Immigration Enforcement in Chile: What Employers Must Know
Joint PDI, SERMIG and Labour Directorate inspections arrive unannounced. The 15% rule, the fines per irregular worker, and how to stay compliant in 2026.
A joint operation between the Investigations Police (PDI), the National Migration Service (SERMIG) and the Labour Directorate can arrive at your business in Chile without warning. This is not a remote scenario: such operations already take place routinely at Chilean commercial premises, and since the change of government in March 2026 immigration enforcement has entered a stricter cycle. For a foreign company employing — or planning to employ — foreign labour in Chile, understanding how these inspections work has stopped being a legal footnote and become risk management.
Who inspects, and how they operate
Enforcement over the hiring of foreign nationals in Chile is not the work of a single body. It is coordinated action across three institutions:
- Investigations Police (PDI), through its Migration and International Police Section (SEPI), which checks the immigration status of everyone found on site;
- National Migration Service (SERMIG), which applies the administrative penalties set out in the Migration and Foreign Nationals Act (Law No. 21,325) where an immigration breach exists;
- Labour Directorate (Dirección del Trabajo), which enforces the employer’s labour and social security obligations, including where workers are in an irregular immigration situation.
Since January 2026 a new Labour Directorate Inspection Procedure has been in force, based on Article 505-A of the Labour Code and run through the Inspection Management System (SGI). It formalised the on-site, hybrid and remote inspection formats, and set out the rights and duties of both inspectors and the employer under inspection.
In practice, the most common scenario is a joint on-site inspection: PDI, SERMIG and the Labour Directorate attend the premises, verify the immigration documentation of every foreign worker present and, in parallel, the Labour Directorate assesses the company’s compliance with labour obligations.
What the law requires before hiring a foreign national
Not every immigration permit authorises paid work in Chile. The table below summarises the most common situations:
| Immigration status | Allows work? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary Stay (tourism) | No | Hiring on a tourist status is a breach, regardless of the contract term |
| Temporary Residency for work purposes | Yes | Valid for up to 1 year, renewable; permits any paid activity |
| Temporary Residency — other subcategories | Depends | Includes seasonal workers, researchers and students with specific authorisation |
| Permanent Residency | Yes | No restriction on gainful activity |
| Application in progress (renewal, change of category) | Yes, with a caveat | The migration regulation allows the activity under the previous permit to continue while the application runs, on production of the receipt |
| Irregular immigration status | No | Exposes the worker to removal and the employer to penalties |
Before hiring, the company must require and file: the Chilean identity card for foreign nationals (not the identity document from the country of origin) and the certificate of validity of the residence permit, issued by SERMIG itself. That documentation is exactly what the joint inspection checks on site.
The 15% rule and when it applies
Article 19 of the Labour Code provides that, as a rule, at least 85% of the workers at any one company must be Chilean — leaving up to 15% of positions for foreign nationals. This point regularly confuses foreign companies opening operations in Chile, so two things are worth highlighting:
- The cap applies only to companies with more than 25 workers. Smaller companies — most newly established SMEs — face no restriction at all on the proportion of foreign nationals.
- Where it does apply, the calculation looks at the company’s total headcount in Chile (not branch by branch), excludes specialist technical staff, and treats as Chilean any foreign national who is married to or in a civil union with a Chilean, is the widow or widower of a Chilean spouse, has Chilean children, or has been resident in the country for more than five years (Article 20 of the Labour Code).
Note on scope: in January 2026 a bill was tabled proposing to extend this cap to companies with 25 workers or fewer, and to raise from 5 to 10 years the residence period that treats a foreign national as Chilean for calculation purposes. That bill is still in passage and has not been enacted — the rules described above remain in force unless and until it is.
Penalties for employers who hire without authorisation
Article 117 of Law No. 21,325 penalises the employer — individual or company — who hires a foreign national without a residence or stay permit authorising them to work. The fine applies per irregularly hired foreign worker, and its amount varies with company size, classified under Article 505 bis of the Labour Code:
| Company size | No. of workers | Fine per irregular foreign worker |
|---|---|---|
| Micro | up to 9 | 1 to 20 UTM |
| Small | 10 to 49 | 10 to 40 UTM |
| Medium | 50 to 199 | 30 to 100 UTM |
| Large | 200 or more | 60 to 200 UTM |
(UTM is Chile’s inflation-indexed tax unit, restated monthly.)
Where there is a repeat breach within two years of the previous penalty, Article 123 of the same law requires the fine to be applied at its maximum.
Beyond the immigration fine, the irregularity does not release the employer from labour and social security obligations: even where the contract is invalid because the worker lacked authorisation, the company remains obliged to pay the wages and contributions due, and can be held answerable to the Labour Directorate for them. The worker’s irregular immigration status does not reduce the employer’s liability.
The 2026 context: why the risk has risen
Since the new government took office in March 2026, Chilean immigration policy has entered a stricter phase, with removals accelerating from April and the suspension of the regularisation process that had benefited tens of thousands of foreign nationals in an irregular situation. A bill is also in passage proposing additional penalties for employers who facilitate the stay of migrants without regular documentation. That bill has not been enacted, but it signals the direction of public policy — and reinforces that joint inspection operations are likely to become more frequent, not less.
For a foreign company operating in Chile, or planning to expand there, this means documentary verification has moved from a formality to a routine compliance function, with a real cost if neglected.
Preventive compliance, step by step
- Verify the immigration permit before signing any contract, requiring the identity card for foreign nationals and the certificate of validity issued by SERMIG.
- File a copy of all documentation — identity card, valid permit, signed contract — organised and available for immediate inspection.
- Monitor the validity of permits tied to the contract. Where a worker’s Temporary Residency depends on the employment contract itself, any termination must be reported to SERMIG within 15 days; failing to do so creates employer liability.
- Confirm your position under the 15% cap if your company has more than 25 workers, looking at the national headcount and the circumstances that treat a foreign national as Chilean.
- Review social security contributions for foreign workers periodically — the general rule requires contributions equal to those of a Chilean, with a specific exception for foreign technicians under Law No. 18,156, subject to its own requirements.
Common mistakes
- Accepting only the identity document from the country of origin, without requiring the Chilean identity card for foreign nationals or the SERMIG certificate of validity.
- Assuming an employment contract by itself regularises the worker’s immigration status. It works the other way round: for certain categories, the permit must be in order before hiring.
- Failing to notify SERMIG when the contract ends for a worker whose residency depends on that employment.
- Ignoring the 15% cap at companies with more than 25 workers, assuming the rule only applies to large multinationals.
Frequently asked questions
Can an immigration inspection happen without prior notice?
Yes. Joint operations between the PDI, SERMIG and the Labour Directorate are usually conducted on site and unannounced, particularly at commercial premises.
Can my company be fined even if the foreign worker is in the process of regularising their status?
It depends on the stage of the application. If the worker is midway through a renewal or a change of immigration category, supported by official proof of filing, the legislation allows the activity under the previous permit to continue. Outside that scenario, hiring without a valid permit exposes the company to a penalty.
Does the 15% cap apply only to the head office, or to all branches in Chile?
It applies to the company’s total workforce across Chilean territory, adding all branches together — it is not calculated unit by unit.
If I regularise the worker after an inspection, is the fine cancelled?
Not necessarily. The penalty follows from the situation found at the time of inspection. Regularising afterwards may prevent future problems, but does not automatically annul a fine already imposed.
Are small companies inspected too?
Yes. Company size affects only the amount of the fine (the micro, small, medium or large classification). It exempts no one from inspection.
Conclusion
Immigration enforcement against employers in Chile combines three fronts — immigration, labour and police — and in the 2026 environment it is likely to become more frequent, not less. For a company hiring in Chile, prevention is simple in execution: verify the permit before hiring, keep documentation organised, and track expiry dates and reporting deadlines to SERMIG. The cost of doing this properly is marginal against the cost of an inspection that produces fines per irregular worker.
Note on scope: this article reflects the legislation and administrative procedures in force on its publication date, including the new Labour Directorate Inspection Procedure (in force since January 2026) and Law No. 21,325. Bills in passage may alter the 15% cap and the penalties described — this content may be updated if they are enacted.
This content is for information purposes only and was prepared on the basis of the legislation in force on its publication date. It does not constitute legal, tax or accounting advice. Every situation should be assessed individually by qualified professionals.