Can I Work in Chile on a Tourist Visa?
What Chilean law allows, what it prohibits, and the concrete risks of carrying out paid work in Chile while in the country on a tourist entry.
The short answer is: it depends. And anyone who answers simply “yes, you can work remotely” or simply “no, it’s prohibited” is oversimplifying a rule that has a real gray area — precisely the one that generates the most doubt for people considering spending a few months in Chile working for a client or employer that isn’t Chilean.
This guide separates what Chilean law explicitly says from what is just market interpretation, so the decision to work from Chile as a tourist can be made with eyes open — not based on what “everyone does.”
The official rule: the Temporary Stay permit doesn’t authorize paid activity
SERMIG itself is direct in its FAQ: holders of a Temporary Stay permit (the former “tourist visa”) are not authorized to carry out paid activities in Chile. That’s the general rule, set out in Law No. 21,325.
As an exception, SERMIG grants special authorization for specific, occasional activities, always by prior application, for a well-defined group of situations:
- Members and crews of public performances.
- Athletes.
- Speakers.
- Advisors and technical experts.
- Foreign residents of border areas, only when a bilateral agreement authorizing it is in force.
None of these exceptions explicitly covers the ordinary remote worker — the developer, consultant, freelancer, or remote employee who serves clients or an employer outside Chile.
The gray area of remote work for a foreign employer
This is where most of the content available on “digital nomads in Chile” oversimplifies reality. The interpretation commonly adopted in the market — including by relocation consultancies — is as follows:
- Working remotely for an employer or client outside Chile, receiving payment into an account abroad, tends to be tolerated in practice, provided you don’t serve a Chilean client or receive payments from a Chilean source.
- Providing services to a Chilean company or client while on a Temporary Stay permit is what most clearly constitutes the paid activity prohibited by law.
Disclaimer: this distinction between “tolerated foreign client” and “prohibited Chilean client” is not explicitly written into Law No. 21,325 or the official SERMIG pages consulted for this article — it’s a practical reading adopted by international mobility consultancies, not a legal guarantee. The formal rule remains a general prohibition on paid activities for Temporary Stay holders, with no express exception for remote work. Anyone who depends on that activity to stay in Chile for an extended period assumes real, though in practice low, legal risk, even under the market interpretation.
What Chile doesn’t have — and what exists instead
Unlike countries such as Portugal, Spain, or Colombia, Chile does not have a specific digital nomad visa in 2026. For anyone who wants to unambiguously regularize a paid activity — whether for a Chilean employer, or simply for legal certainty even while working for abroad — the formal paths are:
| Situation | Recommended path |
|---|---|
| Employment relationship or contract with a Chilean company | Temporary Residency for lawful paid activities (the former “contract-sponsored visa”) |
| Occasional, one-off activity (talk, technical consulting, event) | Special work authorization for Temporary Stay holders, requested in advance from SERMIG |
| Extended stay working for abroad, with no ties to a Chilean company | No specific immigration category exists; market practice is to remain under Temporary Stay, assuming the gray area described above |
The trap nobody mentions: the 183 days
Even when the immigration question is resolved — or tolerated in practice — there’s a second, tax, problem that tends to catch travelers off guard: Chile’s Tax Code (Article 8, No. 8) defines a tax resident as anyone who stays in Chile for more than 183 days, consecutive or not, within any 12-month period.
Exceeding that limit can trigger the obligation to declare worldwide income in Chile — including income from remote work for a foreign client or employer — regardless of immigration status. This is especially relevant for anyone who accumulates multiple stints in Chile over the course of a year without ever formalizing residency.
Disclaimer: the 183-day count considers any 12-month period, not just the calendar year, and adds up non-consecutive days. Anyone who travels to Chile frequently throughout the year should track that total carefully, since tax residency can arise even without any intention of relocating permanently.
What’s clearly not allowed
- Providing paid services to a Chilean client or company on a Temporary Stay permit without special SERMIG authorization.
- Taking on a formal employment relationship with a Chilean company without the corresponding Temporary Residency.
- Successively renewing the Temporary Stay permit solely to keep working informally — immigration authorities can question the actual purpose of the stay.
Common mistakes
- Assuming “remote work” is automatically legal in any country — Chilean immigration law doesn’t make that distinction explicitly, even though market practice applies it.
- Confusing practical tolerance with a legal guarantee — there’s no rule that expressly protects remote workers.
- Ignoring the 183-day count when planning multiple trips to Chile over the year, and being surprised by a worldwide-income declaration obligation.
- Providing any service to a Chilean client, thinking that the source of payment (an account abroad) resolves the immigration issue — what matters is the location of whoever is hiring the service, not just where the payment comes from.
Frequently asked questions
Can I work remotely for a foreign company while in Chile as a tourist?
There’s no explicit formal authorization for this in Chilean immigration law. Market practice tolerates this situation when there’s no Chilean client or employer involved, but that isn’t the same as a legal guarantee.
If I exceed 90 days as a tourist, does my immigration status change?
The Temporary Stay permit can be extended, but that doesn’t change the prohibition on paid activities. These are separate issues: the length of the immigration stay and the authorization to work.
How many days can I stay in Chile without becoming a tax resident?
Up to 183 days, consecutive or not, within any 12-month period — not just the calendar year. Exceeding that limit can trigger the obligation to declare worldwide income in Chile.
Is there any specific digital nomad visa in Chile?
No, as of this article’s publication. Anyone seeking full legal certainty to work needs to evaluate Temporary Residency for lawful paid activities, if they have ties to a Chilean company, or accept the gray area described in this guide.
Conclusion
“It depends” isn’t an evasive answer — it’s the technically correct answer for anyone asking whether they can work in Chile on a tourist visa. The law prohibits paid activities generally, with no explicit exception for remote work for a foreign employer; market practice tolerates that specific situation, but without formal legal guarantee; and the 183-day tax question runs in parallel, regardless of which immigration interpretation you adopt. For anyone planning to stay more than a few weeks, it’s worth evaluating now whether it makes sense to move toward a formal residency path.
Global & Co. evaluates, case by case, whether each client’s remote work situation is better suited to an informal stay, a formal residency category, or a restructuring of their employment relationship with their home-country employer.
This content is for informational purposes only and was prepared based on legislation in force as of its publication date. It does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Each situation should be individually analyzed by qualified professionals.