Setting Up a Business in Chile

An in-depth guide for foreign entrepreneurs and companies looking to enter the Chilean market — one of Latin America’s most stable and open economies, competing on institutional quality and trade access rather than the lowest possible tax rate.
This guide covers legal structures (the SpA, the default and most flexible choice, favoured by Startup Chile participants), business taxation — a 27% standard corporate rate with a temporarily reduced 12.5% Pro-PYME rate through 2027, and an explicit note that a proposed reduction to 23% by 2029 remains before Congress and unenacted as of mid-2026 — company formation via the “tu empresa en un día” portal, the cost of labor, and immigration routes including the $500,000 Investor Visa. Includes a dedicated chapter on Chile’s extensive free trade network (33 agreements covering roughly 88% of global GDP), its position in copper and lithium production and green hydrogen strategy, and Santiago’s tech ecosystem anchored by Startup Chile. An operational checklist and useful contacts round out the guide.
Available in English and Spanish.