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My cell phone is my lifeline. It’s my modern-day umbilical cord to my mom and my family back in North Carolina, as well as my friends scattered all over the world. I would normally say I can’t imagine life without it, but I had to for several weeks.
I have an iPhone that I purchased in May 2020 in the USA that I brought to Chile. For my trip to the hot springs in January (read all about it in Day Trip With The Friend That Could Have Been), I got a free WOM - a popular carrier here in Chile - sim card that I charged up with about $20 so that I would be able to contact the outside world the whole day.
Up until February, I had no problems with a signal. Then I started not receiving signals anywhere and resorted to paying the Verizon International fee of $10 a day every time I wanted to call home or used my phone sans wifi. Thankfully my family started contacting me exclusively through Facebook Messenger. Finally, last week, I had the last straw. I was out and missed receiving an important message until I was back connected to wifi. I went to a WOM kiosk at the mall and was informed I needed to register my phone.
Registering my phone? This was a new concept. It turns out that if you are in Chile for more than 30 days, you have to register your phone, or you are essential '“kicked out” of receiving a signal. After more research, it turns out that this is required in several other Latin American countries.
Country - Registration required
Argentina - Yes
Belize - Yes
Bolivia - Yes
Brazil - Yes
Chile - No (If you in-country less than 30 days)
Colombia - Yes
Costa Rica - Yes
Ecuador - Yes
El Salvador - Yes
Guatemala - Yes
Honduras - Yes
Mexico - No
Nicaragua - No
Panama - No
Paraguay - Yes
Peru - Yes
Uruguay - Yes
Venezuela - Yes
Since November 2018, Chile has a law requiring all foreign phones to be registered to be used in Chile. This process is referred to as homologación. Homologation is the process of certifying a product to indicate that it meets regulatory standards and specifications, such as safety and technical requirements. Registering your phone in Chile is free to do, and you should never have to pay for it.
Another thing to note is that you’re not going to get a phone plan here since it is tied in with having a RUT. I know I originally touched upon this concept in my post Are You There Amazon?. RUT stands for Rol Único Tributario (Unique Roll Tributary). This is your ID number tied to everything; however, tourists do not have a RUT. One can be requested, but the process is not short, and it’s even longer now due to several offices adopting new hours due to Coronavirus. Every purchase, from groceries to getting a phone plan, is tied to your RUT. This is why foreigners without a RUT cannot get a Chilean phone plan and must use a prepaid program instead. Often, when you are asked for your RUT, you can say that you don’t have one, and that’s ok. In other cases, they will then ask for your passport number instead, so it’s always good to have that on hand. However, a passport number will still not get you a phone plan.
I was able to register my phone online at Subsecretaría de Telecomunicaciones - Subtel without any problems. To register your phone in Chile, you’ll need the following information:
Photo/screenshot of your phone’s IMEI number (if you’re not sure how to get this, it should be written somewhere on your phone, or you can dial *#06# on your phone)
Either a photo/copy of proof of your phone’s purchase (i.e. the receipt when you purchased the phone) OR if you don’t have this, most companies will accept a photo/copy of proof of recent arrival (stamp in your passport, boarding card, PDI slip from the airport with a date on)
Photo of your identity document (e.g. passport)
Brand and model of the phone
Thankfully getting these items together wasn’t tough, and after a ‘review’ or about 30 minutes, I registered my phone. Since then, I have not run into any other issues. Have you had to register your phone in another country? What was your experience like? As Carrie Underwood once said in an interview, "My cell phone is my best friend. It's my lifeline to the outside world." I’m glad that I’m not without it anymore.
