Spanish.- The reality of migrants in Chile is difficult and is surrounded by contradictions. Although official reports indicate a decrease in the issuance of work visas, there is also a significant flow of remittances and a greater presence of informal jobs among the foreign population. This pattern indicates significant economic activity that is not being fully accounted for, despite the difficulties migrants face in obtaining documentation.
While the latest report from Chile’s National Migration Service, published by La Tercera, showed a drastic 69.9% drop in the approval of work visas, decreasing from 235,824 in 2022 to 71,057 in 2023, the statistics conceal a parallel scenario.
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According to the former director of the institution, Rodrigo Sandoval, “it would be naive to think that if hundreds of thousands of people have entered irregularly in the last four years, the impact of those flows on economic activity will only be what these figures show.”
According to statistics from the Investigations Police (PDI), only last year, 34,543 foreigners entered irregularly. This figure represents almost 50% of those who do so with a work visa. Additionally, the number doubles the 16,000 citizens counted in 2020 and approaches the figures recorded in the following two years: in 2021 with 56,856 people and in 2022 with 53,875.
Wave of migrants in Chile continues to grow
Not even the elimination of special visas, created during Michelle Bachelet’s second government, which allowed entry into Chile without a valid job contract, with the possibility of signing one once in the country, managed to stop the migratory wave. In fact, the repeal of democratic responsibility visas, established for Venezuelans during Gabriel Boric’s government, also failed to contain it.
In fact, agencies responsible for processing work permits currently have a high demand for services. For example, the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (InvestChile) and Start-Up Chile of the Production Development Corporation (Corfo) signed an agreement to expedite immigration procedures for foreigners considered “highly qualified personnel” and involved in investment projects.
According to both entities, the agreement is part of the National Migration and Foreigners Policy, under the “Economic and Productive Development” axis. This measure promotes, in the first instance, migratory regularization.
Their statistics reveal that, between August 2022 and 2023, they expedited 2,062 requests. Of that total, 19.6% correspond to individuals from China (405); 13.9% from Argentina (287); 11.4% from Brazil (235); 7.8% from Japan (161); 7.5% from Colombia (155); 5% from Peru (103); 4.7% from Spain (97); 3.2% from Venezuela (66); and 3.1% from South Korea (64). Additionally, the agency has issued 44 Sponsorship Letters for obtaining temporary residence visas for investors.
Activities behind the scenes
Now, what are migrants doing in Chile? Sandoval responds that “there is foreign labor activity that is not being reflected in administrative records, such as those of work residence permits.”
The former director of migrations refers to the significant sum of remittances that the Central Bank placed at 2.366 billion dollars in 2022, the last reported figure, compared to 3.054 billion in 2021. The 23% decrease has an explanation: the weakness of the labor market.
Of the 1,482,390 migrants in Chile, 1,097,428 are employed, either formally or informally. However, non-migrant populations with 17 and 18 years of schooling, on average, receive a salary of 1,288,031 pesos, while immigrants, even with the same years of education, receive a payment that does not exceed 899,270 pesos; that is, they earn 30.2% less.
The disparity persists amid the scarcity of job vacancies in Chile. The country has regressed in the unemployment rate to figures from 13 years ago after unemployment remained at 9%. The current situation in Chile is equivalent to that of mid-2010. Therefore, it is part of the list of lagging countries in Latin America with respect to the recovery of the labor market before the pandemic, with 400,000 positions still to be restored.
In the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), there is concern. Both bodies agree that Chile, along with Belize and Panama, is still far from achieving progress in this indicator.