Easter Island: Entry Requirements and Paperwork

During our first trip to Easter Island in 2016, I don’t recall having to go through any special procedures before entering (except having to throw away Anh’s honey, much to his dismay, for biosecurity reasons).

Since then, COVID came and went, and Easter Island remained completely closed for two full years.

When it reopened, the island, with its 7,750 inhabitants, decided to limit the influx of tourists.

Previously, you could fly there from either Tahiti or Santiago. There were two daily flights, and 160,000 tourists landed each year.

Now, there are only two flights a week, exclusively from Santiago. With about 300 passengers per flight, that’s no more than 32,000 visitors a year—five times fewer than before!

For a tip on how to buy your plane tickets to Easter Island (much) cheaper, check out this article.

In addition, you must meet certain other requirements:

• Your stay must not exceed 30 days (which should be plenty). This means you need to show your return flight ticket.
• You must have booked accommodation approved by the tourism agency Sernatur. I wrote an article here with a list of accommodations.
• Fill out the FUI (Formulario Único de Ingreso), a single entry form. You can do this at the airport, but I recommend doing it calmly, in advance, online (on this website). The online process is available one week before your flight.

As a reminder, Easter Island belongs to Chile. As French citizens, we don’t need a visa to enter Chile for stays up to 90 days.