The Chile Pregnancy Visa, Explained
Are you pregnant and planning to give birth in Chile? Let's look at the details of the pregnancy visa to see when you can use it to stay legally in Chile.
What is a Pregnancy visa in Chile?
As indicated by its name, the pregnancy visa, a subcategory of humanitarian visas, aims at allowing pregnant women to stay legally in Chile until their baby is born.
Who can apply for a pregnancy visa in Chile? Is the Pregnancy visa right for me?
To qualify for this visa, you must meet two criteria:
- You shall be pregnant (You can only send an application before the baby's birth).
- You shall be in Chile as a tourist or with another temporary residency visa when applying.
You must meet both criteria to apply for this visa category.
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Who does not qualify for a Pregnancy visa?
The pregnancy visa is restricted to pregnant women.
Yet:
- expectant mothers not in Chile do not qualify,
- you must apply before the baby's birth.
Note
Application for a pregnancy visa is not allowed after the baby's birth. After the birth, depending on your situation, you may qualify for a family visa as the mother of a Chilean citizen. You would have first to register your baby as a Chilean citizen.
Chile pregnancy visa eligibility
The requirements for a pregnancy visa in Chile are:
- being pregnant, as certified by a health professional in Chile.
- be legally in Chile as a tourist or temporary resident. For this reason, if you are a citizen of a country that does not have any waiver agreement for tourist visas with Chile, you would first need to apply for a tourist visa through a Chilean consulate abroad.
- having a passport valid for at least one year at the date of the application.
- not having been convicted for a crime in Chile or abroad. See details on the Chile temporary visa page.
Note
We do not recommend this visa to immigrate to Chile, as its duration might be shorter than other visas, and you may not have the option to renew this temporary visa once it expires.
Required documents to apply for a Pregnancy visa
Documents required for all temporary visas
- Copy of your passport (only the page with your photo).
- Background check / Criminal records of your country of origin, apostilled or legalized.
- Background check / Criminal records of your country of residence, apostilled or legalized, if you have been residing in the last five years in a country different from your country of origin.
Specific documents for this visa
The documents required to apply for a pregnancy visa in Chile include:
- A medical certificate issued by a gynecologist (or another medical specialist of the same area) working at a public or private institution registered with the Health Ministry in Chile.
Note
Documents issued abroad must be apostilled or legalized adequately by the Chilean consulate in the country of origin and by the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as stipulated in articles 345/345 bis of the Civil Procedure Code.
Chile Pregnancy visa fees and related costs
The pregnancy visa is a humanitarian visa, a category of temporary visa. For this reason, the associated visa fees vary based on the applicant's citizenship.
Pregnancy visa complete application process
The pregnancy visa is a humanitarian visa, one of the types of temporary visas available in Chile. See the application process for the temporary visa for more information.
Before starting the application process, you must see a gynecologist in a public/private hospital in Chile, who will issue a certificate proving you are pregnant.
Warning
Contrary to all other categories of temporary visas, you can only apply for a pregnancy visa while currently in Chile, either as a tourist or with another category of visa. You cannot apply for this visa from abroad.
Frequently Asked Questions about the pregnancy visa in Chile
Pregnancy visa application process
You can not apply for a pregnancy visa outside Chile. The application must be filed while residing in Chile.
The business visa is a category of temporary visa. You can find the current application time on this page, section "Reply Time".
No. There is no way to expedite the process of obtaining a pregnancy visa. The process involves providing a pregnancy certificate from a medical professional, obtaining a criminal record, and then applying.
Pregnancy visa conditions
Yes. You can bring dependents or family members to Chile under your pregnancy visa. See the temporary visa application page for more information.
It depends. The baby's father can apply as your "dependiente" (family member) under the pregnancy visa. Yet, he must also be in Chile with you, and you should have a formal link such as marriage or civil union.
It depends. Your spouse and previous children can qualify for the same visa as your family members. Any other category of family members (including parents) can also join, but they would have to apply for a visa independently.
The immigration service defines the duration of the pregnancy visa based on the application. There is no standard duration.
No. There are no age restrictions defined in the law. The only restriction is due to biology.
No. There is no medical insurance required to apply for a pregnancy visa. Remember, though, that you have to pay for the child delivery medical costs if you do not have insurance. We recommend subscribing to international insurance before coming. It is usually required to subscribe before pregnancy to get full coverage by the insurance.
No. The pregnancy visa is a subcategory of humanitarian visas. For this reason, there is no requirement to prove financial resources.
Yes. There is no limitation related to this visa. Remember that airlines may have policies in place not allowing pregnant women to fly due to the higher risk for them to fly during the last few months of their pregnancy.
Yes. There is no limitation related to this visa prohibiting you to work or study.
No.
No. There are no required courses as part of the pregnancy visa application in Chile.
Pregnancy-related questions
You must provide a pregnancy certificate issued by a medical professional working in women's health, such as a gynecologist or related. The immigration service does not accept a certificate from a generalist. The professional must work in an institution regulated by the Chilean Ministry of Health.
The Chile immigration service defines the visa duration. You can not extend it after the baby is born.
No. A baby born in Chile does not automatically receive citizenship. The law states that children born in Chile to foreign parents who are in the country as tourists or crew members at the time of their birth are not automatically Chilean. However, they may opt for Chilean nationality per Article 5, 1 of the Constitution.
It depends. If your newborn can qualify for Chilean citizenship, a visa is not required. You must register the baby as Chilean to obtain an ID card and a passport. In other cases, you shall apply for a visa.
No. This visa itself does not provide you with healthcare coverage. You can still register with the FONASA (public sector) if you need assistance. You can also register with an ISAPRE (private sector), but these private health insurances will not reimburse pregnancy/birth costs during the first year.
Visa renewal / Permanent residency
Yes. You can switch to a different visa type while residing in Chile on a pregnancy visa if you meet the requirements for the visa category you are applying for.
Most probably, No. The pregnancy visa is a humanitarian visa allowing pregnant women to stay in Chile legally. Therefore, unless you are again pregnant when your visa expires, you will not be allowed to renew it.
No. The permanent residency requires a 24-month stay in Chile. The citizenship requires you to be a permanent resident. Staying in Chile under a pregnancy visa does not allow you to meet these criteria. You shall first change your temporary visa category, and then apply for permanent residency.
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