On May 14, the Home Office issued Decree 177, which establishes migratory subcategories of temporary residence (“New Migration Decree”).
The majority of migration permits must be processed from abroad, and there are requirements established for each migratory category. This is expressly stated in article 4 of the New Migration Decree:
“Article 4.- Applications for temporary residence permits must be made from the foreigner, except in the case of requests referring to the subcategory of family reunification and the subcategories of temporary residence based on humanitarian reasons, as well as those of people whose stay is consistent with the objectives of the National Migration Policy and Immigration, and in other cases duly qualified by the Undersecretary of the Interior through resolution, following a report from the Service, which may also be carried out in national territory. In all cases, applications must be submitted through the electronic platform arranged by the Service.
Likewise, they may be carried out within the national territory, through the platform that the National Immigration Service will have for such purposes, the applications of those who already have the status of holder of a temporary residence permit and wish to change the migratory subcategory, extend it, or change the quality of the immigration permit residence in the case of dependents. In the same way, those applications that due to express mention of this supreme decree must be carried out by public entities”.
From the foregoing, it is concluded that a foreigner who has entered the country with a temporary residence permit (tourist visa, as it is colloquially known), could not apply from the national territory for a temporary residence permit and opt for any of the categories of the New Migration Decree (among them, the one known as “work-visa”).
We also point out that all procedures related to migration must be carried out through the immigration website: https://tramites.extranjeria.gob.cl/, which is in the process of being updated to incorporate the request for authorizations and permits contemplated in the New Migration Decree.
For more information here.
