International adoption country guide
Chile: adoption records and family tracing
Practical guidance for adoptees based in the UK who were adopted in Chile, were born there and adopted in the UK, or have a birth parent from there.
Research last refreshed: September 2026
Ask the Adoptee Rights Assistant
Start by identifying the records and rules that apply
The original registry office, court, residence region, institution and adoption date remain essential. The Hague Convention entered into force for Chile on 1 November 1999.
The official SIIA portal contains a Búsqueda de Orígenes applicant process and fields for foreign documents, so a request can be initiated from the UK. The service then assigns a tracking number and professional contact.
Check the current procedure before applyingThis guide explains the likely process, but forms, contact details, eligibility and access rules can change. Check the linked source before sending identity documents or paying a fee.
Choose the situation that describes you
Adopted in Chile
What applies: First establish the date and place of the legal adoption or guardianship in Chile, and identify the original birth/civil, court, agency, welfare and institution records separately.
How to look for records: Start with the official Servicio Nacional de Protección Especializada origins programme. Keep the reserved adoption proceeding, Civil Registry records and any agency/institution material as separate record holdings.
How to look for family: Chile has a verified official Búsqueda de Orígenes programme. Adults aged 18 or over can apply directly; applications for younger people are made through adoptive parents. The programme can provide information about gestation and adoption circumstances and can support a possible meeting with biological parents or family. The SIIA portal accepts passport or foreign identity details and a country field. Under article 27 of Law 19.620, access to the adoption judgment and antecedents held with the Civil Registry requires a court order requested by the adoptee, adoptive parents, or qualifying descendants/ascendants.
Important: Do not assume that access to one Chile record repository gives access to the whole file. Historic law, territorial rules and record survival may differ from the current process.
Born in Chile and brought to the UK to be adopted
What applies: First establish whether the legal adoption was completed in Chile or in the UK, or whether the country of origin order was guardianship/custody. If unknown, keep the procedures open.
How to look for records: Use the Chile birth/civil and before adoption or guardianship procedures described for this country, while separately tracing the UK adoption/receiving-agency, local authority, court and immigration trail.
How to look for family: Chile has a verified official Búsqueda de Orígenes programme. Adults aged 18 or over can apply directly; applications for younger people are made through adoptive parents. The programme can provide information about gestation and adoption circumstances and can support a possible meeting with biological parents or family. The SIIA portal accepts passport or foreign identity details and a country field. Under article 27 of Law 19.620, access to the adoption judgment and antecedents held with the Civil Registry requires a court order requested by the adoptee, adoptive parents, or qualifying descendants/ascendants.
Important: The original birth-country record and the later UK adoption/recognition record are different sources. Nationality of the carers or adopters does not determine where the original birth record is held.
One parent was from Chile
What applies: Do not process this as an intercountry-adoption record case unless the user's own adoption occurred there. Start with the verified identity of the parent and the strongest known place/date in Chile.
How to look for records: Use civil registration, archives and genealogy resources for Chile once the parent's identity and locality are established. Adoption-specific authorities are relevant only if the parent's own adoption/history makes them so.
How to look for family: Chile has a verified official Búsqueda de Orígenes programme. Adults aged 18 or over can apply directly; applications for younger people are made through adoptive parents. The programme can provide information about gestation and adoption circumstances and can support a possible meeting with biological parents or family. The SIIA portal accepts passport or foreign identity details and a country field. Under article 27 of Law 19.620, access to the adoption judgment and antecedents held with the Civil Registry requires a court order requested by the adoptee, adoptive parents, or qualifying descendants/ascendants.
Important: A parent being from this country does not by itself create an entitlement to adoption records. Living-person privacy and civil registration access rules may restrict what can be obtained.
Records and family finding
Start with records
Start with the official Servicio Nacional de Protección Especializada origins programme. Keep the reserved adoption proceeding, Civil Registry records and any agency/institution material as separate record holdings.
Looking for family
Chile has a verified official Búsqueda de Orígenes programme. Adults aged 18 or over can apply directly; applications for younger people are made through adoptive parents. The programme can provide information about gestation and adoption circumstances and can support a possible meeting with biological parents or family. The SIIA portal accepts passport or foreign identity details and a country field. Under article 27 of Law 19.620, access to the adoption judgment and antecedents held with the Civil Registry requires a court order requested by the adoptee, adoptive parents, or qualifying descendants/ascendants.
DNA
Use DNA as a separate source of evidence, not as proof by itself. Prefer multiple matches/shared match analysis plus documentary evidence. Country-specific DNA programmes are listed where verified.
Peer support
Use the national programme first. ICAV lists Chileadoption.se, Adopción Ilegal, Connecting Roots and Stichting Chilean Adoptees, and its Search and Reunion page points to Nos Buscamos. These organisations have different countries, eligibility and functions and must not be presented as substitutes for the official process.
Practical next steps
If you have no namesOpen a Búsqueda de Orígenes request through SIIA and upload the available identity and adoption documents. Ask the assigned professional what court authorisation is needed for reserved records under article 27.
If you have a name or placeUse the verified name plus commune/region and date in Civil Registry and archival sources, while allowing the official programme to handle consent-sensitive contact with living relatives.
If the search has stalledAsk the programme to identify the specific court, registry office and institution searched. If an agency was involved, check whether it operates an agency-limited origins service; use archives and DNA only as separate evidence procedures.
Verified sources and resources
Official services and independent or adoptee-led resources are shown separately. Check current eligibility, security, costs and capacity before supplying personal information.
Official records and authorities
Official text of article 27 court-authorised access process and article 28 confidentiality
Things to check: Legislation is not an application service; later reforms and specific to the case procedure should be checked
Adoptee-led peer and search resources
Peer network, advocacy and discussion of roots searching, records and irregular Chilean adoptions
Things to check: Primarily for Chilean adoptees in Sweden; membership and support for UK residents should be checked
Document research, MyHeritage DNA testing and reunification support for Chile-born adoptees affected by illegal adoption
Things to check: Non-governmental; eligibility, consent, privacy, safeguarding and current capacity must be checked
Points to Chile-specific document, birth family and irregular-adoption procedures, including Nos Buscamos and the PDI investigation form
Things to check: Directory/guidance only; every linked service and form must be checked for current information
Peer advocacy, archive research, file-location and DNA/identity-restoration information for Chilean adoptees
Things to check: Netherlands-focused; current eligibility for UK residents and any service terms must be checked
Other verified resources
Initial case submission, legal orientation and possible representation for suspected illegal Chilean adoptions
Things to check: Not a government service and not a general peer group; case acceptance, conflicts, fees and representation terms require checking
Historic records and locality/family history reconstruction after a verified name and place are known
Things to check: Not an adoption or living person tracing service
Case registration, documentary investigation, DNA/genealogy work and family reunification for suspected irregular Chilean adoptions
Things to check: Non-governmental. The site currently contains unexpected unrelated external links, so verify the contact process, privacy terms, security and current service before submitting personal data
Initiating and tracking an official origins-search request
Things to check: Account/technical and documentary requirements should be checked for current information
Origins information, adoption circumstances and supported possible contact/meeting with biological family
Things to check: Adults apply directly; under-18 applications go through adoptive parents; outcomes depend on records and consent
This country guide provides general information, not legal advice or a tracing service. Records and family finding across borders can involve privacy, consent and personal safety considerations. Verify the current official procedure before acting.
← Return to all researched countries