Chile for Digital Nomads and Remote Workers, Explained

Are you a digital nomad? Are you considering moving to Chile while continuing to work remotely? Let's first review the most suitable visa for your case.

What is a digital nomad/remote worker visa?

A digital nomad visa, also called a remote worker visa, is a specific category of visa that allows individuals to live in a different country than their origin country or the country they are working in.

This visa benefits people who work remotely and do not need to be physically present at a location / in an office to perform their job. For example, online consultants, developers, analysts, and engineers could use this visa if their company is comfortable with full-time remote workers.

The digital nomad visa is becoming more popular nowadays due to many companies starting to allow remote workers, and some countries recognizing the interest to attract such workers for their economy, who consume in the country without taking jobs.

Is there a digital nomad visa in Chile?

No. Chile does not have a digital nomad/remote worker visa at the moment.

Why?

• Chile has experienced a considerable level of immigration in the past few years.
• Chile has faced a lot of fraudulent applications in the past, with fake companies created to obtain visas.

Chile implemented a new immigration law to regulate and organize the surge of immigration. For this reason, Chile is more restrictive and does not accept foreign income from remote workers. Indeed, this type of income is more challenging to verify for the immigration service, while work contracts with Chilean companies are more straightforward to check.

What are the available options to relocate to Chile as a remote worker?

There are still a few options available:

• If you plan to stay less than six months and are a citizen from a country that qualifies to get a visa on arrival in Chile, entering as a tourist for 90 days and renewing your visa once is the faster and easier option.
• If you can find one or more clients in Chile willing to sign you a service contract, you may qualify for a work visa as a freelance in Chile.
• If you have a recurring income apart from your digital nomad income, such as real estate rentals or financial investment generating dividends, you can apply for a rentista visa.
• If you own a company, you may also qualify for the rentista visa if the company pays dividends.

If none of these options suit you, an alternative is to open a business in Chile to charge your clients. In that case, you may also qualify for a work visa.

Please book a consultation with our local immigration expert for more information about options.