Chile Forum

Hello,

I have a couple of questions I hope I can get help with. I'm a Chilean citizen, I was born abroad and lived all my life abroad. I obtained citizenship throught my grandmother who was Chilean. I was just doing some random browsing online when I found out that military service in Chile is mandatory. I am 25 years old and as mentioned I have lived my whole life outside. My question is, do I need to register for anything? Or if I ever decided to move to Chile, would I then need to? One last question which is to do with marriage. My fiancee and I plan on getting married soon. I'm assuming that she wont be directly able to obtain citizenship, what would the process be? Thanks for your help on the two matters.

redbyte wrote:Hello,

I found out that military service in Chile is mandatory.

If you think there is any possibility that at some point that there could be an allegation of having dodged mil service in CL in the past you can call (56-2) 441 3871 which is the Dirección General de Movilización Nacional (DGMN) - the conscription people - or a Chilean consulate outside Chile. The law calling for your mandatory registration with the DGMN may have been in effect for your case even if you lived outside Chile. But there is supposed to be an amnesty program they can describe, although it's likely there is no violation. Nowadays the mil services get more applicants than they have openings so there is not a manpower shortage. Still, formally clearing the air via DGMN might be beneficial. The anmesty programme is called "Amnistía a infractores de reclutamiento."

That is not to be construed as legal advice.... de ninguna manera José.... just reviewing old notes on the topic. But now you have a number to call.

Thanks for your response. To clarify one thing further, I obtained my citizenship only recently, as we had lost my grandmother's passport and it finally turned up, so I was well above 18 then. I will call them though so thank you for the number. Also if anyone could shed light on my second question, that would be great .

not really sure about this, would have to check. At 25 you are likly a bit on the old side of prime military service. Nothing personal intended, just military everywhere tends to like the conscripts young and dumb. They ask less questions about why the other guys are shooting at them.

admin wrote:not really sure about this, would have to check. At 25 you are likly a bit on the old side of prime military service. Nothing personal intended, just military everywhere tends to like the conscripts young and dumb. They ask less questions about why the other guys are shooting at them.

24 is the oldest that you can volunteer for CL military service in the enlisted ranks. But the issue is not volunteering, but whether there might have been a technical violation if one was of age for mandatory registration while a Chilean national in the past.

Regarding admin's notions about age, smarts, and enlistment: the US allows enlistment in the Army up to age 35. Until a few days ago it was max age of 42 for enlistment (it changed on April First -- go figure). Contrary to popular antediluvian wisdom, the Combat Arms ASVAB score requirements are higher than for several other REMF MOSs. All of that has nothing to do with Chile.