Job Discussion Forums

[johnfex]

Hello all,

I wonder if anyone could help me out as I am planning on moving to Chile in January next year to live with my girlfriend, however I've come across a couple of stumblig blocks and I wonder if anyone could help out.

Firstly regarding setting up a bank account in Chile. I was recently there on a tourist visa and tried to open a bank account with a deposit but no bank would accept this method. They all stated that they needed to see either a contract of work with regular wages being paid in or a student identification (for Chile). When I move in Jan I will be in a similar situation as many on this forum looking for teaching work, but in the meantime I do not want the difficulty of getting charged to draw money from the UK and not being able to transfer funds.

I am also considerig buying a flat in the centre of Santiago and I am not sure whether this is possible on a tourist visa, but also what risks are involved with property purchase in Chile.

Finally I have read through many of the posts on the forum and the general method of visa seems to be a 90 tourist, with quick trips to Mendoza or wherevers closest. Is it possible to get and extended tourist visa and are there any other viable options?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


J

[matttheboy]

You can buy property with just a RUT number (a temporary tax number). I would imagine you'd be able to able a bank account at the same time; after all, you have to get the money into the country to pay for the property.

Risks with buying property in Santiago:

-fewer than in buenos aires (which is where myself and my chilean girlfriend are involved with helping foreigners buy property)
-making sure you have a decent notary to do the title checks, make sure there are no debts or liens on the property
-being overcharged because you're a foreigner and don't know the market
-being charged taxes or costs that you shouldn't have to pay (either because the notary is screwing you or maybe doesn't understand the rules-both happen a lot in buenos aires but chileans are more professional and honest than argentines)
-any other risk that you can think of regarding buying a property in any part of the world
-getting ripped off by builders, decorators, plumbers, electricians etc

I think there may be a way of getting legal residency when you buy property but i'm not 100% sure. I'll find out more soon as i'm off to chile to buy some land in the lake district in a couple of months so by september i'll be 100% sure of the rules. on this website www.allsouthernchile.com there's an explanation of the purchasing process-it's focused on the south of chile but the rules are the same for the whole country.

If not, the easiest way to get residency (if the language school you work for won't organise it) is make friends with a chilean who's in a position to offer a job and then get him to write a 'carta de intencion' which is basically just a letter stating that he;s considering hiring you. He's under no legal obligation to hire you so there's no risk on his part. I think kosechka and few others on this forum have gone down this route.