Chile visa requirements

[mike35]

We'll be flying in to Santiago on 1/1/06 prior to embarking on the Insignia on 1/3. Oceania says there is a visa requirement; however, my experienced TA says that it's an "embarkation fee", payable by cash only in the amount of $100. Has anyone else had experience with this? It's also my understanding that again, contrary to Oceania's advice, a visa is NOT required for Argentina, as long as the stay is less than 90 days.

 

Thanks

 

Mike

[Host CMLA]

We'll be flying in to Santiago on 1/1/06 prior to embarking on the Insignia on 1/3. Oceania says there is a visa requirement; however, my experienced TA says that it's an "embarkation fee", payable by cash only in the amount of $100. Has anyone else had experience with this? It's also my understanding that again, contrary to Oceania's advice, a visa is NOT required for Argentina, as long as the stay is less than 90 days.

Hi Mike. As a US citizen, you do not need a visa to enter Chile. However, there is a processing fee requirement and it's $45 I think. See link: Visa for Chile You do not need a visa to enter Argentina either. If your cruise started in Argentina instead of Chile, you would not have to pay the processing fee.

[greatam]

The fee is $100.00. It has to be paid in CASH, NEW bills. However, I have heard from my Chilean business colleagues that Chile started taking credit cards for the fee in July. When I fly to Santiago in November for my first of four yearly trips, I will check if the credit card info is correct.

 

The fee is NOT a visa. There is NO paperwork involved-merely pay the fee. It is either stamped or stapled to your passport and good for the life of your passport. The fee is an airport fee-I feel it is another "tit for tat" fee, just as the Brazilian requirements of photos, fingerprints, and Visa fees. The USA is trying to keep the "bad guys" out of our country and other countries see this as a way to retaliate for our processing fees AND acquire some US greenbacks. I spend quite a little time in South America for business and all the domestic airport fees are getting more and more expensive. Only place cheap anymore is still Cusco. I'm off my soapbox.

[Meribeth]

They staple a paper in your passport when they take the $100 fee. The fee is good for the life of your passport.

[kannna]

Do you still have to pay it if you are just leaving through the airport? This will be where our cruise ends.

[Meribeth]

It's only charged to arriving air passengers. They take the fee just before immagration. You won't have to pay leaving.

[Host CMLA]

It's only charged to arriving air passengers. They take the fee just before immagration. You won't have to pay leaving.

I took the BA to Santiago cruise in 2002 and the fee had just been implemented. I, of course, didn't have to pay it because I didn't enter through Chile. I think this is a selling point for BA to Santiago cruises versus the other direction because four or five hundred dollars for a family to enter Chile and cruise from there is a lot. Unfortunately, I don't think enough travel agents point this out and it's a surprise to many people.

[Goldryder]

The fee is one thing I have been told I am exempt from, being a UK/EC passport holder. I am flying in from UK via Spain to Chile and flying back to the UK via Spain from Buenos Aires.

[kannna]

Thanks i was concerned there for a minute.

[mikiew]

I was told to post this here, as I had put some first hand knowledge on the Oceania board.

 

 

 

You do have the pay the $100 either way. It is for entering the country. If you arrive by ship, you are still going to leave by the airport, and need that piece of paper stapled in your passport.

 

 

 

We have been there three times, all with the same passports, but they had to see that we had paid the $100 (or mine was only $20 because it was sometime ago) when we left the Santiago airport.

 

We arrived by ship this last January, and people did have to pay at the airport when they left.

[greatam]

Thank you, Mikiew, for also posting what I have tried to inform people of.

 

The Chile fee is an AIRPORT fee. They can't call it a VISA, as there are NO paperwork requirements. It really is "tit for tat", just like Brazil. So if you are flying in to or out of Santiago (or any other place in Chile) on a US PASSPORT, you will have to pay the fee.

 

Some of the ships have been able to "circumnavigate" the system. I don't know how, but I do know it p**** the Chileans off. I wouldn't hold my breath thinking you will NOT pay the fee.

 

Please be prepared to pay the fee going or coming from Chile, if you have never been there before and don't have the proof stamped or stapled to your passport. I will check when I go in November to find out if they really are accepting credit cards. But due to the fact that any credit card transaction will be charged as an international charge, and subject to international currency transactions fees, my advice would be to get as many NEW $100.00 bills from your bank as you need. Then just hand over the bills and be done with it. If for some reason you don't have to pay, you got a bonus out of your trip.

[Goldryder]

I have been reading the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office site, it says nothing about the $100 fee upon arrival, so to be absolutely sure I have emailed my TA to clarify matters, but as you can see from below, no mention is made of this..

 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

 

If you are a British passport holder visiting Chile for less than 90 days, you do not require a visa. If you wish to stay longer, you should consult the nearest Chilean Embassy.

 

Single parents or other adults travelling alone with children should be aware that Chile requires notarised documentary evidence of parental or judicial authority to enable a child to leave Chile either alone, accompanied by one parent or accompanied by a third party. For further information on exactly what will be required at immigration please contact: Chilean Representation in the UK

 

Once in Chile, if you decide to stay for 90 days or more, you should approach the Chilean Immigration Department located in Agustinas 1235, Santiago. Tel: 56 2 550 2400.[/Quote]

 

http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618387243

[Host CMLA]

The Chile fee is an AIRPORT fee. They can't call it a VISA, as there are NO paperwork requirements. It really is "tit for tat", just like Brazil. So if you are flying in to or out of Santiago (or any other place in Chile) on a US PASSPORT, you will have to pay the fee.

I'm not sure what's changed but I sailed from BA to Santiago, when the fee was in effect, and I did not pay the fee to leave the country. I guess I got lucky.

[mike35]

It's my understanding that one has to only pay the fee upon arrival into the country (via aircraft, not ship).

 

Mike

[greatam]

I have been reading the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office site, it says nothing about the $100 fee upon arrival, so to be absolutely sure I have emailed my TA to clarify matters, but as you can see from below, no mention is made of this..

 

 

 

http://www.fco.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate/ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1007029390590&a=KCountryAdvice&aid=1013618387243

 

You have a British passport-the fee does NOT apply to anyone other than US passport holders. It is a retaliatory fee, as are many foreign fees and "rules" after US tightening requirements and raising fees after 9/11

[greatam]

It's my understanding that one has to only pay the fee upon arrival into the country (via aircraft, not ship).

 

Mike

 

As I posted previously, some ships have been able to "circumnavigate" the system and their passengers have NOT been charged. The Chileans are starting to crack down on this. Remember, you are NOT dealing with the US government, where laws are generally applied for everyone.

 

Right after 9/11, when the US instituted or raised fees for a lot of countries to obtain entry into our country, some countries retaliated or instituted their own fees. Chile was one. Brazil was another.

 

Obviously, some countries are not as adept at getting the word out to everyone concerned. Right after 9/11 (November 2001), I flew into Santiago on business. NO ONE even looked for the stamp, even though ithe requirement was in force at that time. BUT when I flew in in January, 2002, they tagged me for $60.00 cash, NO OLD BILLS, good for the life of my passport. Since then, I have made 13 business trips to Chile. They ALWAYS look now. Twice, I have combined a business trip with a cruise (2002 and 2004), ending in Chile, and they have checked for the stamp (mine is stamped, not stapled, as I go to Chile at least 4 times per year).

 

You can do as you please. I would at least be prepared to pay the fee. Last January, I saw a whole group of Americans at the Santiago airport raising a ruckus about the fee. Hardly anyone had cash. They had just disembarked a cruise ship and "NO ONE TOLD THEM ABOUT the FEE". "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU DON'T TAKE CREDIT CARDS". I kept hearing this over and over. A couple of them are lucky they didn't get escorted to never never land. You are in a foreign country. And a South American foreign country to boot. Chile is more progressive and more "American like" than most in South America, but you are still at the mercy of their laws, their attitudes, etc. I do know that about 1/2 the group I saw missed their flights back to the US, as the ATM ran out of cash and they could not leave until they ponied up the fee. It was a VERY nice flight back to Miami-the plane was 1/2 empty.

 

Discretion being the better part of valor-have a couple $100.00 bills available so you can pay the fee, IF NEED BE.

[digby]

"The fee is $100.00. It has to be paid in CASH, NEW bills. "

 

Not true! I arrived in Santiago last December, and they took credit cards, traveler checks, and cash. I paid with five 20 dollar bills which were NOT new and had NO Problem.

[Bahama Kid]

Are we talking about US dollars or the equivalent amount in Chilian money? That is, will they take US dollars?

[Keith1010]

I flew into Santiago earlier this year. You do have to pay a $100.00 fee if you are flying into Chile. We paid in cash and that is what most people did. It is true that the do want new bills. I first handed them two $100.00 bills (one for me and one for my wife) and one of them was not very new and they asked for another bill in lieu of that one. We are talking about US Dollars.

 

They do staple a receipt into your passport which is good for the life of your passport so if you were to return some other time you would not have to pay the fee again.

 

After arriving on the plane in Santiago we walked about five minutes and then waited on a line to pay this fee before we could go to the area to claim our luggage. Our wait was about 15 minutes although I am sure this will vary based on time of day, etc.

 

We finished our cruise and flew out of Bueno Aires, Argentina. No visa was required there. We did pay a small fee at the airport in Buenos Aires after we got our tickets and before we went through security. I believe it was around $16.00 per person plus/minus a few dollars. If you are flying out of Buenos Aires Argentina most of the flights that go to the US leave within a few hours of eachother so the airport can get quite busy and there are a number of different lines to wait on before you get to your gate so leave yourself a lot of time.

 

Keith

[mike35]

Thanks for the "heads up", Keith. People have indicated that credit cards are accepted in lieu of cash; can you please confirm that?

 

Thanks..

 

Mike

[Keith1010]

Mike, if I remember correctly they did take credit card, but I can't remember if all lines took credit card or just one of the lines. It seemed to me that just about everyone was paying with cash. If it were me I would plan to have the cash there just in case they don't accept it on all lines or for whatever reason their systems are down and they can't take the credit card. That way you can still try to go with a credit card if you prefer but if you run into a problem you have the cash available.

 

Keith

[BCHappyGal]

If any of you are doing B2B cruises and arrivng in Chile aboard your ship and also leaving aboard the ship - only visiting all the various ports you also don't have to pay the fee - instead they give you a picece of paper to carry around with you. We were called intransit visitors.

[dileep]

If your cruise started in Argentina instead of Chile, you would not have to pay the processing fee.

 

That's good to know. It makes up for the extra night that people get at the dock in BA if you go from Chile to Argentina.

[kannna]

Ok i have done more research.

 

This is what the chilean embassy website says:

 

ENTRY FEE:

There is a reciprocity fee of 100 dollars to be paid in cash (U.S. dollars) or credit card but only to tourists entering by plane, and the one-time charge is good for the life of your passport. G0 TO the CONSULAR SECTION.

 

http://www.embassyofchile.org

 

I went to the consular sectionand it's all in spanish. With what spanish i know there is no mention of the "reciprocity fee" that i can find.

 

hmmm

[greatam]

I just returned from the first of my four yearly business trips to South America. Flew LAX/Santiago. Asked a lot of questions about the "entry fee", "airport fee", "reciprocity fee". I was getting some rather curious looks at the airport with all my inquiries. Asked my business colleagues also. This only applies to US passport holders. Here is the best I could make of it:

 

The fee is still $100.00. If in cash, it is up to the collector whether the bills will pass muster. Writing, rips, stains are usually turned down. They are now frowning on $100.00 bills. Too many counterfeits in South America. Best advice-take five NEW US $20's per person. Get them from the bank, put them in an envelope, and if you need them, you have them.

 

Credit cards-Yes, they are taking them, BUT only some of the collection lines have machines to process. There is also a 4% charge for usuage AND most US banks will charge 1-3% for foreign transactions. This makes it pretty expensive to use your credit card, BUT if you spent the cash, at least you can enter or exit Chile.

 

Now to the big question-does it apply to cruise ship passengers arriving in Chile via ship and leaving via plane. YES, BUT.

 

It is supposed to apply to ALL US passport holders entering Chile, by whatever means. Remember tit for tat??? However, one person told me some of the cruiselines are "negotiating" with the Chilean government to allow their passengers to exit for free. Evidently, there is a "bulk" payment made, in conjunction with "port fees". Another one of the South American quirks or should I just call a horse a horse? CORRUPTION. No one seemed to know specifically WHICH cruiselines. One person told me it was on a ship by ship basis. Another told me it depended on the "relationship" the cruiseline had with the Chilean government. There is a booth to pay the fee at the Santiago airport, but the hours are SPORADIC???? Welcome to South America!!!!

 

My best advice-Be prepared to pay the fee. Take the cash, in an envelope. If you do not have to pay, you have a vacation bonus.