Seasonal workers

SUBCATEGORY 4

What is the permit for seasonal workers?

Trabajador de temporada

It is a Residencia Temporal permit for foreigners who intend to enter Chile to perform specific seasonal duties for limited, single or interannual periods.

The applicant must have entered an employment contract with a natural or legal person that has a Certificado de inicio de actividades by the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII, Internal Revenue Service), that has an address or branch in Chile and that has as its object services of a nature that are directly related to the main line of business declared by the employer.

Nationals of countries with which the State of Chile has bilateral agreements on temporary workers may also apply with a formal job offer.

Once the application is analyzed and the result is favorable, the foreigner will be granted a Certificado de Residencia Temporal en Trámite, a document that will allow them to validly enter the country. Once they enter Chile, they will have 45 days to present a copy of the employment contract authorized before a Chilean public notary and the proof of the electronic registration of the same under the terms of Article 9 bis of the Código del Trabajo (Labor Code).

This permit may be granted for up to 5 years, extendable for 2 more years; however, the stay of the foreigner may not be extended for more than 6 months in each calendar year.

Where can I apply for this Residencia Temporal permit?

This application for a Residencia Temporal permit must be made from outside Chile, by logging in with the account created by the applicant for these purposes or with ClaveÚnica, in the Portal de Trámites Digitales of Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG).

* Application only available from abroad.

Requirements to apply for this permit as a holder

  • Non-profit legal entity:
    1. Passport or identification document.
    2. Certificate of criminal record or equivalent document issued by the competent authority of their country of origin or that in which they have resided in the last 5 years (required to applicants over 18 years old).
    3. Certificate of validity of the legal personality issued by the Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (SCReI, Civil Registry and Identification Service).
    4. Certificate of the directory of the legal personality issued by the SCReI.
    5. Employment contract.
    6. Certify liquidity to hire the applicant.
  • For-profit legal entity:
    1. Passport or identification document.
    2. Certificate of criminal record or equivalent document issued by the competent authority of their country of origin or that in which they have resided in the last 5 years (required to applicants over 18 years old).
    3. Document in which it contemplates the legal representation of the person who signs the contract.
    4. Employment contract.
    5. Certify liquidity for the hiring of the applicant.
  • Natural person:
    1. Passport or identification document.
    2. Certificate of criminal record or equivalent document issued by the competent authority of their country of origin or the country in which they have resided in the last 5 years (required to applicants over 18 years old).
    3. Employment contract.
    4. Certify liquidity for the hiring of the applicant.
  • Non-profit legal status:
    1. Passport or identification document.
    2. Certificate of criminal record or equivalent document issued by the competent authority of their country of origin or the country in which they have resided in the last 5 years (required to applicants over 18 years old).
    3. Offer letter notarized before a Chilean public notary.
    4. Letter from the applicant accepting the job offer, signed before the Consulate.
    5. Certify liquidity for the hiring of the applicant.
    6. Certificate of validity of the legal personality issued by the Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (SRCeI).
    7. Certificate of the directory of the legal personality issued by the SRCeI.
  • Legal personality for profit:
    1. Passport or identification document.
    2. Certificate of criminal record or equivalent document issued by the competent authority of their country of origin or the country in which they have resided in the last 5 years (required to applicants over 18 years old).
    3. Offer letter notarized before a Chilean public notary.
    4. Letter from the applicant accepting the job offer, signed before the Consulate.
    5. Certificado de Inicio de Actividades, issued by SII.
    6. Document in which it contemplates the legal representation of the offeror.

Important!

  • The passport must be valid for at least one year as from the application date (for applications submitted abroad).
  • The employment contract must be signed by the employer at a Chilean notary public. While the foreign person must sign it at the competent consulate.
  • Documents issued in any language other than Spanish and English must be submitted together with their respective translation, which must be authorized by a certified body.
  • All documents issued abroad or by the respective consular representation in Chile must be apostilled or duly legalized, as stipulated in Articles 345 and 345 bis of the Código de Procedimiento Civil (Code of Civil Procedure).
  • Documents issued by private parties must be submitted within 30 days from the date of issuance. Those issued by public institutions and agencies must be presented within 60 days from the date of issuance unless the validity of the document is expressly stated.

General information

The object of the employment contract must be services of a nature directly related to the main line of business declared by the employer and the form and content of the contract must comply with the provisions of the Código del Trabajo (Labor Code), specifically with respect to the minimum mentions established in Article 10 of the regulation, and if applicable, with Articles 87 and following of the legal body relating to agricultural workers' contracts.

The parties may agree that the employer will finance the return ticket of the foreign worker once the employment contract between them has ended.

If the copy of the work contract is not presented within 45 days after entering the country, SERMIG may reject the application for a Residencia Temporal permit and order the foreigner to leave the national territory. This, without prejudice to the provisions of the final paragraph of Article 117 of Law No. 21.325.

Exceptionally, this permit may be granted to a foreigner who submits an employment contract with an employer other than the one that submitted the job offer, if the requirements of attaching the employment contract authorized before a Chilean notary public and the proof of the electronic registration of the same under the terms of Article 9 bis of the Código del Trabajo (Labor Code) are complied with.

The termination of the employment contract that served as the basis for the granting of the permit will not, by itself, be grounds for its revocation, so a foreign person who already holds a residence permit for seasonal workers may change employer without the need to inform Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG).

In case you require a longer period of time, you may apply for the permit as a person engaging in lawful remunerated activities, presenting the respective work contract, without the need to leave the country, with both parties signing the work contract before a notary public.

In the event of this change of immigration subcategory, the time in which the foreigner was the holder of the seasonal workers permit cannot be counted towards the period of stay required to apply for Residencia Definitiva.

Yes, you may be granted a Residencia Temporal permit as a dependent of the holder of this immigration subcategory, if your condition is included in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 74 of Law No. 21.325.

For more information on the requirements, visit the page about dependent status.

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