BootsnAll Travel Community

From Here:

I first read that; No visa is required, but then that entering for "touristic purposes" leaves me $132 dollars in the hole -

2. Nationals of Australia, Canada and the USA entering Chile for touristic purposes will be charged a processing fee payable on arrival and in cash only. For nationals of Australia, the fee is US$56; for nationals of Canada, the fee is US$132; and for nationals of the USA, the fee is US$100

Anyway around this as a cycle tourist?

Then from here:

Passport/Visa Note: Passengers must hold a Tourist Card (issued free of charge on arrival for 90 days) and sufficient funds to cover intended period of stay. A return or onward ticket is not required if holding a credit card or sufficient funds to purchase a ticket. Passengers with a passport from Australia, Canada, United States or Mexico are required to pay a reciprocity tax on entering Santiago airport before passing through Customs. Fees are US$56 for Australians, US$132 for Canadians, US$100 for US nationals and US$15 for Mexican passport holders. This tax must be paid in US dollars cash; it is paid once and remains valid until the passport expires (for Canadians and Americans) or for three months (for Mexicans and Australians).

So i see this is called a reciprocity tax. However, all information i can find says this is applicable only if arriving the country via. airplane.

I see that you're Canadian...
I was in Chile in 2004 and had to pay $55US at the time.
It's right before you go through customs on your left. They put a special stamp in your passport and staple your receipt in it. As long as your passport is valid, you won't have to pay that tax again no matter how many times you get in and out of Chile... I can't tell you about land border crossings though...

Good luck!

You definitely don't have to pay if going over a land border. It's in Lonely Planet Shoeshring book somewhere. And I heard it on the street whilst in Chile. Heard of a few people flying in Argentina because of it.

The reciprocity charge is now US$131 for US citizens and remains the same, so far, for Canadians.

I crossed Chilean land borders a few times last year and never saw the officials extracting the fee from anyone. However, I was always on a bus so they had loads of people to process, which may be a contributing factor to why they don't bother. I always wondered if they would go after a single traveler crossing by themselves. So, if I was traveling by bike and crossing by myself I'd probably wait for a bus to come along before hitting immigration.

You are not charged at land borders even if on a bicycle. You are only charged if entering Chile at the international airport in Santiago.

quote:

are not charged at land borders even if on a bicycle. You are only charged if entering Chile at the international airport in Santiago.

This is very good information. Thank you!

Where could i verify this?

PDU - I can verify you do not need to pay the Chile tax at land borders. But be careful what food you take across with you as they will check your panniers and may take away dairy products, meat and meat products and fresh fruit and veg going into Chile - this not so good if you have a few days riding til the next major town (as we did in some of the more remote border crossings in patagonia).

All true.

We crossed into Arica, Chile by land from Peru with no tax or visa requirement just one month ago. And yes, don't try to smuggle your fruits and veggies over--not worth the hassle.

Bring $$ though--Chile can be really expensive compared to its neighbors.

So, if this fee is only incurred at the airport in Santiago, do you have to pay if you are only making a connection?

If you are connecting and you stay in the TRANSIT area of the airport you will not have to pay. Try to have all luggage tagged through or you will have to find someone to re-tag it for you. As long as you do not try to go through passport control, you don't pay.

Just to add, if you are arriving in Santiago on a domestic flight you would not have to pay. There is no passport control but, if asked, just show your tourist card and/or entry stamp to show you entered Chile by land.