Visitation Rights in Chile for Parents Abroad

What Chilean law says

infoArticle 229 of the Civil Code (current text, translated)

"The father or mother who does not have day-to-day care of the child has the right and the duty to maintain a direct and regular relationship with the child, to be exercised with the frequency and freedom agreed directly with the person who has care [...] or, failing that, as the judge deems appropriate for the child."

Courtesy translation; the binding text is the Spanish original.

The same article defines the concept: a relationship that "fosters the family bond [...] through periodic and stable contact". In setting the regime, the parents or the judge must protect the child's best interests and the child's right to be heard (art. 229).

Article 229 sets no schedule: the parents agree on it or, failing that, the judge sets it. The parents may agree on the one they consider appropriate, for example by school-holiday periods. The parent with day-to-day care "shall not obstruct" the regime established, and the article provides that the right is suspended or restricted when it "manifestly harms the child's wellbeing", which the court must declare with reasons.

Step by step from abroad

Try to reach an agreement with the other parent

This is the route the law prefers. A written agreement with dates, times, travel arrangements and remote contact avoids conflict. If the agreement is reached in mediation, the record, once approved by the judge, has the value of an enforceable judgment (Law 19.968, art. 111).

Mandatory prior mediation

Cases about child support, day-to-day care and the direct and regular relationship must go through mediation before suit (Law 19.968, art. 106).

Claim before the Family Court

If there is no agreement, you file suit with the failed-mediation certificate. The court decides based on the child's best interests.

Hearings

The judge may authorize remote attendance (art. 60 bis), subject to the limits explained below.

infoWhen mediation is not required

Article 106 excludes mediation where one party has been convicted of domestic-violence offenses or is listed in the special registry of art. 12 of Law 20.066 for assaulting the other, or where a protective or precautionary measure is in force between the parties. In those cases you may file suit directly.

Remote mediation and hearings

Mediation by videoconference

The initial mediation session may be held "in person or remotely by videoconference" (art. 108, as amended by Law 21.394). Remote mediation requires the agreement of both parties and is governed by article 109 bis (ChileAtiende, entry 2344).

Remote court hearings

The judge may authorize a party to attend an in-person hearing remotely by videoconference; it must be requested from the court in advance (Law 19.968, art. 60 bis). A party's own testimony, and witness and expert testimony, can only be given on court premises (art. 60 bis): if the judge needs your testimony as a party, your lawyer will tell you how to organize it.

Taking your children out of Chile during your visits

Article 49 of the Minors Law (Law 16.618) governs a child leaving Chile (BCN Ley Fácil; ChileAtiende, entry 76194):

if a judge has entrusted day-to-day care to one parent or a third party, the child may leave only with that person's authorization;
if the right of article 229 of the Civil Code has already been regulated by a judgment or a court-approved agreement, the authorization of the parent in whose favor it was set is also required;
the permit is granted by public deed or a private document certified by a notary, and is not needed if the child travels with the person who must give it;
if authorization cannot be given or is refused without a plausible reason, the judge may grant it, considering the benefit to the child and setting the period for which it is granted;
if, after that period, the child unjustifiably does not return, the judge may suspend the child support payments ordered.

warningIf you are the parent who stays with the children in Chile

Article 49 bis lets the judge authorize, in the judgment, the parent who has the child in their care to travel with the child on several occasions over two years (maximum 15 days each) when the other parent has, without justification, stopped complying with the duty to maintain a direct and regular relationship. That is why a parent abroad should keep up contact and keep a record of it.

The 1980 Hague Convention: what it does and does not do

The Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction has two aims: the prompt return of children wrongfully removed or retained, and ensuring that custody and access rights under the law of one State are respected in the others (art. 1). Chile is a party to the Convention (Decree 386 of 1994; the HCCH status table records it in force for Chile since May 1, 1994). Check that table to confirm the Convention is in force between Chile and your country of residence.

Applying for access: article 21 allows an application to the Central Authorities for the organization or protection of the effective exercise of rights of access. In Chile the Central Authority is the Corporación de Asistencia Judicial of the Metropolitan Region, through its International Office (HCCH entry).
Not exclusive: article 29 preserves the right of anyone claiming a breach of access rights to apply directly to the judicial or administrative authorities, which means you can file in Chile through a lawyer without going through the Central Authority.
Limits: the Convention does not set a schedule and does not replace the Chilean court's decision. If the children were removed from Chile or kept abroad without your consent, that is a different matter (international return proceedings) and deadlines matter: see our guide to international child return.

If you are not allowed to see your children

Article 229 requires the parent with day-to-day care not to obstruct the regime that is established. It helps to document every missed visit (dates, messages, contact attempts) and to consult your lawyer about which measures to ask the court for. If the problem is that no regime has been set yet, the first step is mediation and, if it fails, a court claim.

What to prepare before your first consultation

a valid passport or ID and up-to-date contact details (email, phone, time zone);
the children's birth certificates or the details needed to obtain them, and any prior agreement, judgment or order (Chilean or foreign);
a concrete proposed schedule: which periods of the year, who organizes travel, and how remote contact will work;
evidence of the bond and the contact you have kept (messages, calls, trips);
the current address of the children and of the person caring for them in Chile.

If you also have questions about child support, read Child Support in Chile When One Parent Lives Abroad; for the power of attorney, how to grant it from abroad.

Frequently asked questions

Can I ask for visitation rights in Chile if I live in another country?

Yes. Article 229 of the Chilean Civil Code recognizes the "direct and regular relationship" (what is commonly called visitation) as both a right and a duty of the parent who does not have day-to-day care, and it does not depend on where that parent lives. The frequency and freedom are agreed by the parents or, failing that, set by the judge.

Do I have to travel to Chile for the mediation or the hearings?

Mediation can be held by videoconference if both parties agree (Law 19.968, art. 109 bis). The judge may authorize a party to attend an in-person hearing remotely (art. 60 bis). If the judge needs your testimony as a party, it can only be given on court premises; your lawyer will tell you how to organize it.

Can I take my children abroad during my visits?

Only with the authorizations required by article 49 of the Chilean Minors Law: if a judge entrusted day-to-day care to one parent, that parent's; and, if visitation was already regulated by a judgment or a court-approved agreement, also that of the parent in whose favor it was set. The permit is granted by public deed or by a private document certified by a notary. If it is refused without a plausible reason, you can ask the judge to authorize it.

Does the 1980 Hague Convention help me get visitation?

It can, if the Convention is in force between Chile and your country of residence. Article 21 allows an application to the Central Authorities for the organization or protection of the effective exercise of access rights. It does not set a visitation schedule: that comes from an agreement between the parents or from the Chilean court.

What can I do if the other parent prevents me from seeing my children?

Article 229 requires the parent with day-to-day care not to obstruct the regime that is established. It helps to document every missed visit and to consult your lawyer about which measures to ask the court for.

If a judge authorized my children to leave and they do not return, what happens to child support?

If the judge authorized the exit for a set period and the children unjustifiably do not return, article 49 of the Minors Law lets the judge suspend the child support payments ordered.

Official sources consulted

Laws and treaties cited

Verified on October 7, 2026. This guide is informational and does not replace advice on a specific case. The Chilean laws are cited in Spanish; translations are courtesy translations.

Civil Code, art. 229; Law 16.618 (Minors Law), arts. 49 and 49 bis: consolidated text in DFL 1/2000, Ministry of Justice, Library of the National Congress (BCN); BCN Ley Fácil: minors leaving the country.
Law 19.968 creating the Family Courts: arts. 60 bis, 106, 108, 109 bis and 111. Library of the National Congress.
1980 Hague Convention: official text, arts. 1, 21 and 29. Status of the 1980 Convention, HCCH status table.
ChileAtiende (in Spanish): entry 76194, entry 2344 and entry 343. CAJ International Office.

Spanish terms you will see in Chilean court papers

Relación directa y regular

Visitation / parenting time of the parent without day-to-day care (Civil Code, art. 229).

Cuidado personal

Day-to-day care of the child (custody in everyday English).

Juzgado de Familia

Family Court.

Mediación previa

Mandatory prior mediation before filing certain family claims.

Acta de mediación frustrada

Certificate that mediation failed, needed to file suit.

Autorización de salida del país

Permit to take a minor out of Chile (Minors Law, art. 49).

Visitation Rights in Chile When One Parent Lives Abroad

listIn this guide