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RCLCL-RCL-01

Recurso de reclamación — Recurso del artículo 12 ante el Corte Suprema (30 días)

Ciudadanía en Chile

Elegibilidad
La legitimación se define en la cláusula inicial del artículo 12: 'La persona afectada por acto o resolución de autoridad administrativa que la prive de su nacionalidad chilena o se la desconozca' (;). Se califican dos daños desencadenantes: (a) PRIVACIÓN: un acto que despoja ('que la prive de') de la nacionalidad chilena; un
Plazo
standard
Renuncia
No requerida

Quién califica

Standing is defined by the opening clause of Art 12: 'La persona afectada por acto o resolución de autoridad administrativa que la prive de su nacionalidad chilena o se la desconozca' (CL-PRIMARY-01). Two triggering harms qualify: (a) DEPRIVATION — an act that strips ('que la prive de') Chilean nationality; and (b) DISAVOWAL — an act that fails to recognize ('o se la desconozca') it. The affected person need not appear alone: standing is deliberately broad, exercisable 'por sí o por cualquiera a su nombre' (in person or by anyone on their behalf). The remedy is open to anyone asserting Chilean nationality regardless of how it was acquired — a jus-soli claimant whose birth in Chile the administration refuses to recognize by treating the parents as 'extranjeros transeúntes' (Art 10 Nº1 exception), a nationality-by-descent claimant, or a naturalized person facing carta cancellation. The textual precondition is that the harm flow from an ADMINISTRATIVE authority's 'acto o resolución': per this scopes the remedy to executive deprivation/disavowal, not to loss by the person's own voluntary renunciation (Art 11 Nº1) nor to a revoking statute (Art 11 Nº4). As of 2026-07-05 no fee or mandatory legal representation is stated in the constitutional text, and the wide 'por cualquiera a su nombre' standing dispenses with any personal-appearance requirement.

Cómo solicitar

Art 12 fixes four procedural elements directly in the constitutional text (CL-PRIMARY-01). (1) TERM: the recurso must be lodged 'dentro del plazo de treinta días' — a 30-day period, treated as fatal/peremptory, running from the affected person's knowledge/notification of the administrative act or resolution. (2) FORUM: it is heard 'ante la Corte Suprema', sitting 'en tribunal pleno' — the full bench, not a single sala. (3) STANDARD: the Court hears 'como jurado', i.e. it decides in conscience on the facts of nationality rather than under strict rules of legal proof. (4) SUSPENSIVE EFFECT: 'La interposición del recurso suspenderá los efectos del acto o resolución recurridos' — the mere lodging of the recurso automatically stays the challenged deprivation/disavowal for the pendency, so the claimant's recognized nationality is preserved until the plenary Court rules. Filing may be done by the affected person or by anyone on their behalf. The Constitution delegates other nationality procedures to statute (Art 10 inciso final, on cartas), but the term, forum, standard and suspensive effect of the reclamación are set by Art 12 itself. Temporal anchor: all four elements have been in force since D.O. 24.10.1980 and were left unaltered by Ley 20.050 (2005) and Ley 21.325 (2022).

Base jurídica

The reclamation remedy (recurso de reclamación de nacionalidad) rests entirely on Article 12 of the Constitution, in Capítulo II 'Nacionalidad y Ciudadanía'. Verbatim (CL-PRIMARY-01): 'La persona afectada por acto o resolución de autoridad administrativa que la prive de su nacionalidad chilena o se la desconozca, podrá recurrir, por sí o por cualquiera a su nombre, dentro del plazo de treinta días, ante la Corte Suprema, la que conocerá como jurado y en tribunal pleno. La interposición del recurso suspenderá los efectos del acto o resolución recurridos.' Art 12 is not an acquisition route: it is a constitutional guarantee of judicial review against administrative deprivation or disavowal ('desconocimiento') of Chilean nationality. It completes the nationality triad of Capítulo II — Art 10 (acquisition), Art 11 (loss), Art 12 (remedy). The provision entered force with the 1980 Constitution (marginal note 'CPR Art. 12° D.O. 24.10.1980', enacted by DL 3.464) and, critically, was NOT amended by the 2005 reform (Ley 20.050): the decoded 1980-original text (CL-PRIMARY-01c) carries word-for-word the same Art 12 as the current texto refundido (CL-PRIMARY-01). Because Art 11's loss grounds include executive/administrative deprivation — Nº2 by decreto supremo and Nº3 by cancellation of the carta — Art 12 is the paired review mechanism against those acts.

Autoridad competente

The adjudicating authority is the Corte Suprema sitting 'en tribunal pleno' and deciding 'como jurado' (CL-PRIMARY-01 Art 12). The authorities whose acts are challenged are administrative: the Presidente de la República / Ministro del Interior y Seguridad Pública who sign carta-cancellation decrees ('La cancelación de la carta de nacionalización se hará previo acuerdo del Consejo de Ministros y por decreto firmado por el Presidente de la República' — DFL 5.142 Art 8) or a decreto supremo under Art 11 Nº2; the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), which processes nationality files ('Tramitar las solicitudes de carta de nacionalización para su resolución por parte del Ministro del Interior y Seguridad Pública' — Ley 21.325 Art 157 Nº8); and civil-registry/identity organs that may 'desconocer' nationality. The Tribunal Constitucional is NOT the Art 12 forum: a statute revoking grace-nationality (Art 11 Nº4) would be challenged by other constitutional means, not by the reclamación.

Escenarios de ejemplo

Los escenarios de ejemplo se muestran en inglés.

  • CL-RCL-01 applies — an administrative 'desconocimiento' of nationality is reviewable under Art 12

    Art 10 Nº1 jus soli is near-unconditional except children of foreign-Government agents and 'extranjeros transeúntes,' a term the Constitution does not define (CL-ASSERT-007, CL-ASSERT-008). An administrative refusal to recognize her birthright nationality is a 'desconocimiento' squarely within Art 12 (CL-ASSERT-003); she (or anyone on her behalf) may recur within 30 days to the Corte Suprema 'como jurado y en tribunal pleno,' with automatic suspensive effect (CL-ASSERT-079, CL-ASSERT-080, CL-ASSERT-081). This is the signature modern use of the reclamación.

  • CL-RCL-01 is available — carta cancellation is an administrative act reviewable under Art 12, with suspensive effect

    A cancellation decree under DFL 5.142 Art 8 is the paradigm 'acto o resolución de autoridad administrativa' targeted by Art 12 (Overlap CL-OV-11; CL-ASSERT-082, CL-ASSERT-076). The reclamación lodged within the fatal 30-day term suspends the cancellation's effects while the Corte Suprema en pleno decides (CL-ASSERT-081). Links loss route CL-LOS-03 to the remedy.

  • The reclamación is BARRED — the 30-day term is fatal/peremptory

    Art 12 fixes the recurso 'dentro del plazo de treinta días' (CL-ASSERT-079). The term is peremptory, so a filing at day 45 bars the remedy regardless of the merits of the underlying nationality claim (CL-RCL-01 litigation_posture). Edge/disconfirmation on timeliness.

  • CL-RCL-01 is NOT available — voluntary renunciation is the person's own act, not an administrative deprivation

    Art 12 reaches only deprivation/disavowal by an 'autoridad administrativa' (CL-ASSERT-082). A Nº1 renunciation is the applicant's own voluntary declaration, not an administrative act imposed on him, so it is generally not reviewable via Art 12 (CL-LOS-01 cross_references). Restoration lies only por ley (rehabilitation, CL-RSP-01) — or, if Spain-origin, the 1958 convention recovery channel. Disconfirmation.

  • Broad standing is satisfied ('por cualquiera a su nombre'); but whether a purely factual/registry desconocimiento (vs a formal acto/resolución) is reachable is NLR (CL-NLR-RCL-SCOPE-01)

    Art 12 standing is deliberately broad — the recurso may be lodged 'por sí o por cualquiera a su nombre' (CL-ASSERT-079) — so the relative may file. However, whether Art 12 reaches a purely factual/registry 'desconocimiento,' as opposed to a formal 'acto o resolución de autoridad administrativa,' is not resolved on the face of the text (CL-NLR-RCL-SCOPE-01). The ACHR-informed liberal reading favours capturing de facto non-recognition to avoid statelessness, but the point is unsettled.

Resumen informativo recopilado a partir de fuentes legales primarias: no es asesoramiento jurídico. La ley de ciudadanía cambia; verifica con la autoridad competente antes de actuar. Verificado por última vez el 2026-07-06.

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