Chilean passport holders have needed a UK ETA since January 2025. Two years of validity, multiple entries, up to six months in Britain per visit — applied for online in minutes.
6 months
Maximum stay per visit
2 years
ETA validity
Multiple
Entries permitted
3 working days
Typical decision time
100% online
No embassy visit
Overview
Chile has one of the strongest passports in Latin America and a long commercial relationship with Britain built on mining, wine and finance. Chilean students are a regular presence at British universities, the business links are substantial, and the country's stability and prosperity mean a steady flow of leisure travellers to Europe each year.
Since January 2025 that journey has required an Electronic Travel Authorisation. Chile remains firmly a non-visa country for UK purposes and nothing about what Chilean citizens may do in Britain has changed — the ETA is a digital pre-travel permission applied for online and attached to the passport number. It simply has to be obtained before departure.
The practical shape of a Chilean trip is defined by distance. Santiago is one of the furthest major cities from London, and while British Airways has operated a direct service, most journeys connect through Madrid, São Paulo or a North American hub. That makes getting the paperwork settled well before departure more important than in a market with frequent alternatives.
At a glance
Eligibility
You do not need a visa, but you do need an ETA. Chile is a non-visa national country for UK purposes, so Chilean citizens travel to Britain as visitors for tourism, family visits, business, conferences or short courses without any consular application. The ETA precedes that permission and does not reduce it — the six months Chilean visitors have always been allowed is unchanged.
Every traveller needs their own, at any age. Children and infants need an ETA linked to their own passport and cannot be added to a parent's application. Chilean families travelling together need a separate authorisation for each person, though all can be prepared in one session.
The exemptions are the standard ones. Chilean citizens holding a UK visa or indefinite leave to remain do not need an ETA, since their existing status already carries the permission. A meaningful number of Chileans hold Spanish or Italian citizenship through descent — an EU passport still requires an ETA, but gives access to the ePassport gates on arrival, which a Chilean passport does not.
Chilean passport holders are not in the ePassport gate cohort and will be seen by a Border Force officer at a staffed desk on arrival. The ETA is identical to any other and carries the same permission — only the arrival experience differs, so allow a little extra time during busy arrival periods.
Stay & validity
An approved ETA is valid for two years from the date it is granted, or until your Chilean passport expires, whichever comes first. Within that window there is no limit on entries, and each visit can last up to six months. Given the distance and cost of the journey, two years of multiple-entry validity is genuinely useful for anyone travelling to Britain more than once.
The passport-expiry rule is the one to check first. The ETA is bound to the passport number you enter and ends when that document does. Chilean passports are issued for ten years for adults and five for minors, so families applying together may find the children's authorisations expiring well before the parents'. Renewal does not transfer the ETA and there is no refund.
Britain does not require six months of onward passport validity, only that the passport covers your stay. Chilean travellers who combine London with a European leg should note that the Schengen area does want three months beyond departure, so a combined itinerary is governed by the stricter test.
Six months per visit is the maximum for a single entry rather than an annual allowance. It matters most for Chilean students, whose courses must finish within six months or require a Student visa instead. An academic year or full degree at a British university needs that application made from Chile before travel — it cannot be arranged from within the UK.
Pricing
Live fees for Chilean passport holders, shown all-in — the Home Office charge and our service fee together, with nothing added later.
Your nationality is pre-selected as Chile
Requirements
Everything Chilean passport holders need before starting an application. The first five items apply to every applicant; the rest are specific to your nationality.
Passport bio-data page — a clear colour scan or photo showing your photograph, full name, date of birth, passport number and expiry date
Recent digital photograph — full face visible against a plain background, taken within the last six months, with no headwear other than for religious or medical reasons
A valid email address, which is where the approval is sent and which you should keep accessible while travelling
A credit or debit card to pay the Home Office ETA fee and our service fee together
Your travel and accommodation details — Border Force can ask about the purpose of your visit and where you are staying
Simple process
Four steps, entirely online, with our team checking every field before anything reaches the Home Office.
Enter your passport details exactly as printed, answer the suitability questions and upload your photograph. Most applicants finish in under ten minutes.
Our team checks your photo, passport number, name spelling and declarations against Home Office requirements before anything is submitted.
Your application goes to UK Visas and Immigration with the government fee paid, and we track its status until a decision is issued.
There is no sticker, label or document to print. The authorisation is held digitally against your passport number, and we explain exactly what to show at check-in.
Applications from Chile are decided automatically in the great majority of cases, and most applicants receive approval within minutes. The Home Office asks travellers to allow up to three working days, and a small proportion are referred for manual review, usually where a photograph fails the automated check.
Apply at least a week before travelling, and preferably when you book. On a route this long and expensive, with limited direct options, the margin to correct a mistyped passport number or replace a rejected photograph is worth having.
The time difference reinforces the case. Santiago is three to five hours behind London depending on the season, and the long-haul departures leave in the evening. A problem discovered at check-in falls late in the British day or overnight, when it cannot reliably be escalated to anyone who can resolve it before the aircraft leaves.
On arrival
An approved ETA gets you on the plane. This is what happens once you land, and how to make the arrival as quick as possible.
Your nationality is not currently in the ePassport gate cohort, so you join the queue for a staffed desk on arrival. Your ETA is exactly the same document and carries exactly the same permission — only the arrival process differs.
The officer may ask where you are staying, how long you intend to remain and how the trip is funded. Having your hotel booking, return ticket and, if you are visiting family, their address to hand makes this a thirty-second conversation.
Desk queues at Heathrow can be long at peak arrival banks, particularly early morning. If you are connecting onward to a domestic or European flight, allow more than the airline's minimum connection time.
Unlike the automated gates, a staffed desk stamps your passport with the date of entry. That stamp is your evidence of when your six-month permission began, so do not let it be obscured or removed.
Getting there
Santiago is one of the furthest major cities from London, and most journeys involve a connection. British Airways has operated a direct service, and the European and Brazilian carriers provide one-stop alternatives through Madrid, São Paulo and Paris that are often cheaper and offer more departure times.
Best time to go
The seasons are inverted, and Chileans should plan around that. The British summer — June to August — coincides with the Chilean winter, making it the traditional escape and also the most expensive and crowded time to be in Britain. A British summer will feel mild to Chileans from the central valley, and the long northern evening, with daylight past ten at night in Scotland, is a genuine novelty.
May and September are the better bets. Both give good weather and long daylight in Britain, both sit below the July and August fare peak, and September in particular avoids the August crush at every major attraction. On a fifteen-hour journey, the shoulder-season saving is substantial.
The Chilean summer holidays in January and February are the peak outbound period and the most expensive time to fly. They land in Britain's cheapest, quietest and darkest months — the two partly offset, and a February city break can be good value if short daylight suits your itinerary. The Fiestas Patrias in September are another peak, and they coincide with an excellent month to be in Britain.
One practical note. Chile observes daylight saving on its own schedule, and Britain on another, so the difference shifts between three and five hours across the year. Check the actual local times on your itinerary rather than assuming a fixed offset, particularly if you have a connection beyond London.
Avoid these
Refusals are rare, and almost always technical rather than substantive. These are the problems that come up most often on applications from Chile — we check for every one of them before submitting.
A meaningful number of Chileans hold Spanish or Italian citizenship through descent. The ETA is tied to one specific passport number, so applying against the Chilean passport and then travelling on the European one leaves you without a valid authorisation. Decide which document you will present before applying.
Chilean passports print both surnames, and the ETA must match the machine-readable zone exactly. Entering only the paternal surname — the form many Chileans use abroad — creates a mismatch between the authorisation and the passport that an airline check can flag at the departure gate.
Chilean passport holders are not currently in the ePassport gate cohort and will be seen at a staffed Border Force desk. The ETA is exactly the same document and carries the same permission — only the arrival process differs. If you also hold an EU passport, travelling on that gives automated gate access.
Chile and Britain observe daylight saving on different schedules, so the offset shifts between three and five hours across the year. Travellers who assume a constant difference misread connection times, particularly beyond London.
Santiago has limited direct service to London and most journeys involve a connection. A rejected photograph means a wait of up to three working days, and a missed departure on this route can cost a day or more. Apply when you book rather than in the final week.
The ETA permits study of up to six months. An academic year or a full degree at a British university requires a Student visa applied for from Chile before travel. It cannot be arranged from within the UK after arriving on an ETA.
Passport number mistyped
By far the most common problem. The authorisation attaches to the number you enter, so a single wrong character produces an ETA that does not exist as far as the airline's check is concerned.
An undeclared conviction or refusal
The Home Office asks about criminal convictions and previous immigration refusals or removals. History found later is treated far more seriously than the original matter would have been if declared.
A photograph that fails the check
Shadows across the face, glasses, a patterned background or a cropped chin all cause the automated check to reject an image, which turns a routine approval into a manual review.
Conditions
These conditions are set by the UK Home Office and do not vary by nationality. The passport-linking rule in particular catches out a great many otherwise well-planned trips.
Your authorisation is held digitally against the passport number you enter. There is nothing placed in your passport and nothing to print for the border. If you renew or replace that passport, the ETA does not transfer — you must apply for a new one on the new document.
Every person travelling needs their own ETA, including babies and children. A child cannot be added to a parent's application, and each traveller needs their own valid passport to apply against.
An approved ETA lasts two years from the date it is granted, or until the expiry date of the passport it is linked to, whichever comes first. This is the single most misunderstood rule in the scheme — a passport with eight months left produces an ETA with eight months left.
Within its validity you can travel to the UK as many times as you like. Each individual visit can be up to six months. There is no formal annual cap, but repeated long stays that add up to the majority of the year will attract questions at the border.
One ETA covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and it is also accepted for travel to Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. You do not need a separate authorisation for the Crown Dependencies.
An ETA lets you board your flight, train or ship. The decision to admit you is made by Border Force on arrival, who can ask about your funds, your accommodation, your onward plans and the purpose of your visit.
Consular services
The United Kingdom maintains an embassy in Santiago, but it plays no part in issuing an ETA. The application is completed online and decided digitally — there is no interview, no appointment and no passport submission. The embassy handles consular assistance, visa routes where an ETA is not appropriate, and support for applicants whose circumstances require a human decision.
FAQs
The questions Chilean passport holders ask most often about travelling to the United Kingdom.
No. Chilean citizens do not need a visa for tourism, business visits, short study or transit in the United Kingdom. Since January 2025 they do need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), a digital permission linked to the passport rather than a visa. It is applied for online in about ten minutes and usually approved the same day.
Yes. Chilean passports print both surnames, and the ETA must match the machine-readable zone at the bottom of your photo page exactly. Entering only the paternal surname creates a mismatch between the authorisation and the travel document, which the airline check can flag at the gate.
Either, but decide before you apply — the ETA is tied to one specific passport number, and applying on the Chilean passport then travelling on the European one leaves you without a valid authorisation. EU citizens also need an ETA, but an EU passport gives access to the ePassport gates on arrival.
No. Chilean passport holders are not currently in the ePassport gate cohort and will be seen by a Border Force officer at a staffed desk. Your ETA is exactly the same document and carries the same permission — only the arrival process differs.
Up to six months per visit. The ETA is valid for two years, or until your Chilean passport expires if that is sooner, and permits unlimited entries within that period. Six months is a per-visit maximum rather than an annual allowance.
It varies between three and five hours, because Chile and Britain observe daylight saving on different schedules. Check the actual local times on your itinerary rather than assuming a fixed offset, particularly if you have a connection beyond London.
Only for courses lasting up to six months, such as a short English programme or a summer school. An academic year or a full degree requires a Student visa applied for from Chile before travel. You cannot switch to a Student visa from within the UK after arriving on an ETA.
At least a week, and ideally when you book. Santiago has limited direct service to London and most journeys involve a connection, so a missed departure can cost a day or more. A rejected photograph means a wait of up to three working days, which this route cannot easily absorb.
Yes. Every traveller needs an ETA regardless of age, including babies, and each is linked to that person's own passport. Children cannot be added to a parent's application. Chilean passports for minors run for five years rather than ten, so check each expiry date.
Yes. A single ETA covers the entire United Kingdom and is also accepted for Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. There are no internal immigration checks between the four nations, so a trip combining London and Edinburgh needs only one authorisation.
Your nationality is already set to Chile. Complete the form in under ten minutes, and our team will check every detail before it reaches the Home Office.
Other nationalities
Requirements, routes and border formalities differ by passport. Here are the guides for other eligible nationalities.
