Chilean passport

Chilean passport
Front cover of a contemporary Chilean biometric passport.
Issued by	Chile
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Chilean Citizenship
Expiration	5 years from issuance for all citizens regardless of age

Chilean passports are issued to citizens of Chile to facilitate international travel. They are valid for worldwide travel, unless a visa is required by the country the passport holder intends to visit.

Citizens of Chile do not need a passport when traveling to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. For these countries, they may use just their domestic identification cards called Cédula de Identidad.

Chilean passports are valid for a period of 5 years from the date of issue, and the validity may not be extended. Since the introduction of machine-readable passports, family passports are no longer issued.

Since September 2013, new biometric passports are being issued. The redesign was part of a program organized by the Ministry of Justice, where Chileans chose the passport's graphic identity and symbols through an online poll in 2012.

The passports of Chile and South Korea are worldwide the only ones to provide visa-free access to all G8 countries.

Bureaucracy

All passports are issued exclusively by the Registro Civil e Identificación. Within Chile, passport applications are made in person at most offices of the Registro Civil e Identificación. For applicants outside of Chile, applications are accepted by all Consulate Generals. A photograph of the applicant is taken on site, as well as a fingerprint of the right thumb if the applicant also requires an Identity Card, Cédula de Identidad.

Passports applications in Chile have a turn-around time of 7 business days and must be picked up at the office where the application was made, unless the applicant requires the passport to be delivered for pick-up at in Santiago. The expected time of delivery for passport applications made outside of Chile is of about 6 weeks, unless the applicant requires an expedite service for an additional cost.

Physical description

• 2013 edition

New regular biometric passports issued since September 2013 are burgundy red colored. The words República de Chile are above the coat of arms with the word Pasaporte and Passport below, followed by the biometric passport symbol. Both the letters and coat of arms are color gold. The standard passport has 32 pages, while the extended version has 64 for an additional fee. The data page contains a microchip with the biometric information of the holder. It features images of the Andes, the Andean Condor and the national flag. The passport is in Spanish and English.

• 1992 - 2013 edition (still valid, until expiration dates in each passport)

Regular passports are deep navy blue. The words República de Chile are above the Chilean Coat of Arms, with the word Pasaporte below. The color of the coat of arms and the letters is copper. The standard passport contains 32 pages, but it can be issued with 64 pages for an additional fee. The data page is located in the back cover, therefore leaving all 32 pages for stamps and visas. The data page has several security features, such as the digitalized photograph and signature of the bearer, as coat of arms visible under ultraviolet light and a Moai printed with optically variable ink over the upper-left corner of the bearer's photograph.

Since 2003, only machine-readable passports with a digitalized photo of the passport holder are issued. The information page is written in Spanish and English.

• Photograph
• Type of Document (P for Passport, D for Diplomatic and O for Official)
• Country Code (CHL)
• Passport Number (same as R.U.N. number till 2013) From 2013 passport number matches the number of the booklet which is different from the R.U.N number.
• Surname
• Given Names
• Nationality (Chilena)
• Booklet Number
• Date of Birth
• Issuing Authority (Registro Civil e Identificación)
• Gender
• Place of Birth (Name of the city if born in Chile. For those born outside of Chile, only the country of birth is listed)
• Issuing date
• Expiration date
• Signature

The information page ends with the machine-readable zone.

Fees

Passport applications for a 32-pages booklet within Chile cost $89,660 pesos. ($125,52 USD)

Passport applications for a 64-pages booklet within Chile cost $89.740 pesos. ($125,64 USD)

Passport applications for a regular 32-pages booklet outside of Chile cost $100 USD, and the expedite service will cost an additional $20 USD.

Biometric passport

The Registro Civil e Identificación and the Ministry of Justice of Chile awarded the contract to France-based Morpho on January 20, 2012. The new passport and ID system was introduced to the general public on September 2, 2013. Documents issued from this date on will be biometric, and all non-biometric documents will be valid until their date of expiration.

Gallery of Chilean passports

• 

  The front cover of a Chilean passport (issued from 1992-2013)

• 

  Chilean Diplomatic passport until 2005

• 

  Chilean Diplomatic passport 2005-2013

• 

  Chilean Official Passport from 2013

• 

  Chilean Diplomatic Passport from 2013

The travel freedom of Chilean citizens

Main article: Visa requirements for Chilean citizens

Visa requirements for Chilean citizens

In 2014, Chilean citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 152 countries and territories, ranking the Chilean passport 16th in the world.

Currently, the passports of Chile and South Korea are worldwide the only ones to provide visa-free access to both the United States of America (ESTA) and Russia.

References

• Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile - Recomendacion para Chilenos que viajan al extranjero