Does Chile Have a Tech Visa?

Looking for a Chile tech visa? This program is no longer offered. Here is what the current law says, and the residency visa options available today if you work in tech, are investing in Chile, or are job-hunting.

This visa does not exist in Chile

Chile does not currently offer a tech visa. This program has been discontinued.

Chile's tech visa predates Ley 21.325, the country's current immigration law ^[1]. Ley 21.325 took effect in April 2021 and replaced Chile's previous immigration framework, the 1975 Ley de Extranjería (DL 1094) and its 1984 regulation ^[2]. Neither Ley 21.325 nor its implementing decrees carry the tech visa forward. Decreto 177 defines the 16 subcategories of temporary residence, and none of them cover a technology sector or Start-Up Chile category ^[3]. Decreto 23 defines the subcategories of tourist and transitory-stay permits, and none of them cover it either ^[4]. The tech visa is also absent from the residency options listed on serviciomigraciones.cl, SERMIG's official portal.

What to use instead

Depending on your situation, one of Chile's current residency categories covers what the tech visa used to serve:

• Work visa: the standard route if you already have (or can get) a job offer or employment contract from a Chile-based tech company. The Chilean employer signs the contract before a Chilean notary, and you sign before the competent consulate. If you enter on a notarized job-offer basis rather than a signed contract, you have 45 days after entering Chile to present a notarized employment contract with that same employer.
• Job-search visa: if you want to come to Chile first and look for a tech job without a contract in hand yet. It lets you enter as a temporary resident to search for employment opportunities, subject to quota availability. Once you have a signed contract, you can apply to switch to the work visa.
• Investor visa: the closer match if you are a tech founder or investor putting USD 500,000 or more into producing goods or services in Chile, or a senior manager or specialized technical staff member at a Chile-based company that a foreign investor controls.
• Business visa: if you only need to travel to Chile periodically for short executive or management trips tied to a company's business or investment, rather than relocate, capped at six months of total stay per calendar year.

References

1. [1]
   Ley 21.325 — Ley de Migración y Extranjería (Spanish) [law text]
2. [2]
   DL 1.094/1975 — Ley de Extranjería, derogada (Spanish)
3. [3]
   Decreto 177 — Subcategorías Migratorias de Residencia Temporal (Spanish) [law text]
4. [4]
   Decreto 23 — Subcategorías de Residencia Transitoria (Spanish) [law text]