Moving to
Chile:
Your
Relocation
Guide
By Appointment To
Her Majesty The Queen
Removals and Storage Contractor Abels
FREEPHONE: 0800 626769 E-MAIL: [email protected]
www.abels.co.uk
By Appointment To
Her Majesty The Queen
Removals and Storage Contractor Abels
TELEPHONE:
Country code (56) +Area Code
STANDARD TIME:
Summer GMT -3 hours
Winter GMT -4 hours
WEIGHTS & MEASURES:
Metric
ELECTRICITY:
220v AC 50Hz
INOCULATIONS/VACCINATIONS:
Inoculation against malaria, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio is
recommended
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:
Jan 1, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, May 1, May 21, June 29, Aug 15,
Sept 18, Sept 19, Oct 12, Nov 1, Dec 8, Dec 25
OFFICE HOURS:
0830-1800 Monday – Friday
BANK HOURS:
0900-1400 Monday – Friday
EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
133 – Police, Ambulance and Emergency
BRITISH EMBASSY:
British Embassy
El Bosque Norte 0125, Santiago
Tel: (56) (2) 370 4100
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://ukinchile.fco.gov.uk
TOURIST & TRAVEL INFORMATION:
Servicio Nacional De Turismo Chile
Avenida Providencia 1550,
Santiago Chile
Tel:: (56+2) 731 8336
CHILEAN EMBASSY IN LONDON:
12 Devonshire Street
London W1G 7DS
Tel: 02075 806 392
Fax: 2074 365 204
Web: http://chile.embassyhomepage.com/
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Chile 2013
Moving to Chile from the UK – Information and Advice:
Abels Relocation Guide
By Appointment To
Her Majesty The Queen
Removals and Storage Contractor Abels
Customs
Non Citizen Shipments
To the best of our knowledge, the following
documentation is required to import house-hold and
personal effects into Chile. However, it is advisable to
check with the authorities that documentation is in order,
prior to dispatch.
Documents Required:
•
Original bill of lading
•
Inventory list
Non citizens must have a visa based contract or a temporary for
a period of at least one year. They may import up to
US$5,000.00 FOB (customs nominal value) in which case,
only 1% duty is charged based on the CIF value. Shipments
over US$5,000.00 FOB is subject to Customs duties. The same
applies if the required visa is not presented.
Household Goods
All shipments arriving to Chile are subject to Customs
Inspections as well as SAG (Health Authorities) inspections,
including diplomatic shipments.
Time of dispatch is 2 working days.
Returning Citizens
Almost all HHG shipments are subject to Customs
Verification and Agricultural Inspection (SAG)
Documents Required:
•
Original bill of lading
•
Inventory list
Diplomats Removals
•
Travel Certificate (issued in Chile)
Documents Required
•
Passport copy
•
Original bill of lading
•
Inventory List
Tax exemptions are applied depending on the length of
their stay abroad:
•
Between six and 12 months: US$500.00 FOB.
No interruptions are allowed
The corresponding Embassy or International Organisation
must provide the Exoneration Form issued by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.
•
Between 1 and 5 years: US$3,000 FOB. 30 days of
interruptions per year are allowed
Duty free as long as it is within the franchise granted to their
position / rank.
•
More than 5 years: US$5,000 FOB. 30 days of
interruptions per year are allowed
Time of dispatch is 3 – 7 working days.
•
Free re-importation of goods is possible. The original
export documents will be needed. Only 1% of duty is
charged based on CIF value
Diplomatic status does not avoid Customs verification and
Agricultural Inspection (SAG)
Wedding Trousseaux
Tax exemptions apply only to used HHG
• Travel articles, used clothing, electric appliances
personal effects or decorations, not for sales purposes
Documents required is the same as Household Goods
•
Maximum of 400 single cigarettes, 500grs. of pipe, tobacco,
50 single cigars and 2,500cc of alcoholic beverages will be
accepted per adult
Taxes plus an additional charge for “used merchandise”.
•
Books
Documents required is the same as Household Goods
•
Household goods returning to the country
Duty free as it enters the country as unaccompanied luggage
and new effects.
Inheritance
New Furniture and Household Goods
If no tax exemptions are possible, used HHG pay duties of
approximately 30%. All new items pay around 26%.
Documents required is the same as Household goods
I.V.A (Additional Value Tax)
(approximately 31%)
Time of Dispatch: 3 working days.
and
Customs
duty
Works of Art and Antiques
In case of having a proceeding reimportation free, the
customs verification is obligatory to check the old and the
new items in the declaration.
Documents required is the same as Household goods.
Almost all HHG shipments are subject to Customs
Verification and Agricultural Inspection (SAG)
Customs duty (approximately 31%)
An invoice may be required, or a certificate issued by the
corresponding museum or Gallery.
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Chile 2013
By Appointment To
Her Majesty The Queen
Removals and Storage Contractor Abels
packed or wrapped foods, pet food, pastas, rice, food
supplements, vitamins, fruit juices, carbonated / non carbonated
drinks, milk, perishable foods, dry foods and any other item
intended for human or animal consumption.
Precious Metal Objects
Documents required is the same as Household goods.
A commercial invoice may be required.
May be entered as personal effects if in a reasonable
quantity.
If the shipper insists on shipping food items, the specified
information below must be gathered and provided for each
food item imported. If the information is not provided, the
food items may face refusal of entry, requiring segregation /
manipulation of the shipment under customs supervision at a
bonded facility, at substantial additional cost. Costs could be
in the thousands of dollars and can not be anticipated.
Household Appliances, Electrical Appliances, Carpets,
DVD’s and Video Tapes
Documents required is the same as Household goods.
Motor Vehicles
These costs will be the responsibility of the client.
Documents Required:
•
Product brand name
•
Original Bill of Lading (OBL)
•
Product classification
•
The vehicle’s Identification certificate
•
Country of production
•
The Purchase Invoice
•
Country of packaging
•
Ownership Certificate
•
Type of product (canned, bottled, packaged)
•
International Police Certificate
•
Quantity
•
Final Cost Certificate
Ask for Abels form QF565 for completing.
•
Internal Taxes
•
Passport
Pets
•
R.U.T
Dogs and cats must arrive to Chile with an international
vaccine certificate and pro forma invoice. Quarantine does
not apply and they can be taken immediately upon arrival
from Monday to Thursday.
Used Vehicles: Used motorcycles are not allowed to be
imported into the country.
New Vehicles: Subject to the authorisation of the Central
Bank (Banco Central).
Importation of other animals is considered case by case.
Please consult before boarding.
Returning Chileans can import new or used automobiles, but
have to pay full import duties.
Prohibited Items
Import of automobiles is not recommended because of the
high importation costs.
Arms, Ammunitions, dangerous objects
Plants, Medicines, Narcotics, Drugs, Pornographic movies
or videocassettes, books or others such as soil.
Diplomats and foreign diplomatic personnel are exempt of
duties when importing one vehicle. They are required to
have a special authorization from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (Asentimiento Previo).
Only sporting weapons allowed for importation. These must
be released to Customs upon arrival until a permit is granted.
Fumigation of Wood Packaging
The importation of used motorcycles is strictly prohibited.
The Chilean Government adopted ISPM-15 (International
standards for Phytosanitary Measures Publication 15)
Guidelines for Regulating Wood Packaging Materials in
International Trade (aka NIFM-15) to standardize the treatment
of wood packing materials used for the transport of goods.
Alcohol
Documents required same as Household goods.
Plus approval from the Agricultural Livestock Service
(Servicio Agricola Ganadero) and the National Health
Service (Servicio Nacional de Salud).
Shipments into or out of the country in wooden packaging,
need to have a Seal, certifying that the shipment has received
the required treatment (HT = Heat Treatment, a minimum
wood core temperature of 56ºC for a minimum of 30
minutes) or fumigation with Methyl Bromide (MT).
Only 1.5 liters may be imported per adult (over 18 years of
age) and exclusively for family consumption.
Tins and Food
The minimum temperature should not be less than 10C and
the minimum exposure time should not fall below 16 hours.
Same as household goods and alcohol.
We strongly recommend that shippers be advised not to ship
any commercially prepared and purchased food product with
your unaccompanied personal goods.
The treatments established in the present regulation have the
intent to reduce the introduction and/or the dissemination of
quarantine plagues associated to the wood packing.
This includes: wines, spirits, beer, cider, spices, herbs, canned
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Chile 2013
By Appointment To
Her Majesty The Queen
Removals and Storage Contractor Abels
Peru's unilateral legislation to change its latitudinal maritime
boundary with Chile to an equidistance line with a
southwestern axis favoring Peru, in October 2007, Peru took
its maritime complaint with Chile to the ICJ; territorial claim
in Antarctica (Chilean Antarctic Territory) partially overlaps
Argentine and British claims; the joint boundary commission,
established by Chile and Argentina in 2001, has yet to map
and demarcate the delimited boundary in the inhospitable
Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur).
The wood packing material (WPM) must be marked in a
visible location on each article, on at least two opposite sides
of the article, with a legible and permanent mark, in black
ink. Labels and adhesives are not allowed. The approved
format of the mark contain the country code, producer
number, treatment type and the inspection agency logo.
If a shipment arrives without this seal, it will be returned to
the origin country at the shipper’s / origin Agents expenses.
The regulation DOES NOT apply to wood packing materials
manufactured of:
•
Raw wood of 6mm thickness or less
•
Processed wood produced by glue, heat, and pressure, or
a combination thereof
•
Plywood sheets and agglomerated sawdust sheet
•
Oriented wooden fibre sheets
•
Sawdust and wooden fibre
Climate
Due to its location in the Southern Hemisphere, Chile’s
seasons are the opposite of Europe’s. In the central zone,
summer begins in late December and ends in late March.
Due to the countries extreme length, the seasons are
distributed from North to South, which permits several
harvests a year of some crops.
As a result of its unusual geography, Chile has a wide variety
of climates depending upon the region. The North is a hot,
dry desert. The Central Zone (from Copiapo to Concepcion)
has a Mediterranean climate. While the South has a cooler,
more humid oceanic climate.
General Information on the Republic of Chile
Background
Prior to the coming of the Spanish in the 16th century,
northern Chile was under Inca rule while Araucanian Indians
inhabited central and southern Chile. The latter were not
completely subjugated until the early 1880’s. Although Chile
declared its independence in 1810, decisive victory over the
Spanish was not achieved until 1818. In the War of the
Pacific (1879-84), Chile defeated Peru and Bolivia and won
its present northern lands. A three-year old Marxist
government of Salvador Allende was overthrown in 1973 by
a dictatorial military regime led by Augusto Pinochet, who
ruled until a freely elected president was installed in 1990.
Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the
1980s have contributed to steady growth and have helped
secure the country’s commitment to democratic and
representative government. Chile has increasingly assumed
regional and international leadership roles befitting its status
as a stable, democratic nation.
Population
Chile has a population of 16.3 million inhabitants, of which
82% urban. The country is divided into twelve
administrative regions, numbered from North to South, plus
the metropolitan region, which contains 40% of the urban
population. The Central Zone (from region four to region
eight) contains two thirds of the countries total population.
The annual population growth rate for Chile is 0.916%. The
population of Chile is relatively young. 67% are between 15
and 64 years old, and only 8.2% are 65 or more years old.
Currency
The unit of currency is the Chilean Peso. Pesos are available
in the following denominations:
Notes: 10000, 5000, 1000, 500
Coins: 500, 200, 50, 20, 10, 5, 1
Geography
Credit and Debit Cards
Chile has an area of 756,900km distributed between the
continents of South America, Easter Island, and San Juan
Fernades Archipelago. It also has a territory in Antarctica,
with an area of 1,250,000km.
Credit cards are widespread and common in Santiago and all
cities and towns in Chile.
They can be used for purchase and cash advances. Make sure
you tell the cashier that your card is an international one, for
they have to check a different list to clear the transaction.
Environmental Current Issues
Industrial and vehicle emissions, water pollution from raw
sewage.
Cash advances can be done with many International credit
cards at most banks, as well as some automated teller
machines.
International Disputes
Bank debit cards on the CIRRUS or PLUS systems can be
used to obtain pesos from ATM machines.
Chile and Peru rebuff Bolivia's reactivated claim to restore
the Atacama corridor, ceded to Chile in 1884, but Chile has
offered instead unrestricted but not sovereign maritime
access through Chile to Bolivian natural gas; Chile rejects
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Chile 2013
By Appointment To
Her Majesty The Queen
Removals and Storage Contractor Abels
Economy
Religion
Chile has a market-oriented economy characterized by a high
level of foreign trade and a reputation for strong financial
institutions and sound policy that have given it the strongest
sovereign bond rating in South America. Exports account for
approximately one-third of GDP, with commodities making
up some three-quarters of total exports. Copper alone provides
19% of government revenue. From 2003 through 2012, real
growth averaged almost 5% per year, despite the slight
contraction in 2009 that resulted from the global financial
crisis. Chile deepened its longstanding commitment to trade
liberalization with the signing of a free trade agreement with
the US, which took effect on 1 January 2004. Chile has 22
trade agreements covering 60 countries including agreements
with the European Union, Mercosur, China, India, South
Korea, and Mexico. Chile has joined the United States and
nine other countries in negotiating the Trans-PacificPartnership trade agreement. In 2012, foreign direct
investment inflows reached $28.2 billion, an increase of 63%
over the previous record set in 2011. The Chilean Government
has generally followed a countercyclical fiscal policy,
accumulating surpluses in sovereign wealth funds during
periods of high copper prices and economic growth, and
generally allowing deficit spending only during periods of low
copper prices and growth. As of 31 December 2012, those
sovereign wealth funds - kept mostly outside the country and
separate from Central Bank reserves - amounted to more than
$20.9 billion. Chile used these funds to finance fiscal stimulus
packages during the 2009 economic downturn. In May 2010
Chile signed the OECD Convention, becoming the first South
American country to join the OECD.
Roman Catholic 70%, Evangelical 15.1%, Jehovah's Witness
1.1%, other Christian 1%, other 4.6%, none 8.3%
Driving in Chile
Driving is on the right hand side of the roads in Chile, and
seat belts must be worn. Tourists must have an International
Drivers License issued in their country of origin.
Unlike in some Latin Countries, the Chilean police
(Caribineros) are very professional and aboveboard. If you
stopped for a traffic violation or get into an accident, do not
try to bribe the police.
Communications
Should you require assistance, dial 133 from any part of the
country.
There are public telephone systems in all the cities
throughout the country. From the yellow phones you can call
within the country and from the grey ones, abroad.
Water
The water is clean and safe to drink in Santiago. However,
you may wish to stick to bottled water if you are prone to
tummy upsets when travelling.
In several of Chile’s national parks it is quite safe to drink the
river water, but always check first with the local park guards.
Although every care is taken to ensure that all information in
the Abels Relocation Guide is accurate and up to date Abels
cannot accept liability for any inaccuracy.
Education
Education is compulsory in Chile until age 14. The literacy
rate is more that 95%. 45% of persons older than 14 years
old have reached secondary studies.
In 1994, 19.8% of men and 14.2% of women held university
degrees.
Chilean professionals are highly qualified due to the wellknown quality of the local education and to the number of
persons who have obtained graduate degrees in the United
States and Europe, including Germany, France, United
Kingdom, and Spain.
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Chile 2013