Minimum possible time in Chile to then wait for temporary periodic income visa in the US ?

[jb_chile]

Assume for this question Covid goes away (or perhaps Chile does what some countries are doing and allows visitors who quarantine 2 weeks) and laws and procedures remain approximately as they are were 9 months ago, however inconsistent they were.

So the plan would be arrive on visitors visa, probably rent a minimal apartment in Chile, apply with Spencer Global, if needed then wait briefly for some kind of proof of application, return to the US. Then have someone monitor my mail box in Chile and when I get temporary residence, return to Chile for 6 months, then apply with Spencer Global for permanent residence. Then probably return to the US till I get the permanent residence.

So my questions are " if needed then wait briefly for some kind of proof of application", would I need to do that or how long would I need to stay in the country on the visitor visa ? Estimate how much does it increase the risk of the application not working (the biggest risk it seems is I have to return to for some visa processing reason before the temporary visa is granted and I am [improperly] refused entry without using a new visitor visa or being recorded as having exited on the visitors visa instead of as having applied for the temporary residence visa) ?

I understand that this plan increases time to get permanent residence by at least 6 months, since as soon as temporary residence is granted, I would need to spend 6 months in the country before I could then apply for the permanent residence visa.

[passport]

OK possibly admin is taking the day off... Anyway I’ll just share a couple thoughts based on my ongoing personal experience.

I arrived in Chile to stay September 1, 2019 – on a tourist visa. Very soon after, I submitted my Temporary Residency Visa application -verified all in order - via Spencer Global, and began waiting. In January, I got called to appear at the Pto Montt immigration office in person for some preliminary purpose (don’t exactly remember what it was). Then in very early March I was called again to appear in person in Pto Montt to formalize the submission of my application and get the application review process going. Failure to appear in person would cause me to lose my place in line and start over again at the bottom. At that time I was in the US and made a special quick trip to Chile and back in order to comply and not lose my precious place in line.

That was in early March. Here we are more than six months after my in-person visit to formally start the application review process. According to the status-check page on the immigration website, nothing apparent has changed since that visit. My one-year anniversary of sending in the paperwork, in order to get the appointment at Immigration, has come and gone. Meanwhile I am unable to return to Chile on my Tourist Visa.

Reading your post, it looks like you’re hoping everything will go like clockwork. That would be delightful.

Not so long ago, some other(s) posted their current experiences, describing delays even longer than mine.

The take-away message is: you really gotta want it, you gotta be ready for the long haul.Things could loosen up tomorrow and start flowing efficiently and I sure hope they do.

Or not.

Honestly ask yourself the hard questions and plan your life accordingly.

[jb_chile]

passport,

First thanks much. I have read quite a few experiences on the board and so your timing even in a non Covid world does not surprise me. At this point I am willing to commit funds and short trips (soonish), but I am less willing to commit long uninterrupted time in Chile till I know certain things (like the constitutional plebiscite progresses, like my temporary residence has been approved via the most likely way to get perm residence - which I judge to be through Spencer Global's process).

>> In January, I got called to appear at the Pto Montt immigration office in person for some preliminary purpose (don’t exactly remember what it was).

In normal times do you think you could have probably been in the US when called and made an emergency trip on a visitor visa to do that ?

>> At that time I was in the US and made a special quick trip to Chile and back in order to comply and not lose my precious place in line.

So I take it you just beat the border closure, and were able to enter on your tourist visa in early March ?

>> Meanwhile I am unable to return to Chile on my Tourist Visa.

I assume you mean due to Covid ?


If trips I need to take are ones I can take with a typical jobs vacation periods (1-2 weeks each to 4 total weeks a year), for now that's the best for me. I might even be able to convince my job to let me 'work from home' in Chile for brief periods - and who knows maybe for 6 months even after I get temporary residence. If in order to make more trips I have to pay for and 'enjoy' last minute red eye flights around weekends I can do that. That last part (at least) might need to wait till I have had a vaccine which I expect by mid 2021. I realize that 'perhaps Chile does what some countries are doing and allows visitors who quarantine 2 weeks' is very hopeful. While China is planning something like this, Chile might be the last country to do such a thing due to its immigration system.

[alextrombone]

That was in early March. Here we are more than six months after my in-person visit to formally start the application review process. According to the status-check page on the immigration website, nothing apparent has changed since that visit.

It’s possible that you’re application has been approved. When I applied for a temporary visa, the website never changed and I actually called the Extranjeria and they told me that my application had been approved and my visa was ready.


All I can offer to this thread is that I applied for a temporary residence visa at the beginning of December last year, my application was approved around May, and I got my carnet in August. Still waiting for the stamp, but due to the current situation they give you a temporary electronic one. It’s valid a year and I will have to re apply again either for another year of temporary residency or “permanencia definitiva”.

[passport]

Hi jb
No problem to return to Chile on a Tourist Visa for meeting at Immigration when there is no quarantine.
I didn't just beat the border closure, I just missed it.
Yes I am unable to return to Chile at present because I only have a Tourist Visa and the COVID restrictions do not permit entry on a Tourist Visa.

Thanks alex that could make all the difference

[admin]

Sorry guys. Weather is improving and being outside is way more fun than hanging out on the forum.

As soon as you file, you can leave the country while waiting for a response from the department of immigration. Just under the covid restrictions, that means you can't come back.

You need a permanent address in the country as the PDI will check you live there.

After temporary residency is granted you can come and ho as you like, but you need to be here at least 180 days out of year.

That said, don't assume anything as long as the covid emergency is going on.

[jb_chile]

OK possibly admin is taking the day off... Anyway I’ll just share a couple thoughts based on my ongoing personal experience.

I arrived in Chile to stay September 1, 2019 – on a tourist visa. Very soon after, I submitted my Temporary Residency Visa application -verified all in order - via Spencer Global, and began waiting. In January, I got called to appear at the Pto Montt immigration office in person for some preliminary purpose (don’t exactly remember what it was). Then in very early March I was called again to appear in person in Pto Montt to formalize the submission of my application and get the application review process going. Failure to appear in person would cause me to lose my place in line and start over again at the bottom. At that time I was in the US and made a special quick trip to Chile and back in order to comply and not lose my precious place in line.

That was in early March. Here we are more than six months after my in-person visit to formally start the application review process. According to the status-check page on the immigration website, nothing apparent has changed since that visit. My one-year anniversary of sending in the paperwork, in order to get the appointment at Immigration, has come and gone. Meanwhile I am unable to return to Chile on my Tourist Visa.

Reading your post, it looks like you’re hoping everything will go like clockwork. That would be delightful.

Not so long ago, some other(s) posted their current experiences, describing delays even longer than mine.

The take-away message is: you really gotta want it, you gotta be ready for the long haul.Things could loosen up tomorrow and start flowing efficiently and I sure hope they do.

Or not.

Honestly ask yourself the hard questions and plan your life accordingly.

passport, it seems clear you are saying you had to appear twice, months apart, -in person- after your initial application. It was clear your lawyer could not go in your place either time ? How much notice did you get for each ? If a lawyer could not have gone in your place, does it seem like you could have brought a translator with you at least ?

Anybody else have anecdotes about how many times they had to appear -in person- for their temporary residence visa (the regular income kind) and how much notice you got ?

[passport]

I think the notice was short - like a week or less.
I did go with a translator, who is the lawyer’s legal assistant.

[admin]

I don't know what you are looking for.

It is the department of immigration. You do need to physically appear and prove your identity from time to time in the process; and it will be different for every single person that applies due to their application, the 9ffice, the time of year they file, etc, etc.

[nwdiver]

You want residency in Chile but don’t want to live in the country??? Why??????

[gringalais]

Nwdiver - I was trying to restrain myself, but I was thinking the same thing. It's not the first time I've seen been a post like that here.

[gringalais]

Oops, duplicate post.