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The foreign investor certificate and InvestChile: who qualifies, what it unlocks, documents and the 15 day deadline

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Stable

A non resident person or company that brings US$5 million or more into Chile, or takes at least 10 percent of the votes or capital of a Chilean company within that amount, can ask InvestChile for a foreign investor certificate once the money or assets have actually arrived. The certificate is optional and approves nothing; its only purpose is to give access to the statutory rights to remit capital and net profits and to use the formal FX market, and it is also the document foreign investors attach to the capital goods VAT exemption and, from 2027, to tax stability contracts. InvestChile must issue it within 15 days of receiving the request, charges no fee under the law, and the real costs are apostilles, notarised deeds and the Central Bank transfer certificate.

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. UTM amounts use the October 2026 UTM of CLP 72,151 and UTA of CLP 865,812, and UF amounts the UF of CLP 41,221.08 for 26 October 2026, all published by the SII. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Minimum foreign direct investment for the framework law regime	5000000 USDLey Nº 20.848 art. 2, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Minimum voting or capital stake in the Chilean company	10 %Ley Nº 20.848 art. 2, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline for InvestChile to issue the certificate	15 daysLey Nº 20.848 art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Government fee for the foreign investor certificate	None set in the law textLey Nº 20.848 art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Is the certificate mandatory to invest?	No; optional, only gives access to the art. 5 to 7 rights textLey Nº 20.848 art. 4, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Days after reporting a missed deadline before an application is deemed accepted	5 daysLey Nº 19.880 art. 64, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. For the rights in Title I, paragraph 2 of the framework law, foreign direct investment is a transfer to Chile of foreign capital or assets owned or controlled by a foreign investor for US$5,000,000 or more (or the equivalent in other currencies), made in freely convertible currency, physical goods of any kind, reinvested profits, capitalised loans, capitalisable technology, or loans from related companies associated with the investment. Within those amounts it also covers acquiring, directly or indirectly, an interest in the equity or capital of a company organised in Chile that gives control of at least 10 percent of the voting shares, or an equivalent share of capital if the company is not a share company.
Example: A Spanish company wires CLP 4,863,000,000 (US$5,000,000) to subscribe 25 percent of a Chilean SpA: the amount and the 10 percent control test are both met. / US$4,900,000 wired for 100 percent of a company does not qualify, however large the stake, because the amount is below US$5,000,000.Ley Nº 20.848, framework law for foreign direct investment in Chile, Art. 2, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. A foreign investor is any individual or legal person organised abroad, neither resident nor domiciled in Chile, that transfers capital to Chile on those terms. A Chilean resident, or a company organised in Chile, cannot be the certificate holder, even if its money comes from abroad.Ley Nº 20.848, Art. 3, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

3. A person who qualifies may ask the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (InvestChile) for a certificate whose only purpose is to give access to the regime of paragraph 2. The application must prove that the investment has been made in Chile and describe it in detail, including amount, destination and nature, in the form InvestChile sets. InvestChile must issue the certificate within 15 days of receiving the request; if it does not, the general administrative procedure law applies. The certificate identifies the investor and the investment made up to its date of issue.
Cost to do it: No fee is set in Ley Nº 20.848 and InvestChile's published form lists none. Costs are third party: apostilles or legalisation abroad, notarial protocolisation in Chile, the Central Bank transfer certificate and the deeds of the receiving company.Ley Nº 20.848, Art. 4 and art. 16 Nº 3, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Under the general administrative procedure law, once the legal deadline to decide an application has passed, the applicant can report the delay to the authority that must decide, which must acknowledge it and send a copy to its superior within 24 hours. If the authority does not decide within five days of receiving that report, the application is deemed accepted, and the applicant can ask for a certificate stating that the request was not decided in time. Acts concluded by silence have the same effects as an express decision from the date of that certification. Silence counts as a refusal instead where the request affects State assets.Ley Nº 19.880, administrative procedure law, Art. 64, art. 65 and art. 66, 2003-05-29 official text · verified 2026-10-26

5. 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, and 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 a rate freely agreed between the parties. The FX operations remain subject to the Central Bank's powers under its organic law. Foreign investors are also subject to the same legal regime as domestic investors, without arbitrary discrimination.Ley Nº 20.848, Art. 5, art. 6, art. 7 and art. 9, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

6. InvestChile is a decentralised public service related to the President through the Ministry of Economy. It must promote and attract all kinds of foreign capital and investment regardless of amount, can give investors information on the market, legislation and incentives, arrange contacts with authorities, suppliers and financiers, identify obstacles to foreign projects and report them to the competent authorities, and collect investment statistics, for which it can request information from public and private bodies and from foreign investors themselves. It is the legal successor of the former Foreign Investment Committee, so references in other laws to that Committee are read as references to InvestChile.Ley Nº 20.848, Art. 15 and art. 16, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

7. InvestChile's application form asks for the investor's identification and legal representative in Chile, a detailed description of the investment, its amount in US dollars or another freely convertible currency, the form of the investment (currency, physical goods, reinvested profits, capitalised loans, technology or related party loans), regional destination, sector, receiving company with its RUT and shareholders, the investor's percentage in it, and jobs created and projected. Attachments for companies are: bylaws, certificate of good standing and power of attorney, each in Spanish or English and apostilled or legalised and protocolised as the case requires; a Central Bank certificate showing the date, amount and purpose of the foreign currency transfer; the public deed of incorporation or capital increase of the receiving company and any other deed showing the investment and the investor's percentage; and a current copy of the receiving company's registration in the Commercial Register. Individuals attach a passport copy, a power of attorney and a certificate of tax residence abroad instead of bylaws and good standing.InvestChile, Solicitud de Certificado de Inversionista Extranjero (application form published under Ley Nº 20.848), Form, list of attachments, 2018-03-01 official text · verified 2026-10-26

8. The certificate is also a working document for two incentives. A foreign investor applying to the Ministry of Finance for the VAT exemption on imported capital goods may rely on its status under art. 3 of Ley Nº 20.848, and from 1 January 2027 only foreign investors as defined in art. 3 (or domestic investors meeting the same requirements) can sign a tax invariability contract for projects of US$50 million or more, with InvestChile receiving the application and reporting to the Ministry of Finance.Decreto Ley Nº 825 (VAT law), as replaced by Ley Nº 20.848 and amended by Ley Nº 21.210; Ley Nº 21.850, DL 825 art. 12 letter B Nº 10; Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26 Nº 1 and Nº 4, 2026-10-17 official text · verified 2026-10-26

9. Investors with a foreign investment contract signed under DL 600 before 1 January 2016 keep all the rights and obligations of those contracts, and InvestChile keeps the functions of the former Foreign Investment Committee's executive vice presidency for them. The four year window to sign new DL 600 contracts from 1 January 2016 has closed; such investors may still use the regime of paragraph 2 of Ley Nº 20.848.Ley Nº 20.848, First and second transitory articles, 2015-06-25 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Question	Answer	Rule
Is it a precondition to invest or to own 100 percent?	No. It is optional and can only be requested after the investment is made	Art. 4
Who can hold it?	A non resident, non domiciled person or entity organised abroad	Art. 3
Minimum ticket	US$5,000,000 (CLP 4,863,000,000), with at least 10 percent of votes or capital if buying into a company	Art. 2
Rights unlocked	Remit capital and net profits after tax; access to the formal FX market at a freely agreed rate	Art. 5 and 6
Tax stability?	No. Stability needs a separate contract under Ley Nº 21.850 from 2027	Ley Nº 21.850 art. 26
Deadline	15 days from receipt of the request	Art. 4
If InvestChile is late	Report the delay; deemed accepted if no decision within 5 days	Ley Nº 19.880 art. 64

What the certificate does and does not do (Ley Nº 20.848 art. 2 to 9).

Worked example

A US investor funds a Chilean SpA with US$6,000,000 (CLP 5,835,600,000) for 60 percent of its shares, wiring the money through a Chilean bank. It asks the bank for the Central Bank transfer certificate, gets its bylaws, good standing certificate and power of attorney apostilled in the United States and protocolised before a Chilean notary, and files the InvestChile form with the SpA's capital increase deed and current Commercial Register certificate.
InvestChile must issue the certificate within 15 days of receipt (Ley Nº 20.848 art. 4). With it, the investor can later document that its dividends and any return of capital are remittances it has a statutory right to make once taxes are paid (art. 5 and 6), and can attach it to a Ministry of Finance request for VAT exemption on the SpA's imported equipment.
A second investor puts in US$3,000,000 (CLP 2,917,800,000). It cannot obtain the certificate, but it can still buy FX and remit profits freely under the Central Bank law's general freedom of exchange operations (Ley Nº 18.840 art. 39); what it lacks is the statutory investor specific guarantee.

Step by step

1. Check eligibility: the investor must be organised abroad and not resident or domiciled in Chile, and the transfer must reach US$5,000,000, with at least 10 percent of votes or capital where it buys into a company (art. 2 and 3).
2. Bring the money or assets in first. Wire currency through a bank in the formal FX market and ask for the Central Bank certificate of the transfer; the certificate can only be requested after the investment is made (art. 4).
3. Close the corporate step in Chile: public deed of incorporation or capital increase of the receiving company and its registration in the Commercial Register (see Entities).
4. Gather foreign documents in Spanish or English: bylaws, good standing and power of attorney for companies; passport, power of attorney and tax residence certificate for individuals. Apostille them (or legalise them where the Apostille Convention does not apply) and protocolise them before a Chilean notary.
5. File the InvestChile form with all attachments and keep proof of the filing date. Expect the certificate within 15 days of receipt.
6. If the deadline passes, report the delay in writing to InvestChile; if no decision follows within five days, ask for the certificate of positive silence (Ley Nº 19.880 art. 64).
7. Request an updated certificate when later tranches arrive, since each certificate covers the investment made up to its date of issue (art. 4).

Common traps

Applying before the money arrives. The law requires proof that the investment has been made; a commitment or a signed share purchase agreement is not enough (art. 4).
Counting a Chilean holding company as the investor. The investor must be organised abroad and not resident or domiciled in Chile; a Chilean vehicle that receives foreign money is the receiving company, not the investor (art. 3).
Splitting a ticket below US$5,000,000 across several investors. The amount is tested per foreign investor; smaller investors do not qualify, although they keep the general freedom of FX operations under the Central Bank law.
Reading the certificate as a guarantee against Central Bank measures. The FX operations remain subject to the Central Bank's powers, which include, by a full Council majority and for limited periods, reserve requirements and a duty to use the formal market (Ley Nº 20.848 art. 7; Ley Nº 18.840 art. 49 and 50).
Unapostilled or untranslated foreign documents. The form accepts documents in Spanish or English only, apostilled or legalised and protocolised as required.
Assuming a DL 600 style tax stability comes with it. The certificate carries no tax invariability; new stability contracts exist only under Ley Nº 21.850 from 1 January 2027 for projects of US$50 million or more.

Sources

← Foreign investment in Chile: the framework law, FX and remittance rights, incentives, tax stability contracts and restricted sectorsVAT exemption on imported capital goods for projects of US$5 million or more: eligible goods, Ministry of Finance procedure, timeline and clawback →