eSIM and SIM cards in Chile

The registration law changed the advice

• Registration of prepaid lines became compulsory for everyone on 20 August 2026. Operators had been running identity checks on new contracts through 2025; since that date every prepaid number in Chile must be tied to a named holder, verified in person or online, with biometric checks among the methods allowed. The systems are built around Chilean ID.
• Shops can register a foreign passport - passport number, a photo of the passport and a selfie - but plenty of branches simply refuse, and the refusals are not consistent between shops of the same network.
• This is why an eSIM is now the safer plan for a short trip, which is the opposite of the advice in most of South America.
• If you want a local SIM, buy it at an official carrier shop in a mall, not a kiosk, and take your passport. Airport shops are the most used to foreigners.

The networks

• Entel has the widest coverage, including the Atacama, the Carretera Austral and most of Patagonia.
• Movistar and Claro are close behind in the cities and thinner in the far south.
• WOM is the cheapest and the most urban.
• A prepaid bundle runs CLP 5,000 to CLP 15,000 for a week or a month with generous data, if you can get one issued.

eSIM

• Saily's Chile plans are USD 4.99 for 1 GB over 7 days, USD 17.99 for 5 GB over 30 days and USD 27.99 for 10 GB.
• Buy and install it before you fly, while you still have wi-fi you trust.
• All four networks support eSIM if you would rather buy one locally.

Coverage in the places you are going

• Santiago, Valparaiso and the Lake District are fully covered.
• San Pedro de Atacama has signal in town and very little in the desert around it, including at the El Tatio geysers.
• Torres del Paine has patchy coverage at the refugios and none on much of the circuit.
• The Carretera Austral drops out for long stretches, and so does Route 5 through the far north.
• Download offline maps. Distances here are the kind where a wrong turn costs two hours.