Chile Forum

eeuunikkeiexpat wrote:... Bottom line, check the "Yes" box if you have ANY product of plant or animal origin so the worst that can happen is confiscation of an item or items rather than a surprise stiff fine.

CONFIRMED. Saw a government commercial on television regarding this the other day. Guess it's now official. Again, check "YES/SÍ" if you have ANY items of plant or animal origin.

Ferries ARE operating from Puerto Montt and other northern port points to Chaiten, with small transport buses providing onward services to La Junta and Futaleufu. But as always, subject to weather conditions.

For those of you who may wish to view (or avoid) the 2009 Dakar Rally...

Contestants leave Mendoza on Jan 9 for Valpo.
They depart Valpo for La Serena on Jan 11.
Then from La Serena to Copiapo on Jan 12.

http://www.dakar.com/2009/DAK/presentation/us/r3_5-le-parcours.html

gringalais wrote:Re: the Argentina reciprocity fee, I am wondering if it affects permanent residents traveling on their Chilean ID card. Last time I went to Argentina, I was told I didn't need my passport, just my Chilean ID. Does anyone know?

We made the crossing at International Route 215 which links Chile and Argentina last Week and there was no fee. I was on my American passport and tourst visa, my wife was on her Mexican passport and tourst visa. We made the crossing both ways...One person in our group used her Chilean ID.


Joe

As frequent border crosser to Peru, my advise on SAG forms is as follow:
1.-If you are completly sure not carry any vegetal or animal product check every NO box
2.-If you have a minimal doubt, just fill any other information and ask help to the inspector to fill boxes, it is the best way, he is OBLIED to help you

Good information, Tomás. I hadn't known that the inspector had a legal obligation to assist the traveller in completing the form -- thanks.

Yes, they are oblied to help, some of those people are very rude and unpolite and I enjoy when I make remind then their obligations so as they are the first impression for visitors to the country, I do it every time I see some of those "authorities" abusing on their microscopic power

Good points, Tomás (particularly that those civil servants often are the first Chileans that the foreigner meets on Chilean soil), and good for you for making them.

We had one student try to bring a bag of Basmati gourmet Indian long-grain rice into Santiago. They confiscated it and fined him for bringing seeds, even though of course milled rice cannot be grown. They let him bring in quite a bit of powdered spices, but took the rice and legumes. What is that all about? Is Chile trying to keep it secret that their so-called first-class rice is really third class?

davidbrucehughes wrote:We had one student try to bring a bag of Basmati gourmet Indian long-grain rice into Santiago. They confiscated it and fined him for bringing seeds, even though of course milled rice cannot be grown. What is that all about? Is Chile trying to keep it secret that their so-called first-class rice is really third class?

Did he mark "NO" on his form for vegetable origin products? If so and they found it and also determined it was prohibited - a FINE! If he did mark "YES" and they did check out the item and it was determined to be prohibited - CONFISCATION but no fine should have been the result.

I made this warning a couple months back on this thread.

davidbrucehughes wrote:We had one student try to bring a bag of Basmati gourmet Indian long-grain rice into Santiago. They confiscated it and fined him for bringing seeds, even though of course milled rice cannot be grown. They let him bring in quite a bit of powdered spices, but took the rice and legumes. What is that all about? Is Chile trying to keep it secret that their so-called first-class rice is really third class?

Considering the massive problems associated with invasive alien species, both the possibility of the rice (not fully milled or is it EVEN actually milled?) and host organisms that it may hold, why even risk allowing it in? Risk/reward analysis says it's absurd to allow what is likely a fairly poorly-trained individual to be in charge of making a call on whether or not some indivudal coming into the country has a plant/organism that is completely free of danger. Obviously you can't keep EVERYTHING out, but you can exclude the most likely suspects and I would imagine bags of rice falls on that list.

You know what, I would side with not letting the rice in after what I seen in China. I taught at an agricultural school where they where doing really scary genetic experiments, and all the kids where taking that experimental rice and other spieces home to their parents in the countryside because it would yield way more. I believe the government in China, at least at the local levels, was encouraging it. The reason it would yield way more was because it basically engineered to grow like a weed pushing out any other species and create its own toxins against bugs. "science" in China was a fairly loose term. I am not against genetically modified food, but I am against really uncontrolled science.

Chile already has some serious problems with all kinds of none native species. So far they have managed to hold back the tide.