In a recent report on Corruption in the world, Chile scored an excellent 25 which was the best score of any other South American or Latin American country (a tie with Uruguay). According to “Transparency International”, a privately funded, non partisan global organization, Chile scored almost as well as United States (19) and United Kingdom (17). Other South American neighboring countries such as Brazil, Columbia, and Peru scored 75 while the ultra corrupt Argentina scored an appalling 106. This is not surprising in a country that is listed on the Tier 2 Watch List three years running. One expat hot spot, Panama, scored 84 which ties it with Guatemala. Costa Rica scored 43 and Spain 32. Mexico is another Latin American country that scored a very low 89.

Relocating to Chile does not mean you need to leave your favorite pet behind. Many people that move to Chile, do bring their pets. Obviously, the more exotic the pet the more complicated, but for your average cat or dog moving to Chile things are fairly easy. Chile for the most part is a pet friendly country and there is a well established culture of pet ownership, as it is also one of the richest countries in Latin America. Thus, you will find veterinary clinics, pet stores, and all the major international selection of pet foods in most super markets.

As an English speaking foreigner living in Chile the most common question I get from Chileans is “Why did you move to Chile?” and the most common answer I give is total Spanish language immersion. After that opening statement I then give all the other reasons for choosing Chile. My two children speak Spanish as if they were born here and English as if they were born in the U.S. Arriving to South America at the ages of 4 and 8 we used the highly technical sink or swim method and sent them to the only private school that had openings at that moment. So why Chile and not other Spanish speaking countries? That is another story but to quickly summarize Chile has great infrastructure, excellent universities, a stable economy, the lowest corruption of any other South American country and it is beautiful. So why not experience total Spanish language immersion by relocation to Chile.

How to Immigrate to Chile is to a great extent dependent on your reasons for coming to Chile in the first place. Are you coming to retire in Chile, work in Chile, or open a business in Chile? Unlike a lot of places in South America and Latin America, it is a fairly easy and well regulated processes. Chilean Immigration policies are designed to test if you are serious about living in Chile. We want to take a look at some of the more common methods of obtaining a permanent residency visas in Chile, the different types of Visas available, some of current problems with obtaining a visa in Chile, and a bit about where to start with the visa processes. In the Second part of this serious on How to Immigrate to Chile, we will look at the steps, time lines to expect, and also compare some of benefits and obligations tied to the different types of visas in Chile.