Amendments to the Chilean Immigration Law

The enactment of a new immigration Law in Chile is still pending. The Law, among other things, will implement changes in the current system of granting visas that allow foreigners to work in Chile as well as in the subcategories of visas.

The current system establishes as a general rule that any foreigner who enters the country with a tourist visa may apply, within the term of such visa, for one of the available types of residence visas that allow him/her to work, provided he/she has a justification to do so. The new Law changes the above by establishing that foreigners who wish to travel to Chile for  work purposes must be hired from abroad, by applying for a visa at the respective Chilean Consulate that authorizes them to work, except for some exceptions indicated in the Law, such as those who have family relationships with Chileans or with permanent residents, among others. As well the Law creates new subcategories of visas, establishing that for their implementation, visas that have been granted before the new Law enters into force, will be assimilated to the new visas that are created without the need for a new administrative act to be issued for them, and they will have the duration for which they were granted. However, the new immigration Law has yet to enter into force.

For more information on these articles or any other issues involving labour and employment matters in Chile, please contact Ricardo Tisi (Partner) of Cariola Díez Pérez-Cotapos at rtisi@cariola.cl or visit www.cariola.cl