Permanent residency

How to apply and the advantages

What makes Chile stand out amongst other Latin American countries is that no minimum financial investment is required in order to obtain permanent residency.

 If your temporary residency or work visa is coming to an end, but you don’t want to leave Chile, then apply for permanent residency (Permanencia Definitiva).

To apply for permanent residency in Chile you are required to spend at least 180 days per year in the country if you have a temporary residency visa. If you have a work visa, you need to spend 2 years in the country uninterrupted. Students on a study visa can apply after two years in the country, on the condition they have finished their studies.

Once you have spent the allotted amount of time in Chile, you must apply for permanent residency or revert to a tourist visa.

The permanent visa is valid for five years and renewable indefinitely. After five years you can apply for Chilean citizenship or dual citizenship without having to renounce your current citizenship. If you leave Chile for a period of longer than one year, your permanent residency visa will be revoked.

How to apply

Applying for permanent residency is much the same as applying for other visas. Two months before your temporary residency visa expires, you will need to present the following documentation to the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Santiago.

If you are applying at a consulate outside Chile, you may have to present additional documents or not require all of the above.

Benefits and disadvantages of permanent residency

Applying for and receiving a permanent residency in Chile has several benefits. Two of the key benefits are that:

Disadvantages (depending on your point of view):


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