Chile Forum

by **Harry** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 3:14 pm

Hello all!

My question is......
My wife, (Brazilian) and I (British) are moving to Chile.

We are finding it extremely hard to find a shipping company that can help us ship our small amount of stuff from Barcelona (Spain) to Santiago.
The problem i am dealing with at the moment is the fact that I'm being asked by the shipping company for a visa?
My wife and i will enter Chile as tourists and organise out visas once there.
Obviously we don't need a "visa" to enter Chile.
Does this mean we can't ship our things until we can prove we are legally resident? I can't believe this to be the case.
If anyone has any advise or experience with this topic i would very much appreciate it, many thanks!

Harry

by **RWS** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 5:34 pm

You may need a visa, even as a tourist. A Chilean lawyer, some of whom speak good English, could advise you.

On a tourist's visa (or equivalent), you might not be allowed to bring in household goods. Again, a Chilean lawyer could advise you.

by **Harry** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:02 pm

What do you mean by "visa" ?
As a British passport holder we are only given a entry stamp.

I can't believe that you need to be "resident" in a country first in order to ship personal items over?

Thanks!

by **RWS** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:11 pm

Harry, I'm a lawyer, but an American one, not a Chilean. Yes, some countries require other than a simple stamp in the passport. Yes, many countries require that you either be resident or have a licensed business within the country before you may bring in more than luggage accompanying you on the airplane or passenger ship. Again, you'll get the best, most reliable answer from a lawyer admitted to the bar of the country about whose laws you have questions; my alerting you to these concerns is not legal advice.

by **Harry** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:41 pm

Thanks RWS, i see what you mean......

So i could be without my best cloths when i'm walking around Santiago :wink:

by **zulu789** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 7:52 pm

You don't need a visa...I did not needed one when I shipped my personal belongings from USA to Chile ( One Box of about 24inches X24 X24) .
I sent this as cargo from Miami to Santiago
Went to LAN terminal and claimed ,did customs pay for one of storage and for the BL and out the door I went..That is it..
I was in the country as a tourist,and i show my passport as proof of identification for claiming my box...
It is a piece of cargo after all...Addressed to your name....
That is it

by **RWS** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:17 pm

Ah, yes. I'd forgotten that Harry might have been asking only about the legality; I'd assumed that he was interested in how to go about not only receiving the goods physically but also receiving them without paying customs duties. One may always (in the West, and provided the goods are considered dangerous, or detrimental to morals, etc.) have things sent into the country, even if one is just a tourist, if he do not mind paying taxes on the importation. Again, though, for means, which do exist, of legally avoiding (not evading!) payment of duties, a Chilean lawyer's guidance is helpful.

by **zulu789** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:23 pm

without paying customs duties = personal belongings = No tax or import duties

by **MikieO** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:46 pm

This brings up an interesting question. Zulu's things were able to fit into a 24 X 24 box. I'd imagine that shipping household goods like fridges, beds, dishwashers etc would give an entirely different "read" on the matter. In any event, I'll be finding out first hand late May when I go to meet my UK shipment in San Antonio.
I'll keep you posted. BTW Zulu, that table and chairs looks like it'll work too.

by **admin** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:40 pm

You do not need a visa to ship in to Chile. That is just silly. What do all those companies in China do?

Most of the clients we handle shipping for are on tourist visas.

If you do a search on the forum and the wiki, you should gets lots and lots of pages about shipping tips and the various ways to go about getting tax exemptions.

The customs agents can not be avoided. Depending on what you are doing (e.g. tax exemptions, new car), a good one can really save you. A bad one can add insult to injury.

by **Rook** on Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:55 pm

Chilean customs web site is:

http://www.aduana.cl/prontus_aduana_eng ... elers.html

This will give you a guide to what the government will allow. Typically there are monetary limits on what you can bring depending on visa type.

by **admin** on Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:05 am

The limits are if you do not want to pay taxes. Under a tourism visa, you are going to pay the taxes anyway. That is personal belongings aside, as the assumption is as a tourist you would take the stuff with you as you leave.

You have to have applied for residency visa to get any import tax benefits. At that it is only $5,000 per household plus about $1,500 in work related tools, and you have to use it during your temporary residency visa. If you are planning on using this, you need to come to Chile on a tourist visa and then start the immigration process. You need to be ready to spend a year in Chile for the temporary residency time. It takes about 2-3 months to get that status, then you can ship in say all your household stuff in a container and claim the tax benefit during that year period just once.

by **Harry** on Tue Apr 15, 2008 9:38 am

It sounds like a pain either way, right?

My wife and I are setting up a company immediately when we arrive, + organising the relevant visas for us personally.
So what I'm understanding is that the best way would be to become legal then ship the items over.
Now we're only talking about 3 cubic meters! Mostly cloths and books, the main thing we have is an electric piano.
Everything comes under $5000 usd so we should be from taxes?

Thanks for all your advise!

by **bezaj** on Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:53 pm

do you think that a cubic meter of books could be a personal belonging? i think it should. of course only used books.

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Need Help In Chile? Spencer Global Consulting Chile, South America Legal, Investment, Real Estate, Relocation, Construction, and all your needs in Chile, South America Call Us:

English (56) 45 247-378 Español / Fax (56) 45 749-167

Need Help In Chile?

Spencer Global Consulting Chile, South America
Legal, Investment, Real Estate,
Relocation, Construction,
and all your needs in Chile, South America
Call Us:

English (56) 45 247-378
Español / Fax (56) 45 749-167