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Virtually all teachers who arrive in Chile arrive with a tourist visa and then the school initiates the process to convert the tourist visa immediately after the teacher arrives at the school.
When you are clearing customs as you arrive in Chile many teachers don't mention that they are arriving to work and many chose to save their contract electronically instead of bringing a physical copy of it just in case they get a very grumpy customs officer.
While we have been told that it's ok and you are allowed to enter Chile with the intention to work without having a visa in your passport, what is imperative is that the minute you get to work, they initiate the process to get you the proper working visa status and you are awarded temporary status to work while this is being accomplished.
The entire process to get your visa to teach in Chile can take upwards of 4 months. It is a tedious bureaucratic process which is standard course... get used to it.
Your school should initiate this process immediately and immigration will issue a temporary visa which will allow you to work legally before your official working visa is determined and it is your school that will advance the process and provide details required to facilitate things. In most cases it is the school who will cover these costs, all you need to do is provide them with a copy of your visa after it has been paid for. The example provided here shows the cost of $125US).
After you get your work visa, you then need to register with the "International Police" - this is just a matter of giving the police your address and phone number.
The next step is to get your "cedula" - your Chilean ID card. The cost for this is about 4,000 CLP. You can't wire money home without it so don't forget to do this. As soon as you have your cedula you can also apply for the Chilean national medical.
As a note, throughout this process you will not have medical insurance and you should also note that in many cases the medical insurance provided by the school will be much like worker's compensation insurance that covers you only for work time issues/accidents. It is really important to consider expat medical insurance (CLICK HERE).
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