Legalization of Documentations the Finale

Hello ALL!

I am sending my degree down to the Chilean Consulate in Chicago to get legalized/recognized by the country tomorrow. See my previous posts about legalizing document here: Part 1 and Part 2. There are also links to the Chilean consulate of Chicago (Remember that there is a designated consulate for a set of states. Make sure you check which consulate serves YOUR state before doing anything in the process because I'm not liable for anything that goes wrong.. This is just some helpful hints/easy how to's to get your legalization of documents process started.

1. After you get your degree legalized by the state in which you received it you have to send it to the Consulate that serves your state.

2. From my research you have to send it with a self-addressed return envelope so they can return it to you and a money order for $12 (?) I believe... I don't know if it is different for other states.

3. You send it and wait... I don't know how long it will take, but Chileans tend to take their time on things... (At least in Chile. I'm not sure about in the States)

After you get it back, I believe that's all you need to do.. You should consult your employer down in Chile on if oyu need to do anything else.

Some Notes I have learned through this process:
    1. Try to get your degree legalized BEFORE you make your move to Chile! (I just found out that ONLY the consulate in the States has jurisdiction in the legalizing process, and that the government in Chile has no ability to do this.)
             **If you wait to get your degree legalized you will either have to mail everything back here, 
                which can take a while with snail mail or be really expensive if you express it. OR you can
                have someone in the states do it for you, but do you really want to not have control over  
               the process yourself?

2. This isn't official, but my friend M mentioned to me that once you have your degree legalized you can apply for your visa temporia even if you do not have a contract to work in Chile. Not sure how you can do this, but will let you know once I get more information or do it myself.

3. Heres a link to the departamento de extranjeria website in English. (I don't know about you, I love Spanish, but reading formal/important documents in English always helps reassure me that I am doing the process right:)


Hope this helps you in any way, shape, or form!
Have a splendid Tuesday and write soon!

Leslie