Before you start

For the employment subcategory: an employment contract with an employer domiciled or with a branch in Chile
A ClaveÚnica or a SERMIG portal account, created before you apply
Passport, criminal record certificate and supporting documents
Application lodged from outside Chile

Step-by-step

1
Choose the right subcategory before anything else
SERMIG lists distinct subcategories — dependent employment, international reciprocity for Mercosur nationals, students, seasonal workers, international agreements. They carry different requirements and different rights to work.
OnlineWho: You
2
Apply from outside Chile through the Portal de Trámites Digitales
This is the step that trips people up. Applications are lodged from abroad using your portal account or ClaveÚnica. You cannot arrive as a tourist and convert.
OnlineWho: You
3
Enter Chile once the residence is granted
Your visa is stamped and you enter as a resident rather than as a tourist, which is what makes everything downstream possible.
In personWho: You
4
Register with the Policía de Investigaciones
Residents register their visa after arrival. Do it promptly — it gates the cédula application.
In personWho: You
5
Get your cédula de identidad and RUN from the Registro Civil
Book online through the Registro Civil's 'Primera obtención extranjero/a' flow, choosing your region and comuna. The RUN on the card is your permanent identity number.
OnlineWho: You
6
Apply for Residencia Definitiva when eligible
Permanent residence follows a qualifying period of temporary residence, and citizenship is a separate later step.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Employment contract with a Chilean-domiciled employer, for the work subcategory
Criminal record certificate, legalised or apostilled
Qualification documents where the subcategory requires them
Passport photographs

Things most newcomers don’t know

Applying from inside Chile is no longer possible, and most online advice hasn't caught up.

The 2021 migration law ended the long-standing practice of entering as a tourist and switching to a residence visa in-country. Applications now originate abroad through SERMIG's portal. Guides, forum posts and even some relocation agencies still describe the old route, and following it means arriving with no legal path forward.

Source: SERMIG — Residencia Temporal application process

The provisional RUT is the unlock, and it comes before your cédula.

You can obtain a RUT provisorio from the SII with form F4415, a passport and your visa — before the cédula exists. It is what lets you open an account, sign a phone contract and be paid. People wait months for a cédula not realising the RUT was available immediately.

Source: SII — form F4415 RUT registration; Registro Civil cédula process

RUT and RUN are two numbers from two different agencies.

The RUT is your tax number from the SII; the RUN is your civil identity number from the Registro Civil and appears on your cédula. In practice the digits usually match once you have both, but the processes are separate and asking the wrong agency for the wrong one wastes a morning.

Source: SII and Registro Civil

Mercosur nationality is a materially easier route.

Chile grants temporary residence by international reciprocity to nationals of Mercosur states, with lighter documentary requirements than the employment subcategory. If you hold Argentine, Brazilian, Uruguayan, Paraguayan or associated-state nationality alongside another, it is almost certainly the better application.

Source: SERMIG — international reciprocity subcategory

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving as a tourist intending to change status — that route was abolished in 2021.
Waiting for the cédula before getting a provisional RUT, and being unable to transact for months.
Assuming any employer will do — the work subcategory requires a Chilean-domiciled employer.
Underestimating apostille and certified translation costs and lead times.
Not checking whether a Mercosur reciprocity route is open to you.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.