ALadyNCal

I wondered if anyone has a link with more info about this fee?

I am helping relatives plan a visit to Chile. She was born there and moved to the U.S. as a kid.

So we were wondering:
a) since she was born there does she still pay the fee? (she is a U.S. citizen with a valid U.S. passport, but probably an expired Chilean passport)
b) does her husband pay the fee regardless? (he is a U.S. citizen)

I wasn't sure where to look up this info.

Thanks

GUWonder

If she is travelling on a US passport and entering on it in Chile, she pays the fee at the airport in $100 cash.

The husband, travelling on a US passport and entering on it in Chile, pays a $100 fee at the airport too.

So if it's two American citizens travelling to Chile and entering Chile on an American passport, then it's $200 ($100 per person).

ALadyNCal

Thanks. I guess it comes down to which she would rather invest in, the reciprocity fee or a passport renewal

ElvisNYC

passport renewal ??

If she's carrying an expired Chilean passport, not only does she have to pay for a renewal but also pay for a visa to visit the US ($100) and undergo thru the visa process. Not worth it - Just have her pay the $100 !

sargento

You can now pay with credit card!! When my fiancee and I entered Chile in July we were able to pay with credit card.

ALadyNCal

A visa She is a U.S. citizen with a current passport.

Wingman32

An American citizen CANNOT enter the US on a foreign passport. If she renews the Chilean passport she can enter Chile on it, and then return to the US on her US passport (which she won't be allowed to leave the country without). However, the Chilean reciprocity fee is worth the life of the passport...so it might be cheaper than renewing her Chilean passport. Her husband is SOL and will pay the fee. Hope his passport doesn't expire soon!

Best,

W

ElvisNYC

Ok, if she shows her Chilean passport for entry (avoid the $100 fee), won't immigration officials look for an entry visa on the US passport at exit and when they realize there's no entry visa, then charge her the $100 on the spot ?

GUWonder

If she presented a then-current valid Chilean passport to Chilean immigration control authorities on entry into Chile, she could also show it to Chilean immigration control authorities on departure -- after having used her US passport to check-in for the return Chile-US flight. Thus, there would be no $100 visa reciprocity fee applicable as there would be no entry/exit stamp matching. And upon arrival back in the US, she presents her US passport for re-entry into the US.

The Chilean in question currently has an expired Chilean passport; and getting on a flight and entering a country using an expired passport is not advisable.

ElvisNYC

Let's say that the passport got renewed. If she enters/leaves Chile using her current valid Chilean passport, at departure she would be required to present a visa to enter the US (as she's presenting her Chilean passport, not her US passport). That's what I'm trying to get at..

virtualtroy

I wouldn't be worried about this. It's not unusual for people who either hold dual nationality or travel often to both Middle Eastern countries and Israel to travel with two passports. There'd be more questions on the way out if the passport you presented didn't show a Chilean entry stamp.

GUWonder

Ok, but why would she want to do that? Wouldn't the easier way to travel JFK-SCL-JFK as a Chilean-American dual-national (i.e., with Chilean and American passports) be as follows:

1. For JFK-SCL, check-in with the airline using the US passport;
2. Upon arrival in SCL, present the Chilean passport to Chilean immigration control for swipe/entry stamp;
3. For the return SCL-JFK, check-in with the airline and present the US passport to be swiped;
4. Upon going through immigration control in SCL on departure, present the Chilean passport. If they ask for your visa to the US, then show your US passport. Otherwise proceed as normal; and
5. Upon arriving at JFK, use the American passport to clear US immigration ???

FWIW or not worth, when an American in Chile used a new American passport -- acquired while in Chile -- to depart from SCL back to the US, Chilean emigration authorities did not collect the fee for the US passport holder who had no prior proof of paying the reciprocity fee and no entry stamp in the passport.

Viajero Perpetuo

Recip fee only checked and charged when coming IN through Immigrations at SCL*. Anyone who enters Chile over land is not charged the fee and it is thus never checked for when going OUT of the country.

In the case of a newly acquired in-country USA passport, the tourist card and a simple explanation if asked would easily explain the lack of an entry stamp.

I find this thread interesting as Chile technically does not recognize dual citizenship though I personally know a Chilean with dual passports like the hypothetical examples above and he has never had a problem.


*I am still trying to find out if other Chile international airport entries like in Arica check for and charge the fee.

ALadyNCal

My suggestion to them has been to fly LAX-EZE, enjoy EZE for a few days and then take a bus (or similar) to SCL and save the $100.

BTW, her U.S. passport is not 'newly acquired'. I believe she became a citizen as a youth -- 10+ years ago.

Thanks

GUWonder

A bus from EZE-SCL? I hope they have time and the weather is decent. I hope that this is not just to try to save $100 per person on the visa fee.

I certainly do recommend a visit to EZE -- with no visa fee -- but I don't know if I'd necessarily recommend taking a bus from Buenos Aires to Santiago. (The airfares aren't that bad.)

If they happen to do a land crossing between Argentina and Chile, there is no guarantee that a passport check won't occur and that a reciprocity entry fee won't be collected. Many Americans visiting Chile on a longer-term basis go by bus or car and use the Chile-Argentine landcrossings to exit/re-enter in order to get stamped such that they are not seen as overstaying. I do not know if they have to search out a Chilean and Argentine immigration official or not, but I'd be surprised if the main routes don't have at least some immigration control presence.