Chile's consulates in Caracas and Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela, will partially resume operations on Monday, October 19. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the move, according to Cooperativa.
The reopening will be gradual. From October 19, the consulates will hand over passports to Chileans living in Venezuela and allow people to schedule consular appointments.
A week later, from Monday, October 26, new applications can be submitted. The list includes passports and identity cards, as well as notarial acts such as travel authorizations, powers of attorney, mandates, public deeds, sworn statements and letters of authorization.
Consular registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil unions will also resume. This registration allows events that occurred in Venezuela to be recorded in the Chilean system. The announcement does not specify opening hours or services for Venezuelan citizens, such as visas.
Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna highlighted the impact on the Chilean community in that country. "This reopening of consulates will allow us to provide protection and services to the more than 25,000 Chileans living in Venezuela," he said. He added that the government was thereby fulfilling a commitment made to that community.
The consulates suspended their services in January 2025 after diplomatic relations between Santiago and Caracas were severed. Since then, Chileans in Venezuela have gone without in-person consular services in that country for around 21 months.
Pérez Mackenna placed the measure within a broader process. He described it as "another concrete step on the roadmap toward the full normalization of relations between Chile and Venezuela." The Foreign Ministry did not specify the next stages of that roadmap or whether it includes the return of ambassadors.
For Chile, the decision has both a practical and a diplomatic effect. It addresses basic administrative needs for more than 25,000 people and reopens an official channel with a country that is home to a sizable Chilean community. New applications for documents will be accepted starting October 26.
