Chile Forum

I was just wondering if anyone knew the extent of immigration to Chile. If you can become a full citizen, do you get full rights accorded to someone actually born there? For example, could I serve in the Chilean army? Or is this right reserved for born Chileans? I am just curious. I can't seem to find the information anywhere else. Thank you for your time.

are you a rusian spy wanting to infultrate the chilean army?

kinda of a weird question to ask......

Not really? I am just not going to immigrate to a country that doesn't give me full citizenship ever. Being a half-citizen isn't very fun.

WhatSayYou wrote:I was just wondering if anyone knew the extent of immigration to Chile. If you can become a full citizen, do you get full rights accorded to someone actually born there? For example, could I serve in the Chilean army? Or is this right reserved for born Chileans? I am just curious. I can't seem to find the information anywhere else. Thank you for your time.

Before thinking about that, ask yourself why you would even consider immigrating to Chile. Unless you were born in Bolivia, of course. And then why you would want to join the Chilean army, for crissake? You get the same citizenship rights with or without mil service.

Pretty much full rights once you finally become a full citizen, voting and semi-auto pistol ownership and all of that. And probably mil service. Consider this: I think the max age for enlisted volunteers is age 24. If it takes you 7 years to become a full citizen, do the math.

The "simplified" requirements for enlistment are as follows and it just says Chilean nationality, not native-born.

d) ¿Qué requisitos me piden para postular al Servicio Militar Voluntario?

Respuesta:

Nacionalidad: Chilena
Cédula de Identidad Nacional vigente
Desde los 17 años (cumplidos) hasta los 24 años de edad.
Salud: compatible con la vida regimentaria.
Aprobar los requerimientos exigidos ante la Comisión de Selección del Contingente cuando sea convocado (en el lugar, hora y fecha indicada en las listas de llamado).

Oh, that reminds me of something I always wanted to know. Do you ever get a right to vote as a foreign citizen with residencia definitiva, if you chose to not become a Chilean citizen?

WhatSayYou wrote:Not really? I am just not going to immigrate to a country that doesn't give me full citizenship ever. Being a half-citizen isn't very fun.

as px you get everything,

the only benifits i see over perm res is ...

1. you get to vote, no point really politics here are a mess
2. gun ownership ??? as px said.... wow
3. a chilean passport...
4. no requirement to be in country certain amount of time to keep residence....
5. politician?????? ref punto uno....

What else?

That's all pretty solid information. Thank you, to all who responded.

WhatSayYou wrote:That's all pretty solid information. Thank you, to all who responded.

That will be $500.

zer0nz wrote:

WhatSayYou wrote:
the only benifits i see over perm res is ...


2. gun ownership ??? as px said.... wow

Actually you get that with just permanent residency, a clean nose, and a lot of patience.

WhatSayYou wrote:For example, could I serve in the Chilean army? Or is this right reserved for born Chileans? I am just curious. I can't seem to find the information anywhere else. Thank you for your time.

No, I can confirm that it's not necessary to be born Chilean to serve in the army.

patagoniax wrote:And then why you would want to join the Chilean army, for crissake?

Admittedly most people considering another citizenship would prefer to renounce one in order to avoid joining the army than take one on to be able to join but still, the Chilean military shouldn't entirely be written off as a career opportunity, it's certainly well enough funded, the air force seems to be capable and Admin here has said good things about them and their performance during the earthquake. The navy is apparently not bad, though there have been reports of poor discipline in port from them, and some army units have a good reputation, for example the Alpine (well, Andean really) that operate mostly along the border with Argentina. The Chilean military seems to have made a determined effort to leave its past behind, and recent commanders in chief have explicitly accepted the supremacy of the civilian government.

Some units of the carabineros, I believe the GOPE units responsible for drug traffic interdiction also have a good reputation.

FrankPintor wrote:the Chilean military shouldn't entirely be written off as a career opportunity

Yes it should, at least at officer-level. The academic and physical requirements to enter the escuela militar are quite stringent, and even if you are a suitable candidate, if you come from the "wrong" sort of background you won´t get a lookin. And pitutos play a big part in the selection as well.

Yeah, I just need to know if I actually immigrate to Chile and attain my citizenship if I can serve. PX said it was 18-24, but the CIA factbook claims you can volunteer between the ages of 18 and 45. I think a military career would be important. I plan to fully renounce my American citizenship. Serving Chile with my life would be something I'd like to do to prove my devotion to my new country.