Temporary residence in Chile: criminal record, apostilled translation and the 60-day rule

By Keran Chaussard, administrator of the Directory of Sworn Translators of France — updated on 27 October 2026

For a temporary residence application in Chile, the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones requires documents written in a language other than Spanish or English to be accompanied by an authorised translation (Article 6 of Decree No. 177 of 2022). In practice, it requires the translation itself to be apostilled, or legalised by the Chilean consulate: an apostille on the original document alone is not enough.

For a French criminal record, two apostilles are therefore needed: one on the bulletin no. 3, then one on its translation, after the translator’s signature has been certified. Documents issued by a public authority must also be less than 60 days old on the date of submission (Article 8 of the same decree). An incomplete file triggers a notificación previo rechazo (notice prior to rejection), with a short deadline to put things right.

What Chile requires for temporary residence

Temporary residence is governed by Law No. 21.325 on migration and foreigners and by Decree No. 177 of 2022 of the Ministry of the Interior, which sets out its subcategories and conditions. One of the documents most often requested is the criminal record certificate (certificado de antecedentes) from the country of origin, apostilled or legalised as the case may be.

Three rules in Decree No. 177 matter for translations:

language: documents in Spanish or English are accepted without translation; others must be accompanied by an authorised translation (Article 6)
authentication: documents issued abroad must be apostilled or legalised; the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones applies this requirement to the translation itself
age: a document issued by a public body must not be more than 60 calendar days old on the date of application, and a document issued by a private entity not more than 30 days old (Article 8)

A typical case: a criminal record rejected

A situation we encountered recently: a French applicant had her bulletin no. 3 apostilled, had it translated into Spanish by a court-appointed expert translator, and submitted the whole set. The Servicio Nacional de Migraciones sent her a notice prior to rejection: the translation of the certificate was “not duly apostilled or legalised”, as the apostille provided covered the original and not the translation.

The order “apostille, then translation” was not wrong: it is essential so that the original’s apostille is itself translated. But it was incomplete for Chile, which requires a second formality on the translation.

The full order of formalities for a French criminal record

Request the bulletin no. 3 online, as late as possible: it must be less than 60 days old on the date the application is submitted.
Have the bulletin no. 3 apostilled by French notaries (apostille and legalisation centres, online). To be apostilled, it must be less than three months old.
Have the bulletin and its apostille translated into Spanish by a court-appointed expert translator. English is also accepted by the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones.
Have the translator’s signature certified, at a town hall or by a notary: a translation is a private document, which can only be apostilled once the signature has been authenticated.
Have the translation apostilled, that is, the certification of the translator’s signature.
Submit the apostilled bulletin and its apostilled translation, within the 60-day limit.

Work out the total time for the whole chain before requesting the bulletin: obtaining the bulletin, two apostilles, a translation and a signature certification can take one to two weeks, longer without an urgent procedure.

What about legalisation by the Chilean consulate?

Legalisation of the translation by the Chilean consulate replaces its apostille: you do not need both. For a French document, however, this route is rarely the simplest:

it is a fallback: the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones treats the apostille as the standard procedure, with consular legalisation only where an apostille cannot be obtained. As France applies the apostille, the consulate may decline to legalise
it requires a further step in Chile: according to the Chilean consulate in Paris, a document legalised by a Chilean consul must then be legalised in Chile by the Legalisation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An apostille, by contrast, is recognised directly
the translator’s signature may first need to be certified at a town hall or by a notary, as for the apostille

The consular route can make sense when the applicant is already in Chile and can complete the legalisation in Santiago themselves. In other cases, and especially with a short deadline, an apostille on the translation remains the safest option. Check with the consulate before choosing this route.

The other documents in the file

Documents in English: accepted without translation. For an insurance certificate or statement issued by an international company, an English version avoids a translation.
Accident and health insurance: the document must show its date of issue, otherwise the service cannot check that it meets the validity period; if it is in French, it must be translated into Spanish or English.
Civil status documents (for family-based residence): the same logic applies, with an apostille on the original, a translation, then an apostille on the translation.

What to do on receiving a notificación previo rechazo?

The notice sets out the grounds and leaves a short deadline to complete the file. Within that deadline:

first check the date of the bulletin no. 3: if it will be more than 60 days old on the date of the new submission, request a new one
have the translator’s signature certified and the translation apostilled under an urgent procedure
correct the other grounds at the same time (date of issue on the insurance, missing documents), so as not to receive a second notice
send the documents through the channel indicated in the notice, keeping proof of sending

Frequently asked questions

Does the translation need an apostille for residence in Chile?: Yes, in practice: the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones requires the translation to be apostilled or legalised by the Chilean consulate, in addition to the apostille on the original document.
In what order should the apostille and translation be done for Chile?: Apostille on the original, translation of the original and its apostille, certification of the translator’s signature, then apostille on the translation.
Is there a validity period for the criminal record for Chile?: Yes: a document issued by a public body must be less than 60 days old on the date of application.
Do documents in English need translating?: No: the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones accepts documents in Spanish or English without translation.
Can the Chilean consulate legalise the translation instead of an apostille?: Yes, consular legalisation replaces the apostille, but it is only intended where an apostille cannot be obtained, and the document must then be legalised in Chile by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For a French document, the apostille is usually simpler.
Does Chile apply the apostille?: Yes, Chile is a party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961; the apostille replaces consular legalisation for French documents.

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