New Visa Categories Introduced

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At a Glance

The Chilean government has announced changes to the current immigration system, including the following:

• New humanitarian visas for Haitian and Venezuelan nationals, effective immediately; and
• New visas to be effective in July and August intended to attract foreign workers.

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The situation

New visas types are being introduced into the Chilean immigration system as part of a new law that will eventually overhaul the country’s immigration system.

A closer look

• Effective immediately. Two new visa types were introduced April 16, 2018, including a tourist visa for Haitian nationals and a visa specifically for Venezuelan nationals.

 

• Upcoming changes. The government will introduce additional visa types, including a family reunification visa for Haitian nationals in July, and a Temporary Opportunity visa and a Temporary International Orientation visa in August.

 

Impact on foreign nationals

Foreign nationals seeking to reside and work in Chile should benefit from the new visa categories since they will have more entry options.

Impact on employers

Employers should be able to attract more highly-educated and skilled foreign nationals to work in Chile.

Background

Chile’s current immigration system dates back to 1975. With an increasing influx of foreign nationals, there is a need to modernize the legislation and adapt it to the country’s current needs.

The initial draft of the new immigration law that the above visas are part of was removed by the new government for re-writing in September 2017.  However, some issues requiring urgent solutions are being addressed by the visa types discussed in this alert.    

Additional visa types are expected to be implemented in the future.

Looking ahead

New legislation detailing the new visas’ conditions and requirements is expected to be published by the end of the year, after which it will be submitted to the Colombian House of Representatives for analysis and approval.

Fragomen will report on the new visas’ details when they are finalized.

This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].