immigration law 21.325 in April 2021 and its "application decree" (Decreto 296) in February 2022.

Separately, on the investor route: Resolución 144 Exenta (25 May 2022), issued by the Agencia de Promoción de la Inversión Extranjera (InvestChile), established the sponsorship requirements (Carta de Patrocinio) that underpin the investor subcategory of Decreto 177 ^[7]. It is not itself an immigration statute or decree, but it is a governing instrument for anyone applying through the investor visa.

Previous immigration regulations in Chile

Previously, these were the law and decree that ruled the immigration of foreigners in Chile. We indicate them for reference in case you see them mentioned. Remember that they are no longer valid ^[3].

• Ley de Extranjería (DL 1094 del año 1975)
• Reglamento de Extranjería (DS 597 del año 1984)

References

1. [1]
   SERMIG — Normativa Migratoria (Spanish)
2. [2]
   Decreto 23 — Subcategorías de Residencia Transitoria (Spanish) [law text]
3. [3]
   Ley 21.325 — Ley de Migración y Extranjería (Spanish) [law text]
4. [4]
   Ley 20.050 — Reforma Constitucional de 2005 (doble nacionalidad) (Spanish)
5. [5]
   SERMIG — Nacionalidad (Spanish)
6. [6]
   Constitución Política de la República de Chile, texto refundido, coordinado y sistematizado (Spanish)
7. [7]
   Resolución InvestChile — Requisitos Visa de Inversionista (Spanish)