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Chile Permanent Residence

nicolewong

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Europeans fill jobs void in Chile's thriving economy

By Anthony Esposito and Moises Avila

SANTIAGO | Fri Jan 25, 2013

(Reuters) - As the debt crisis raged across the euro zone last year, Madrid-native Laura Tapias and her partner found themselves out of work. With nearly one in four Spaniards unemployed, their prospects looked grim.

After four months of fruitless job-hunting at home, she headed across the Atlantic to Santiago with her boyfriend who had got a job in Chile's capital city.

Two days later she found work as a hydrogeologist at an environmental consulting firm in the Santiago business district dubbed 'Sanhattan' for its resemblance to Manhattan's skyline. She isn't the only foreigner or Spaniard to recently be hired there.

"I dropped off my resume and the next day they said 'yes' at the interview. It happened so fast I couldn't believe it," said the mild-mannered Tapias, 33, adding that she has received a warm welcome in Chile.

Across the street, construction workers are putting the finishing touches to retailer Cencosud's CEN.SN 984-foot (300-meter) Costanera Center. The complex, which boasts South America's tallest skyscraper and largest mall, is testament to the nation's economic vitality.

A buoyant economy, low unemployment and rising wages have been luring foreign professionals to the copper-exporting Andean nation of 16.6 million people, which is in desperate need of skilled workers.

Chile's economic success story, one shared by many of its commodities-rich neighbors, is turning the tables on many years of migration by Latin Americans hoping to make their fortune in former colonial power Spain and other wealthy European nations.

EUROPEAN BRAIN DRAIN

Despite their much larger economies and populations, regional giants Brazil and Mexico received roughly the same number of legal immigrants as Chile between 2003 and 2010, according to a report by the Organization of American States, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Peruvians, Bolivians, Argentinians, Colombians and other Latin Americans got the lion's share of Chile's work visas last year, though Europeans received them at a faster pace.

With Spain stuck in its second recession since 2009, Spaniards are at the forefront of a wave of Europeans heading to Chile.

Chilean visas for residents of western European nations grew 39 percent through October and surged 84 percent for Spanish nationals, according to government data. Many of them are for skilled professionals like Tapias.

Chile's attraction is an economic growth rate expected to reach up to 5.25 percent in 2013, its fourth straight year of sturdy increase following an expansion in gross domestic product (GDP) of 6 percent in 2011 and 6.1 percent in 2010.

FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND NEW JOBS

Over the last decade, the number of work visas being granted by Chile has risen by an average 25 percent per year and demand for more foreign professionals has spiked.

That has prompted an overhaul of the country's clunky and outdated immigration legislation, which dates from the early days of the Pinochet dictatorship. The idea is to allow greater agility to recruit skilled workers from abroad.

Forecast mining investments of $100 billion over the next 10 to 12 years alone will require a fresh generation of skilled laborers to fill some 100,000 new direct jobs and another 300,000 indirect jobs, the influential Sonami mining association said this month.

Not having the people, foreign or local, to fill available posts could crimp economic growth and productivity, employment analysts say, pointing to similar woes suffered by regional powerhouse Brazil.

Brazil's government said last year it was exploring ways to ease immigration rules in order to attract up to 10 times more foreign professionals to spur economic growth.

A lack of skilled workers is one of many bottlenecks that brought the world's sixth-largest economy to a near standstill in 2012, a fate Chile hopes to avoid.

"Chile realizes that without the help of immigrants it'll be very difficult to fill the number of jobs required for certain investments and to ultimately boost the economy," Mario Cassanello, the head of Chile's Immigration Office told Reuters.

"We need laws that will give us more flexibility and will reduce bureaucracy," he added.

FULL EMPLOYMENT VS MASS UNEMPLOYMENT

Chile's immigration reform bill aims to cut red tape, create a ministerial committee to define migratory policy, and allow the use of immigration quotas in order to step up the inflow of certain specialties, such as surgeons, when needed.

It would also aim to ease the granting of visas to work in labor-starved regions, such as Chile's mining-intensive north.

The government is also mulling modifying a law that restricts companies with more than 25 employees from having foreigners make up more than 15 percent of their payroll.

"In Chile, the problem isn't that there's an excess of workers. On the contrary, there's a shortage of workers," Finance Minister Felipe Larrain said late last year.

Chile's unemployment fell to a near three-year low of 6.2 percent for the September-November period.

"These levels are close to full employment," Larrain added.

Labor demand has boosted salaries, with wages rising an average 6.5 percent in the 12 months to November.

In contrast, Spain's unemployment rate soared to 26 percent in the fourth quarter, the highest level since measurements began in the 1970s.

"How can you tell it's getting difficult (to hire workers)? Companies are asking for more work permits, so they can recruit people from abroad," said Jonas Prising, president of global staffing services company ManpowerGroup (MAN.N).

"Countries like Australia, Canada, Singapore, Panama in some cases, they understand that they don't have enough of a labor pool. They also understand that if you have enough skilled labor, companies will invest in your country, you can continue to grow," he added.

THE COST OF INEQUALITY

Fuelling the worker void in Chile is an ill-equipped education system which is too costly for many students and has proved incapable of meeting the demands of a growing economy.

Limited access to quality education means income inequality has barely budged in Chile since 1990, making the country the worst ranked in that category among members of the OECD.

Chile spent $6,863 per student in tertiary education in 2010. The OECD average was $13,728.

Fed up with the situation, students have staged massive protests demanding an education overhaul. The protests pummeled the popularity rating of conservative President Sebastian Pinera and helped usher in a tax reform to help pay for increased public education spending.

"It's going to take a decade or so before you see any type of payoff. In the near term, (workers) are going to have to come from somewhere given that there isn't a real wealth of skilled workers in Chile," said Michael Henderson, economist at Capital Economics in London. "People from overseas are going to be the best short-term bet."

ONE-WAY TICKET

It is not just high-skilled jobs that employers are having difficulty filling. About nine percent of farmers polled by industry group National Agricultural Society said they will leave some produce unharvested next season due to a shortage of hands.

"Every year the problem increases," Ronald Bown, head of the ASOEX fruit exporters' association said.

However, the flow of people seeking opportunities in the South American nation -- that has so far defied the odds of a sharp slowdown -- shows no signs of letting up.

Tapias says she had little chance of getting a job in Spain. She laments having fewer vacation days in Chile and misses her family.

"I don't really have enough time to visit Spain. I'm sure my family will come to visit though," said Tapias, who has made Chilean friends but spends most of her time with fellow Spaniards.

Asked when she might head home, she said: "We don't have a return ticket ... we're not sure if we're going back."

(Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Helen Popper and Andrew Hay)
 

nicolewong

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Start-Up Chile — Entrepreneurs Welcome

http://startupchile.org/

Start-Up Chile is a program of the Chilean Government to attract world-class early stage entrepreneurs to start their businesses in Chile.

[video=youtube;415iM8rr1X8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=415iM8rr1X8[/video]

Start-Up Chile is a program created by the Chilean Government, executed by Corfo via InnovaChile, that seeks to attract early stage, high-potential entrepreneurs to bootstrap their startups in Chile, using it as a platform to go global. The end goal of the accelerator program is to convert Chile into the definitive innovation and entrepreneurial hub of Latin America; this is a mission shared by the Government of Chile and is a primary focus of the Ministry of Economy.

In 2010, the program, at that point just a pilot, brought 22 startups from 14 countries to Chile, providing them with US$40,000 of equity-free seed capital, and a temporary 1-year visa to develop their projects for six months, along with access to the most potent social and capital networks in the country. These selected entrepreneurs were approved by an admission process conducted by Silicon Valley experts and a Chilean Innovation board that focuses ardently on global mindsets and worldwide potential. Of all required criteria, it is essential that the chosen entrepreneurs work in a global mindset, believing that the route to success is via expansion not isolation.

2010 acted as a pilot phase that lead into the 2011 application processes with the goal to bring 300 startups to Chile during the year, with the end hope of having 1,000 bootstrappers participate in the program by the culmination of 2014. The first application process of 2011 brought 87 startups to Chile from over 30 countries, after having received 330 applications– and, during the second process conducted in July of 2011, 650+ startups applied, vying for 100 slots.

All of the Start-Up Chile entrepreneurs are measured during their time in the program by various indicators including participation in local events, presenting workshops on their particular expertise, raising local or international capital, and contracting talent.

Start-Up Chile has gained impressive international recognition, having been published in Forbes, The Economist, BusinessWeek, and TechCrunch (among many others) and has inspired spinoffs around the world such as Startup America, Britain, Greece, and Italy.

Start-Up Chile is fully supported by the Chilean Government with special consideration of the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
 

Evangelion

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Chile. TS sure has an adventurous streak and take the unconventional path of not migrating to a English-speaking nation.
 

kansas

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Got to think global. People in English speaking countries often chicken out when going to non-English speaking country. English is spoken everywhere. The business and migrant community in Chile speaks English. Most professionals in Chile speaks English. A lot of immigrants are from USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Belgium, Portugal and Spain. These non-Spanish immigrants all speak English. Generally, you can get by in Chile by speaking English. If at the store and you have a question, the store will page for an English speaking clerk to assist you.

It is not difficult to integrate into the Chilean society without knowing Spanish. Of course, once you are in the country, you learn and pick up Spanish. It is more convenient knowing to speak Spanish than not, it is like the PRCs in Singapore making an effort to learn English, Chinese in Malaysia learning Malay etc. There is a large Chinese community in Chile and as usual, the Chinese dominates the business and trade.
 
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laksa

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In 2010, the program, at that point just a pilot, brought 22 startups from 14 countries to Chile, providing them with US$40,000 of equity-free seed capital, and a temporary 1-year visa to develop their projects for six months, along with access to the most potent social and capital networks in the country.

Not bad, this is good for those Singaporeans PMET who has been laid off or cannot find work.

You just take the free US$40,000 given by the Chilean government, try out for 1-year on that temporary 1-year visa. If business succeed, then you stay for long term and apply for PR, if not, just pack up and return to Singapore.
 

neddy

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
Not bad, this is good for those Singaporeans PMET who has been laid off or cannot find work.

You just take the free US$40,000 given by the Chilean government, try out for 1-year on that temporary 1-year visa. If business succeed, then you stay for long term and apply for PR, if not, just pack up and return to Singapore.

I think a a lot of Europeans, esp the Spaniards, will be competing with Singaporeans for the same thing. :biggrin:
 

nicolewong

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Applications for Chinese Investment in Chile Set New Record in January
Investment Review (February 2013)

During an event organized by the Foreign Investment Committee, China’s Sky Solar announced the presentation of applications for investment of US$1,360 million in Chile.

Chinese investment in Chile has reached a new record in January. Sky Solar announced this morning that it was submitting applications for investment worth US$1,360 million in photovoltaic energy and indicated that its principal Latin American operations will be located in Chile. The announcement was made by Hong Chen, the company’s managing director for Latin America, during a breakfast about “The arrival of the dragon: Status and challenges of Chinese investment in Chile” organized by the Foreign Investment Committee, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Chile and the Chilean-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

The event was attended by Matías Mori, executive vice-president of the Foreign Investment Committee, Yang Wanming, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Chile, Senator Eduardo Frei, president of the China-Chile Committee for Political Dialogue, and Juan Esteban Musalem, president of the Chilean-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism. The breakfast provided an opportunity to discuss political relations between the two countries as well as Chinese investment in Chile.

Cooperation to increase investment

The executive vice-president of the Foreign Investment Committee, Matías Mori, highlighted the importance that Chinese investment has internationally and its development in recent years. “Since 2010, we have been implementing an investment promotion strategy focusing on Asia and, particularly, China that is now bearing fruit but is a long-term undertaking,” he said. Mori also noted that, although Chinese investment in Chile has been low (US$102.9 million through the D.L. 600 Foreign Investment Statute between 1974 and 2012), it has shown an increase over the past two years.

“There are gaps in communications, sociocultural differences and differences in the way we do business which we must bridge; this is a task on which the government is working and in which the participation of the private sector is crucial,” said Mori. In this context, the Foreign Investment Committee announced a plan of work for 2013 that includes events with more than 80 Chinese companies in the first half of the year as well as participation in conferences and seminars in China.

Ambassador Yang Wanming drew attention to trade between the two countries which reached over US$30 billion in the first 11 months of 2012, with China continuing to be Chile’s largest trading partner. “We must maintain and expand our cooperation,” he said, adding that “Chinese companies closely monitor the investment opportunities that Chile offers in fields such as infrastructure and energy”. Wanming also called for greater bilateral cooperation in areas such as green energies and innovation and suggested the possibility of organizing bilateral investment conferences.

Senator Eduardo Frei spoke about the history of the two countries’ political and commercial relations which began in 1970 when Chile became the first country in the region to establish diplomatic relations with China. He highlighted achievements such as the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of 2005 and the signing of its investment chapter in 2012 as well as the recent establishment of a mechanism for dialogue between the two governments, identifying these milestones as vital for increasing Chinese investment in Chile. Senator Frei also pointed out that much work remains to be done and called for acceleration of processes for the materialization of this investment. “Our country has always led both commercial and diplomatic relations with China but is only its seventh largest investment destination in the region and that cannot be,” he said.

Finally, the president of the Chilean-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Juan Esteban Musalem, recalled the great progress achieved in commercial relations over the past 15 years during which bilateral trade has increased thirtyfold. He also took the opportunity to thank the Foreign Investment Committee for its work in strengthening Chinese investment in Chile and indicated that only through joint efforts will it be possible to increase the number of Chinese companies with operations in Chile.

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nicolewong

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Tight USA immigration rules divert high tech brains from Seattle to Santiago

AIR DATE: Oct. 19, 2013

SUMMARY

While U.S. immigration policy makes it difficult for immigrant entrepreneurs to get visas to set up shop in the United States, Chile is welcoming them with open arms. Through an initiative called Start-Up Chile, the country is aiming to be the high-tech hub of South America.

PETER EISNER: Special Correspondent
NICOLÁS SHEA: Irish immigrant to Chile
JAMES MCBENNETT: Scotish immigrant to Chile

Transcript

PETER EISNER: What draws a high tech furniture maker all the way from Ireland to Santiago, Chile? Or convinces a neuroscientist from the University of Michigan to set up business here?

It all started with a devastating earthquake in Chile in 2010 that killed more than 500 people.

NICOLÁS SHEA: We lost two family members. And when we got the email, that email, immediately my wife and I-- just said we're going back home.

PETER EISNER: At the time of the earthquake, Nicolás Shea was a graduate student at Stanford University. Shea wanted to help his country rebuild. But how could this budding entrepreneur help the recovery effort? Inspiration came to him when he saw how foreign students attending Stanford were forced to leave the United States after graduation because of difficulties getting a visa.

NICOLÁS SHEA: Literally there were hundreds and thousands of, you know, to-be entrepreneurs that were not being and are not being welcomed in the U.S.

And I remember, you know, thinking, how much, if I were president or I had-- I was in a position of power, how much would I pay each one of these individuals to come and spend some time in Chile?

PETER EISNER: Shay was thinking about people like James McBennett, of Dublin, Ireland. McBennett’s company, Fabsie, uses computers to control woodworking tools like this. The machine cuts a piece of furniture to exact specifications so it can fit in, say, a small New York City apartment.

JAMES MCBENNETT: What I want it to be is about downloadable files to make furniture. And it's, in a way, a combination between iTunes and Ikea.

PETER EISNER: The first that comes to mind, for a customizable furniture start-up, there’s a natural market in the United States. Why not do this in the United States?

JAMES MCBENNETT: For me to go there personally, I can't do it for visa reasons.

PETER EISNER: McBennett would have liked to start his business in Brooklyn, New York, where he believes the best furniture designers are working.

JAMES MCBENNETT: If you want to get in ideas that are really early, you need to be able to move to the best place to do that and still remain at those low costs.

PETER EISNER: That’s where Nicolás Shea comes in. he realized that Chile could be that place. So, the first thing he did was to conduct his own personal focus groups at Stanford University.

NICOLÁS SHEA: I asked them… “So, what would-- would I have to do for you to come to Chile for awhile?"

PETER EISNER: This young Chilean entrepreneur came back to the country from grad school in the United States with an idea. What if we re-imagined our country? Why can’t Chileans play with the big boys of technology?

Shea went straight to the Chilean government with a radical plan to attract prospective entrepreneurs. He proposed the government give them 40 thousand dollars each to develop their ideas and the entrepreneurs wouldn’t have to pay it back. In return, participants would be required to give back to Chilean society though, by giving lectures at local universities and mentoring would-be Chilean entrepreneurs, as James McBennett is doing here.

JAMES MCBENNETT: What might fit San Francisco and New York just really might not suit Latin American culture.

PETER EISNER: Nicolás Shea called it Start-Up Chile. And from the beginning he had grand plans.

NICOLÁS SHEA: We asked for one million dollars to fund 25 start-ups. And if that worked, I would-- we would get $50 million more. And we would fund the project for the next-- four years-- with the goal of bringing in 1,000 startups to Chile.

PETER EISNER: To his surprise the government bought into his plan and since the program started in 2010 Chile has given grants to 663 start-ups, worth more than 28 million dollars.

HERNAN CHEYRE: The culture in Chile is that if somebody fails in the business, he's a loser, no. So we want to bring people from abroad to say, "Hey. Don't be worried. If you fail, you can-- can start up again."

PETER EISNER: Hernan Cheyre runs the Chilean Economic Development Agency, and overseas Start-Up Chile

HERNAN CHEYRE: What we want is that-- that they get in touch with our local community of entrepreneurs, that they go and talk to the students. We want to change our culture. We want to be a country with a culture of entrepreneurs.

PETER EISNER: But Start-Up Chile only requires its young innovators to stay in Santiago for six months, free after that to move their company to anywhere in the world.

PETER EISNER: Critics would say how in financial terms, has Chile benefited from somebody leaving and-- and maybe not coming back?

HERNAN CHEYRE: Maybe he's not coming back. But he's in touch in this global network-- of-- of global entrepreneurs. And they know that Chile is a place where they can start up a business.

But the real effect of this program will be noticed in five, ten years when we’ll notice how our young people have changed the-- the-- the mindset.

PETER EISNER: That cultural change is starting to take root. More than 20 percent of applications for Start-up Chile now come from Chile itself, like Daniel Ibarra. A couple years ago, Ibarra could dream of starting a multinational business.

DANIEL IBARRA: If you talk to someone that already made a internet company and was successful and he started from Chile or he started from Colombia or he started from Mexico, then you say, "Well, this not only happens in the States, I mean, it could happen also in Chile."

PETER EISNER: Ibarra has designed a website called GoPlaceIt, which helps renters and apartment buyers map out and locate exactly where they would like to live. It has been a big hit and he is expanding around Latin America.

DANIEL IBARRA: In the first month we had 10,000 users…And right now we have 150,000 users.

We have raised in total-- $1.2 million.

PETER EISNER: The question, though, is how Chile measures the success of the program that gives seed money and support to its participants without asking for any stake in the company? While the data is still being collected and the numbers still imprecise, Shay says that the investment has been net positive because the foreign entrepreneurs spend money in Santiago, friends and family visit from abroad, and on average two to four Chileans are hired for every start-up funded.

NICOLÁS SHEA: So two years or three years after the first group, I could tell you that the-- the return on the Chilean taxpayers' investment has been huge.

PETER EISNER: Beyond the numbers, Start-up Chile has put Chilicon Valley on the map as a high tech hub in Latin America.

JAMES MCBENNETT: I think very few countries as governments have put themselves in the shoes of the entrepreneurs.

So I think it's a very smart choice for what they've done in terms of how they've-- organized the program.

PETER EISNER: As for Irish entrepreneur James McBennett, he’s grateful to Chile for the opportunity he’s been given. But like most foreign entrepreneurs that have gone through the program he’ll probably be hitting the road when the he graduates from Start-Up Chile.

PETER EISNER: So what's the next stop for you in developing your idea after Chile?

JAMES MCBENNET: After Chile, I'm still not sure. There is the option to stay. It's not an option I completely ruled out. There is the option to-- take the large machine and move into my parents house and get the cost down to zero.

PETER EISNER: And eventually possibly find your dream in Brooklyn

JAMES MCBENNET: Well, I think to scale the company that Brooklyn is very much needed. It's almost jumping through loopholes to get there
 

nicolewong

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Chile: Latin America's Technology Hub

[video=youtube;piVaV0aRCoI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVaV0aRCoI[/video]
 

nicolewong

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Chilecon Valley: Entrepreneurs very welcome

[video=youtube;b1JFjI_xVXg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1JFjI_xVXg[/video]
 

nicolewong

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UN: Chile is South America’s most appealing country for immigrants

UN statistics reveal that immigration in Chile increased the most compared to other South American countries — more than tripling over the last two decades.

According to the United Nations, “more people than ever are living abroad.” The Population Division of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) released statistics showing that in 2013, 232 million people — 3.2 percent of the world’s population — lived in a different country than where they were born. This represents a drastic increase from the 154 million counted in 1990.

The figures were announced ahead of the high-level global summit on migration and development to be held in October by the General Assembly. According to the United Nations, this summit will aim to enhance “the benefits of international migration for migrants and countries alike and its important link to development, while reducing its negative impacts.”

While the United States, Europe, Asia and the United Arab Emirates attract the most immigration worldwide, Chile is the country in South America in which the number of immigrants augmented the most between 1990 and 2013.

The number of immigrants in Chile increased by 290,750 people in 23 years: from 107,501 people in 1990 to 398,251 people in 2013. According to OECD figures, those people come largely from neighboring South American countries, with Peruvians constituting the largest group: on the 2001-2010 average period, they represented more than 50 percent of the total inflow of foreigners.

This represents the largest increase in immigrant population on the continent, and Chile’s thriving economic development can help to explain this trend.

According to La Tercera, Ecuador places second after Chile in terms of immigrant population, followed by Argentina and Venezuela. On the opposite track, two South American countries saw their number of immigrants decrease. In Brazil, they dropped from more than 798,000 in 1990 to less than 600,000 in 2013 — a decrease of nearly 199,000 people. Uruguay’s immigrant population also dropped about 25,000.

The U.N. data also showed that immigration between developing countries is as strong as immigration from developing to developed countries. In 2013, about 82.3 million international migrants were born in a developing country and residing in another, which is slightly higher than the 81.9 million international migrants heading from the developing to the developed world.

“Most international migrants originate in developing countries, but in recent years they have been settling in almost equal number in developed and developing regions,” John Wilmoth, Director of UN-DESA’s Population Division told journalists in New York.
 
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nicolewong

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Table 2. Chile (1882-2009 est): Foreign born population according to census and DEM* estimates and intercensus growth of foreing born population

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nicolewong

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Getting permanent residence status in Chile is simple process. The general outline of the process is as follows:

1. Travel to Chile on a tourist visa
2. Apply for temporary residency from within the country
3. Once this is granted, spend at least 185 days in Chile on this visa
4. Apply for permanent residency inside of 90 days before the end of your one year temporary residency term
 
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