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Moving California to Santiago. - Visa questions

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simonom27
  12/31/2018 22:18 EST

Good evening and Happy New year!

I am moving to Chile very soon and I am almost ready to apply for my temporary residence visa here in Los Angeles so I can move to Chile as soon as I can. The consulate is not being very clear on answering my questions about the visa so I would love some insight from those who have done this. ( I have a job in Chile already. I shall get my offer letter next week)

1. On the application sent to me from the consulate, the form asks for the day I leave, flight number and day of return. I'm confused as to what to put for that and am afraid to leave it blank. not sure what to do since I don't intend to buy a return ticket because I'm applying for one year residence.

2. I am applying for a Visa Titular but the consulate says that's not an option do do that in the states?

3. Once the consulate receives my papers and application, how long does it take for you to know whether you are approved or not?

I appreciate any help or additional tips!! Thank you

Becerra65
  1/1/2019 07:27 EST

I moved to Chile in June from CA. I came here with a round trip ticket (about the same price as a one way ticket) on a tourist visa (no paperwork required). I don’t think you can have a one way ticket unless your temp resident paperwork is in process or completed. You can stay in Chile for 90 days then go to the government office in Chile pay $100 get your passport stamped and stay another 90 days. I then left the country back to the states to visit family. I will eventually work on the temp visa but for now I’m here on a tourist Visa. My partner of 15 years is a Chilean citizen.

The consulate in LA was no help. They said start your paperwork in Chile. Your employer should help you with this. Make sure you have your personal FBI Background check and state police report completed and copy paperwork no older then 30 days along with your work contract and then go to the government office in Santiago. It’s a long process but don’t worry it’s not as complicated as it seems.

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simonom27
  1/1/2019 09:10 EST

Thank you for your response! Greatly appreciated.

What you said is what my boyfriend and I were gonna do. However he went last week to Chile on vacation with his family to start the process for himself, but the HR department at our employer suggested that we do our papers in our respective countries.

They said it was too expensive to come and do what you said you did. So I’m a little confused hahah. Was it expensive for you?

Should I just try to apply in the states?

Becerra65
  1/1/2019 10:51 EST

I think it’s more expensive in the states. Everything is. I wanna say it was around $800. For now I am continuing on a tourist visa. You could do the same and instead of departing to the states to start the process over every six months you could depart to one of Chile’s neighboring countries which would be less expensive. This is of course a temporary fix. I will eventually apply for temp residence or get married to my boyfriend who is a citizen.

sandisolo
  1/1/2019 11:10 EST

Good morning Simon;

Hopefully, there is a human being you can speak to directly at the Consulate and secure answers. I permanently leave Nevada for Chile 1/31/19. Here's to getting allll the crazy details figured out, taking a breath, and starting a new chapter in life.

liewald
  1/1/2019 13:44 EST

Happy New year!
Welcome in advance to Chile.
I think it is a pity that neither Consulate nor company in Chile can give you straight answers.

I run a small NGO helping migrants and have been a relocation consultant for 6 years, this is free advice:

1 The Chilean government passed a new immigration law that is still in Congress but they are acting like it was approved.
2 You can travel to Chile on a one-way ticket but having an "outbound" one which could be a Bus from Santiago to Mendoza (USD 60)
2.1 A one-way could be more expensive than a cheap roundtrip, check online, Even one-week ticket will work.
3 Once you are in Chile you can apply for a Temporary Residence (TR) visa until the new law is approved and published. It could be mid-2019 or 2020, according to our sources.
3.1 TR Visa for Professionals requires your Bachelors Diploma with Apostille and a job offer
3.2 TR Visa for "Vínculo con Chileno" can be obtained with just a legal "living together arrangement" (Acuerdo de Unión Civil) the cost is like 4K pesos plus the cost of the Visa.
3.3 Remember that lying to Chilean government are grounds to Visa denial and you will get 15 days to leave the Country

If you can read Spanish here is all the information you need about migration to Chile:
https://www.facebook.com/ConsuladoCivico
Each post has links to applicable laws, it was prepared to help Venezuelans but laws are the same for all migrants and/refugees no matter the country of origin.
On IG check @ConsuladoCivico

If you want more free advice you can help us build the same in English, laws are the same but the explanations need to be culturally sound, translation revised, etc.

Don't hesitate on reaching out

Walt

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Becerra65
  1/1/2019 14:23 EST

Thank you for this info. So if you are cohabitation with a Chilean there is a temp visa you can apply for? I don’t work here in Chile but I do bookkeeping remotely for a couple clients. I would like to get the temp visa. I currently go home to visit family and can afford the tickets for now so leaving to the US every six months works. I stay for 90 days then pay the $100 for an extended 90 days then leave. When asked at customs who I am visiting I tell them the truth that I am visiting my fiancé and considering moving here Which is the reason for my extended stay. I always have a round trip ticket.

liewald
  1/1/2019 15:34 EST

Yes, you can sign a Union Civil at any civil registry and get a TR visa based on that. You can ask for a work permit or just wait for the visa to be issued. Also if you have your diploma include it on the application.
The benefit of Union civil is that it gives you the same legal benefits as marriage and you don't need to go through a divorce to disolve it. Just go again to civil registry and sign off.

Becerra65
  1/1/2019 19:04 EST

Thank you for that information. Very helpful!

Karstin
  5/26/2019 15:24 EST

My Spanish is about a 2 out of 10 (which I expect to continue to improve in an immersive environment). My partner and I are considering spending a couple of years in Chile once we sell our house in California. Waiting to see how the new VISA laws affect us, but expect to come to Chile to investigate as tourists. Assuming we want to stay, we go apply for a 1 year VISA. My real question is, do they have anyone who speaks English or do we need to bring a translator?

Thanks in advance for any assistance with this.

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