The Chilean government will remove the reciprocity fee charged to Australians upon arrival in Chile from Monday, 16 December 2019. However, Australians will be required to apply for an eVisa before travelling to Chile from 16 May 2020.
https://chile.gob.cl/australia/en/information-about-reciproc…
Time to book your flights to Chile :)
https://travelo.com.au/travel-results/#/flights/SYD2301SCL30…
I upvoted it due to being a Chilean national and that I love the fact that my country opens its doors to Aussies.
In saying that, please google for recent Chilean news so you can see what’s happening in the country and assess how comfortable would it be for you to visit if you are doing it in the next few months.
I think this might be a measure taken by Chile to improve its diminishing tourism figures due to the current civil unrest.
I want to eat pastel de choclo :(
I miss cafe con kuchen, paila marina, ceviche & completo italiano washed down with a Kunstmann beer.
but it's $0…..
there's plenty of new facist countries in south America to go to- they all have death squads dressed in black - all America first like us - hence the cheap deal for us
'Amazon has come under fire for selling T-shirts glorifying the “death flights” of Chile’s military dictatorship in which leftwing opponents of the regime were dropped from helicopters in an attempt to hide their murders….Last year, a political storm erupted in Chile when the far-right politician José Antonio Kast – who came fourth in the 2017 presidential elections – was pictured alongside a supporter wearing a T-shirt saying “Pinochet’s Helicopter Tours”….On 21 November Amnesty International described the chile security forces as engaging in “widespread attacks using unnecessary and excessive force with the intention of injuring and punishing protesters.” Amnesty International further warned that police officers had fired “potentially lethal ammunition in an unjustified, widespread and indiscriminate manner and in many cases aiming at people’s heads.”
At least 23 people have been killed and more than 7,000 individuals have reportedly been detained since the protests began. According to Chile’s National Human Rights Institute, over 2,800 people have been injured, many with gunshot wounds. The security forces’ reportedly reckless use of projectiles has also resulted in at least 232 people suffering serious eye injuries, including permanent blindness….UN investigators said in a report released on Friday 13th December…
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented 133 acts of torture and mistreatment, 24 cases of sexual violence and isolated cases of psychological torture, including simulated executions, threats of forced disappearance and threats of rape…
Plenty of support for fascism here as you can see..
You don't know what that word means, stop using it
@ausmechkeyboards: Fascism (/ˈfæʃɪzəm/) is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, ,
FORCIBLE SUPPRESSION OF OPPOSITION
@petry: Fascism isn't isolated to the far right. There's plenty of far left regimes and organisations which promote fascist ideology. Eg. Nazi party, Antifa etc.
Yep, don’t need to travel overseas for that!
Then travel there to discover truth and show your disapproval. If you don't, newspapers will tell Chileans that foreigners support dictators.
that's cause we do lol.. . their press will be telling the truth
Time to book your flights to Chile :)
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/americas/chile
Chile - Overall: Exercise a high degree of caution
"Following recent civil unrest and violence across Chile, there may be further demonstrations, protests and violent clashes in major cities, including Santiago de Chile, Valparaíso, Viña de Mar, Punto Arenas, Puerto Montt, Concepción and Antofagasta."
Same as Israel, Belgium, South Africa, Turkey, Indonesia (Bali), Thailand (Bangkok), Hong Kong, Peru, France… Tourists still go everywhere :)
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations?title=&field_o…
I was at the riots last month. Santiago is trashed! Every building, statue and wall is vandalised. Building burnt etc…
If you go to South America from Oz direct (not via USA) then you have to go to Santiago. Dont stay… Head to Buenos Aires or Lima!
A bus over the Andes from Santiago to Mendoza (wine country) ain't too expensive - if the protesters haven't sabotaged the bus station.
¿Did you travel south of the capital? I'm just curious if the tourist areas of Pichilemu, Validivia, Puerto Varas, Chiloe and Pucon would be affected much. e.g. see lush, green Chile and then head across into Argentina at Bariloche.
didn't see the un reports on most of these countries - or the deaths or the blindings
'At least 23 people have been killed and more than 7,000 individuals have reportedly been detained since the protests began. According to Chile’s National Human Rights Institute, over 2,800 people have been injured, many with gunshot wounds. The security forces’ reportedly reckless use of projectiles has also resulted in at least 232 people suffering serious eye injuries, including permanent blindness….UN investigators said in a report released on Friday 13th December…
The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) documented 133 acts of torture and mistreatment, 24 cases of sexual violence and isolated cases of psychological torture, including simulated executions, threats of forced disappearance and threats of rape…'
is Belgium really like that?
Lol, planning on going were you, not.
Well.., Qantas is even increasing their service from 4 a week to 7, so daily flights with QF to Santiago starting in June.
https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/qantas-dreamliner…
so daily flights with QF to Santiago starting in June.
I'd rather got to San Diego…
maybe we're supplying government contractors…
Lol, planning on going were you, not.
Just making sure people make in informed decision…
Ok yoda
I have always found the smart traveller website to be just about useless if not total horse pucky.
For example - Mindanao is code orange, even though outside of the Muslim regions its basically fine. On the other hand, PNG is coded yellow. Personally, I wouldnt walk out of Port Moresby airport on my own. Wouldnt have any issues doing so in Davao. The problem is that the smart traveler website tends to overemphasise risks of terrorism, whereas you're far more likely to encounter trouble from just ordinary criminals, such as raskal gangs in Moresby or get bailed up in Colombia than you are to ever be a victim of terrorism, the risks of which are negligible.
Do not bluff by wearing expensive jewellery late at night. Yes pay the girl in the street or be hunted down. Respect Christian values limit the size of rainbow flags in public spaces. Dress like a human not like an animal. Carry a value for money do all device like an android. No point to bluff with a can do little expensive fruit device and later sulk as it gone missing.
Carry a bundle of U$ 1 notes, they know you are rich and money talks.
Now enjoy the food and scenery and culture.
stay safe guys
650 x 380
Yeah, $247,000 isn't free.
247,000?
Too late….
FFS paid this last month exiting Santiago!
Hopefully the e-Visa will be priced well south of USD117. Entered Chile 3 times this year but avoided the fee by using my UK passport. Chile is a wonderful country to visit so I hope the political problems there are soon resolved.
I thought the previous rules were that you only needed to pay the fee once for the life of the passport not each time you enter?
The fee in many South American countries was annoying. I know when I was on a tour to Igazu Falls, it is at the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Our tour was in Brazil and Argentina. We could see Paraguay. We would have gone to Paraguay for dinner just to go there, but it was going to cost $100+ to enter the country. Paraguay is a very poor country. We would have put $50 each into the economy if we could enter for free. I am sure there would be plenty of others who would do the same.
Similarly most Australians when going to South America first land in Santiago. Plenty don’t leave the airport because of this fee.
I agree with you. Regarding the Chile Reciprocity Fee, I believe that it was valid for 3 months and only applied for entry at Santiago Airport.
Just in time for cocaine Cassie’s family to pay her a visit.
She is in Colombia not Chille.
But from Sydney the easiest way is to fly Latam to Santiago then connect onto Latam flight to Bogota! And yes I know if you transfer without entering Chile the reciprocity fee is not payable.
Sorry, I can't hear you, I have my very expensive headphones on…
Shit…
I bought a pair off her, everyone who sees me wearing them tells me they are like two bricks
What bad timing. I just arrived in Chile yesterday with my 2 kids. Had to pay $351 USD. Wonder if I can claim price protection on credit card ;)
A true OzBargainer….overseas but still checking in!
Yep, couldn't sleep due to jet lag so I thought I would check ozb. Couldn't believe it when I saw this.
Couldn't you have waited in the transit area for a couple of days?
Wife was waiting for us outside so probably best to pay the fee than deal with an angry wife ;)
Indeed.
This is a permanent price change, isn't it? When a government permanently removes a fee, it's really a different thing to a bargain.
Yep, now it’s “normal price” ;-)
Red chili or green
Yeah, I wouldn't be going to Chile anytime soon.
They're removing the fee because the countries gone to shit and no one is going there anymore.
So uh… What's the Australian embassy like there? Just in case I get caught helping?
mornings only - part time
Finally they decided to remove it…. 😁
I'd give Chile a miss. Once had Chilean ambassador living in my apartment block. Very unfriendly guy. If you blocked the driveway for 5 minutes he'd start yelling rudely. Guy never waved at anyone.
Yeah, you are probably right. One person represents the other 18 million of Chileans. Good judgement call, mate :)
Well being the ambassador, he kind of does represent his people.
Not really. He is a representative of the state, not the personality of its people, lol.
@Nachotroncoso: First impressions count for a lot. If the first Chilean person I meet is miserable, why should I give the rest a chance? It's a long way to travel just to test that out.
@AussieZed: Seriously, I thought you were joking (or using exaggerated sarcasm for effect) - until you actually defended your position!
By using your criteria of destination selection (ie, that if you ever encounter one single rude person from a country, then that country is disqualified from you ever visiting it), I think it highly unlikely that you will ever visit anywhere.
Hell, just going to your local shops would be a risk. There might be a nasty rude person nearby.
@Roman Sandstorm: Nope, my criteria is not encountering one single rude person from a country. It's based on my encounter of the first person from that country that I ever meet, which happened to be this guy. Plus, his position as ambassador makes him influence my decision much more so than a typical ordinary Chilean would.
Zed Seselja is an Ozbargainer!! :o
Translation: I inconsiderately blocked the driveway one day and "the Ambassador" told me in no uncertain terms to move my car and stop being a thoughtless dick. After that he never waved to me. All Chileans are the same.
Well, not quite. Here's the story: I had an electrician over, who was blocking the driveway. This ambassador comes charging down the driveway in his "oh so special" last generation Mercedes C-Class with consular plates (like we're meant to be impressed), and starts honking and getting all pissed off (I was upstairs at the time, so I don't know what he said, if anything). The electrician then tells him to F-off. Very rude electrician, actually. Then, the guy comes over to my place and demands I apologise. I say - look, I'm sorry the guy treated you that way, but I'm not responsible for another person's actions. Just because my sparkie was rude to him, doesn't mean he has to be rude to me. He also claimed I blocked the driveway myself on another occasion - I said, perhaps a while back when I was MOVING IN to my place. For christ's sake. I also never said he didn't wave to me specifically - he never waved to anyone or talked much to anyone in the building. He also sped down the driveway too fast at times.
Basically, there's a right and wrong way of handling things. He could have nicely asked the electrician to move, instead of getting all pissed off right off the bat.
Also, he didn't pay a cent for that apartment - his government paid for his rent. So he shouldn't be complaining about sfa. Sorry for the long story!
Well I never. Fancy a government paying for the accommodation for one of its main reps - if in fact that's what he was - AND providing him with a pretty standard vehicle with appropriate plates. What's the world coming to? Another strike against all Chilean people. Don't know how the Chilean Embassy is structured but no driver suggests he wasn't the Ambassador. High end apartment block with good security and facilities I presume? Otherwise he has good reason to be pissed. You might want to check in with reality in regards to how countries provide for their senior staff OS some time.
He might have been a dick, might not, but your jump to judgement on a whole nation and its people is beyond ridiculous. In your own words: "I'm not responsible for another person's actions". See the irony there? How do you know what his arrangements were by the way?
@[Deactivated]: I don't care about his government paying his rent. My point is that it gives him no right to complain about an OWNER blocking the driveway. He just thinks that his position makes him more important than anyone else. And why does he need a Mercedes? Why wouldn't a Camry suffice for his job? I can tell you this - Australian (and American) ambassadors are not driving around in Mercs.
@AussieZed: Interesting. Owners in a complex have more rights than say renters, and owning a unit gives you special privileges to block driveways? You clearly have taken an unhealthy dislike to whoever he is, probably an embassy driver. Why are Mercedes the choice of some embassies? Pretty obvious I'd have thought. You don't appear to have much of a clue about ambassadorial transport Most are chauffeurred in medium-large, comfortable modern cars when on official business. US Ambassadors' (and many other countries') vehicles will also usually be security enhanced. All of which is beside the point.
@[Deactivated]: I just found out he wasn't the ambassador (who I assume would live in Canberra), but he was the consul, which is the local equivalent for Melbourne.
@AussieZed: A consul is in no way an equivalent for an embassy (embassies typically have a separate consul), which made me wonder whether you were making this up (no ambassador would live in a complex as you've described).
So your sparky blocked the driveway and you did the same when you moved in, but no mention at all of letting your neighbours know about it, really? If someone blocks my driveway without notice and I’m late for work for example, I’d be pretty angry, as it represents zero respect for others. Why didn’t you let your neighbours know in advance you were going to block the driveway? That would have shown a bit of consideration for the rest of the people that used it.
Good thing I don’t think that all Australians are dicks based on what you told us here…
@AussieZed: Maybe he'd encountered numerous Aussies like your sparky during his work day and needed a stiff pisco Zed? Let's not stop here though, the saga is enthralling reading. So I'm wondering this: how did you "just find out" it was the Consul (and not some other Chilean consulate employee)? Same way you learned about his leasing financial arrangements? Are you a member of Dutton's blackshirts by chance?
EXCELLENT decision, thanks Government of Chile!
As an extensive traveller, paying this visa was a bug-bear when visiting Chile!
I'd love to drive south through the Andes into Patagonia, might take up this offer.
Might want to put "visa" in the title as i thought it was a human cloning service for a sec :)