Chile Visa Application Guide for Folks in UK

From english tea and Royalties to mingle with Llamas


Right, I hate dealing with embassies... In fact I have only had one such experience that I can call amazing with an embassy, the Indian embassy at Budapest, Hungary. I don't know why we cannot have the work done through these "required" formalities without the hanky-panky...!? Well, now that that's out of the way I am going to write all about the very many application processes most east Asians and other folks from countries restricted or bound by their passports for travelling without formalities have to face while travelling abroad. This is going to be my first such post to help fellow travellers in UK who would benefit from such travel guidance, so please bear with me.

 So, for the past couple of weeks I have been trying to collect important infos and apply for a Chilean tourist visa. I started by googling "Chile Embassy UK" and the first thing I came across was this website: http://chile.embassyhomepage.com/
Now, it says "Chile Embassy homepage", sounds convincing and looks legit but mind you it is NOT the official embassy page, it does not have any affiliation and you cannot find the required forms here either. But it gives you the consulate as well as the embassy contact details and list of all the documents required.

Address: 37-41 Old Queen Street, London SW1H 9JA
Phone:020 7222 2361
Email: consulado@embachile.co.uk

 So, I contacted the folks from Chile embassy on the email given but guess what, it is outdated and will only return you an automated reply in spanish saying the EMAIL ADDRESS DOES NOT WORK. But they did give me a redirected email address and I sent another email on that address. Mind you I also tried calling and to be honest, you could have good days and bad days, on a very good day some one would answer within a minute but on a bad day you might hear no answer even after an hour. Trust me, I have been through both...

 So, to make it easy for you all, here is the correct website, email address and phone extension to call for the right person to talk to:

Chile embassy official website: http://chileabroad.gov.cl/reino-unido/en/
Phone: 020 7222 2361 with an extension of 206 for visa inquiries
Working hours: Mon to Fri - 9:00 - 17:00

 Now, the website is good but still not as helpful as I'd expect it to be, like: a) there was absolutely no information on how to apply for chile visa IF you are not british; b) where you could download the visa application form from. Although, the online application is fairly simple provided you have most of your documents ready. Thankfully the embassy folks are very helpful and friendly, I got a reply on the very same day from the embassy giving me most of the details I asked for such as:
  1. Visa form, 
  2. List of documents required, and
  3. Web address for online application.

Visa form:

I found Chile application form was the most difficult to find, I had to email the concerned person in-charge and then get the form in the reply email. I will upload it here for easy access however, it is always best to get it from the embassy directly since they keep updating and changing them every year.


The documents required are:

  1. Visa application form
  2. Bank statements to prove financial strength and support
  3. Official invitation letter from the party in Chile if any, best if signed by the notary officials in Chile.
  4. Itinerary, hotel and flight bookings/tickets
  5. Official Employer's letter or University letter stating you are employed or studying in Uk, basically a proof of residence at UK.
  6. Passport size photograph.
  7. Fee of USD $58 (payable at the time of interview)
Once you have the documents ready, you can go online to the website in the embassy site and upload them all up while filling in the required details.

Online application:

Here is the link required to register for online application: https://sac.minrel.gov.cl/ciudadanos/panel.php?ref=acceso&err=0&sesi_ccod=9b2d5925b24f4e3e6dd7ddb68b9f7e9fcc6f710a

 Once you have applied, give them a call and find out when you can call for an appointment which unfortunately cannot be done any other way. Processing time, again unfortunately, is not addressed anywhere at the website, so, after calling them up it was confirmed that it should take about 1 week or so, and that's that!

 For the folks in India, here is the website which is wayyyy more helpful in providing you with required informations. Probably since almost all Indians in India would need visas to travel to 70% of the world whereas only foreigners (like myself) in UK or US would need visa to travel to Chile.


 Other contacts and infos:

Indian Chile Embassy official website:
1.) http://chileabroad.gov.cl/india/en/sobre-la-embajada/
2.) http://www.echileindia.com/visa.htm

 Tourist Visa form: http://chile.visahq.in/Chile-Tourist-visa-application.pdf

And...


 US chile embassy: http://www.chile-usa.org/visasgral.htm
(Forms included in the page)
Address: 1732 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., D.C. 20036, Washington, United States
Phone: +1-202-785-1746; +1-202-530-4114
Fax: +1-202-887-5579
Email: embassy@embassyofchile.org
Website URL: http://chileabroad.gov.cl/estados-unidos/

 Hope this helps... I will update you when I get my visa :) Fingers crossed!

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