Chile
Location: South America
Broadcast Regulators
Subsecretaría de Telecomunicaciones (SUBTEL) (Undersecretary of Telecommunications)
Film Commissions
Visas & Permits
Visas & Work Permits
Crews travelling on Western passports can enter Chile visa-free for stays of up to 90 days. Visas are required for longer stays.
There are no work permits required for film crews. Press passes may be required for documentary and news crews, depending on the project.
Please contact a local embassy, consulate or representative for more information. Alternatively, there are specialist companies that provide visa and immigration support to the media industry, and may be able to assist.
Film Location Permits
In Chile, shoots that involve setting up a tripod or laying cable require permits. The country is divided into 346 comunas, each with their own film location rules and regulations. As such, permission to film may need to be obtained from several authorities.
Certain parts of Santiago can be difficult to permit with filming.
National parks and historic sites require extra permits.
Projects that involve exclusive use of public space, police support, weapons or pyrotechnics require anywhere from five days to a month to permit.
Drone filming is allowed but not in national parks.
Customs
For productions looking to bring in film equipment, Chile is an ATA carnet country.
When to Film
When to Film
The Chilean climate is determined by the latitude, the proximity to the sea and the altitude.
The north of Chile is home to the Atacama Desert, the world’s driest desert. Summer (December to March) temperatures are very hot, and winter (June to September) temperatures are mild with cold nights.
Central and southern Chile has a Mediterranean to temperate four season climate. Summers are hot with long daylight hours. Autumn is mild and rainy. Winters are rainy with heavy snowfall in the Andes. Springs bring green fields and flowers in bloom.
Further south in Patagonia, summers are mild with very long daylight hours, and winters are very cold with very long nights.
Easter Island is best avoided during the wet season from May to June.
Chile is a predominately Christian country, so those holidays are observed.
Public Holidays
Public holidays may affect timing, availability and costs. See here for public holiday dates in Chile.
Costs & VAT
On average, Chile is less expensive than both Brazil and Argentina. Santiago is the main production centre. Filming outside of the city in faraway locations, such as the Atacama or Patagonia, can add significantly to the travel and transport budget.
The standard VAT rate in Chile, at the time of writing, is set at 19%.
Funding & Tax Incentives
Funding
DOCTV Latinoamérica
Ibermedia
Tax Incentives
At the time of writing, this country does not have any filming incentives. However, up-to-date information on global filming incentives may be found on the Entertainment Partners' Production Incentives Map.