Your first weeks in Chile: the registrations to do after landing

Moving to Chile involves a short chain of registrations, and most of them depend on the one before. The residence permit comes from the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG). The identity card, which carries your national number, comes from the Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificacion. Your tax number and your public health coverage both build on that card. Getting the order right, and hitting the one hard deadline in the chain, saves a lot of repeat visits.

This guide is for US citizens moving to Chile to live, not for visitors. It follows the official sources listed at the end and leaves out anything they do not state.

Step 0: know what your tourist entry allows

Americans usually arrive in Chile under what SERMIG calls Permanencia Transitoria, the status for people entering for tourism, business or similar purposes for a limited time, with no intention of settling. According to SERMIG:

• It allows a stay of up to 90 days.
• That period can be extended once, by up to 90 more days.
• The stay cannot run past the validity of your passport.
• You must be able to show enough money to support yourself during the stay.

The important limit for future residents: SERMIG states that people in Chile on Permanencia Transitoria cannot apply for residence permits from inside the country, with listed exceptions. These include family ties to Chilean citizens or permanent residents, applying as a dependant of a temporary resident, humanitarian reasons, and cases that fit the national migration policy or are specially approved. For most Americans, this means the residence application is something to plan before you fly, not something to start after a few weeks of looking around.

Step 1: the residence permit from SERMIG

Everything else in this guide starts from a granted residence permit. SERMIG is the authority that grants temporary and permanent residence, and it handles the application. The category you apply under depends on your situation: work, family, study, retirement income and so on. Each has its own requirements, so start on the SERMIG site and pick the category that matches you.

Once the permit is granted, SERMIG's help centre explains that you need your electronic stamp (Estampado Electronico). If the permit was granted while you were in Chile, SERMIG says to allow about 10 business days before you can download it. If your temporary residence was granted outside Chile, the Registro Civil system will not show you as cleared for an ID card; instead you go to the Registro Civil by appointment with your identity document and a printed copy of the electronic stamp.

Step 2: the cedula within 30 days

This is the deadline that matters. ChileAtiende, the government's service portal, states that you must request your foreigner identity card, by booking an appointment, within 30 days of the date your residence permit takes effect. If you apply after that, you first have to pay the corresponding fine. SERMIG's help centre repeats the same 30-day window for getting your appointment.

How it works, according to the Registro Civil information published on ChileAtiende and SERMIG:

1. Go to the Registro Civil website and use the foreigner service option. For a first card, choose Primera Cedula and enter your passport number.
2. If you are cleared, book an appointment at an office that serves foreigners. Only offices that take appointments appear in the system.
3. Attend with the documents the Registro Civil lists for your case. There are separate requirement lists for first cards, permanent residents, renewals and dependants.
4. Collect the card. ChileAtiende says it is ready in about 20 business days.

ChileAtiende gives the cost of the card as CLP 4,270. The card has the same validity as your residence permit, except for holders of permanent residence (Residencia Definitiva), whose card lasts five years. Under Article 43 of Law 21.325 on Migration and Foreigners, a foreigner's identity card stays valid while you can show that a visa or residence application is pending, until the migration authority decides it.

Tourist card holders cannot get a cedula. ChileAtiende lists this as an exclusion, which is one more reason the residence permit has to come first.

What the cedula gives you: the RUN

The card shows your name, nationality, visa, sex, photo, signature, fingerprint and your Rol Unico Nacional (RUN). The RUN is the national identification number that Chilean systems use to recognise you. Once you have it, it becomes the number you give for most official and many private procedures.

Step 3: your tax number (RUT) at SII

Chile's tax service, the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), uses the Rol Unico Tributario (RUT). For individuals who live in Chile, the two numbers line up. SII explains that when a foreign resident registers in the RUT, they present the foreigner identity card issued by the Registro Civil, and that the foreigner's card is registered at SII under the same number assigned by the Registro Civil.

Two points from SII that often confuse newcomers:

• SII does not issue a RUT for work purposes. Workers without residence or domicile in Chile must get the foreigner identity card from the Registro Civil with an authorised visa. The RUT numbers SII issues to non-resident investors are a separate series and, in SII's words, are not valid for employment purposes.
• Tourists do not need a RUT for everyday transactions. SII notes that foreign tourists who make purchases, pay for services such as health care or tours, or sign contracts such as renting a property or a vehicle during their stay do not need to request a RUT and can appear on those documents with their passport.

If you will start your own economic activity in Chile, such as freelancing or opening a business, the SII registration for that activity (inicio de actividades) is a separate step that comes after you have your number.

Step 4: public health coverage with Fonasa

Chile's public health insurer is the Fondo Nacional de Salud (Fonasa). ChileAtiende says you can apply to join Fonasa all year round online, at Fonasa or ChileAtiende branches, or by video appointment. Online, you log in with your RUN and the serial number of your cedula, or with ClaveUnica, the government's single login. ChileAtiende says the answer arrives by email within three days.

Fonasa also publishes routes for people whose paperwork is still moving:

• Residence application in process. Fonasa lists a passport and a valid, stamped residence application as the documents to bring to a Fonasa branch. Its migrant page says that, under an agreement with SERMIG, foreigners who have applied for residence can access Fonasa coverage on the same terms as nationals.
• Employed but no RUN yet. Fonasa lists your passport, the pension contribution statements paid under the provisional number issued by your AFP (pension fund), your residence application and your work permit.
• Moving from a provisional number to your RUN. If you were registered under a provisional identification number (NIP), Fonasa says to go to a branch once you have your cedula and update your record to the RUN, bringing the card and the provisional number.

Fonasa is the public option. Chile also has private health insurers (Isapres), supervised by the Superintendencia de Salud, so compare both before you commit.

A realistic order of operations

1. Before you travel: choose your residence category and apply through SERMIG.
2. Permit granted: get your electronic stamp from SERMIG.
3. Within 30 days of the permit taking effect: book and attend your Registro Civil appointment for the cedula.
4. About 20 business days later: collect the card with your RUN.
5. Register the same number with SII if you need a tax relationship, and start activities if you will work independently.
6. Join Fonasa, or update your Fonasa record from a provisional number to your RUN.

Do not forget the US side

Your US passport remains your main travel document. Keep the passport valid, because SERMIG ties the length of a tourist stay to it and your Chilean card is linked to your residence status, which is in turn tied to your passport details. The US Embassy in Santiago is the place for passport renewals and other services for Americans in Chile.

Common questions

How long do I have to get my cedula after my Chilean residence is approved? ChileAtiende says you must book your Registro Civil appointment within 30 days of the date your residence permit takes effect. After that you first have to pay a fine.

Can I apply for Chilean residence while I am in Chile as a tourist? Generally no. SERMIG says people on Permanencia Transitoria cannot apply for residence permits from inside Chile, apart from listed exceptions such as family ties to Chileans or permanent residents, dependants of temporary residents and humanitarian cases.

Is my RUT different from my RUN? For a foreign resident, SII registers your foreigner identity card under the same number the Registro Civil assigned, so the numbers match. SII does not issue a separate RUT for work purposes.

How much does the foreigner cedula cost and how long does it take? ChileAtiende lists the cost as CLP 4,270 and says the card can be collected in about 20 business days.

Can I join Fonasa before I have my cedula? Fonasa lists routes for foreigners with a residence application in process and for employed people without a RUN yet, using a passport and the stamped application. You later update your record to the RUN at a branch.