Mobility, visas & relocation, all of Latin America
Move People Into and Across Latin America, Legally
Mobility is where regional plans stall: the hire is agreed, the role is funded, and then nobody can sponsor the permit. We sponsor through our own in-country entities, so the visa does not wait on your incorporation.
SILA does not stop at advice or hand off the next step. We design the route, execute it across the region and remain accountable as the workforce scales or the model changes.
See the recommended market, model and landed cost before the sales conversation.
What is work visas and global mobility in Latin America?
Global mobility in Latin America covers the work visas, residence permits, relocation logistics and tax-residency planning needed to place a person legally in another country. Most LATAM markets require a local sponsoring entity, an approved contract and consular processing, with typical timelines of four to sixteen weeks depending on country and visa class.
SILA is the LATAM Workforce Operating Partner for this work: one team owns the market decision, workforce launch, local execution and next stage of scale.
What we run
- Work visa and residence permit filings, including dependants
- Local sponsorship through our own in-country entities where you have none
- Digital-nomad, technical-services and intra-company transfer routes where they fit
- Renewals, immigration compliance calendars and exit deregistration
- Tax residency and social-security coordination, including totalization where applicable
- Relocation logistics: housing search, banking, local ID, schooling and settling-in
- Equipment, connectivity and local transport from day one
The three mobility cases we see most
- Inbound expatriate: a US or European manager posted into a LATAM market to stand up an operation.
- Intra-regional move: an existing employee relocating between LATAM countries, a fresh permit, not a transfer.
- Regional talent, remote employer: a local hire who needs travel authorisation, per-diems and cross-border payroll clarity.
The mistakes that cost the most
Landing on a business visitor visa and working, paying a local worker from a foreign payroll to avoid registration, and ignoring the day-count that triggers tax residency. Each is cheap to prevent and expensive to unwind, immigration and labor authorities across the region increasingly cross-reference payroll and entry records.
Indicative work-authorisation timelines
| Market | Typical route | Indicative timeline | Local sponsor required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Temporary resident with work permission | 6–10 weeks | Yes |
| Brazil | VITEM V work visa via MTE authorisation | 8–16 weeks | Yes |
| Colombia | M-visa (worker) or V-visa (services) | 4–8 weeks | Yes |
| Chile | Temporary residence with work authorisation | 6–12 weeks | Yes |
| Costa Rica | Temporary residence, specialized worker | 8–16 weeks | Yes |
| Argentina | Transitory or temporary residence, work | 6–12 weeks | Yes |
Get the LATAM landed-cost benchmark
Employer burden, salary bands and total monthly cost across every market. One email, no call required.
Where this goes
Mobility, visas & relocation is the fastest start. It is rarely where teams stop.
Most companies arrive with one country and one urgent hire. Twelve months later they are running several markets, a full team and their own entity. You can do all of that on the agreement you sign today, at your pace, without changing partners.
Add the next countries without a new contract
The same agreement extends to any market in the region. New country, same team, same invoice, no procurement cycle.
See country coverage →Let SILA run the team, not just the paperwork
Move from headcount to outcomes: recruiting, management, delivery and reporting on a managed team or SOW, priced to the result.
Managed teams and SOW →Own the operation, keep the same people
We stand up your entity, transfer the team and stay as your local representation. Nothing gets rebuilt and nobody gets re-hired.
Build your LATAM operation →See the whole path costed before you commit to the first step.
Turn the answer into an operating plan
Get a mobility and visa feasibility check
Give us the requirement once. SILA returns the recommended market, structure, landed cost and launch sequence, then owns the execution with you.
- Recruiting, employment and payroll across 20+ LATAM markets
- Every lane under one agreement: recruit, employ, manage, deliver
- One accountable delivery team, from first hire to regional operation
Frequently asked questions
Get your markets, operating model, landed cost and launch sequence.