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Foreign investment in Chile: the framework law, FX and remittance rights, incentives, tax stability contracts and restricted sectors

Last verified: 2026-10-25 · Status: Changing

Chile has no general approval or screening of foreign investment: Ley 20.848 guarantees equal treatment, free access to the FX market and the right to remit capital and net profits once taxes are paid, and an optional certificate unlocks that regime for investments of US$5 million or more. Projects of US$5 million or more can import capital goods free of VAT, and from 1 January 2027 Ley 21.850 offers tax stability contracts of 10, 15 or 20 years for investments of US$50 million or more, for a surcharge of 1.5 points on the corporate rate. Limits on foreign participation are sector specific: border zone land for nationals and companies of neighbouring countries, fishing and aquaculture, ship registration and cargo cabotage, and lithium, which cannot be held under an ordinary mining concession.

USD figures use the dólar observado of CLP 972.60 per US dollar for 1 October 2026, the latest value shown in the SII dólar observado table on the verification date. Conversions are for orientation only; the legal thresholds themselves are set in US dollars.

Key facts

Minimum transfer to qualify as foreign direct investment under the framework law	5000000 USDLey Nº 20.848, art. 2, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Voting stake in a Chilean company that makes an acquisition count as foreign direct investment	10 %Ley Nº 20.848, art. 2, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
General prior approval or screening of foreign investment	None; equal treatment with domestic investors textLey Nº 20.848, art. 9, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Deadline for InvestChile to issue the foreign investor certificate	15 daysLey Nº 20.848, art. 4, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Access to the formal FX market to remit capital and net profits, after taxes	Free, at a freely agreed rate; no minimum holding period textLey Nº 20.848, art. 5 and art. 6, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Maximum reserve requirement the Central Bank may impose on foreign currency credits, deposits or investments (for at most one year, renewable)	40 %Ley Nº 18.840, art. 49 Nº 2 and art. 50, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Minimum project investment for the VAT exemption on imported capital goods	5000000 USDDL Nº 825, art. 12, letter B, Nº 10, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Ministry of Finance deadline to decide on the capital goods VAT exemption before deemed approval	60 daysDL Nº 825, art. 12, letter B, Nº 10, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
VAT standard rate	19 %DL Nº 825, art. 14, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Corporate (first category) income tax rate, commercial year 2026	27 %Ley Nº 21.850, sixth transitory article, as of 2026-10-17 · in force
Corporate (first category) income tax rate from commercial year 2029	23 %Ley Nº 21.850, sixth transitory article, as of 2026-10-17 · pending
Minimum investment for a tax invariability contract (from 1 January 2027)	50000000 USDLey Nº 21.850, art. 26 Nº 1, as of 2026-10-17 · pending
Maximum tax invariability term, for investments of US$350 million or more, counted from start up	20 yearsLey Nº 21.850, art. 26 Nº 2 letter A, as of 2026-10-17 · pending
Surcharge on the contract corporate tax rate as the cost of invariability	1.5 percentage pointsLey Nº 21.850, art. 26 Nº 2 letter C, as of 2026-10-17 · pending
Maximum related party debt to tax equity ratio before invariability is lost	3 times equityLey Nº 21.850, art. 26 Nº 2 letter A, as of 2026-10-17 · pending
Capital share held by nationals of a neighbouring country that brings a company under the border zone real estate ban	40 %DL Nº 1.939, art. 7, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Cargo volume above which foreign ships may carry cabotage cargo after a public tender	3000 tonnesDL Nº 3.059, art. 3, as replaced by Ley Nº 21.774, as of 2026-10-25 · in force

The rule

1. Foreign direct investment, for the regime of the framework law, is a transfer to Chile of foreign capital or assets owned or controlled by a foreign investor of US$5,000,000 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies), made in freely convertible currency, physical goods, reinvested profits, capitalized credits, capitalizable technology or related party credits linked to the investment. An acquisition of a Chilean company also counts when, within those amounts, it gives control of at least 10 percent of the voting shares or an equivalent stake in capital or equity. A foreign investor is any individual or legal entity constituted abroad, not resident or domiciled in Chile, that transfers capital to Chile on those terms.
Cost to do it: No fee is set by the law; the cost is the minimum ticket of US$5,000,000 (about CLP 4,863,000,000) to qualify for the regime of Title I, paragraph 2.
Example: A foreign parent capitalizes CLP 4,863,000,000 into its Chilean SpA: the transfer meets the threshold and qualifies as foreign direct investment. / CLP 4,863,000,000 is US$5,000,000 at CLP 972.60; a US$3,000,000 contribution falls below the threshold and stays under the general free FX rules of the Central Bank law instead.Ley Nº 20.848 (framework law for foreign direct investment in Chile, which replaced DL 600 for new investments), Art. 2 and art. 3, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-25

2. A person who qualifies as a foreign investor may ask the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (InvestChile) for a certificate, whose only purpose is to give access to the regime of Title I, paragraph 2. The application must prove the investment has actually been made in Chile and describe its amount, purpose and nature in the form the Agency sets. The Agency must issue the certificate within 15 days of receiving the application; if it does not, the general administrative procedure law (Ley Nº 19.880) applies. The certificate identifies the investor and the investment made up to its issue date. The Agency is the legal successor of the former Foreign Investment Committee created under DL 600.
Cost to do it: The law sets no fee for the certificate; the investment must already be made, so the cost is the documentary proof of the transfer and its description.Ley Nº 20.848, Art. 4, art. 15 and art. 16 Nº 3, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-25

3. A foreign investor has the right to remit abroad the capital transferred and the net profits its investments generate, once all Chilean tax obligations are met. It has the right to access the formal FX market both to convert the currency of its investment and to obtain the currency needed for those remittances, at the exchange rate freely agreed by the parties. These FX operations remain subject to the powers of the Banco Central de Chile under its organic law and other special laws. The law sets no minimum holding period before capital can be repatriated.
Cost to do it: No FX authorization fee; the bank's FX spread applies, and taxes must be paid before remittance (see Start here for the dividend tax rules).
Example: A subsidiary that has paid its taxes buys dollars at its bank at a freely agreed rate to send CLP 972,600,000 of net profit to its parent. / CLP 972,600,000 is about US$1,000,000 at CLP 972.60; the price is negotiated with the bank, not fixed by the State.Ley Nº 20.848, Art. 5, art. 6 and art. 7, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-25

4. Anyone may freely carry out international exchange operations. The formal FX market is made up of banks and other entities the Central Bank authorizes. The Bank may require specific, precisely identified operations to be reported to it, and by a reasoned resolution of a majority of the full Council may require certain operations to go only through the formal market. Under art. 49 it may also impose restrictions such as a reserve requirement of up to 40 percent on foreign currency credits, deposits or investments, but only by a majority of the full Council, on grounds of currency stability or balance of payments financing, and for a preset period of at most one year (renewable), subject to a possible veto by the Minister of Finance. Even then, for funds that entered as investments, capital contributions or credits from abroad, the Bank must allow access to the formal market to meet the resulting obligations on the general terms in force when the funds were converted.Ley Nº 18.840 (Ley Orgánica Constitucional del Banco Central de Chile), Art. 39, art. 40, art. 41, art. 42, art. 49 and art. 50, 1989-10-10 official text · verified 2026-10-25

5. Investors, resident or foreign, and companies receiving foreign investment are exempt from VAT on imported capital goods used to develop, explore or exploit mining, industrial, forestry, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, research or technological, medical or scientific development projects, among others, involving investments of US$5,000,000 or more. The exemption covers only projects that generate income no earlier than two months after the import or local purchase of the first capital goods for which the exemption is requested, or after the project's environmental approval (resolución de calificación ambiental) or a paid State land concession. The applicant files with the Ministry of Finance; if the Ministry does not decide within 60 calendar days of receiving all documents, the request is deemed approved and the Ministry must issue the granting resolution within five business days. Later phases, expansions and like for like replacements of defective goods can be added by attaching the original resolution. If the SII finds the exemption was obtained on wrong documents it assesses the VAT with interest and penalties.
Cost to do it: No filing fee is set by the law. VAT is 19 percent (DL 825 art. 14), so the exemption removes a cash outlay of 19 percent of the CIF value of qualifying equipment.
Example: A solar project imports equipment worth CLP 19,452,000,000. Without the exemption it would pay CLP 3,695,880,000 of import VAT and wait to recover it as a credit; with a Ministry of Finance resolution it pays none. / US$20,000,000 of equipment at CLP 972.60; the VAT avoided is US$3,800,000 of upfront cash.Decreto Ley Nº 825 (Ley sobre Impuesto a las Ventas y Servicios), text in force; Ley Nº 20.848, DL 825 art. 12, letter B, Nº 10 and art. 14; Ley Nº 20.848 art. 8 and art. 20, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-25 · changed: Ley Nº 20.848 (25 June 2015) wrote the current exemption into DL 825 from 1 January 2016, requiring income only after at least twelve months and, for foreign investors, the InvestChile certificate. The consolidated text in force on the verification date runs the test from two months after the first import, the environmental approval or the land concession, and no longer requires the certificate to be attached.

6. Foreign investors are subject to the same general legal regime as domestic investors and may not be arbitrarily discriminated against, directly or indirectly.Ley Nº 20.848, Art. 9, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-25

7. Investors and receiving companies with a foreign investment contract signed under DL 600 (text fixed by DFL Nº 523 of 1993) before 1 January 2016 keep all the rights and obligations of those contracts, including their tax invariability. For four years from 1 January 2016, foreign investors could still apply for DL 600 authorizations, but with a total invariable income tax rate of 44.45 percent; that window has closed, so new investors use the framework law.Ley Nº 20.848, First and second transitory articles, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-25

8. From 1 January 2027, foreign investors (as defined in art. 3 of Ley Nº 20.848) who sign a foreign investment contract for mining, industrial, forestry, energy, infrastructure, telecommunications, research, technological development, medical or scientific projects of at least US$50 million may opt for tax invariability. The Ministry of Finance signs for the State after a report by InvestChile, which receives applications through a platform; investors must show the lawful origin of funds and the group's financial capacity. Terms run from start up (the first year with gross income from the main business): 10 years for US$50 million to under US$100 million, 15 years for US$100 million to under US$350 million and 20 years for US$350 million or more. The baseline frozen is the rate, base and other elements of the tax in force on the contract date, plus SII rulings on depreciation, loss carryforward and start up costs; VAT and customs treatment of imported capital goods is frozen while the investment is being made, exporters can freeze the right to export freely, and mining projects can freeze the mining royalty of Ley Nº 21.591, exclusion from new mining specific levies and mining licence fees. Capital must be brought in within ten years for mining and five years for other projects. Investment counts equity and debt actually deployed, but related party debt above three times tax equity at a year end forfeits invariability. The project must keep separate tax accounts; disputes go to mediation by InvestChile and then arbitration, which cannot reach SII audit and assessment powers. Domestic investors may access the same regime.
Cost to do it: The price of stability is a surcharge of 1.5 percentage points on the first category (corporate) rate fixed in the contract, applied to income attributable to the covered investment (art. 26 Nº 2 letter C). No application fee is set by the law.
Example: A project with taxable income of CLP 9,726,000,000 whose contract fixes a 23 percent rate pays 24.5 percent: CLP 2,382,870,000 instead of CLP 2,236,980,000, a cost of CLP 145,890,000 a year. If the general rate were later raised to 27 percent, the same income would owe CLP 2,626,020,000 outside the contract, so the contract would save CLP 243,150,000 a year. / On US$10,000,000 of taxable income: US$2,450,000 under the contract versus US$2,300,000 at 23 percent, a premium of US$150,000 a year that hedges against a hypothetical rise to 27 percent (US$2,700,000).Ley Nº 21.850 (National Reconstruction and Economic and Social Development Law), Art. 26, Nº 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-25 · changed: New regime created by Ley Nº 21.850, published in the Diario Oficial on 17 October 2026, effective 1 January 2027. The Ministry of Finance must issue regulations within six months on reorganization reporting and on minimum terms of the arbitration clause, and the SII must issue a resolution on separate accounting.

9. The corporate (first category) income tax rate falls in steps: 27 percent for income of commercial year 2026, 25.5 percent for 2027, 24 percent for 2028 and 23 percent from commercial year 2029. The 27 and 25.5 percent steps do not apply to taxpayers under art. 14, letter G of the income tax law.Ley Nº 21.850, Sixth transitory article, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-25 · changed: Ley Nº 21.850, published 17 October 2026, set the step down from 27 percent in 2026 to 23 percent from 2029.

10. For reasons of national interest, nationals of neighbouring countries may not acquire ownership or other real rights in, or hold possession or tenancy of, real estate located wholly or partly in areas declared border zones under DFL Nº 4 of 1967 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ban extends to companies or legal entities with their main seat in the neighbouring country, or in which nationals of that country own 40 percent or more of the capital or hold effective control. The President may exempt named persons for specific properties by a reasoned supreme decree signed by the Ministers of the Interior, Foreign Affairs and Defence, based on reports from the Defence Staff and the Directorate of Borders and Limits. Notaries must require a sworn declaration of nationality and birthplace, and evading the ban through false documents or simulated contracts is a crime. An exception applies to the real estate referred to in art. 19 of Ley Nº 19.420.
Cost to do it: No fee is set in the decree; the cost is time, since the exemption requires a supreme decree with three ministerial signatures and two defence reports.Decreto Ley Nº 1.939 (rules on acquisition, administration and disposal of State property), Art. 7 and art. 8, 1977-11-10 official text · verified 2026-10-25

11. An industrial fishing authorization may be granted to an individual who is Chilean or a foreigner with permanent residence, or to a legal entity constituted in Chile; if the entity has foreign capital, it must show, where applicable, that the investment was previously authorized under the laws in force. Vessels used by a foreign capital holder must be registered in its name under the Navigation Law, and extractive fishing in internal waters, the territorial sea or the exclusive economic zone by foreign flag vessels is banned except for authorized research fishing. Aquaculture concessions and authorizations go only to Chilean individuals, foreigners with permanent residence or Chilean legal entities, with prior approval of any foreign capital participation by the authority competent for foreign investment.Decreto Supremo Nº 430 of 1991, Ministry of Economy (consolidated text of Ley Nº 18.892, Ley General de Pesca y Acuicultura), Art. 17, art. 44, art. 71 and art. 115, 1992-01-21 official text · verified 2026-10-25

12. To register a ship in Chile its owner must be Chilean; a company counts as Chilean if it has its main domicile and its real and effective seat in Chile, and a co owned ship needs a majority of Chilean, resident co owners holding a majority of the rights. Foreigners domiciled in Chile with their main place of business there may register special vessels, except fishing vessels; on reciprocity, the maritime authority may release Chilean fishing companies with majority foreign capital from these requirements.Decreto Ley Nº 2.222 (Ley de Navegación), Art. 11, 1978-05-31 official text · verified 2026-10-25

13. Maritime, river and lake cargo cabotage between points in Chile is reserved to Chilean vessels, with exceptions. Foreign merchant ships may carry cabotage cargo above 3,000 tonnes after a public tender called by the shipper; for 3,000 tonnes or less, the maritime authority must authorize foreign ships of 120 metres or more when no Chilean flag vessel is available. Foreign lines may run regular cabotage services only where no Chilean line does, for one year renewable once for six months, and ships arriving from abroad may carry cabotage cargo on their outbound route up to the foreign trade cargo they unloaded. Foreign passenger ships of 400 or more passengers with overnight berths may carry tourist passengers between ports.Decreto Ley Nº 3.059 (Ley de Fomento a la Marina Mercante), art. 3 as replaced by Ley Nº 21.774, Art. 3, 2025-11-19 official text · verified 2026-10-25 · changed: Ley Nº 21.774, published 19 November 2025, replaced art. 3 to open cabotage to competition, adding the regular service and outbound route exceptions. The outbound route exception phases in at 50 percent of the unloaded cargo in the first year and 100 percent in the second, and the new rules apply between points in the Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes regions only three years after publication (Ley Nº 21.774, second and third transitory articles).

14. Liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons, lithium, deposits in waters under national jurisdiction and deposits in zones declared important for national security cannot be subject to a mining concession, except concessions validly constituted before the declaration. They may be explored or exploited directly by the State or its companies, or through administrative concessions or special operation contracts (CEOP) on the terms the President sets by supreme decree for each case. This applies equally to domestic and foreign investors.Ley Nº 18.248 (Código de Minería), Art. 7 and art. 8, 1983-10-14 official text · verified 2026-10-25

Investment (equity plus debt actually deployed)	Invariability term	Approximate CLP equivalent of the lower bound at CLP 972.60
US$50 million to under US$100 million	10 years	CLP 48,630,000,000
US$100 million to under US$350 million	15 years	CLP 97,260,000,000
US$350 million or more	20 years	CLP 340,410,000,000

Tax invariability terms under Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26 (contracts available from 1 January 2027). Terms run from the first year with gross income from the main business.

Activity	Limit	Rule
Real estate in border zones	Nationals of neighbouring countries, and companies seated there or 40 percent or more owned or controlled by their nationals, need a named presidential exemption	DL Nº 1.939 art. 7
Industrial fishing	Holder must be a Chilean entity (or a Chilean or permanent resident individual); foreign capital needs prior investment authorization where applicable; foreign flag vessels barred from extractive fishing	DS Nº 430 of 1991 (Ley General de Pesca) art. 17 and art. 115
Aquaculture	Only Chilean entities or Chilean or permanent resident individuals; foreign capital needs prior approval	DS Nº 430 of 1991 art. 71
Ship registration	Owner must be Chilean; a company qualifies with its main domicile and real seat in Chile	DL Nº 2.222 art. 11
Cargo cabotage	Reserved to Chilean vessels, with tender, availability, regular service and outbound route exceptions	DL Nº 3.059 art. 3
Lithium and hydrocarbons	Not subject to mining concession; State, its companies, administrative concessions or special operation contracts	Código de Minería art. 7 and art. 8

Where Chilean law limits foreign participation or reserves an activity, with the governing rule. Activities not listed have no foreign ownership ceiling in these texts; sector licences still apply equally to all investors.

Worked example

A foreign group plans a US$120,000,000 copper mining and processing project (about CLP 116,712,000,000). It capitalizes a Chilean SpA, obtains the InvestChile certificate within 15 days of proving the transfer (Ley Nº 20.848 art. 4), and applies to the Ministry of Finance for the VAT exemption on US$40,000,000 of imported equipment, avoiding US$7,600,000 (about CLP 7,391,760,000) of import VAT at 19 percent (DL 825 art. 12 B Nº 10 and art. 14).
If it signs a tax invariability contract after 1 January 2027, the US$120,000,000 ticket falls in the 15 year band, counted from the first year of gross income (Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26). As a mining project it can also freeze the mining royalty of Ley Nº 21.591 and mining licence fees, but it must bring in the capital within ten years, keep separate tax accounts and keep related party debt at or below three times tax equity at every year end.
If the same group's shareholders are Argentine, or its Chilean SpA is 40 percent or more owned or controlled by Argentine nationals, it cannot buy or lease land for the plant in a declared border zone without a named supreme decree exemption (DL Nº 1.939 art. 7). Argentina is a neighbouring country; see the Argentine guide for the Argentine side of outbound investment and FX rules.

Step by step

1. Map the activity against the restricted list above. If none applies, foreign ownership can be 100 percent with no prior approval, and the path is the ordinary one: RUT, incorporation and start of activities (see Start here).
2. Size the investment. At US$5,000,000 or more, plan to request the InvestChile certificate once the funds have arrived; it is issued within 15 days (Ley Nº 20.848 art. 4).
3. Bring the funds through a bank in the formal FX market and keep the documentation of the transfer, which supports both the certificate and later remittances of capital and profits (Ley Nº 20.848 art. 5 and art. 6; Ley Nº 18.840 art. 41).
4. Before importing equipment for a project of US$5,000,000 or more, file the VAT exemption request with the Ministry of Finance; silence after 60 calendar days from a complete file means approval, with the resolution due within five business days (DL 825 art. 12 B Nº 10).
5. For projects of US$50,000,000 or more, model whether the 1.5 point surcharge is worth the stability term, and prepare the InvestChile application with evidence of lawful origin of funds and group financial capacity; contracts can be signed from 1 January 2027, subject to the Ministry of Finance regulations (Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26).
6. For any land deal, check whether the property lies in a declared border zone and whether the buyer or its owners are nationals of a neighbouring country (DL Nº 1.939 art. 7).

Common traps

Treating the InvestChile certificate as an approval. It only gives access to the regime of Title I, paragraph 2, and can be requested only after the investment has been made (Ley Nº 20.848 art. 4).
Assuming the tax stability contract approves the project. Signing a contract does not approve its development or execution; environmental and sector permits still follow the ordinary law (Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26 Nº 1).
Over leveraging a stability project with intra group debt. If related party debt exceeds three times tax equity at any year end, invariability is lost (Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26 Nº 2 letter A).
Letting one co investor renounce. Where a contract covers several foreign investors, one investor's renunciation ends invariability for all of them and for the receiving company, unless the contract sets an ownership threshold for that effect (Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26 Nº 3).
Using the stability contract for tax structuring. Invariability cannot be used to cut tax artificially through structures without economic substance, and the general anti avoidance rules of the Tax Code apply; a final conviction for a tax crime or a finding of abuse or simulation forfeits it (Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26 Nº 2 letter B and Nº 3 letter B).
Forgetting the border zone rule in cross border groups. The ban reaches companies seated in a neighbouring country or 40 percent owned or effectively controlled by its nationals, so a Chilean subsidiary of an Argentine, Bolivian or Peruvian group is caught (DL Nº 1.939 art. 7).
Assuming FX freedom can never change. The Central Bank can impose a reserve requirement of up to 40 percent and require operations to go through the formal market, though only by a full Council majority, for at most a year at a time, and without cutting off access for funds already brought in (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 42, art. 49 and art. 50).

Sources

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