# Chile: Retirement & Periodic Income VISA



## joco2k

I'm a retired US citizen who has been living abroad since June of 2015 in the Far East, (mainly Russian Federation and Bali.) 
I'm looking for an opportunity to own, 100% freehold property as opposed to a long term lease. I know of only 3 countries in the Far East that offers expats this sort of ownership but they're either out of my price range or require substantial cash deposits in an approved bank account or investment to remain for the term of the VISA.

For a number of reasons, I found the VISA and home ownership requirements/opportunities for foreign nationals in Chile to be what appears attractive.
Chile claims to have the least corruption of any South American country, a stable government with a healthy economy, a sound infrastructure, a reasonable cost of living with high living standard, a wide variety of climates, and friendly people, albeit most not English speaking. I can see myself living in an expat community while trying to learn Spanish.

I can't find any requirement of minimum investment/deposit in a bank account as a prerequisite in Chile for a "Retirement and Periodic Income VISA" and it appears that expats have the same property rights as do Chilean citizens. Also, it seems the process for temporary and permanent residency is not difficult or expensive and there is an opportunity of Chilean citizenship after 5 years of permanent residency.

So in summary, my questions relate to the VISA I mention above and how it relates to expat purchases of a home and property in Chile. Moreover, I have not been able to determine the costs of the VISA application process and how it all ties into an expat purchase of a retirement home and property. 

Perhaps there is a forum here that I'm not aware of or maybe a website that could offer some answers.
Additionally, it would be helpful for the opportunity to chat with an expat already living in Chile, especially a retiree. Information from an unbiased source is golden!

Thanks in advance for any input on the above!


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## Jeanet

Hi Joco2k, expats in Chile do not need to be on any special /resident visa to purchase a property. You can do it on a tourist visa. However as a tourist/ property owner you could only stay in the country per the length of your tourist stay. As a citizen of many countries (such as USA/European countries) this may be a term of 3 months but can be renewed 1 time...meaning you could stay for up to 6 months per year. Regarding the visa you mention the amount is determined on a case by case basis and where you plan to live in the country. If you want to live in the capital and rent an apartment you need to show more funds to support yourself. If you buy a house in the countryside you need to show less per month. Though you have to demonstrate that you have a regular pension or other semi/reoccurring income to live on.


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