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Chile: visas, tax & cost of living

Moving to Chile as a remote worker? Cost of living, why no visa fits a foreign salary, the three-year foreign-income tax window, healthcare and banking, explained plainly.

Chile: visas, tax & cost of living
Your passport

United KingdomChile

Your move to Chile on a United Kingdom passport

  • VisitEasyVisa-free entry
  • NomadMediumNo nomad visa, other route
  • RelocateMediumResidence with conditions

Visiting

Visa-free for up to 90 days. Travel on a passport valid for your whole stay, with a return or onward ticket and proof you can support yourself.

Passport validity: Passport must be valid for the duration of your stay, with at least one blank page for the entry stamp.

At the border: Tourist Card (Tarjeta de Turismo) issued on arrival for up to 90 days; you may be asked to show proof of lawful means of support and onward plans.

Working remotely

No dedicated nomad visa; the usual route is a standard residence permit.

Tax and residency

Under article 8 No. 8 of the Tax Code you become resident once you have been in Chile, continuously or not, for more than 183 days within any 12-month period (resident from day 184). Separately, if you establish domicile (residence with the intention of staying), you count as domiciled from your first day in Chile, with no day count. A foreigner who becomes resident or domiciled is taxed only on Chilean-source income for the first three years counted from entry, a period the Regional Director can extend in qualified cases; after that, worldwide income is taxed. (estimate)

The UK decides residence with its Statutory Residence Test (days in the UK plus your ties). As a non-resident you are usually taxed only on UK income; where one exists, a double-tax treaty with the destination decides who taxes what.

Practical

Currency: CLP. Cost of living: mid.

Healthcare: Chile runs a mixed system (public FONASA plus private ISAPRE); foreigners usually need legal residency to join the public scheme, and most expats carry private or international insurance.

Driving: Tourists can drive on a valid foreign licence and an International Driving Permit is a useful translation; residents are expected to obtain a Chilean licence.

Sources: SERMIG (National Migration Service) - Temporary Residence permit · SERMIG - Residencia Temporal subcategory 2, lawful remunerated activities (Chilean employer or job offer) · SERMIG - Residencia Temporal subcategory 11, retirees and rentistas · SERMIG - Residencia Temporal subcategory 15, Mercosur reciprocity (AR, BO, BR, PY, UY) · SERMIG - Tourist (Permanencia Transitoria) entry rules and paid-work ban · SII Circular 63 of 25 Nov 2021 - resident (Tax Code art. 8 No. 8) and domicile · SII - Income Tax Law (DL 824), art. 3 three-year rule for foreigners · U.S. Embassy in Chile - Entry and Exit Requirements · GOV.UK: tax on foreign income · HMRC: double-taxation treaties

Estimates, not advice. Confirm with the official sources before you act.

Should you move to Chile?

Let me be the friend who has already done the move: Chile is one of the calmer, better-run landing spots in South America, and it tends to surprise people. Santiago is modern and safe by regional standards, the Andes sit right on the city’s shoulder, the internet is genuinely fast, and the time zone (roughly aligned with US Eastern for part of the year) makes it workable for anyone with North American clients. The trade-off is that Chile is not the cheapest country on the continent, and Spanish here is spoken quickly, with its own slang. If you want a stable base with real infrastructure and don’t need rock-bottom prices, Chile is a strong pick for digital nomads. If your whole reason for leaving is to cut costs to the bone, look further north first.

Cost of living in Chile

Chile costs more than its neighbours, but far less than most of Western Europe or the US. A single remote worker in Santiago should budget somewhere around USD 1,200 to 1,800 a month all in, depending heavily on the neighbourhood, though treat that as an estimate and price your own shortlist before you commit.

Rent is the swing factor, and it is cheaper than most newcomers expect. A one-bedroom apartment in central Santiago tends to run roughly USD 400 to 700 a month; in expat-favourite Providencia think USD 450 to 800, while the pricier eastern comunas like Las Condes can reach USD 900 to 1,300 (figures reported by local rental portals and cost-of-living aggregators in early 2026, so confirm current listings before you commit). Utilities for a mid-size flat land around USD 150 a month, and groceries for one person around USD 200 to 300. Coastal Valparaíso and the south are generally cheaper than the capital. These are directional numbers, not quotes, so always sanity-check against a live source before signing anything.

Chile digital nomad visa and entry

Here is the honest version: Chile has no digital nomad visa, and none of its residence routes is built for people working for clients or an employer outside the country. The Residencia Temporal, a temporary residence permit valid for up to two years, has a work subcategory, but it needs a contract with an employer domiciled in Chile or with a branch there, or a formal job offer from a Chilean person or company, so a salary from abroad does not fit it. The retiree and rentista subcategory covers a pension or steady income from property or financial assets, not employment.

The migration service (Servicio Nacional de Migraciones, SERMIG) sets no fixed figure for the rentista route: the income must be regular and enough to cover at least your basic needs, measured against parameters set by the Ministry of Social Development. Tourists get up to 90 days (Permanencia Transitoria) and may not carry out any paid activity. SERMIG can grant work authorisation for specific, occasional jobs, such as lecturers, technical experts, performers and athletes, but remote work is not on that list. To see which category actually fits your nationality and situation, run your details through Voymo’s digital nomad visa checker, then confirm the specifics on the official government page.

Tax residency and the 183 day rule

This is where Chile gets genuinely interesting for newcomers. Under article 8 No. 8 of the Tax Code you become a Chilean tax resident once you have been in the country for more than 183 days within any 12-month period (the days do not need to be consecutive), and you count as resident from day 184. Separately, if you settle in Chile with the intention of staying, you are domiciled there from your first day, with no day count at all.

The perk: a foreigner who becomes resident or domiciled is taxed only on Chilean-source income for the first three years counted from entry into Chile, leaving foreign salary, dividends and pensions outside the net. The Income Tax Law lets the tax authority’s (SII) Regional Director extend that period in qualified cases, but it sets no length for an extension and nothing makes one automatic, so plan on three years before standard worldwide taxation applies. That is a real runway, but it is nuanced, and your home country may still tax you regardless. The 183-day count is only half the picture once a tax treaty and your home ties enter the room, so model your situation with Voymo’s tax-residency reality checker and then sit down with a cross-border accountant. Chile tax for expats rewards planning before you land, not after.

Healthcare and insurance

Chile runs a mixed system. To join the public fund, FONASA, you sign up with a Chilean identity card (cédula de identidad) and a payslip or pension slip showing contributions paid to FONASA, and registered family dependants are covered too. The private route is the ISAPRE insurers, which buy you access to private clinics, shorter waits and more choice, at a higher cost, though they can price or decline plans based on age and pre-existing conditions within current legal limits. Standards in the good private clinics are high. Until your residency and RUT are sorted, carry solid international health insurance from day one, and confirm what any FONASA or ISAPRE plan actually covers before relying on it.

Money, banking and settling in

The RUT is the key that unlocks everything: healthcare, a phone contract, and a local bank account. Opening a Chilean bank account as a foreigner has historically been slow and often needs residency plus that RUT, so expect friction early on and lean on a multi-currency account (Wise or similar) for your first months. Get your RUT process moving quickly, keep a foreign card as backup, and budget for a few weeks of paperwork before life feels frictionless. None of this is hard, it just takes patience and the right documents in the right order.

Figures are estimates. Always check the official source.

Frequently asked questions

Chile: is there a digital nomad visa?
No dedicated digital nomad visa; most people use a standard residence permit instead.
Chile: when do you become a tax resident?
Under article 8 No. 8 of the Tax Code you become resident once you have been in Chile, continuously or not, for more than 183 days within any 12-month period (resident from day 184). Separately, if you establish domicile (residence with the intention of staying), you count as domiciled from your first day in Chile, with no day count. A foreigner who becomes resident or domiciled is taxed only on Chilean-source income for the first three years counted from entry, a period the Regional Director can extend in qualified cases; after that, worldwide income is taxed.
Chile: what is the cost of living?
The cost of living is moderate and the local currency is the CLP. Treat any figures as estimates.
Chile: do you need health insurance?
Chile runs a mixed system (public FONASA plus private ISAPRE); foreigners usually need legal residency to join the public scheme, and most expats carry private or international insurance.
Chile: can you drive on a foreign licence?
Tourists can drive on a valid foreign licence and an International Driving Permit is a useful translation; residents are expected to obtain a Chilean licence.

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Last verified: 2026-07-25

Voymo gives general information to help you organise your move. It is not legal, tax, or immigration advice, always confirm with an official source or a qualified professional before you act.

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