OBJECTIVES: Currently, there is an international regulatory framework that establishes the protection of the right to health of the international migrant population in an irregular situation (IMIS). The present study seeks to describe how Chile has responded to these guidelines through a policy of access to health for international migrants in an irregular situation during the last 15 years.

METHODS: A documentary review was conducted during October 2018 in digital repositories of central government institutions and a subsequent critical analysis of the regulations found.

RESULTS: The State of Chile has developed various normative instruments that began by guaranteeing access to health care for pregnant women in 2003, then care for children and adolescents, emergency care, access to public health goods, and finally, in 2016, access to the IMIS that lacks resources for the entire FONASA benefits regime.

CONCLUSIONS: Chile has responded to international guidelines, issuing a series of instruments that guarantee access to health services for the IMIS population. However, the country still faces significant challenges, given that the IMIS population are still in a situation of differential vulnerability and facing barriers to accessing health services.