Bringing Your Household Goods In
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of South Korea on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match South Korea to Chile · Bringing your belongings
Chilean customs lets a foreigner arriving with a residence visa or a work contract bring in household goods up to USD 6,750 and work tools up to USD 2,025 free of customs duty and of VAT. The shipment does not have to travel with you: 120 days either side of your arrival is allowed. The allowance is published in dollars, which means it does not silently erode with the peso, and it is substantially more generous than what a returning Chilean gets for a comparable time abroad.
At a glance
- Household goods allowance
- USD 6,750
- Work tools allowance
- USD 2,025
- Taxes waived
- Customs duty and VAT
- Shipment window
- 120 days before or after your arrival
- Attaches to
- A residence visa or a work contract
- Visitors
- May import goods, provided they are not commercial in nature
- Returning Chileans, 6 months to a year abroad
- USD 675
- Returning Chileans, 1 to 5 years abroad
- USD 4,050
- Returning Chileans, over 5 years abroad
- USD 6,750
Requirements
- Enter Chile with a residence visa or an employment contract
- Household goods valued at no more than USD 6,750
- Work tools valued at no more than USD 2,025
- The shipment may arrive with you, or up to 120 days before or after
- Goods that fall outside the conditions are charged the full duties
In detail
A dollar allowance, which is the point
The concession is published as USD 6,750 for household goods and USD 2,025 for work tools. Expressing it in dollars rather than in a local unit means it does not quietly shrink as the peso moves - the opposite of the indexed units several neighbours use, where a figure quoted in local currency is stale within months. What it also means is that the valuation exercise matters: customs values used goods at their normal second-hand price in the country where they were bought, with reductions for years of use.
The vocabulary on this page is older than the law
Customs describes the beneficiaries as foreigners entering with a 'Visa de Residencia Temporal o Sujeta a Contrato'. The visa sujeta a contrato was a category of decree-law 1.094 of 1975, repealed and replaced by Ley 21.325 in 2021; the modern equivalent is the temporary residence permit for paid activities. The page has not been updated, and the second paragraph on the same page uses the looser phrase 'Visa de Residencia o Contrato de Trabajo'. We report both sentences as published rather than reconciling them.
Returning Chileans are on a sliding scale
The same page sets a different structure for Chileans coming home: six months to a year abroad gives USD 675 of household goods, one to five years gives USD 4,050 of household goods and work tools, and more than five years gives USD 6,750. Their goods must also be used, come from the country where they were living, and have been bought before the return. A foreign resident arriving for the first time gets the top figure immediately.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of South Korea
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Tanto los chilenos que hayan permanecido fuera del país por más de 6 meses y regresen en forma definitiva, así como también los extranjeros que ingresen a Chile con Visa de Residencia Temporal o Sujeta a Contrato, pueden internar menaje de casa y/o útiles de trabajo, sin tener que pagar derechos aduaneros y tampoco IVA.»Our translation - not official
Both Chileans who have been outside the country for more than 6 months and are returning definitively, and foreigners entering Chile with a Temporary Residence Visa or a Contract-Based Visa, may bring in household goods and/or work tools without having to pay customs duties or VAT.
'Visa de Residencia Temporal o Sujeta a Contrato' is the vocabulary of the old decree-law 1.094, which Ley 21.325 replaced in 2021 - the contract-based visa no longer exists as a category. The customs page has not been rewritten to match, so anyone on a modern residence permit should expect to explain the mapping at the counter.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Customs. Publishes the household goods and work tools concessions, denominated in US dollars rather than an indexed local unit.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Demonstrably stale: the page is dated 2018 and still names a visa category abolished in 2021, and it states who qualifies two different ways in consecutive paragraphs. It is guidance rather than the customs ordinance or the tariff resolution, neither of which has been read. It deliberately gives no figure for tourists.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«- Menaje hasta por un valor de 6.750 dólares
- Útiles de trabajo hasta por un valor de 2.025 dólares»Our translation - not official
- Household goods up to a value of USD 6,750 - Work tools up to a value of USD 2,025
The figures are denominated in US dollars rather than in an indexed local unit, so unlike Uruguay's Unidades Indexadas or Colombia's minimum-wage multiples they do not drift with inflation - but they also do not keep pace with it.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Customs. Publishes the household goods and work tools concessions, denominated in US dollars rather than an indexed local unit.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Demonstrably stale: the page is dated 2018 and still names a visa category abolished in 2021, and it states who qualifies two different ways in consecutive paragraphs. It is guidance rather than the customs ordinance or the tariff resolution, neither of which has been read. It deliberately gives no figure for tourists.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«Todo extranjero que ingrese al país con Visa de Residencia o Contrato de Trabajo, podrá internar menaje y/o útiles de trabajo sin tener que pagar impuestos:»Our translation - not official
Any foreigner entering the country with a Residence Visa or Employment Contract may bring in household goods and/or work tools without paying taxes:
The second statement on the same page is wider than the first, saying 'Visa de Residencia' without qualifying it. The two sentences do not say quite the same thing.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Customs. Publishes the household goods and work tools concessions, denominated in US dollars rather than an indexed local unit.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Demonstrably stale: the page is dated 2018 and still names a visa category abolished in 2021, and it states who qualifies two different ways in consecutive paragraphs. It is guidance rather than the customs ordinance or the tariff resolution, neither of which has been read. It deliberately gives no figure for tourists.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«Lo más recomendable es que tanto el menaje de casa como los útiles de trabajo ingresen al país al mismo tiempo que el beneficiario de la franquicia. No obstante, también puede hacerlo 120 días antes o después.»Our translation - not official
It is most advisable that both household goods and work tools enter the country at the same time as the beneficiary of the concession. However, they may also do so 120 days before or after.
The 120 days run in both directions, which is wider than the arrival windows several neighbours publish.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Customs. Publishes the household goods and work tools concessions, denominated in US dollars rather than an indexed local unit.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Demonstrably stale: the page is dated 2018 and still names a visa category abolished in 2021, and it states who qualifies two different ways in consecutive paragraphs. It is guidance rather than the customs ordinance or the tariff resolution, neither of which has been read. It deliberately gives no figure for tourists.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«Las personas extranjeras que tengan calidad de turistas también podrán importar mercancías, siempre y cuando éstas no tengan carácter comercial. Los viajeros que transporten artículos sin cumplir con las condiciones expuestas tendrán que cancelar el total de los tributos.»Our translation - not official
Foreigners who are tourists may also import goods, provided these are not commercial in nature. Travellers carrying articles without meeting the stated conditions will have to pay the full taxes.
No figure is attached to the visitor case on this page, so we do not state one.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Customs. Publishes the household goods and work tools concessions, denominated in US dollars rather than an indexed local unit.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Demonstrably stale: the page is dated 2018 and still names a visa category abolished in 2021, and it states who qualifies two different ways in consecutive paragraphs. It is guidance rather than the customs ordinance or the tariff resolution, neither of which has been read. It deliberately gives no figure for tourists.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«- Si permaneciste por 6 meses a un año en el extranjero, puedes ingresar menaje hasta por un valor de US$ 675.
- Si permaneciste por uno a 5 años en el extranjero, puedes ingresar menaje y/o útiles de trabajo hasta por un valor de US$ 4.050.
- Si permaneciste por más de 5 años en el extranjero, puedes ingresar menaje y/o útiles de trabajo hasta por un valor de US$ 6.750.»Our translation - not official
- If you stayed 6 months to a year abroad, you may bring in household goods up to a value of US$ 675. - If you stayed one to 5 years abroad, you may bring in household goods and/or work tools up to a value of US$ 4,050. - If you stayed more than 5 years abroad, you may bring in household goods and/or work tools up to a value of US$ 6,750.
The customs service's scale for Chileans returning for good. The value is the normal price of the goods second-hand in the country where they were bought, not what they cost new.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Customs. Publishes the household goods and work tools concessions, denominated in US dollars rather than an indexed local unit.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Demonstrably stale: the page is dated 2018 and still names a visa category abolished in 2021, and it states who qualifies two different ways in consecutive paragraphs. It is guidance rather than the customs ordinance or the tariff resolution, neither of which has been read. It deliberately gives no figure for tourists.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The documents customs lists for the returning-Chilean case are the bill of lading, the receipt slip, a valued list in dollars, agricultural or health clearance where relevant, an identity document and a travel certificate from the Policía de Investigaciones.
We read the customs service's public guidance page. The underlying tariff resolutions and the Ordenanza de Aduanas were not read, so treat the figures as what the service publishes rather than as the instrument itself.
Anything outside the conditions is not partially relieved - the page says the full taxes fall due.
- administersRetorno de Chilenos y Residentes Extranjeros
Servicio Nacional de Aduanas (Chile)
About this source
Customs. Publishes the household goods and work tools concessions, denominated in US dollars rather than an indexed local unit.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Demonstrably stale: the page is dated 2018 and still names a visa category abolished in 2021, and it states who qualifies two different ways in consecutive paragraphs. It is guidance rather than the customs ordinance or the tariff resolution, neither of which has been read. It deliberately gives no figure for tourists.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
- administersRetorno de Chilenos y Residentes Extranjeros - útiles de trabajo
Servicio Nacional de Aduanas (Chile)
About this source
Customs. Publishes the household goods and work tools concessions, denominated in US dollars rather than an indexed local unit.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Demonstrably stale: the page is dated 2018 and still names a visa category abolished in 2021, and it states who qualifies two different ways in consecutive paragraphs. It is guidance rather than the customs ordinance or the tariff resolution, neither of which has been read. It deliberately gives no figure for tourists.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source