Chilean exporters of wine, fruit, salmon and other products with EU online shops, technology companies serving European customers, and tourism operators marketing to German travellers process personal data of people in the European Union. Where a Chilean company has no EU establishment and targets people in the EU, Art. 27 GDPR requires an EU representative. Kanzlei Matutis, a German law firm specialised in data protection, provides this service for Chilean companies for 350 EUR per year. We correspond in English and German.
Does a company from Chile need an EU representative?
Yes, if it has no establishment in the EU and its processing of personal data relates to offering goods or services to people in the EU or to monitoring their behaviour there (Art. 3(2) in conjunction with Art. 27(1) GDPR). Examples: a Santiago software company with EUR pricing and customers in Germany; a Colchagua winery selling to EU consumers through its own shop; a tour operator in the Atacama or Lake District with a German-language site and remarketing to EU visitors. A Chilean company that already has a subsidiary, branch or office in an EU Member State does not need a representative; that EU entity is the point of contact. The exceptions of Art. 27(2) GDPR (occasional, low-risk processing without large-scale sensitive data; public authorities) are narrow and rarely apply to a business that actively markets to the EU. The full criteria are explained on the page What is the legal situation?.
Chile’s new data protection law and the GDPR
Chile is replacing its 1999 data protection law (Ley 19.628) with Ley 21.719, published in December 2024, which is modelled on the GDPR and creates a new supervisory authority, the Agencia de Protección de Datos Personales; the new law applies from December 2026. There is no EU adequacy decision for Chile under Art. 45 GDPR; transfers of personal data from the EU to Chile require standard contractual clauses or another safeguard under Art. 46 GDPR. Even once Ley 21.719 is in force, it will not replace the GDPR for a Chilean company’s EU-facing processing: Art. 3(2) GDPR applies to companies that target people in the EU regardless of their home law, and Art. 27 GDPR requires an EU representative.
What we do as EU representative for Chilean companies
Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Matutis is a German law firm in Potsdam, near Berlin, specialised in data protection law. Under a written mandate pursuant to Art. 27(1) GDPR we act as your point of contact in the EU for all supervisory authorities of the Member States and for data subjects. Letters and emails addressed to us are checked, scanned and forwarded to your contact person without undue delay; we point out deadlines, such as the one-month period for data subject requests under Art. 12(3) GDPR. With a time difference of four to six hours, our afternoon overlaps with your morning, so forwarded mail can usually be discussed the same day. We communicate in English and German. We do not replace your Data Protection Officer and do not take over your compliance decisions; the difference is explained on the page EU representative vs. Data Protection Officer.
Cost for companies from Chile
The annual flat fee is 350 EUR. Because the service is provided by a German law firm to a business customer outside Germany, German VAT is not charged (reverse charge), so net equals gross. We invoice in EUR; payment by international transfer or by credit card or PayPal is possible. Please instruct your bank so that the full EUR amount is credited. Forwarding of scanned mail by email is included; postal forwarding of originals is charged at 2 EUR per item plus postage. Full details: What does it cost and what is included?
Next step
Send us your company name, website and a short description of your activities in the EU via the inquiry form. We confirm whether a representative is required in your case and send you the contract and written mandate. The complete process is described on the page How to appoint an EU GDPR representative. Other countries: EU representative by country.