Chile visa application - bizarre

[rachelevs90]

Welcome to AFF. Perth has a Chilean consulate so were you not directed to apply there?

If you applied to Perth and don't have your visa within 2 weeks of travel, go in. If your visa application happened to be directed to Melbourne, plan to fly there 2 weeks prior to your tip to get it for sure. If you manage to get them on the phone, they will tell you its OK, but there are cases where it definitely wasn't.

Perth wasnt given as an option on the e-visa application so I did Melbourne.
anyone ever applied to one consulate and then changed it to another? I may need to look to move it to perth or Sydney.

 

[RooFlyer]

Perth wasnt given as an option on the e-visa application so I did Melbourne.
anyone ever applied to one consulate and then changed it to another? I may need to look to move it to perth or Sydney.

If you haven't paid anything yet, you should be able to cancel the Melbourne application and re-do for Sydney, but usually you get 'directed' to the consulate they assign to your city. I wouldn't cancel/re-do unless there is a mechanism in there to cancel it.

Maybe call Sydney and ask? Melbourne hardly ever answer the phone and if they do, all you get is 'don't worry, it'll be OK'.

 

[rachelevs90]

If you haven't paid anything yet, you should be able to cancel the Melbourne application and re-do for Sydney, but usually you get 'directed' to the consulate they assign to your city. I wouldn't cancel/re-do unless there is a mechanism in there to cancel it.

Maybe call Sydney and ask? Melbourne hardly ever answer the phone and if they do, all you get is 'don't worry, it'll be OK'.

Haha, ok great, thanks for the advice!

 

[Flashback]

Reading this certainly puts me off wanting to visit Chile. Reminds me, need to check my Azerbaijan Visa request as that should have been granted and hasn't yet.

 

[MrKane]

Suggestion that those that are frustrated write to their Federal MP or the immigration minister. Chile imposes the visa requirement on Australia because our Government imposes a similar )onerous) tourist visa requirement on Chilean visitors. Canadians, Brits and NZers get free visa on arrival in Chile because they give the same treatment to Chileans at their border.

 

[RooFlyer]

Reading this certainly puts me off wanting to visit Chile. Reminds me, need to check my Azerbaijan Visa request as that should have been granted and hasn't yet.

It seems to have resolved as a problem with their Melbourne consulate - but they all seem to delay processing until relatively late.

Suggestion that those that are frustrated write to their Federal MP or the immigration minister. Chile imposes the visa requirement on Australia because our Government imposes a similar )onerous) tourist visa requirement on Chilean visitors. Canadians, Brits and NZers get free visa on arrival in Chile because they give the same treatment to Chileans at their border.

Welcome to AFF @MrKane . Good idea, but I don't think the Oz government is going to budge for the Chileans, when they (we) impose strict visas requirements on many countries. It used to be that the Chileans merely made up pay a 'reciprocity fee' on arrival; I don't know why or when they reverted to an actual visa.

I like the place very much - must have been ten times; but the visa thing did deter me from booking to fly back from the Caribbean via Santiago, preferring instead to get a B1/B2 visa for travel via the USA (which was a trial in itself!)

 

[Port Power]

Perth wasnt given as an option on the e-visa application so I did Melbourne.
anyone ever applied to one consulate and then changed it to another? I may need to look to move it to perth or Sydney.

When I applied for my visa last year, I had the choice to nominate Canberra, Sydney or Melbourne. You will know the result from the early posts! I have to apply again later this year. This time I will choose Sydney as reports above seem to indicate they manage the applications well. NEVER use the Melbourne consultate!

 

[petef]

I applied for one last year via Canberra. Despite requesting and paying for a multi entry visa, was only given a single entry. when I raised this they said they were only giving out single entry visas and basically bad luck. Not a great experience. But Chile was a lovely place to visit.

 

[antycbr]

I applied for one last year via Canberra. Despite requesting and paying for a multi entry visa, was only given a single entry. when I raised this they said they were only giving out single entry visas and basically bad luck. Not a great experience. But Chile was a lovely place to visit.

I had to get a multi entry visa for my recent South American trip, I found it useful to sent a spreadsheet itinerary page showing the need for two entries. SYD Consulate granted it without any issues.

The visa was heavily scrutinised on the second entry at SCL.

Also the PDI - Chiles Investigation Police who do the border security - is such a wannabe FBI. They even show a recruitment video while you wait in the interminable lines at SCL. There’s about 50 smart gates just begging to be switched on - this would remove all of the people that Chile would admit automatically and reduce the lines for us criminals.

 

[Amberlower]

Has anyone applied for a Chilean visa recently? SAC: Sistema Atención Consular - Ciudadanos

I'm about half way through and I hope to God that I'm doing something wrong. I've applied for a few complex visas in my time - Russia and India come to mind - but this one is just loopy!!

'Occupation' - there is a list of hundreds of occupations, some bizarre and not in alphabetical order (I'm guessing they are in order, in Spanish) and 'retired' doesn't appear to be an option.

'Countries visited' - no time frame given. The drop down list is in Spanish - I eventually found Inglaterra and Alemania.

My TA says at some point I have to upload months of bank statements to prove income. Retired ....

It asks for hotel confirmation ... then:
Documents attesting to the relationship between guest and host, apostilled or with local legalization stamp, or from the Chilean civil registry

I have no idea what that means. Do they want some local certification of my reservation?

Help!

 

[Amberlower]

Exactly a year ago we went through Chile to Galapagos and had to apply for visas. Some of the questions were so silly like open ended 'what countries have you visited'? I called the consulate with number supplied, and she said where did you last go- just put that down. I had the feeling that none of it is taken seriously anyway. I agree - the Russian visa at least made sense. it took 4 painstaking hours to fill the Chile visa forms

 

[MGW21]

I know Im late on this thread but found this worthwhile as my visa application is on hold also.
Im heading to Peru through in November and just transiting through the airport but as per travel agents instructions if there are flight connection issues you cant leave the airport or out of security with out a visa - you can be stuck in the airport for quite awhile.

 

[RooFlyer]

Welcome to AFF @MGW21

As a postscript to my own experience. Having finally got my Visa in December, from early August this year I started getting emails in Spanish which have a link to a survey basically how did we do type of thing.

Well, I tried using Google Translate but in the end it defeated me. I was still only about 20% through the survey.

I think I can reply to the emails which are now coming in about once every five days. i’m just going to state quite plainly that their process ex Melbourne is bloody hopeless.

 

[Port Power]

Welcome to AFF @MGW21

As a postscript to my own experience. Having finally got my Visa in December, from early August this year I started getting emails in Spanish which have a link to a survey basically how did we do type of thing.

Well, I tried using Google Translate but in the end it defeated me. I was still only about 20% through the survey.

I think I can reply to the emails which are now coming in about once every five days. i’m just going to state quite plainly that their process ex Melbourne is bloody hopeless.

Thankfully I have had no such follow up emails. In mid October I will again start the process for visiting Chile. This time I will go through the Sydney office!

 

[Fifa]

My visa application timeline for reference (I selected the Sydney office and arrive in Santiago on 13/11/24):

24/9/24 - submitted online application
24/9/24 - confirmation email that application was successfully received
3/10/24 - application successfully processed - “send money” email received
3/10/24 - money sent
9/10/24 - Visa email received

 

[Port Power]

My visa application timeline for reference (I selected the Sydney office and arrive in Santiago on 13/11/24):

24/9/24 - submitted online application
24/9/24 - confirmation email that application was successfully received
3/10/24 - application successfully processed - “send money” email received
3/10/24 - money sent
9/10/24 - Visa email received

I’m about to do my application for next year. I had already decided to use Sydney this time after the disaster with the Melbourne consulate last year, so your timely time line is most welcome information.

 

[Port Power]

I had to apply for another visa for Chile for 2025. After the Melbourne fiasco, this time I applied through Sydney. What a difference!

I made the application on October 10th. On October 29th I received the email advising application is successful and use (this reference) for payment. Allow 5 days for processing.

As I will not be in Chilean ports until February 10th - 24th, I will pay on December 12th. I rang the Consulate today and they do not close down over Christmas.