Chile visa options for Australia passport holders
Tourist / short stay
Visa-free · up to 90 days
Enter without a visa, usually for a set number of days.
Visa types & longer-stay routes for Chile
Rules are written for non-Chilean foreign nationals generally; short-stay visa-exemption and any prior-visa or transit-visa requirement depend heavily on your specific nationality, so always verify with a Chilean consulate.
- Most nomadsTourist
Tourist / Short-Stay Permit (Permanencia Transitoria)
Up to 90 days; extendable once to a 180-day total per period (approx USD 100 extension fee). Verify by nationality.
- Insurance
- RecommendedNot required by law, but strongly recommended — travel/international health insurance advised as Chile provides no free care to visitors.
- Good for
- Visitors arriving for tourism, recreation, sport, health, family visits or general short stays without intent to reside or work.
- Requirement
- Valid passport; visa-free for nationals of 100+ countries (most of EU, UK, US, Canada, Australia, much of Latin America). Some nationalities need a consular tourist visa in advance. Must prove lawful means of support and onward/return plans.
- Business
Business Visitor (Permanencia Transitoria – business purposes)
Up to 90 days, under the same transitory-stay permit as tourists.
- Insurance
- RecommendedNot required by law; international/business travel medical insurance recommended.
- Good for
- Short-term visitors attending meetings, negotiations, conferences or business management ('gestiones de negocios') without taking up paid local employment.
- Requirement
- Valid passport; entry visa-free for most nationalities or a consular short-stay visa where required by nationality. No paid local work permitted; specific sporadic paid activities (lectures, consulting) need separate SERMIG authorization.
- Most nomadsWork
Work / Remunerated Activities Temporary Residence (Residencia Temporal – trabajadores)
Granted for up to 2 years, renewable in 2-year increments; leads to permanent residence after ~24 months.
- Insurance
- OptionalNot a formal application condition; once resident, enrollment in FONASA (public) or ISAPRE (private) health system applies. Verify current rules.
- Good for
- Foreign nationals taking up paid employment with a Chilean employer, or self-employed/own-account workers and freelancers providing services in Chile.
- Requirement
- Signed Chilean work contract or a services contract longer than 3 months; passport valid 12+ months; criminal-record and supporting financial documents (e.g. recent bank statements). Visa no longer tied to a single employer. Apply via SERMIG digital portal.
- Study
Student Temporary Residence (Residencia Temporal – estudiantes)
Temporary residence valid up to 2 years, renewable for the duration of studies.
- Insurance
- OptionalNot explicitly mandated by SERMIG for this subcategory, but health insurance is widely expected for students — confirm with the institution and verify current rules.
- Good for
- Foreign nationals enrolled at a Chilean educational institution recognized by the State.
- Requirement
- Acceptance/enrollment at a state-recognized institution, valid passport, criminal-record certificate, proof of funds; application from outside Chile via the SERMIG digital portal.
- Residence
Investor / Director / Entrepreneur Temporary Residence
Up to 2 years, renewable; executive/director transferees who travel regularly are limited to about 6 months per calendar year.
- Insurance
- OptionalNot a stated application requirement; private/public health enrollment applies once resident. Verify.
- Good for
- Foreign investors, company directors/executives or entrepreneurs implementing investment or business projects in Chile.
- Requirement
- Evidence of a qualifying investment project (reported figures cite projects of approx USD 500,000 sponsored/endorsed via InvestChile for the investor route — verify current thresholds), corporate documentation, passport and criminal-record certificate.
- Most nomadsResidence
Retiree & Passive-Income Temporary Residence (Jubilados y Rentistas)
Temporary residence up to 2 years, renewable; pathway to permanent residence after ~24 months.
- Insurance
- RecommendedNot mandated for the application per SERMIG; private international or ISAPRE health cover strongly recommended for older applicants.
- Good for
- Retirees with a foreign pension, and rentistas living on stable passive income from real estate, investments or annuities (freelance/active income does NOT qualify).
- Requirement
- Proof of regular recurring income 'sufficient to meet basic needs' assessed against Ministry of Social Development parameters (no single official USD figure published; immigration firms commonly cite approx USD 1,000–1,500/month for a single applicant — verify). Apostilled pension/income and asset documents, passport, criminal record. Apply from outside Chile via SERMIG.
- Residence
Permanent Residence (Residencia Definitiva)
Indefinite once granted (subject to not being absent beyond allowed limits); citizenship possible after qualifying years of residence.
- Insurance
- OptionalNot an application requirement; residents are within the Chilean health system (FONASA/ISAPRE).
- Good for
- Temporary residents (workers, rentistas, family, students, etc.) settling long-term in Chile, as a step toward eventual citizenship.
- Requirement
- Generally 12–24 months of continuous, legal temporary residence (period depends on the prior subcategory), clean record and compliance with residence conditions; applied for via SERMIG.
- Transit
Transit
Short transit only; passengers staying airside and connecting within ~24 hours generally need no visa, but some nationalities require an airport/transit visa.
- Insurance
- OptionalNot required; general travel insurance advisable.
- Good for
- Travelers passing through Chile to a third country.
- Requirement
- Valid passport and confirmed onward ticket; requirement to hold a transit visa depends entirely on nationality — verify with a Chilean consulate before travel.
General guidance only and not legal/immigration advice; thresholds, fees and lists change frequently, so verify with SERMIG (serviciomigraciones.cl) or a Chilean consulate. Last checked: 2026-06.
Last verified June 2026
Routes that depend on your nationality
Some of Chile’s long-stay routes are open only to citizens of specific countries. Here’s where a Australia passport stands:
Working Holiday / Programa Vacaciones y Trabajo
You qualify — open to Australia passport holders
Bilateral Working Holiday agreements administered by Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG) and Chilean consulates. General age range 18-30; some partners allow older applicants (Canada and New Zealand up to 35, South Korea up to 34); Australia, France, Germany and Japan capped at 30. Single grant, 12-month visa, with work allowed but not more than 6 months for the same employer. Many partners have annual quotas (e.g. Australia ~1,400-3,400, Canada ~750, New Zealand ~940, France ~400, Ireland ~200) while Germany has no cap. Partner list is well-documented and verified across the official consulado.gob.cl 'Acuerdos Working Holiday' page and chile.travel; Switzerland holds a separate Trainee/Internship-exchange agreement rather than a full Working Holiday. Verify each country's current age limit and quota with the Chilean consulate before applying.
Working Holiday for Pacific Alliance citizens (Colombia, Mexico, Peru)
Not open to Australia passport holders
Working Holiday arrangement extended to Pacific Alliance partner states (Alianza del Pacifico). Listed alongside the bilateral Working Holiday agreements on the official Chilean consulate page. Typical Working Holiday conditions apply (age ~18-30, 12-month single grant, work permitted). Confirm current age limits and quotas with the Chilean consulate.
MERCOSUR Residence Agreement (Visa temporaria Mercosur)
Not open to Australia passport holders
Nationality-restricted temporary residence under the MERCOSUR Residence Agreement (in force in Chile since 4 Dec 2009). Open to nationals of full and associate member states. The well-documented core list is Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay; the agreement also extends to other associated South American states (e.g. Colombia, Ecuador, Peru). Grants a temporary residence permit of up to 2 years with full work authorization (no employer sponsorship) and a pathway to permanent residence; requirements are simplified (valid passport, birth certificate, police clearance, no criminal record). This is the inbound-to-Chile route. (US E-2 Treaty Investor and H-1B1 routes under the US-Chile FTA are excluded here because they let Chileans go to the US, not foreigners come to Chile.)
Visa-free isn’t insurance-free
Whatever route you take into Chile, your entry stamp never includes health cover. Many longer-stay visas also require proof of insurance before they’re granted. That part is on you — and it’s what we actually do.
Australia → Chile: frequently asked
- Do Australia passport holders need a visa to visit Chile?
- Visa-free · up to 90 days. Enter without a visa, usually for a set number of days. Always confirm with the official source before booking.
- Can a Australia passport holder live or work long-term in Chile?
- Yes, via a long-stay visa. Chile has 8 documented visa types covering work, study, residence and — where it exists — digital-nomad routes.
- Do I need travel insurance for Chile?
- Entry to Chile never includes health cover, so travel medical insurance is strongly recommended.
Last updated
Visa rules can change at short notice and depend on your purpose of travel, length of stay and onward tickets. Always confirm with the destination’s embassy or the IATA Travel Centre before you book. Visa-free entry never includes travel health insurance. That’s still on you.