92 Comments
· 02/01/2023
Some findings based on my recent experience: I'm a citizen of China holding a long-term US visa. In 2016, "Decreto Supremo Nº 069-2016-RE" lifted visa requirements for Chinese citizens with long-term visas from certain developed countries. The duration of stay, according to the decree, would be "180 días calendario, sea como visita continua o varias visitas consecutivas, durante el plazo de 6 meses." This sounds like one can live in Peru forever as long as doing visa runs for a few days once every half a year. That sounds too good to be true, and it indeed is. When I came to Peru to study Spanish in late September, I was surprised that the immigration officer gave me only 90 days instead of 180, but I did not question that since I planned to make short trips to other countries in late November anyway. In early December, I returned from a week-long trip to Panama. The immigration officer at Lima airport initially said that since I stayed for 66 days on my last trip, he could give me only 30 days this time. I showed him a printout of the Decreto Supremo (I prepared this mainly for airline staff who may not be familiar with the complicated immigration rules, and I didn't expect that it was at the immigration that I needed to present this) which says that the duration of stay is 180 days. The immigration officer called his supervisor, who read my printout, and then went to a vacant inspection spot to use the computer to check in their system, and finally confirmed that the decree does allow me to stay for a maximum of 180 days. But they can still give me another 90 days at most, and not 180-66=114 days. They said that 90 days for one time is the absolute maximum regardless of the cumulative limit. Afterwards, I searched online trying to understand the logic behind such practice, and learned from this website about the 2017 Decreto Legislativo de Migraciones, which set a universal limit of "183 días acumulables durante un período de 365 días." But it’s still unclear to me whether there is a legal provision that determined that 90 days is the maximum for any single trip. On the website of the foreign ministry, there is a list of visa-free countries and their respective lengths of stay which was updated in 2022 (https://www.gob.pe/institucion/rree/informes-publicaciones/2315744-requerimientos-de-visa-para-extranjeros), and it clearly marked the different lengths of stay for different countries, including “90”, “90/180”, “180”, “180/365”, and so on. But with the 2017 law limiting the cumulative stay to 183/365 for everyone, and the practice of giving no more than 90 days each time, some of these distinctions seem to be meaningless now. For the vast majority of nationalities, it’s either 90/180, or 90 each time and cumulatively 183/365.
- This commment is unpublished.
· 02/01/2023@WangHello Wang,yes, according to a supreme decree from September 2016 Chinese citizens with a permanent residency or a visa with a validity of at least 6 months for the USA, Canada, any country belonging to the Schengen area, UK or Australia can travel to Peru visa free for up to 180 days in a 365-day period for tourism. We explained this in detailed on our Tourist visa page.However, since August 2021, Peruvian immigration officers usually don't give any foreigner entering the country as a tourist 180 days anymore. Since then, the normal is a max of 90 days, even though the nationality would allow 180 days (as is the case for Mexican, Brazilian, Chilean, Chinese and Indian passport holders).Be aware that, as in most other countries as well, you don't have the right to get the full number of days allowed by law. It's always at the discretion of the immigration officer how many days he/she allows you to stay. So, your only option is to leave the country after your first 90 days are over and return, hoping to get another 90 days.GreetingsEva - This commment is unpublished.
· 04/02/2023@Sunflower @Sunflower, I think you haven't fully acknowledged a key point from Wang's research. I will quote you:
https://www.limaeasy.com/peru-guide/peruvian-visa-types/peruvian-tourist-visa#border-hopping-peru"Since August 2021, travelers, who already stayed their allowed 90 days in a 180-day period, reported that when trying to re-enter the country at Lima’s airport before their 180-day period was over, that they were scolded and only given anything between 3 and 30 days. And according to reports from travelers who tried to re-enter Peru at a land border after already having stayed their 90 days, immigrations often only gave a few days up to a month. Others reported that they still got the full 90 days, however only if they haven't already stayed the max of 183 days in a year."
https://www.limaeasy.com/index.php?option=com_jreviews&format=ajax&url=media/download&m=X766Y&1675555879171#page=5
(pg 5)"90 day: Visitors can stay visa-free for up to 90 days. The Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't indicate if in a 180 days period or in a 365 days period."
According to Wang's research every nationality in the above cited category, should be 90 days per stay, with a maximum of 183 days per 365 days.
Do you disagree? If not, I suggest you update the quoted documents to make it more clear that above cited category for eligible nationalities (i.e. 90 days, not 90 in 180) assert their rights under the law to continue to do a visa run and return immediately.
- This commment is unpublished. · 04/02/2023@Shel Hello Shel,
I’m always happy to hear from thorough and critical readers who point out mistakes or contradictions, so I can review my articles and if and where necessary improve them to provide the best and most current information here on LimaEasy.
But reading your comment it seems to me that you aren’t aware of the complete(!) legal situation, the changes over the past years, the execution of the regulations and the reality when you are standing in front of an immigration officer asking to spend time in Peru as a tourist.
According to the Decreto Legislativo 1350, Titulo IV, Capitulo I, Articulo 29.1 h foreigners can stay in Peru for 183 days in a 365-day period as a tourist.
The publication issued by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (which is linked in our article above and below can be found translated into English) states which foreign nationals must apply for a tourist / business visa at a Peruvian consulate before traveling to Peru and which can travel to Peru visa-free for tourism and business purposes and for how long.
When this list was first published and later updated in 2019, it clearly stated, for example, 90 days in a 180-day period. Today, however, many updates later you find there 90 days in a 180-day period, 90 days in a 365-day period, 180 in a 365-day period and just 90 days, and these “only 90 days” mostly for nationalities who over the past years were added to the list of being allowed to travel visa-free to Peru or where there have been changes to the allowed time they can stay.
And it’s absolutely correct that for the “only 90 days” foreign nationals “The Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn't indicate if in a 180-day period or in a 365-day period." So, either the “only 90 days” is intentional as you think to know or the one who updated the list just chose an easy way to finish his boring job.
Anyway, I wonder on what legal basis your interpretation is based that “every nationality in the above cited category, should be 90 days per stay”. Do you have an official source for that?
And just for completion, Wang’s case as a Chinese national who has residency in one of the mentioned countries, is yet another layer of this Peruvian law and regulation muddle.
But in the end this discussion is irrelevant as it’s always and anywhere around the globe at the discretion of the immigration officer you have to face when you ask to enter a foreign country if he/she lets you enter at all and for how long you are allowed to stay. You don’t have the right to being allowed to enter and to get x number of days. There are no rights under the law to assert, as you suggest.
Anyway, it’s time to check what happens on the ground when you enter Peru for the first time or when you try to re-enter the country after already having spent 90 days in Peru. And the reality is exactly as Wang described. It seems to be a general rule that immigrations officers only allow foreign nationals to stay up to 90 days as a tourist in Peru. And according to many, many reports we got, it seems to be uncertain how many days you get when you already stayed in Peru 90 days and try to return immediately or before your 180-day period is over. As described, some had a hard time and only got anything between a few days to a month, others were given the full 90 days.
Overall, I wish you all the best and good luck asserting your supposed rights when talking to a Peruvian immigration officer.
Greetings
Eva
- This commment is unpublished. · 07/02/2023@Sunflower Eva I appreciate the nuance of the situation. I do appreciate that you're trying to provide the best information that you can and cautioning people appropriately. I did in one of my other replies on this page acknowledge that ultimately whether one can convince the migration officer of the legal situation is a separate matter. Yet knowing the law may help one explain their case to the said officer.Anyway, I wonder on what legal basis your interpretation is based that “every nationality in the above cited category, should be 90 days per stay”. Do you have an official source for that?
If the law says by default 183 days out of 365 (and ostensibly that's not the calendar year, unlike in Colombia), and the most up-to-date posting from the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a category of 90 days with no statement about the period in which that 90 days resets, then ostensibly the legal situation is that the limit applied is 183 out of 365.So, either the “only 90 days” is intentional as you think to know or the one who updated the list just chose an easy way to finish his boring job.
I do appreciate your point about carelessness as I noticed for the Philippines (which was recently added to said list and btw which applies to my fiancee and travel mate) the said category is entirely blank. I have also read (not just on your site) that the situation in Peru is fluid and one can receive different interpretations from different officials. There doesn't seem to be one canonical perspective, although I would tend to believe I could take the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at their word, especially more likely if I spoke respectfully to a migration officer and if I am dressed professionally and present a professional decorum.
I will tend to side with your interpretation that if one is leaving and coming right back, then the migration officials are going to wonder if you're really a tourist. Also perhaps nationality may make a difference. I do not know the nationalities of those examples you cited of those who came immediately back and were given only 30 days or less. I tend to think it would be better to go traveling outside of Peru for a while, even if only a couple of weeks or so before coming back to show that one is genuinely touring.and these “only 90 days” mostly for nationalities who over the past years were added to the list of being allowed to travel visa-free to Peru or where there have been changes to the allowed time they can stay.
Well I'm from the U.S.A. which is in that category. I'm also hold Mexican residency, although I realize that doesn't apply until I become a Mexican citizen, then I could stay up to 183 days in Peru visa-free (even on business!) without leaving.
- This commment is unpublished. · 07/02/2023@Sunflower I tried to reply but it says my comment is "unpublished" instead of "awaiting moderation". Any reason for that?
