Staying long-term: permanent residence
After 24 months — or 12 if a child is born in Chile
Residencia Definitiva eliminates the renewal cycle and opens the path to a passport. Filed after 24 months of temporary residence, and with a Chilean-born child or kinship with a Chilean — after 12 already. There is a filing window: 90 days before the current residence permit expires. Miss the window and the cycle starts over.
Who it suits. For those who have lived in Chile for two years on temporary residency. And for those whose child was born during that time — they qualify twice as fast.
What is included
- ⚠️ Monitoring the application window: 90 days before the current residence permit expires — no earlier and no later.
- Check whether you qualify for the reduced 12-month period
- Gathering and reviewing the dossier: no criminal record in Chile, proof of means of support
- Application and case management through to a decision
- Registro Civil appointment for a new cédula following the decision
- We give honest timelines from the authorities: SERMIG reviews temporary residency up to 12 months, permanent — from one to two years. These are service timelines, not ours.
What the package does not include
Paid separately and directly, with no markup from us.
- Chile government fees: 85 $ for a visa for a Russian passport holder, 138,974 pesos (approx. 152 $) for permanent residence, 38,697 pesos (approx. 42 $) for naturalisation
- Government fee for permanent residence — 138,974 pesos, approximately $152. Spouses of Chilean citizens and children under 18 are exempt.
- Apostille and translations, if new documents are required
Since 12 February 2022, Law 21.325 has been in effect: a foreigner present in Chile on tourist status cannot apply for residency. Exceptions are narrow — family reunification, humanitarian cases, and those who arrived before that date. So the usual process doesn’t apply here: person who arrives on 90 visa-free days ’to look around and apply’ finds out only on arrival and has to leave and reapply again from the country of residence. That is why the residence permit is arranged before departure, and entry is only permitted after a positive decision. That is why the first package in the range is our most expensive: it delivers status, not preparation o them. The timelines are departmental: SERMIG reviews the temporary residence for up to twelve months, permanent — from one to two years, and we we state this before payment, not after.
About timelines we can’t control. According to the 2025 SERMIG report, the temporary residency is processed from zero to twelve months — realistically six eight after a clean submission — and permanent residence from one to two years. We are responsible for preparation, submission and management; no one can guarantee government processing times, and anyone who ives promises, promises what isn’t theirs to give.
About how people lose an already-granted permanent residence. Chile’s permanent residency cancelled if you are absent from the country for more than two consecutive years. To extend the period possible at a Chilean consulate — once, valid for two years. A person who has left ’just here for a couple of years on business,’ comes back to find the status no longer exists, and back to two years of waiting from the start. We track the absence counter.
The exact amount for your situation is stated before we begin and confirmed in writing in the agreement. If it changes, you will be informed before payment, not after.
Window tracking, case file, application, management through to the decision, and new cédula.
Spouse, child, or parent in the same filing.
Prices are in US dollars and are all-inclusive — nothing is added on top. Chilean government fees are paid separately and directly to the authority: $85 for a visa for Russian citizens, 138,974 pesos (approx. $152) for permanent residence, 38,697 pesos (approx. $42) for naturalisation. Fees are set in UTM and converted to pesos at the exchange rate on the day of payment. Chile’s 19% IVA is included in the service provider’s price and is not shown as a separate line item. SVOY initial consultation — 100 $, credited in the cost of support — the same as for Mexico and Argentina. It is paid from the first minute: a breakdown of the Chilean case — these are two dates that must align, a category matching your income and an honest answer on whether you can make it in time. We hand over the roadmap with a schedule and budget, even if the conclusion is negative.
Other points
Housing rental and purchase, documents, bank accounts and taxes, schooling, driving licence — 28 services in Chile, each has its own price.
Package «Staying long-term» · Chile
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The same package in another country
There is only one moment in life, but the documents, deadlines and costs are unique to each case: the rules are set by the country.