Some family members of Peruvian nationals and foreigners with a resident status in Peru have the right to a family union and can apply for a family visa, the so-called “visa familiar residente”. Depending on your relation, there are several sub-visa types.
Peru Guide/Peruvian Visa Types /Peruvian Family Visa
Peruvian Family Visa
A Guide to Peruvian Visas
Family visa types in Peru
Depending on your relation to the Peruvian or foreigner with resident status, there are several family visa sub-types. Relatives who can apply for a family visa are:
- Spouses of Peruvian nationals (para el caso de casado/a peruana/o)
- Spouses of foreigners with resident status (para el caso de casado/a con extranjera/o residente en el país)
- Underaged children of Peruvians or foreigners with resident status (para el caso de hijos menores de edad de peruano/a o extranjero/a residente)
- Unmarried children (18 years to 28 years and dependent on their parents) of Peruvians or foreigners with resident status (para el caso de hijo/a mayor de edad)
- Adult children with disabilities (para el caso de hijos mayores de 18 años con discapacidad)
- Parents of Peruvians or foreigners with a resident status that don’t have a Peruvian nationality (para el caso de padres de peruano/a o extranjero/a residente) (*)
(*) Children born on Peruvian territory to not only Peruvian but as well foreign parents are considered Peruvians. They have the right to a Peruvian birth certificate, Peruvian DNI and a Peruvian passport. While for years foreign parents couldn’t get a resident family visa through their underaged Peruvian-born child, this has changed with the introduction of the 2017 foreigner law and a different interpretation of the corresponding passage. Before the parents can apply for a resident family visa, the birth of the child has to be registered at Reniec and a Peruvian birth certificate and Peruvian DNI has to be issued. Be aware that unfortunately Migraciones seems to be a bit uncooperative since August 2021, and often gives foreign parents trouble when trying to apply for the family visa based on being a parents of an underaged Peruvian.
Legal background for a family visa application in Peru Where to apply for a family visa
Officially, you can apply for a family visa if you are still outside Peru or if you are already in the country, for example, as a tourist.
However, while for decades Peruvian consulates abroad handled residence visa applications from giving information and handing out the right forms to fill in, to accepting the application and, if approved, issuing the residence visa, since August 2021, the Peruvian diplomatic missions abroad only handle tourist and business visa applications and refer foreigners, who want to apply for another temporary or residence visa, to Migraciones in Peru.
So, family members of a Peruvian national or foreigner with resident status in Peru, who can enter the country visa-free (so, who don’t have to apply for a “real” tourist visa at a Peruvian consulate), should come to Peru as a tourist and then change their immigration status – make a so called Cambio de calidad migratoria (as opposed to a Solicitud de calidad migratoria if you apply from outside Peru) – at Migraciones (on the Agencia Digital, the Migraciones online platform).
Those family members who cannot enter Peru visa-free (so, who must apply for a “real” tourist visa at a Peruvian consulate), officially must apply for residency from outside Peru; a complicated, lengthy, and sometimes frustrating process. We explain in detail how it’s done in our article “Peruvian residence visa application from abroad”.
Legal background for a family visa application in Peru Where to apply for a family visa
Officially, you can apply for a family visa if you are still outside Peru or if you are already in the country, for example, as a tourist.
However, while for decades Peruvian consulates abroad handled residence visa applications from giving information and handing out the right forms to fill in, to accepting the application and, if approved, issuing the residence visa, since August 2021, the Peruvian diplomatic missions abroad only handle tourist and business visa applications and refer foreigners, who want to apply for another temporary or residence visa, to Migraciones in Peru.
So, family members of a Peruvian national or foreigner with resident status in Peru, who can enter the country visa-free (so, who don’t have to apply for a “real” tourist visa at a Peruvian consulate), should come to Peru as a tourist and then change their immigration status – make a so called Cambio de calidad migratoria (as opposed to a Solicitud de calidad migratoria if you apply from outside Peru) – at Migraciones (on the Agencia Digital, the Migraciones online platform).
Those family members who cannot enter Peru visa-free (so, who must apply for a “real” tourist visa at a Peruvian consulate), officially must apply for residency from outside Peru; a complicated, lengthy, and sometimes frustrating process. We explain in detail how it’s done in our article “Peruvian residence visa application from abroad”.
Important laws and regulations
For foreigners planning to stay longer in Peru and to apply for a temporary or resident visa, the most important laws and regulations are the Decreto Legislativo 1350, the “old” Foreigner Law and the Decreto Legislativo 1582, the modification of the Foreigner Law, which both only stipulate general rules, as well as the Decreto Supremo 002-2021-IN from 2021 and the TUPA, which is updated yearly (last time October 22, 2023) Helpful as well is to check out the Peruvian government website. All these documents are, of course, in Spanish.
While below under Requirements for a family visa application in Peru you find the necessary documents described in English, the official list of requirements (in Spanish) can be found, for example, in the Decreto Supremo 002-2021-IN on page 44, in article 89-B “Procedimiento administrativo de cambio de calidad migratoria por la de familiar residente” on page 44.
As the TUPA is always the more current official document, which contains slight changes compared to the Decreto Supremo, we recommend to use it when looking for the most current official information about the requirements in Spanish. You find the information for adult applicants on page 187, which is page 190 of the PDF, and for minor applicants on page 106, which is page 109 of the PDF.
Required documents to apply for a family visa include:
- Passport
- Clean criminal record check (Antecedentes policiales, penales y judiciales) from your home country or from the country where you legally lived (so with a resident visa) during the 5 years prior to coming to Peru (exception minors) (1) + (2) + (5)
- Official document that proves the family tie (please note: same-sex marriages/civil unions are not possible and not recognized in Peru)
- if the applicant is married to a Peruvian or foreigner with resident status: marriage certificate (3)
- if the applicant is the child or parent of a Peruvian (but not Peruvian himself) or of a foreigner with resident status: birth certificate (4)
- if the applicant is in a legal Peruvian relationship, a so-called “Union de hecho” with a Peruvian or foreigner with resident status: Sworn statement indicating the SUNARP registration
- Up-to-date DNI of the Peruvian family member with correct family address, correct marital status and no pending election fees or up-to-date carné de extranjería of the foreigner with resident status
- Interpol clearance – Ficha de canje internacional not older than 6 months (see below)
- Receipt for paid application fee (code Migraciones 07568; concept Cambio de calidad migratoria por la de familiar residente, S/ 161.40 since October 22, 2023)
- “Recibo”, so a water or electricity bill showing your address (doesn’t have to be in your name)
- For unmarried adult children (up to 28 years) additionally: official certificate of being single (5) or sworn statement in which the applicant declares being unmarried in front of a Peruvian notary and enrollment certificate of a Peruvian educational institution
- For children with disabilities additionally: official certificate of being single (5) or sworn statement in which the applicant declares being unmarried in front of a Peruvian notary document proving a condition of permanent disability and the need for parent’s care (5)
Peru Newsflash
New lizard species discovered in Peru
There is still so much new to find out about and see in Peru. Just recently Peruvian scientists discovered a...
Peru has the second-worst drivers in the world
For those living and driving in Peru it comes to no surprise. A recent study by Compare the Market, an...
Machu Picchu reopens for the first time after the social outbreak
The Ministry of Culture of Peru decided to re-open Machu Picchu after it was closed on January 21 because of...
Peru extends the state of emergency in 44 districts
The Peruvian government extended the "state of emergency" in 44 districts of the central departments of...
Peru Event Calendar
Upcoming Events in Peru
01
May
Labor Day in Peru
03
May
Festival of the Crosses
11
May
Mother's Day in Peru
More in the Peru Event & Entertainment Calendar
Upcoming Events in Peru
Tourist Attractions & Sights in Peru
Machu Picchu
International Schools in Peru
International Christian School of Lima - ICS Lima
Peruvian Visa Types
Peruvian Digital Nomad Visa
Laws, Norms, Legal Codes & Decrees
Legislative Decree No. 1582 (Modification of the Peruvian Foreigner Law, Nov 2023)
Peruvian Cheese
Queso Rojo de LlutaLatest Video
Long Reads...
The Mystery of the Nazca Lines in Peru
In the 1920s, when people first flew across southern Peru, they made an astonishing discovery. Stretching below them,…
Francisco Pizarro González (1474-1541)
Francisco Pizarro, a peasant from Spain, was one of the least well-equipped conquerors in history. However, in the name…
The colorful Fabrics and Textiles of Peru
Europe’s first knowledge of Peruvian textiles was acquired following the Spanish invasion of Peru in 1532, when the…
The Jeweled Frog and the Condor
By a quiet pond, at the side of a cloud-topped mountain in Peru, lived a small green frog and his large green family.…
Peruvian Economy
The Peruvian economy is an emerging, social market economy highly dependent on foreign trade and classified as an upper…