Easter Island Travel: Entry Requirements and Visas

From August 2022 onwards, visiting Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui in Chile, is once again a feasible dream for travelers that wish to discover this architectonic wonder which is cataloged as a Unesco World Heritage. If you are interested in this fascinating destination and wish to know what are the current requirements to get to Easter Island, you are in the right place.

Did you know that Easter Island closed its doors to tourists for more than two years in order to control the spread of Covid 19 virus in the territory? The good news is that the reopening was announced in May 2022, along with the conditions and entry requirements that need to be followed to visit Easter Island.

One of the main entry requirements to visit Easter Island is the Unique Entry Form which is a pre-arrival authorization every tourist needs to apply for and get before traveling to the territory. It provides its owner with 30 days Per Entry permission to stay on the island, and it is a Single Entry document. iVisa is here to help you with the application and the expedition of the document and any doubts you may have during the process.

Easter Island entry requirements

First of all, please keep in mind that the requirements to enter Easter Island are not only related to the control measures against the Covid 19 virus propagation.

Law 21.070 to protect Rapa Nui, which came into force on the 1st of August 2018, also establishes specific requirements for tourists visiting Easter Island. The Law was created with the aim of incentivizing responsible tourism practices and protecting the island from a possible collapse due to overpopulation of inhabitants, visitors, and vehicles. It regulates the rights provided to the people for living, staying, or transiting to and from the island.

According to the law, all people, including Chileans and foreigners, have the right to enter and stay on the island for a period of up to 30 days Per Entry, which can be renewed under certain circumstances related to business, work, or family reasons.

As mentioned above, the Unique Entry Form is part of the requirements for all tourists that want to visit Easter Island.

Law 21.070 to protect Rapa Nui: Requirements

• Fill in the Unique Entry Form to Eastern Island

• Round trip tickets. Bear in mind that the only airline that flies to Easter Island from mainland Chile is LATAM.

• National Identity or valid Passport.

• Reservation of your Easter Island accommodation or hotel room, which needs to be registered and authorized by SERNATUR,

• Or, a letter of invitation signed by a local from Rapa Nui.

Requirements - Covid 19

On the other hand, on October 18th 2022 the health authority of Valparaiso Seremi, announced that given the recent improvement of the epidemologic conditions, Rapa Nui started its opening stage. Therefore, under the resolution 1.472 of the Ministery of Health, all toursits visiting Easter Island must adhere to the following requirements:

1. Certificate of vaccination

2. 5-day health follow-up

Additional control measures apply inside the territory:

• Mandatory use of facemasks inside health care centers and institutions.

• It is highly suggested to wear a mask while in closed spaces and facilities.

• People with confirmed cases of contamination must be completely isolated.

Do You Need a Visa to Enter Easter Island?

Visiting Chile as a tourist doesn't require a visa for many nationalities, which includes all countries in South America and the European Union, as well as the United States, Canada, and Australia. Some other nationalities though are required to obtain an authorization called "tourism visa". You can use our visa checker tool to find out your nationality's requirements. The application for this visa can be done in any Chilean consulate.

At the same time, there is a list of nationalities to which a reciprocity fee applies for tourists who enter Chile by air, a measure that the Government is trying to gradually eliminate in order to promote and increase tourism in the country.

Please note that all tourists could be required by the immigration authorities to certify that they have sufficient financial resources to cover the costs of their stay in the country.

Documents required to enter Chile as a tourist - adults:

• Valid Passport.

• If you are from Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru or Uruguay, you can enter Chile with your National Identification document.

Documents required as a tourist - minors

a) When the minor travels with both parents:

• Valid Passport or National Identity card depending on their nationality.

• Birth registry. Original document along with three copies.

b) When the minor travels with one of their parents only:

• Valid Passport or National Identity card depending on their nationality.

• Birth registry. Original document along with three copies.

• Authorization of the absent parent authenticated by a notary, or authorization from the corresponding Family Tribunal. In both cases, the original document along with three copies are required.

• Death certificate in the case the absent parent has passed away. Original copy along with three copies.

c) When the minor travels alone or with none of their parents:

• Valid Passport or National Identity card depending on their nationality.

• Birth registry. Original document along with three copies.

• Authorization of both parents authenticated by a notary or authorization from the corresponding Family Tribunal. In both cases, an original document along with three copies are required.

Now that we have checked all the current requirements needed to visit Easter Island let's have a look at some interesting and useful information about the Island.

Where is Easter Island Located?

First of all, a fun fact: did you know that this island was discovered on Easter Sunday, 1.722, by a Dutch explorer called Jacob Roggeeveen? He therefore named it after Easter Island.

Easter Island is located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, at a distance of 3,600 km from the northern coast of Chile, a country of which it has been part since 1888. It is part of the well-known Polynesian Triangle along with a few other islands, two of them very famous: Hawaii and New Zealand. The three islands shape the triangular geometric figure, each one in a corner.

Rapa Nui is one of the remotest inhabited islands on planet Earth, whose population accounts for 8.601 inhabitants. Its land has 163 square kilometers of of extension of which about half is occupied by the Rapa Nui National Park, home to the famous Easter Island Statues, also known as Easter Island Heads or in native language Moai, which are spread across the island, either standing fully on the ground or with their bodies buried up to the neck.

Easter Island Airport

Fun fact: did you know that Easter Island Airport, whose name is Mataveri Airport, is cataloged as the remotest airport in the world?

More than 100.000 tourists travel to Rapa Nui per year. Mataveri Airport is the main entry door through which people visit Easter Island in order to enjoy its magic and history.

As mentioned before, there is only one airline that operates at Mataveri Airport: LATAM Airlines, which currently offers a daily flight to Easter Island departing from Santiago de Chile.

Easter Island Statues: The main attraction for adventurers

Easter Island is world-renowned for its gigantic Moai statues, as well as for the various archaeological discoveries that have taken place in the territory. The Moai statues were manually built by ancient generations that inhabited the island and are made of volcanic stone. Its original name, in Rapanui language, is Moai Aringa Ora, which translates to "the living face of our ancestors". These statues are one of the most remarkable expressions of the Rapa Nui culture. They were built with the aim of keeping the energy of the ancestors alive after they have passed away. According to the beliefs of the Rapa Nui people, the energy of the non-living, which was called "mana", was necessary to control and protect the tribe, as well as crops, harvests, and animals.

Today, there are approximately 900 Moai around the island, including some unfinished ones and many others that reveal how ancient they are, so their deterioration is notorious. The best and most recommended way to see the Moai in detail is on a guided tour at the Rapa Nui National Park, which has a total area of 71.3 square kilometers.

Other touristic spots on Easter Island

Apart from the Rapa Nui National Park and the gigantic Moai, there are other touristic spots you should explore while on Easter Island. One of them, which is actually a great place to start your journey on the island, is the Father Sebastian Englert Anthropological Museum, which is the only museum on the island where you will be able to get familiar with Easter Island's history and see the artifacts and art collection exhibition.

Another enjoyable spot for many travelers is the Hanga Roa harbor which is located in Hanga Roa, the only town and capital city of Easter Island, where 90% of the population lives.

Even though Easter Island's geography is mostly rocky, Anakena Beach, located in Ahu Tongarik,i is a beautiful and peaceful bay surrounded by palm trees and properly guarded by several Moai.

How to Get to Easter Island

There are only two ways to get to Easter Island: by air and by sea.

If you are planning to reach Easter Island by airplane, please keep in mind that the only option is to do it via domestic flights, meaning, departing from mainland Chile and that the only one airline that flies to Easter Island is LATAM. Also, bear in mind that the duration of the flight is approximately 6 hours.

If you are planning to reach Easter Island by sea, know that there are yachts and sailboats that depart from the coast of Chile, as well as international and national cruises that visit Easter Island. In the case of cruises, keep in mind that their stay in Rapa Nui is short since the tour packages include brief stops that will allow you to spend just a few hours on the Polynesian island.

Apply for the Unique Entry Form to Eastern Island in Chile

iVisa helps you with the application process to get the Unique Entry Form to Easter Island. It's easy, start your application now by filling in the form and making use of our Customer Support Team, who will be there to solve any problems or doubts you have during the process.

Where can I find more information about Easter Island?

If you have any questions related to our services and products, please contact us through our customer service team or write to us at [email protected]. We will be pleased to help you 24/7.