Chile SAG-Aduanas Declaration
Chile requires every traveller aged 18 and over to file a joint customs and agriculture declaration before crossing the border. The government form is free — DoVisa offers optional help preparing and filing it.
What Is the Chile SAG-Aduanas Declaration?
DoVisa is a private company and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero (SAG), the Servicio Nacional de Aduanas, or any other Chilean government body. The Declaración Jurada Conjunta SAG–Aduanas is completely free of charge on the official government portal at ingresoachile.cl, and you can always file it yourself in a few minutes. Our charge is an optional service fee for preparing and submitting the declaration on your behalf — it is not a government fee, and paying it does not get you anything the free official form does not.
The declaration itself is a sworn statement (declaración jurada) that Chile's agriculture service and customs service collect together in a single form. Every person aged 18 or over entering Chile must complete one, whether they are Chilean or foreign, and regardless of the purpose of the trip. You file it even if you are carrying nothing that needs declaring — the form asks you to state, under oath, whether you are or are not bringing in regulated goods. Adults are responsible for declaring what is in the luggage of any minors travelling with them.
Chile is unusually strict here for a reason: the country is free of several agricultural pests and diseases that are widespread elsewhere, and it protects that status aggressively at the border. The form covers three things at once — products of plant or animal origin, goods above your duty-free traveller allowance, and currency. It was rolled out digitally across Chile's border crossings from 2022 onward and is now used at Santiago's Arturo Merino Benítez airport and a growing list of land, air and sea crossings. SAG reported in January 2026 that more than 6 million declarations were filed electronically in the previous year, over 1.5 million of them at Santiago airport alone.
Who Needs to File the SAG-Aduanas Declaration?
Who Needs It
- Every traveller aged 18 or over entering Chile through any border control — air, land or maritime
- Both Chilean citizens and foreign nationals, regardless of the reason for the trip
- Diplomats, Chilean official personnel, and staff of foreign governments and international organisations — diplomatic status does not exempt you
- One declaration per person, per entry — it is tied to the arrival date you enter and is not reusable; if you leave Chile and come back, you file again
Who Is Exempt
- Travellers under 18 do not file their own form — a parent, guardian or accompanying adult declares the contents of the minor's luggage within their own declaration
- Anyone unable or unwilling to file online can request the traditional paper form free of charge from officials at any border control
What You Must Declare and What You Need
Products of Plant Origin
Fresh or processed fruit and vegetables, seeds, grains, nuts, herbs and spices, cut flowers, plants, wood, and soil.
Products of Animal Origin
Meat and meat products, dairy, eggs, honey and other bee products, fish and seafood, and animal feed — plus live animals and pets, veterinary pharmaceuticals and chemical or biological products for agricultural use.
Handicrafts of Plant or Animal Material
This catches a lot of travellers out: wooden carvings, leather goods, feathers, bone, shells, wool and straw items are all declarable.
Currency of USD 10,000 or More
If you enter or leave Chile carrying US$10,000 or more in cash or bearer negotiable instruments — including the equivalent in any currency — you must declare it to Customs under Article 4 of Law No. 19,913. Failure to declare can result in the full amount being retained.
What You Need to File
Your passport details, your exact arrival date and point of entry (the declaration is valid only for the date you state), your flight or vehicle details, and your address in Chile. The portal works with or without a ClaveÚnica and is available in Spanish, English and Portuguese.
Your Confirmation
After submitting you receive a confirmation as a PDF or by email, which you show on your phone or on paper to officials at the border.
Travel Tips for Chile Travellers
Most international visitors arrive at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) in Santiago, with substantial overland traffic from Peru, Bolivia and Argentina — the declaration requirement is the same at every crossing.
- Declaring something is not an offence — hiding it is: travellers often stay silent because they assume declaring an apple or a wooden souvenir will get them fined. It will not. If you declare a prohibited item, the worst normal outcome is that SAG takes it off you at the counter. The penalty applies to omission and false statements, not to honest declarations. When in doubt, tick yes.
- Undeclared food and plant material carries real fines: SAG states plainly that failing to declare risk products is associated with sanctions and fines, and Chile runs detector-dog teams and baggage screening at Santiago and other crossings specifically for this. A forgotten sandwich or a piece of fruit from the plane is a genuinely common way to end a trip with a penalty.
- File the day before, not weeks ahead: the form can be completed up to 48 hours before you enter Chile, and SAG's own guidance encourages travellers to do it up to a day before travel. It is tied to a specific arrival date, so file when your final packing is done and you actually know what is in your bag.
- Save the confirmation offline before you fly: download the PDF to your phone rather than relying on finding the email at the border — connectivity in arrival halls and at remote Andean land crossings is unreliable.
- Paper is always an option — and it is also free: if the site is down or your phone dies, ask for the paper form at the border control. Officials hand them out at no cost, and nobody is turned away from Chile for having failed to file online.
- Handicrafts and souvenirs are the sleeper category: wooden carvings, leather, wool, shells, feathers and straw items are all of plant or animal origin and all declarable — souvenirs picked up in Peru, Bolivia or Argentina on the way in are exactly what SAG's biosecurity controls target. Declare them and let the inspector decide.
Chile SAG-Aduanas Declaration: Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to File Your Chile Declaration?
Tell us your arrival date and what you are carrying, and we will prepare and submit your SAG-Aduanas declaration and send the confirmation PDF to your inbox. The government form itself is free, and you are always welcome to file it yourself at ingresoachile.cl instead.
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