Tourist visa (prior authorisation): Chinese citizen in China → Chile
Chinese citizens need a prior authorisation (tourist visa) to enter Chile as transitory-stay visitors — apply online via the official Sistema de Atención Consular (SAC); if approved you pay the fee within 30 days and receive the visa by email, for a stay of up to 90 days. The visa is free of charge (US$ 0) for Chinese ordinary passports, and holders of a qualifying US or Canadian visa or a Green Card are exempt.
Chile's prior authorisation / consular tourist visa for transitory stays — short visits for tourism, business, family or similar, applied for online via the official consular platform (SAC) and issued electronically by email.
- Validity
- Single-entry: stay up to 90 days; multiple-entry: up to 90 days (official per-country table). The permit cannot outlast your passport's validity.
- Entries
- Single or multiple entry (multiple entries must be justified in the application)
- Max stay per visit
- 90 days (single entry) / 90 days (multiple entry); extendable by 90 days inside Chile via the National Migration Service
When to start
Start 21–45 days before your travel date.
The official per-country table of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists China ordinary passports as requiring a visa (¿Requiere visa?: SI): to enter Chile as a transitory-stay (Permanencia Transitoria) visitor — tourism, business, family or similar, for less than 90 days — you must obtain a prior authorisation or visa before travelling.
Chinese nationals holding a visa issued by Canada or the United States (any type except a C/transit visa) or a Green Card, valid for at least 6 more months, are exempt from the tourist visa — if the waiver applies to you, you can enter Chile visa-free as a transitory-stay visitor; confirm the conditions on the official page before booking.
Complete the application form online on the official Servicios Consulares en línea platform (SAC, tramites.minrel.gov.cl), explaining the reason for your trip and length of stay, and upload the required documents in PDF (file names without symbols or special characters).
The Chilean consulate serving your place of residence reviews your file. It may request additional documents — including an apostilled or legalised criminal-record certificate — and may call you to a personal interview, which you attend with all your original documents.
The application can be approved or rejected; in both cases the decision is notified to you by email. Submitting your documents does not oblige the consular authority to grant the authorisation.
If the application is approved, the consulate emails payment instructions and gives you 30 days to pay the visa fee — for China ordinary passports the tourist-visa fee is free of charge (US$ 0) per the official table. Where the fee is collected in local currency, a 10% surcharge applies.
The visa is sent electronically from the consulate's official email account to the personal email address in your application. Print it and carry it together with your valid passport when you enter Chile — the visa does not guarantee entry; the migration authority makes the final decision at the border.
What you'll need
- Online application form (SAC platform) — Complete the form on the official Servicios Consulares en línea platform, explaining the reason for the trip and the length of stay. ✓ verified
- Colour photo, white background, passport size (5×5 cm) — Full face, without accessories such as glasses, scarf or hat — uploaded to the platform. ✓ verified
- Copy of the personalization page of your valid passport — A copy of the data (personalization) page of your passport, which must remain valid for your stay — the permit cannot outlast the passport's expiry. ✓ verified
- Proof of your own economic means — At least your last three salary slips plus bank statements showing the movements of the last three months; a qualifying family member's means may complement yours (attach apostilled/legalised proof of the relationship). ✓ verified
- Justification for multiple entries — If you request a multiple-entry authorisation, justify it, specifying the number of entries you need. ✓ verified·
- Proof of residence / migratory status (if applying outside your country) — If you apply from a country other than your nationality, prove your residence or migratory status there; if not resident, state why you are there and show the entry stamp in your passport or other proof of entry. ✓ verified·
- Criminal-record certificate (apostilled/legalised) — if requested — Consulates may request additional documents, including an apostilled or legalised criminal-record certificate, and may require a personal interview with all original documents. ✓ verified·
- For under-18s: parental link and travel authorisation — Applications for minors are lodged by their parents or legal representatives with apostilled/legalised proof of the link or guardianship; minors not travelling with a parent or guardian need a written, legalised or apostilled authorisation. ✓ verified·
Where you'll apply
You apply online in the official Sistema de Atención Consular (SAC, tramites.minrel.gov.cl); the application is reviewed by the Chilean consulate serving your place of residence, which may call you to an interview and notifies the decision and payment instructions by email.
Fees
| Tourist visa — single entry | varies |
| Tourist visa — multiple entries | varies |
Gotchas to watch
- Chinese nationals holding a visa issued by Canada or the United States (any type except a C/transit visa) or a Green Card, valid for at least 6 more months, are exempt from the tourist visa — check this before paying for a visa.
- The prior authorisation or visa does not guarantee entry to Chile — the migration authority makes the final decision at the border.
- Since 12 February 2022 you cannot change your stay type inside Chile (e.g. from tourism to work or study) — you must leave and re-enter with the right permit.
- Transitory-stay holders may not carry out paid activities.
- You have only 30 days to pay the fee once the approval email arrives.
- Where the fee is collected in local currency, a 10% surcharge applies over the US$ base fee.
- Upload documents in PDF and keep file names free of symbols or special characters — malformed names cause processing errors.
