How to Become a Chilean Citizen If Already a US Citizen
Obtaining Chilean citizenship is relatively easy for United States citizens, and several routes to Chilean citizenship are available. Common routes include work visas, investor visas, retiree visas and "rentista" visas (a person who lives in Chile on income flowing from rental or other investments). For all types of Chilean residency, a U.S. citizen would need to first obtain a residency visa to live in Chile. After two or three years, this visa can be converted into either permanent residency or Chilean citizenship.
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Instructions
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Obtain a tourist card ("Tarjeta de Turismo") allowing you to enter Chile as a tourist. This can be arranged before traveling to Chile, or when entering the country. The tourist card is issued by immigration services at Santiago's international airport, and costs (as of 2010) $131.
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Apply for a Chilean residency visa ("Visa de Residencia"). This can be done from the U.S. or after entering Chile as a tourist (see References). All visa applications can be done by mail. Third-party services offer online application forms for Chilean visas, for a fee. Send with your application: two notarized copies of your passport and tourist card; two passport-sized photographs, including your name and passport number; letter(s) from any employer or client you will work for in Chile, or proof of funds/income if self-employed, retired or "rentista".
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Move to Chile, if you are not already in the country. Register with the police there, "(Policia Internacional") then apply for a Chilean identification card ("Cédula de Identidad"), which you will carry with you while in Chile. The ID card is issued by the Civil Registry ("Registro Civil"). There is approximately a $5 fee for the card, and approximately six additional passport photographs also will be needed.
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Import your personal belongings after you have held your Chilean visa for a year. You can import belongings without paying tax on them, up to a limit of $5,000. Importing a U.S. vehicle into Chile is not permitted.
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Apply for citizenship after two to three years of living in Chile. Citizenship is one of the types of permanent residency ("residencia permanente") that are available to U.S. citizens who have lived in-country for at least two years. The application can be made at the Foreign Legalization Service, and the process typically takes six months to a year. The fee is quite nominal---approximately US$20.
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Tips & Warnings
Certain factors can help your application for Chilean citizenship: demonstrable savings; in-demand work skills; Spanish language fluency; Chilean family members; owning Chilean real estate; and a college education.
A qualified immigration attorney can make the immigration process go more smoothly.
Once you have permanent residency, long absences from Chile (over one year) will cause your resident status to expire.
References
Resources
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