Migrating from Chile to Australia: documents, apostille & translation
General information about the Chilean documents and procedures that commonly come up in an Australian migration process — with links to the official sources.
This page gathers general information; it doesn't assess your case or replace the official sources. Every situation is different and the rules change — here's the overview and where to go to verify it.
Police certificate
Australia's character check (Department of Home Affairs) generally asks for a police certificate from each country where a person has lived 12 months or more (cumulatively) in the last 10 years, since the age of 16.
For Chile, the document is the Certificado de Antecedentes, issued by the Civil Registry and Identification Service (SRCeI). Those with a RUT can obtain it online with ClaveÚnica; without ClaveÚnica, it's obtained in person at a Civil Registry office; non-residents handle it through the nearest Chilean consulate.
Chile is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention and issues an electronic apostille. There is no single “apostille office”: the competent authority depends on the document type (for example, the Civil Registry apostilles the documents it issues, such as the record certificate; other documents are apostilled by ministries according to their subject matter).
Important: an apostille is not a requirement for lodging an Australian visa application. For the Department of Home Affairs, the usual requirement is a colour scan of the original document and its English translation (see below) — not an apostille. We include the apostille as general information on how Chilean documents are validated for official cross-border use.
The Department of Home Affairs asks for an English translation of any document that isn't in English. The rule depends on where the translation is done.
If the translation is done in Australia, a NAATI-accredited translator does it (the national accreditation authority for translators and interpreters). If it's done outside Australia, the translator doesn't need NAATI accreditation, but states their full name, address, phone, and qualifications or experience, in English.
The Australian Embassy in Santiago adds that, outside Australia, official documents (birth, marriage or divorce certificates, identity document, record certificates, custody documents and military-service certificates) are translated by a traductor público (sworn translator); other documents accept an accurate translation; internet translations are not accepted.
The Australian Embassy in Santiago handles the region's applications. Visa applications are lodged online via ImmiAccount.
An important point: currently, per the Australian Embassy in Santiago, applicants located in Chile and Ecuador do not need to provide biometrics when lodging (though, in some cases and depending on location, attendance at a centre may be requested). Verify what's current at the official source.