The Chile Pregnancy Visa, Explained
Are you pregnant and currently in Chile, either as a tourist or on another temporary permit? Chile's humanitarian pregnancy permit can let you regularize your stay with a pregnancy certificate from a public health professional. Here is who qualifies, what documents you need, and what happens after the baby is born.
What is a Pregnancy visa in Chile?
The pregnancy visa is officially the special humanitarian permit for pregnant foreign women (Residencia Temporal - Mujeres Extranjeras en Situación de Embarazo) [1]. It lets a pregnant foreign woman who is already in Chile, on a tourist or another temporary permit, regularize her stay while pregnant. It is one of the humanitarian subcategories of Chile's temporary residence system [2].
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Who can apply for a pregnancy visa in Chile? Is the Pregnancy visa right for me?
To qualify for this permit, Decreto 177 Article 43 requires you to meet all of the following [1]:
- you are a pregnant foreign woman.
- you are already in Chile, holding a permanencia transitoria (tourist) permit or a residencia temporal permit, at the time you apply.
- you can present a pregnancy certificate from a health professional belonging to the Red Asistencial of a public Servicio de Salud (public health network), stating your pregnancy and the number of weeks of gestation.
You must meet all three conditions to apply for this permit. The application itself may be filed by you, or by the Servicio de Salud on your behalf, with your consent unless you are unable to give it [1].
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Who does not qualify for a Pregnancy visa?
Decreto 177 Article 43 restricts this permit to pregnant women already in Chile with a valid transitory-stay or temporary-residence permit and a public-health-network pregnancy certificate [1]. As a result:
- women who are not in Chile at the time of application do not qualify. This permit cannot be requested from abroad.
- you must apply before the baby is born.
Note
Applying for a pregnancy visa is not possible after the baby's birth. Depending on your situation, you may qualify for a family visa instead, for example as the parent of a child registered as Chilean. See the FAQ below on newborn nationality and visas for the rules that apply to your child.
Chile pregnancy visa eligibility
The requirements for a pregnancy visa in Chile are:
- being pregnant, as certified by a health professional belonging to a public Servicio de Salud (public health network) in Chile [1].
- being legally in Chile as a tourist or temporary resident when you apply. If your nationality requires a tourist visa to enter Chile, you must first obtain that visa through a Chilean consulate abroad before you can apply for this permit in-country.
- meeting the general documentation rules that apply to every temporary-residence application: a passport valid for at least one year, and a criminal background certificate from your country of origin (and from any country where you have lived in the last 5 years). See the Chile temporary visa page for details [1].
Note
We do not recommend relying on this permit as a long-term immigration strategy: unlike most Chilean temporary-residence categories, it cannot be renewed, and SERMIG sets its duration on a case-by-case basis.
Required documents to apply for a Pregnancy visa
No document checklist is mapped for this visa yet — check the official source.
Documents required for all temporary visas
- Copy of your passport (only the page with your photo), valid for at least one year.
- Background check / criminal records certificate from your country of origin, apostilled or legalized.
- Background check / criminal records certificate from your country of residence, apostilled or legalized, if you have lived in the last five years in a country other than your country of origin [1].
Specific document for this visa
- A pregnancy certificate issued by a health professional belonging to the Red Asistencial of a public Servicio de Salud, stating your pregnancy and the number of weeks of gestation [1].
Note
Documents issued abroad must be apostilled or legalized by the Chilean consulate in your country of origin and by the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, per Articles 345 and 345 bis of the Code of Civil Procedure. Documents not in Spanish or English need an authorized translation.
Duration and renewal
SERMIG sets this permit's duration case by case. Decreto 177 Articles 43-44 do not set a fixed minimum or maximum period [1]. Unlike most Chilean temporary-residence categories, this permit cannot be renewed or extended. See the visa renewal page for how renewal works for the categories that do allow it.
Chile Pregnancy visa fees and related costs
This permit is a temporary-residence subcategory. Its fee depends on the applicant's citizenship, like other Chilean visa fees. See the Chile visa fees page for more information. SERMIG sets and updates the actual amounts on its own tariff schedule [3].
Pregnancy visa complete application process
Before starting the application, you must see a health professional at a public Servicio de Salud in Chile, who will issue a certificate confirming your pregnancy and the number of weeks of gestation [1]. You (or the Servicio de Salud, with your consent) then file the application through SERMIG's online platform while you remain in Chile [1].
Warning
Unlike most Chilean temporary-residence categories, pregnant women are one of the exceptions explicitly allowed to apply while already in the country. Since the 2021 immigration law, most other categories must instead be filed from abroad through the online platform before entering Chile. See Shall apply at a consulate or after arriving in Chile? for context on this exception.
Path to permanent residency and citizenship
Time spent on this humanitarian permit counts toward permanent-residency eligibility, like most Chilean temporary-residence categories: 24 months of continuous, eligible temporary residence [2]. In practice, because this specific permit cannot be renewed and its duration is set case by case with no fixed minimum, most holders will not reach 24 months on this permit alone. You would typically need to qualify for and switch to a different eligible temporary-residence category first [4]. From permanent residency, standard naturalization requires more than 5 years of continuous residence as a permanent-residence holder aged 18 or older [5].
- Humanitarian Permit — Pregnant Foreign Women (Residencia Temporal — Mujeres Extranjeras en Situación de Embarazo), duration set case-by-case (no fixed minimum/maximum specified in the regulation); non-renewableno fixed term[1]
- Permanent residence (Residencia Definitiva) eligibility: 24 months of continuous eligible temporary residence
- Naturalization eligibility (Carta de Nacionalización): 5 years of continuous residence, counted from the Temporary Residence Electronic Stamp date, as a Residencia Definitiva holder aged 18+from 60 months[5]
Statutory minimums — actual processing adds time on top. Details on the visa page.
Frequently Asked Questions about the pregnancy visa in Chile
Pregnancy visa application process
Pregnancy visa conditions
Yes. The family members Ley 21.325 Article 74 lists as qualifying (your spouse or civil-union partner, children under 18, children with a disability, unmarried children under 24 who are studying, and minors under your guardianship) can obtain a linked "calidad de dependiente" (dependent status) permit tied to your application. See the family visa page for how dependent applications work.[1][2][9]
It depends. The father can apply as your dependent through the "calidad de dependiente" mechanism if he has a qualifying formal link to you (marriage or civil union) and he must also be present in Chile. Without that formal link, he is not covered by your application and would need to qualify for his own visa.[1][2][9]
Only the family members Ley 21.325 Article 74 lists as qualifying dependents: your spouse or civil-union partner, children under 18, children with a disability, unmarried children under 24 who are studying, and minors under your guardianship. Other relatives, including parents, are not covered by your application and would need to qualify independently for their own visa.[1][2]
SERMIG sets this permit's duration case by case. Decreto 177 Articles 43-44 do not set a fixed minimum or maximum. This permit is also not renewable.[1]
Decreto 177 Article 43's eligibility conditions (presence in Chile, an existing transitory-stay or temporary-residence permit, and a pregnancy certificate) do not include an age requirement.[1]
No. Decreto 177 Article 43 does not list medical insurance as a condition for this permit.[1]
No. Unlike income-based categories such as the rentista visa, Decreto 177 Article 43's conditions for this humanitarian permit do not include a financial-solvency requirement.[1]
Yes, once granted. Valid temporary residents can enter and exit without a limit on trips. If your application is still pending and you filed it from within Chile, Decreto 177 Article 77 gives you a pending-residence certificate that itself authorizes international travel while the application is processed.[1][2]
Yes. This permit is work-authorized. If your application is still pending, Decreto 177 Article 79 lets the pending-residence certificate authorize paid work for as long as the application stays open.[1]
No. Decreto 177 Articles 43-44 do not set a quota for this subcategory. The seasonal-worker subcategory, for example, is explicitly quota-based.[1]
No. Decreto 177 Article 43's requirements for this permit do not include a language or cultural test.[1]
Pregnancy-related questions
A pregnancy certificate issued by a health professional belonging to the Red Asistencial of one of Chile's public Servicios de Salud (public health network), as regulated by DFL 1/2005 of the Ministry of Health. The certificate must confirm your pregnancy and, per Article 44, state the number of weeks of gestation. Because Article 43 specifically requires a public-network professional, a certificate from a private clinic alone does not meet this requirement. Confirm with SERMIG or your Servicio de Salud if you are unsure where to obtain one.[1][6]
SERMIG sets the permit's duration case by case. Unlike most temporary-residence categories, it cannot be extended or renewed once granted. The baby's birth does not change that.[1]
It depends on your migration status on the day of birth, not on this visa category. Chile grants nationality to children born in the country, except in two cases set by Article 10 N°1 of the Constitution: children of foreign government employees, and children of "extranjeros transeúntes," foreign nationals holding a permanencia transitoria (tourist) permit at the time of birth. The Servicio de Registro Civil checks the parents' migration status (passport entry stamp, or Tarjeta Única Migratoria) to apply this rule, and defaults to registering the child as "hijo de extranjero transeúnte" (not Chilean) whenever that status cannot be confirmed. If you believe your child was wrongly registered this way, you, or your child once of age, can ask SERMIG for a formal determination under Ley 21.325 Article 157 N°9 and have the registration corrected.[2][10]
It depends on the nationality outcome above. If your child is registered as Chilean, no visa is required. You instead register the birth and apply for a Chilean ID card and passport. If your child is registered as "hijo de extranjero transeúnte" (not Chilean), they are a foreign minor in Chile and Decreto 177 Article 45 requires a temporary-residence permit for foreign minors, filed by a parent or guardian. See the humanitarian visas page for that permit. Separately, DS 5.142/1960 Articles 10-11 let a person born in Chile to transient foreign parents opt for Chilean nationality later, by a declaration filed within one year of turning 18.[1][5]
Ley 21.325 Article 15 guarantees health-system access to every foreigner in Chile regardless of migratory status. This permit itself does not include a specific health-insurance benefit or guarantee. Confirm enrollment and coverage details (public FONASA or private ISAPRE) directly with the relevant health authority.[2]
Visa renewal / Permanent residency
Yes. You can request a change of subcategory if you meet the new subcategory's requirements, by filing between 90 and 10 days before your current permit expires.[4]
No. This is one of the few Chilean temporary-residence categories that cannot be extended or renewed: Decreto 177 Articles 43-44 grant it for a case-by-case duration with no extension mechanism. If you need to stay in Chile after it expires, you would need to separately qualify for and switch to a different temporary-residence subcategory before that happens.[1]
It is possible in principle, but unlikely on this permit alone. Ley 21.325 counts time spent on this humanitarian permit toward permanent-residency eligibility, like other temporary-residence categories: 24 months of continuous, eligible temporary residence. But because this specific permit is not renewable and SERMIG sets its duration case by case with no minimum, most holders will not reach 24 months on it by itself. After the baby is born, you would typically need to qualify for and switch to another eligible temporary-residence category to keep building toward that threshold, then apply for permanent residency. From permanent residency, standard naturalization requires more than 5 years of continuous residence. See the citizenship page for details.[2][4][5]
Note
This is a private immigration information service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or authorized by SERMIG (Servicio Nacional de Migraciones) or the Government of Chile, and this content is not legal advice. Official applications must be filed directly at serviciomigraciones.cl. For legal representation in a Chilean immigration matter, consult a licensed attorney in Chile.
References
- [1]Decreto 177 — Subcategorías Migratorias de Residencia Temporal (Spanish) [law text]
- [2]Ley 21.325 — Ley de Migración y Extranjería (Spanish) [law text]
- [3]SERMIG — Aranceles Migratorios (fee schedule) (Spanish)
- [4]Decreto 296 — Reglamento de la Ley 21.325 (Spanish) [law text]
- [5]DS 5.142/1960 — Ley sobre Nacionalización de Extranjeros (Spanish) [law text]
- [6]SERMIG — Residencia Temporal, Subcategoría: Embarazadas (pregnancy) (Spanish)
- [7]SERMIG Centro de Ayuda — Autorización para Trabajar con Permanencia Transitoria (Spanish)
- [8]SERMIG Centro de Ayuda — Ampliación de Certificado de Residencia Temporal en Trámite (Spanish)
- [9]SERMIG — Residencia Temporal: Calidad de Dependiente (Spanish)
- [10]Constitución Política de la República de Chile, texto refundido, coordinado y sistematizado (Spanish)
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