We can obviously not cover all the benefits of moving to Chile in one short article and will provide some other resources at the end of the article to learn more; however, we will touch on some of the core benefits of moving to Chile to retire that most anyone will need to consider.

Top benefits for people wishing to retire in Chile or move to Chile:

Stable, Safe, and Corruption Free Chile
The first is a catch-all category of stability and safety. Chile has one of the most stable and fast growing economies in Latin America. The recent entrance of Chile as only the second member in Latin America and the first member in South America to the OECD shows just how rapidly Chile is developing in to a first World country.

Chile has one of the most corruption free and stable governments in the World, often outranking many “First World” countries of Europe in almost every measure of economic stability, corruption, and public safety. Chile is one of the only “advanced” developing countries to do this, and part of the key is a relatively small population with massive natural resources and a stable transparent government. Chile does not suffer from the poverty and over population that will permanently hobble the development of many other Latin American countries for generations to come.

Residency Requirements in Chile
Chile has some of the most liberal and targeted residency requirements geared directly at retirees. The only real core requirement for the “retirement and income visa” is to prove a steady source of recurring income. This is not just for retirees, but anyone that can prove a regular recurring income from some source to support themselves during the application process.

Dual Citizenship in Chile
Chile now allows for dual citizenship for permanent residents in Chile for at least 5 years. This opens up an whole host of new benefits of living in Chile. This includes the right to request a second passport in Chile, access to various government subsidy programs, and much more. This allows you to maintain your existing citizenship, passport, and benefits of your home country, while also enjoying the benefits of being a full Chilean citizen and the ability to travel the World as a Chilean.

Income Tax Free Foreign Pensions in Chile for Expats Retiring in Chile
Foreign retirement benefits, pensions, and social security payments are income tax free in Chile forever.    Other sources of income from outside Chile are free of income tax for the first three years, and under special circumstances the tax authority has issued wavers for longer.

Lowest income tax in the OECD countries
When it does come time to pay income tax in Chile, Chile has the lowest income and other tax rates of all the OECD members around the World. Additionally, Chile has just inked a double taxation agreement with the United States and has many existing income tax treaties with other countries. This in a sense makes Chile a legitimate tax haven, often directly endorsed by your own government, for nationals of many countries without the shady reputation that such places like Panama or the Cayman Islands have as money laundering paradises. Chile proves it is possible to have low taxes, and still stop money laundering and tax evaders.  

Chile has a Modern and affordable health care system
Health Care. For the retiree thinking of moving to Chile, concerns about health care need to be taken in to consideration. This is especially true for retirees from the United States where health care cost are going up and quality is quickly going down. Chile has a first World health care system, and developing World prices.

Chile has one of the most advanced and modern health care systems in the Americas. Hospitals are modern, and doctors in Chile are well trained and regulated with the most modern equipment and techniques. Training for Chilean doctors commonly involves studying medicine in the United States or Europe.  Finding doctors and hospitals that speak at least English, if not German and other languages is common across Chile. One more thing. Many Chilean doctors still make house calls, in addition to robust industry of other medical services that can be provide in the comfort of your home such as  common lab test where technicians and nurses will visit you at home do things like take blood samples. There is often no little to no extra charge for such out patient services in Chile.  

Chile's health care system has all of this, while keeping cost down to reasonable and affordable levels. For example, a common bypass surgery that would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the United States, can cost under $10,000 US in Chile (including private hospital rooms and specialist). That is if you do not have health insurance and pay directly. Chile has yet to be discovered as a medical tourism destination, while many people risk their lives in truly developing countries like India and Cuba for medical services.  

Health Insurance for Foreigners in Chile
Private health insurance is easily obtained in Chile. Companies are well regulated and government mandates that they must accept certain preexisting conditions, while keeping overall cost down by creating a collective pool of catastrophic insurance coverage for all health care insurance policies.  Selecting insurance policies often comes down to issues like do you want a private room covered by the insurance, not will they cover things like open heart surgery.  

Public Health Care Insurance Option for Retired Foreigners
There is also a program in Chile to allow foreign retirees in Chile to buy in to the Chilean public health care system based on a fixed percentage of their foreign pension or social security capped at around 7% of their income. This guarantees that all those living in Chile or moving to Chile have options for some form of affordable access to health care insurance.

This is just a few of the benefits of living in Chile for expats in Chile and foreign retirees. We have focused heavily on the retiree planning on moving to Chile in this article; however, for any expat in Chile or foreigners moving to Chile these are benefits that everyone can appreciate as we will all need them eventually.

More recommended sources of information about Living and Moving to Chile on the web:
Southern Chile Living www.allsouthernchile.com
Chile Expat Forum www.allchile.net