City in Chile
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is Chile's main port city, on a bay facing the Pacific, with a UNESCO World Heritage historic area. It counted 284,938 people in the 2024 census, and 13,223 of them were born abroad. SERMIG's regional office is here.
- Country
- Chile
- Region
- Región de Valparaíso
- Population
- 284,938 in 2024. Valparaíso comuna (INE Censo 2024, counted population).
- Settings
- By the sea
- Weather
- Mild, never too hot
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
The Fernshore Index grades a place factor by factor. Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
70 of 100StrongCountry figure
Price level 0.476 of United States prices (2025).
Climate
50 of 100MixedOwn figure
No temperature normals are published for Valparaíso's own station (Punta Ángeles, rain only), so this uses the Rodelillo station in neighbouring Viña del Mar, 330 m above the sea: 7 comfortable months a year (January to April and October to December); shore temperatures may differ.
Safety
55 of 100MixedCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 52nd of 163.
Healthcare
79 of 100StrongCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 84 (2023).
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
We have no sourced figure for this yet.
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
We have no sourced figure for this yet.
Work and career
15 of 100WeakCountry figure
Weak: neither test holds. SERMIG's 15 temporary residence categories include none for remote work for a foreign employer or clients (the paid-work category needs an employer in Chile), and fixed broadband is 23.73 per 100 people (2024), under the 30 line.
Retirement
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: retirees and people with steady rents or financial income can apply for temporary residence from abroad, the permit admits an application for permanent residence, and the law sets 24 months of temporary residence for that. No age minimum or deposit is printed, and no income amount (the test is basic needs by a ministry's indicators).
Internet
53 of 100MixedCountry figure
23.73 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024).
English
45 of 100MixedCountry figure
EF EPI score 517, between the 499 and 550 anchors. The page does not print its edition year.
Visa, United States passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for NZ passports is being checked
Why it is here
Why Valparaíso is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
More detail
- The 2024 census counted 13,223 people born abroad in Valparaíso, 4.6% of its 284,938 residents and 13.1% of the Valparaíso region's foreign residents, second only to Viña del Mar.
- INE and SERMIG estimate 298 US nationals living in Valparaíso at the end of 2023.
- SERMIG's office for the Valparaíso region is at Blanco 1791, Oficina B-6, 4th floor, in Valparaíso.
The country
More on Chile.
Cost of living
What life costs in Valparaíso.
Cities
Other cities in Chile.
Questions about Valparaíso.
How many people live in Valparaíso?
Valparaíso counted 284,938 people in the 2024 census. Of them, 13,223 (4.6%) were born outside Chile, against 5.3% across the Valparaíso region and 8.7% across Chile. The census counts the people present.
How many foreigners live in Valparaíso?
The census counted 13,223 people born abroad in 2024, up 117% from 6,087 in 2017, and 13.1% of the region's foreign residents, second after Viña del Mar. INE and SERMIG estimated 298 US nationals at the end of 2023; the other launch passports are not broken out.
What is the weather like in Valparaíso?
No temperature normals are published for the Punta Ángeles station on the Valparaíso shore, which has rain only: 363 mm a year, 106 mm in June. The nearest temperature normals, at Rodelillo in Viña del Mar (330 m), show highs of 15.0 to 23.3 °C and seven comfortable months.
Where is the SERMIG migration office for Valparaíso?
SERMIG lists its Valparaíso region office at Blanco 1791, Oficina B-6, 4th floor, Valparaíso, and another in San Felipe. In-person visits are booked free online with a portal account. Opening hours and which procedures it handles were not checked.
What is Valparaíso's setting like?
Valparaíso is a port city facing the Pacific, built around an ocean bay, a coastal plain and steep hills that the heritage service calls an amphitheatre. Its historic area, 23.2 hectares, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003.
Sources and dates checked
Official sources
- Reporte comunal 2025: Valparaíso (Censo 2024, INE), Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (BCN), from INE data. Checked 18 October 2026. Censo 2024: Valparaíso comuna 284,938 people, of whom 13,223 (4.6%) were born outside Chile.
- ¡Te invitamos a conocer el Área Histórica de la Ciudad-Puerto de Valparaíso!, Servicio Nacional del Patrimonio Cultural, Subdirección de Fomento y Gestión Patrimonial. Checked 18 October 2026. In central Chile, facing the Pacific Ocean; the historic area (23.2 ha) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2003, with an ocean bay, a coastal plain and steep hills around it, which the page calls an amphitheatre.
- Oficinas regionales (SERMIG offices), Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), Ministerio del Interior. Checked 18 October 2026. Page dated 30 September 2026. Región Metropolitana: San Antonio 580, Santiago (no in-person service at this address) and San Carlos de Ancud 402, locales 9 to 13, Boulevard Plaza Vespucio, La Florida. Región de Valparaíso: Blanco 1791, Oficina B-6, 4th floor, Valparaíso, and Salinas 1231, 4th floor, San Felipe. No office is listed in Viña del Mar.
- Climate normals 1991-2020, Rodelillo, Viña del Mar (WMO 85560), Dirección Meteorológica de Chile (WMO Climate Normals 1991-2020 via NOAA NCEI). Checked 18 October 2026. The Rodelillo aerodrome station at 33°03'55" S 71°33'23" W and 330 m, in the Rodelillo district of Viña del Mar (the municipality's history page places Rodelillo in the city). Monthly mean daily highs January to December: 23.3, 22.6, 22.0, 19.9, 17.3, 15.5, 15.0, 15.6, 16.9, 18.6, 20.9, 22.3 °C; rain 0.7, 1.1, 3.9, 20.4, 96.0, 161.7, 89.3, 88.7, 37.9, 15.5, 5.0, 3.7 mm (523.9 mm a year). Comfortable months (high 18 to 30 °C and under 150 mm): January to April and October to December = 7. The station is on a hill 330 m above the sea, so shore temperatures may differ. Mean temperatures 17.9 °C (January) and 11.0 °C (July) differ by 6.9 °C. The Punta Ángeles lighthouse station at Valparaíso (WMO 85558, 51 m) publishes rain only (363.1 mm a year, 106.1 mm in June) and no temperatures.
- Minuta población extranjera residente en la comuna de Valparaíso (February 2026), Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), Departamento de Estudios (Censo 2024, INE). Checked 18 October 2026. 13,223 foreign residents at the 2024 census, up 117.2% from 6,087 in 2017; Valparaíso holds 13.1% of the Región de Valparaíso's foreign residents, the second most of its 38 comunas after Viña del Mar (21.5%).
- Estimación de personas extranjeras residentes habituales en Chile al 31 de diciembre de 2023: base por regiones y base por comunas, Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE) and Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG). Checked 18 October 2026. Estimate of foreign habitual residents at 31 December 2023 (census adjusted with SERMIG records), published 30 December 2024; files '8. baseregiones.csv' and '10. basecomunas.csv', summed over sex and age. Only the United States is named among the launch passports (Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom sit in 'otro país'). US nationals: Chile 14,783; Región Metropolitana 9,387; Valparaíso region 1,829. By comuna: Las Condes 1,996, Lo Barnechea 1,198, Providencia 1,030, Vitacura 883, Santiago 767, Viña del Mar 645, Ñuñoa 532, Colina 363, Valparaíso 298. The comuna file lists the larger comunas only and groups the rest as 'otras comunas' (3,405 US nationals).
- Price level index (GDP), Chile, World Bank. Checked 18 October 2026. 2025: 47.64 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 18 October 2026.
- UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 18 October 2026. Chile: 84 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO GHO API (UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 18 October 2026.
- Subcategorías de Residencia Temporal (list of 15), Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), Ministerio del Interior. Checked 18 October 2026. Page last updated 8 April 2025. The 15 subcategories: family reunification; paid lawful activities (needs an employer in Chile); students; seasonal workers; people in custody; court order; humanitarian reasons; international agreements; religious; medical treatment; retirees or rentistas; former permanent residents; investors; multiple-entry business; Mercosur reciprocity. The page does not mention remote work, teleworking or digital nomads. Article 10 of Decreto 177 of 2022 (letters a to p) likewise has no permit for remote work; its job-search permit (oportunidades laborales) is quota-based and for looking for work in Chile.
- Permanencia Transitoria (tourist and short stays), Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), Ministerio del Interior. Checked 18 October 2026. Page updated 14 October 2025. Up to 90 days, extendable once for up to 90 days for US$100 (children exempt); no prior authorisation or visa in general, but some nationalities need prior authorisation from a Chilean consulate (the page points to the consular list and names no countries); holders may not do paid activities, apart from specific one-off ones (shows, sport, conferences, technical advice) that SERMIG authorises. Remote work is not mentioned.
- Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Chile, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 18 October 2026. 2024: 23.73 per 100 people (2025 not yet published), read from the World Bank API on 18 October 2026.
- Extranjeros jubilados y rentistas (Residencia Temporal, subcategory 11), Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), Ministerio del Interior. Checked 18 October 2026. Page last updated 18 December 2025. Only available from abroad. Retirees: a pension that covers at least basic needs in Chile by Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia indicators, with a pension certificate and the last payment slip. Rentistas: steady income from property or financial assets that covers at least basic needs. The page prints no amount, no age minimum and no deposit, and it does not give the validity, fees, whether it leads to permanent residence or whether work is allowed. Extension needs proof the person is still a retiree or rentista with enough income.
- Decreto 177 de 2022: reglamento de subcategorías de residencia temporal (articles 10, 53 to 59), Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad Pública (BCN LeyChile, official legal database). Checked 18 October 2026. Text as published 14 May 2022. Article 10 lists the subcategories, including 'permiso para extranjeros jubilados y para rentistas', and says holders of these permits may apply for permanent residence except those under letters d, f, g and k (the retiree and rentista permit is letter l). Articles 53 to 59 set the conditions: a pension or steady income enough for basic needs by the Ministerio de Desarrollo Social y Familia's indicators, applied for from abroad, extendable on proof. No amount is printed.
- Ley 21.325 de Migración y Extranjería, articles 72 and 79, Congreso Nacional de Chile (BCN LeyChile, official legal database). Checked 18 October 2026. Article 79: permanent residence may be granted to holders of a temporary permit that admits it who have lived in Chile as such for at least 24 months; a regulation may extend that to up to 48 months in some cases. Article 72: temporary residence lasts up to two years, extendable by up to two more.
- Reporte comunal 2025: Viña del Mar (Censo 2024), Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (BCN), from INE data. Checked 18 October 2026. Censo 2024: Viña del Mar 334,871 people (334,248 in 2017), 21,597 (6.4%) born outside Chile; Región de Valparaíso 1,896,053 people and 100,655 born abroad (5.3%).
- Climate normals 1991-2020, Faro Punta Ángeles, Valparaíso (WMO 85558), Dirección Meteorológica de Chile (WMO Climate Normals via NOAA NCEI). Checked 18 October 2026. Lighthouse station at 51 m: rain only, 363.1 mm a year, 106.1 mm in June, 0.2 mm in January; no temperature normals are published.
Index measures and references (not official sources)
- Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 18 October 2026. Chile ranks 52nd of 163 countries (score 1.826); the report calls it the second most peaceful country in South America and the largest percentage improver in the region.
- EF English Proficiency Index: Chile, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 18 October 2026. Score 517, global rank 54, down 8 points on the previous score. The page does not print its edition year; it is the live country page read on 18 October 2026.