Digital Nomad Visa for Chileans: The Best Programmes for Chilean Passport Holders in 2026

The shortlist for Chilean passport holders

Start with the Americas, where the bars are lowest and the consulate network is closest. Brazil's VITEM XIV asks US$1,500 a month from foreign sources or US$18,000 in savings, for one year renewable once — and Chilean applicants file at the Brazilian consulate in Santiago with documents in Spanish or Portuguese. Colombia's digital nomad visa asks roughly three times the Colombian minimum wage (about US$1,400 a month in 2026) for up to two years, filed online. Costa Rica asks US$3,000 a month (US$4,000 with dependents) for one year plus one renewal, with 12 months of bank statements. In Asia, Thailand's DTV needs no monthly income at all — 500,000 THB (about US$14,000) in savings, seasoned 3–6 months, for a five-year multiple-entry visa. In Europe, Spain's telework visa (€2,849 a month, degree or three years' experience) is the strongest long game: a 3-year in-country permit path and permanent residency after five years.

Trap 1: Assuming visa-free access covers remote work

Chileans enter most of Europe visa-free for 90 days in any 180, and several Latin American countries without a visa at all — but visa-free entry is for tourism, not for working remotely for months. Staying past the tourist window, or working openly on a tourist entry, risks refusal at the border and a record that complicates future applications. The nomad visa exists precisely to make a long stay legal, and consulates increasingly ask how previous long stays were documented.

• How to clear it: if you plan more than 90 days in Schengen, file a proper residence route (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Croatia) before you travel — do not stretch tourist entries.
• Keep a clean entry/exit record: overstays and border refusals follow you into every later application.
• For the Americas, use the dedicated route (Brazil VITEM XIV, Colombia V, Costa Rica Estancia) rather than repeated tourist renewals.
• If you have already worked remotely on tourist entries, say nothing about it in a new file — and do not repeat the pattern.

Trap 2: Filing Spain or Italy from the wrong consulate

European programmes are consulate-specific: Spain and Italy both require you to apply at the consulate covering your legal residence, and each consulate applies its own evidence bar. Spain's headline is €2,849 a month (200% of the 2026 SMI spread over 12 months), but some consulates read the monthly SMI directly and quote €2,442 — either way, budget the higher figure. Italy's statutory floor is €24,789 a year, yet consulates in practice ask around €28,000, and Italy also demands a degree or five years' experience (three with a degree) plus six months of remote-work history. Filing at a consulate that does not cover you, or budgeting the floor instead of the practice, is the most common Chilean-side refusal pattern on European files.

• How to clear it: confirm your assigned consulate's current figure in writing before you file, and budget Spain at €2,849 and Italy at ~€28,000 a year.
• For Spain, bring the degree or three years' documented experience plus three months with your current employer or clients.
• For Italy, bring six months of remote-work history and a registered lease — consulates ask for both.
• Chileans already in Europe on a tourist entry cannot convert in-country for Italy; Spain is the exception, with its in-country UGE-CE route.

Lowest bars first: where a Chilean income stretches furthest

If your income is in pesos or modest in dollars, rank by bar, not by lifestyle photos. Colombia (~US$1,400 a month) and Brazil (US$1,500 or US$18,000 savings) are the cheapest tickets in the Americas, and both allow dependents. Thailand's DTV is the savings play: no monthly bar, just 500,000 THB held and seasoned — ideal if your income is irregular but your balance is healthy. Note the August 2026 tightening: DTV applications must now go to the mission covering your country of nationality or permanent residence, and a police clearance certificate issued within six months is mandatory. Malaysia's DE Rantau, from 1 December 2026, asks US$36,000 a year for tech workers (US$60,000 non-tech) for up to 48 months — a longer stay, but no longer the budget pick it was.

The long game: which programmes lead anywhere

Most nomad visas are chapters, not destinations. Brazil caps at two years, Costa Rica at two years, Croatia at 18 months with a six-month gap, and Thailand's DTV — generous as five years of multiple entries sounds — is still 180 days per entry with extensions, not residence. Spain is the outlier: the in-country permit runs three years, renews to five, and those years count toward permanent residency. Portugal's D8 (€3,680 a month) offers a similar five-year path to citizenship. If your goal is a second base rather than a long trip, pay Spain's or Portugal's higher bar rather than chaining short-stay visas.