Chile Forum

[quote="eeuunikkeiexpat"]Airline or Chile Immigrations? I've never heard of a UK AllChilean being asked this by Chile Immigrations.

Anyways:
[quote="(EMPHASIS MINE - eeuunikkeiexpat) Timaticweb"]/ 26JUL10 / 1753 UTC

( I deleted the remainder of your post to try and keep mine as short as poss).

Whether you may have heard of a UK citizen being asked for his return ticket or not , isn´t of interest as maybe you aren´t informed of every decision being made by immigration. The UK visitors that I mentioned were young so perhaps the immigration officer thought it was odd that they would want to come all this way for one week; I don´t know. He was very polite and made no fuss about it. I do agree that we are very lucky here in Chile in that immigration officials are very easy going but it doesn´t change my point in that you MAY BE asked for your ticket. I believe the point in having websites such as this is to assist others, not to try and lay down laws that don´t exist. What you said about this not being a requirement if the visit is for tourist purposes is exactly how I understand it also, but it´s always possible that your intentions may be questioned. As I said in my earlier post, immigration offcials are a law until themselves. I´ll give you a recent example which although didn´t occur in Chile and hence is not be relevant with regard to US citizens arriving in Chile, does show that the interpretation of immigration regs is up to the man at the gate:

A US citizen took a flight to London to stay with his girlfriend. He arrived with a return ticket valid for 3 months- so just like you say, as he was visiting for tourist reasons he assumed he would have no problems. What happened ?- the immigration officer thought that 3 months was a long time for a vacation visit. The visitor then offered to buy a ticket to return within a month, upon which he was refused entry as the immigration officer didn´t believe his intentions. His girlffiend who wrote the post, said she was writing it as her boyfriend was on his flight back to the US.

So you do confirm 100% it was Chilean Immigrations and not the airline? I'm still not clear on that.

Look, I have a zillion Chile stamps in my passport. I have either marked Writer or Investor as my occupation on the Tourist Card. They know my pattern of entries, exits, renewals in country, etc. as it is all recorded in their system. I have never been questioned about any of this or even advised to get a real visa.

I outlined the rules and my experience and the other expats and visitors I have personally spoken to show they never have had an issue with Chile Immigrations but only with the airline agents who I know how to handle whenever they question my lack of an onward or return ticket.

So was it really Chile Immigrations or the airline agent claiming what they assumed was Chile Immigrations stance?

And regarding your non-applicable example - pretty weak argument. Really, Chile Immigrations is a far cry from UK or US Immigrations.

My single experience (albeit 9 years ago).. The airline did make a lot of fuss about my 1-way ticket in London, but eventually let me board after I produced a lot of documentation about procedures for obtaining an official visa in Chile. The immigration officer in Chile never asked about it.

That said, I do get the impression that little details may have altered since the recent change of government.

James.

The reason I'm such a hard ass on this issue is to help other people come and visit Chile. Many are so paranoid (being from the US, UK, etc or believing stories about how all the developing wold is corrupt) that I have to shake my head and respond. I follow and contribute to ChileGringos, Thorn Tree South America, TripAdvisor, Virtual Tourist, Frommers and FlyerTalk and I have never heard of a hassle by Chile Immigrations for someone from a country that only needs a Tourist Card. If you are not on Interpol's list or wanted for some infraction inside Chile, you will breeze through Chile Immigrations and discover all the paranoia was for naught.

Well my question certainly sparked an interesting debate. I did end up booking a round trip ticket. Mainly because I don't want to be forced into buying a return ticket at the airport (which I've heard rumors of being true). Also, I'm flying first into Argentina, not sure if that changes anything in regards to me needing to show proof of a return ticket. I'm going to wait a few months before coming to Chile while I wait for my Chilean passport to arrive. So fear not, eeuunikkeiexpat, no customs horror stories would ever keep me from moving to Chile!

Thanks again for all the information!

topic740.html#p2205

eeuunikkeiexpat back in 2007 wrote:
(1) Refer to evidence from Timatic (access via the Delta Airlines site), the IATA database the entire travel industry uses to determine whether they will print you a boarding pass on travel day.

<---SNIP---><Timatic entry for USA passport holder>

(2) I am a real life example of someone that has lived on a tourist visa in Chile since May 2001 always traveling on itineraries that terminate in Chile. Let's see, I must have 49 stamps since May 2001 in my just expired passport. Chile Immigrations has never asked me for proof of funds or my future travel plans. The airlines are a different story.

A once uninformed me was denied a boarding pass at MIA by an uninformed American Airlines ticket agent until I purchased a return ticket (I bought a 100% refundable ticket which I cancelled on landing in SCL).

Afterwards, I found out about the exemption and now know it by heart and recite it, slap down my credit card, and direct/order the ticket agent to look it up in Timatic (at their fingertips) if questioned (about three times since my bad MIA experience).

IME, Lan has never given me a problem. American Airlines and Delta can be pendejos about it.

(3) Go to Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree South America forum to see how zillions of probably not so rich looking gringo mochillero-types never seem to have a problem when entering Chile/Argentina/Uruguay/Peru/Bolivia and most other Latin American countries in the region.

Also refer to admin's next post in BIG LETTERS.
topic740.html#p2212

In reply to eeuunikkeiexpat- , I have to say I find your attitude arrogant to say the least. I´m not on trial here so don´t need to answer a stupid question " ... do you confirm...". You also don´t appear to read correctly what I write as you seem to be arguing about people having problems at immigration. I quite clearly stated that the request was politely made with no fuss; just a polite question to which a polite answer was given , so why you should feel it necessary to make such a fuss is beyond me. As to the example I gave being a weak argument, as I said in my post, it was given merely to illustrate that immigration rules are not written in stone . Maybe my error was that I should have taken into account that this forum is really only for US citizens, who probably never have any problems entering Chile anyway. If that was my crime I plead guilty. As to why you find it smart to live here for 9 years as a tourist defies logic, but that´s your own affair

Yeah just like the other posters, backtracking, putting words into my mouth and kettle calling the pot black ("likewise" misreading what I wrote and what was that description thrown about, "arrogant" was it?) after their primary argument is demolished which a search and a warning of what was to come went unheeded.

Yes, my business and my business only for doing what I'm doing. Now that indeed was a very weak fallback non-argument argument.

Suerte.

Also, if you have a problem with me or the forum, take it up with admin. I am a poster tasked with SPAM control. Just because my handle shows up as green doesn't mean crap as this forum is hardly moderated. I am still waiting for someone to show me where I've deleted or edited their post outside of early linking or spam control.

Firstly, with respect to arguing about certain posters living here for 9 years as a tourist, using the wording "defies the logic", I would clearly define the term "logic" first, and your understanding of it second, before stating that anything "defies" the said logic.

When wiping clean all your 10 fingers from the black paint, at the Registro Civil: what would you think about your being "in the system" or "outside the system"?.. I am willing to hear?..

Secondly, as a habitual "one way" ticket traveler in the past (should all the countries and their immigration control posts, that this poster passed through, be listed? it would take time, really) I would say that the true and correct information based on personal experience, about the ability to enter any country on a "one way" ticket is vital for hundreds of visitors to Chile, regardless of their nationality.

So, when someone is just calling "bullshit" what they think is really bullshit in this regard (the Chilean immigration, and the "one way" ticket issue, I mean) -- they are honestly willing to help the others, and that's why they are so firmly questioning the opponents, and nothing but that.