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Chilean visa resources

Chile's Migration Law 21.325 and the four migratory statuses

Chile's current migration framework, Law 21.325, defines four statuses: transitory stay, temporary residence, permanent residence and nationality.

Official guidance Regularly updated

Important

This information is for general guidance only. Meeting the requirements does not guarantee your application will be approved.

Chile's migration system is governed by Migration Law 21.325 and its regulations, administered by the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones under the Ministry of the Interior and Public Security. The law defines four migratory statuses: Permanencia Transitoria (transitory stay), Residencia Temporal (temporary residence), Residencia Definitiva (permanent residence) and nationality.

A key change under the law is that, as a rule, a person who enters as a tourist cannot apply for residence from inside Chile - temporary-residence applications are generally made from abroad, with limited exceptions such as family reunification and humanitarian cases. Temporary residence is granted for a defined purpose under one of its subcategories and leads, after the required period, to permanent residence.

Applications and status checks are centralised in SERMIG's digital procedures portal, and the service publishes the full list of subcategories and their requirements online.

Next steps

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Official sources

For the most accurate and up-to-date information, always refer to the official government sources.

Verified against official sources · last reviewed 2026-08-21. Information only — not legal advice.