Working in Chile: the work permit, the 85% rule and your diploma
Anyone coming to work in Chile applies from abroad for a residencia temporal for paid work, with an employment contract or a formal job offer. As a tourist you may not work. Employers with more than 25 staff must have at least 85% Chileans on the payroll. You have a Dutch diploma recognised at the Universidad de Chile.
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To work in Chile you need a residencia temporal in the subcategory for paid work, the actividades lícitas remuneradas. You apply from abroad, to the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), with an employment contract, a service contract or a formal job offer from a Chilean employer. As a tourist you may not work. And your employer has a rule of its own: anyone with more than 25 employees must have at least 85% Chileans on staff.
| What | The rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Work with a contract | temporary residence up to 2 years, renewable by 2 years | SERMIG |
| Work with a job offer | first 90 days; within 45 days of arrival the contract, then a one-year extension | SERMIG |
| Fees for Dutch citizens | US$ 321 | Res. Ex. 129194 |
| As a tourist | no paid work, apart from a few exceptions | SERMIG |
| Partner of a permit holder | may work | Ley 21.325, art. 74 |
| The 85% rule | with more than 25 employees | Código del Trabajo, art. 19 |
| Posted from the Netherlands | up to 2 years in Dutch social security | treaty, art. 8 |
What do you submit with the application?
Besides your passport, a photo and a criminal record certificate from the countries where you lived in the last five years, you submit the contract and proof that the employer can pay you. If the employer is registered for tax, the Carpeta Tributaria, the company's tax file, goes with it. Otherwise the employer shows that it has sufficient means.
With a job offer, the offer letter is recorded before a Chilean notary, and you sign your acceptance at the consulate. SERMIG then first gives you a permit of 90 calendar days. Within 45 days of arrival you submit the final contract; a one-year extension follows.
Do not start working on a tourist stay in the hope of sorting it out later. SERMIG says that holders of a permanencia transitoria may not do paid work, and that you cannot apply for temporary residence in Chile from that stay. The application is made from abroad.
Only for specific, short assignments, such as performers, athletes, speakers and technical experts, does SERMIG have a work authorisation for tourists. It costs one and a half times the fee for the work permit.
How do you show an employer that you may work?
With the habilitación laboral certificate. You get it online in SERMIG's portal. The system checks your details and issues a certificate with a QR code, which is also sent to your email. An employer can see straight away that you have permission to work.
What does the 85% rule mean?
Article 19 of the Chilean labour code says that at least 85% of one employer's workers must have Chilean nationality. Employers with no more than 25 workers are exempt. Article 20 governs the count: it covers all workers in Chile together, technical specialists do not count, and a foreigner with a Chilean partner or Chilean children, or who has lived in Chile for more than five years, counts as Chilean.
In which country are you insured?
The social security treaty between the Netherlands and Chile says in article 6: anyone working in Chile falls under Chilean legislation, even if the employer is based elsewhere. Posting is an exception. If a Dutch employer sends you to Chile for at most two years, you stay in Dutch social security (article 8). A 2022 protocol extends that to four years, but is not yet in force. What this means for your AOW build-up is in AOW, pension and tax.
How do you have your diploma recognised?
The Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs only recognises diplomas from countries with which Chile has a treaty: Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and Uruguay. The Netherlands is not among them. For Dutch diplomas you go to the Universidad de Chile. It has two routes:
- the revalidación, equivalence with a Chilean professional degree, needed to practise a regulated profession;
- the reconocimiento, recognition that you hold a higher degree, for professions for which the Chilean degree is not a requirement.
You submit the diploma, the transcript and the study programme, with an apostille and an official translation, plus your CV and your authorisation to practise the profession in the Netherlands. Doctors also take the EUNACOM exam; lawyers receive their title from the Supreme Court.
How the permit for your partner and children works is in the residence routes. Your partner can also read what a partner without a job arranges.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Chile or go straight to step 2.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- SERMIG — residencia temporal for paid work, with a contract or a job offer — serviciomigraciones.cl
- SERMIG — permanencia transitoria, no paid work as a tourist — serviciomigraciones.cl
- SERMIG — Resolución Exenta 129194, the fees per nationality (Países Bajos) — serviciomigraciones.cl
- SERMIG — the habilitación laboral certificate — serviciomigraciones.cl
- Ley 21.325, article 74: partner and children as dependiente, and allowed to work (BCN) — bcn.cl
- Código del Trabajo, articles 19 and 20: the 85% rule and how it is counted (BCN) — bcn.cl
- Netherlands–Chile social security treaty, articles 6 and 8 on which country insures you (wetten.overheid.nl) — wetten.overheid.nl
- Ayuda Mineduc — recognition and revalidation of foreign diplomas at the Universidad de Chile — ayudamineduc.cl
- Ayuda Mineduc — recognition through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, only for treaty countries — ayudamineduc.cl
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