Tourist Visa extension in Peru

For the past two decades, every few years the regulations in Peru would change, determining if foreigners can extend their stay as a tourist in the country or not. Since August 2021, foreign tourists couldn't extend their time in Peru anymore. However, this general “no” for tourist visa extensions was softened with the implementation of new Migraciones administrative regulations on October 22, 2023, which allow foreign nationals from member countries of the Andean Community, and only these (!), to extend their stay as a tourist again and abolished with the new Foreigner Law, Decreto Legislativo 1582 on November 14, 2023.

The new Foreigner Law, Decreto Legislativo 1582, published on November 14, 2023, states that foreign tourists can stay in Peru for 183 accumulated days in a 365-day period; so, half a year within one year. It further describes that in case foreign tourists don't get the full 183 days, an extension can be granted until the 183 days are reached, unless international agreements or conventions determine a shorter period or don't allow extensions.

As till today (end of January 2024) the administrative regulations, called TUPA, necessary for the implementation of the new Foreigner Law still haven't been published, we don't know, which foreign nationals can extend or for which nationalities there might be restrictions or when foreigners might be able to extend or how it works. The only foreign nationals, who already now can extend their stay as a tourist, are Bolivians, Ecuadorians and Colombians, which is stated in the TUPA from October 2023.

Anyway, right now we have to wait for more official news.

Overview

• Tourist visa extension in Peru, May 2018 to March 2020
• Tourist visa extension in Peru, March 2020 to August 2021
• Tourist visa extension in Peru, August 2021 to October 2023
• Tourist visa extension in Peru from October 22, 2023 to November 13, 2023
• Tourist visa extension in Peru since November 14, 2023
• Overstaying as a tourist in Peru

To understand what's going on with tourist visa extensions in Peru, first some important background information about the situation from May 2018 to March 2020 and from March 2020 to August 2021, and then the unpleasant situation since August 2021 and the new development that gives hope for the future since October 2023.

Tourist visa extension in Peru, May 2018 to March 2020

From May 15, 2018 to March 2020, when Covid hit Peru, tourists who got less than the from the 2017 foreigner law allowed 183 days in a 365-day period when entering the country could extend their tourist visa, for those you can enter Peru visa-free the "temporary authorization to enter and stay as a tourist" (which is nothing more than an entry in the Migraciones database while in Peru quick and easy online. The procedure was and still is called "Prórroga de Permanencia - PRPL". However, it seemed that the online extension process was only supposed to work for South American nationals according to bi- and multilateral agreements and Migraciones was a bit surprised to find that all nationalities, some with problems, could suddenly extend online.

Back then, the platform to extend a “tourist visa” was embedded in the Migraciones website - where you still, however unfunctional, can find it - and didn’t work properly. While some foreigners could extend without any problems, others got seemingly never-ending error messages from “no data record found”, to “information of the bank receipt not found”, to “requested extension days invalid”. If the problems were just the result of bad programming or that the system supposedly only was intended to work for some nationalities - which makes sense to me and seems plausible as the Banco de la Nacion payment code with which you paid for the extension under "prorroga permanencia" explicitly stated that this option is only for South Americans - we will never know.

Anyway, in June 2019, it got a bit more complicated - welcome to Peru. The Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs quietly published an updated list showing which nationals need a "real" tourist visa issued by a Peruvian consulate before coming to Peru and which nationals can travel visa-free to Peru and for how long. With this new publication, the general rule to be allowed to stay 183 days in a 365-day period became outdated for most nationalities.

So suddenly and mostly unnoticed, next to Schengen State nationals, many other nationalities including, for example, US and Canadian nationals were only allowed to stay for up to 90 days in a 180-day period. Immigration officers increasingly applied the new regulations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, giving many nationalities only the for their nationality allowed 90 days upon entry, which resulted in an increasing number of visitors in need of an extension and challenging the system.

Please see our PDF " Visas for Peru by country and allowed length of stay" at the end of this article to find out how long you can stay visa-free in Peru - this PDF is an English translation of the original from the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs which can be found here.

Tourist visa extension in Peru, March 2020 to August 2021

Then, in March 2020, Covid hit Peru, borders and airports were closed from one day to the other and thousands of tourists were stuck in the country for months. The Peruvian government assured all visitors that they can stay in the country, even with an expired "tourist visa" without having to fear any reprisals. As long as Peru is under the State of Emergency “tourist visa” extensions wouldn't be necessary and all overstaying fees would be waved. Additionally, visitors would get a 45-day grace period to leave the country after the State of Emergency is lifted.

Then in mid-2020, Migraciones - back then all offices were still closed - introduced a completely new online platform for Peruvians and foreigners, the Agencia Digital. Since then foreigners can for example change their immigration status (so apply for or change their residence visa), extend their residence visa, apply for different permits (such as the permit to sign contracts), check the status of several procedures, etc. online. One menu point of the Agencia Digital is named “Prórroga de Permanencia”, so the extension of your temporary stay which technically includes the tourist visa / authorization to enter as a tourist.

However, in March 2021 the Supreme Decree 002-2021-IN, which updated and partly changed the Peruvian foreigner law (Decreto Legislativo 1350) from 2017, and in July 2021 a new TUPA, which establishes new administrative regulations and procedures under the jurisdiction of the National Superintendency of Migration, was published. Both new texts lack any information regarding tourist visa extensions and only establish the rules and regulations for extending "real" temporary visas, such as a temporary student visa or the temporary work visa.

Tourist visa extension in Peru, August 2021 to October 2023

Despite still being in a State of Emergency, in mid-August 2021 Migraciones announced that - with air travel being possible for months now - the grace period for foreigners being in the country on an expired tourist visa /authorization to enter as a tourist is over. Starting August 20, 2021 foreigners who are in the country on an expired tourist visa / authorization to enter as a tourist have to pay the overstay fee of S/ 4.40 (0.1% of an UIT) per day they overstayed when leaving.

Furthermore, it was communicated that at the moment, the "tourist visas" of those that are already in the country are not extended anymore. Those visitors only have the option of leaving Peru or applying for a temporary or permanent residency.

Visitors who entered Peru in or after August 2021 might have noticed that they only got 90 days, which - except for a few nationalities - is now the number of days most foreigners are allowed to stay in Peru on a "tourist visa". See below pdf document "Visas for Peru by country and allowed length of stay - October 2021" in the attachments.

And even today nothing changed. Tourists still can NOT extend their tourist visa / authorization to enter as a tourist anymore.

Tourist visa extension in Peru from October 22 to November 13, 2023

As already explained above, since August 2021, foreign nationals, those who can travel to Peru visa-free and those who have a real tourist visa in their passport, cannot extend their stay as a tourist in Peru anymore.

Upon entry all foreign tourists get up to (!) 90 days, which - except for a few nationalities - is the number of days most foreigners are allowed to stay in Peru as a tourist in a 180-day period. But even those few nationalities, who are allowed to stay longer or who have a real tourist visa allowing them to stay longer, still only get up to 90 days upon entry.

However, while the number of days foreign tourist get when they enter the country for now seems to remain at up to 90 days, on October 22, 2023, a new TUPA, a document establishing the Migraciones administrative regulations and procedures, was published.

There you find that now foreign tourists in Peru, whose home country is a member of the Andean Community, which includes Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, can extend their stay as a tourist for up to 90 days if they don’t exceed the maximum allowed stay as a tourist of 180 days per year.

If you prefer to read the administrative procedure for the so-called "Prorroga de Permanencia de Turista por Estatuto Migratorio Andino" yourself check out the new TUPA. You find the information on page 235, which is page 238 of the PDF document.

At the moment it’s not clear how the extension works. It's as well unknown if there could be already plans allowing other foreign nationals to extend their stay as a tourist as well (or if there is a glitch in the system as we had from 2018 to 2020 making it possible that everyone, some with problems, could extend).

So, as of today, officially tourist visa extensions are only possible for foreigners from Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador. According to the current regulations, other foreign tourists still cannot extend their stay.

Tourist visa extension in Peru since November 14, 2023

On November 14, 2023, a new Foreigner Law, Decreto Legislativo 1582, was published, stating that foreign tourists can stay in Peru for 183 accumulated days in a 365-day period; so, half a year within one year. It further describes that in case foreign tourists don't get the full 183 days, an extension can be granted, unless international agreements or conventions determine a shorter period or don't allow extensions.

At the moment (end of January 2024) the administrative regulations, called TUPA, necessary for the implementation of the new Foreigner Law still haven't been published. So, we don't know, which foreign nationals can extend (exception: Bolivians, Ecuadorians and Colombians, who at the moment are the only ones, who can extend, as explained in the chapter above) or for which nationalities there might be restrictions or when foreigners might be able to extend or how it works.

Anyway, right now we have to wait for more official news. Or if you have any current information on the topic, please let us know.

Overstaying as a tourist in Peru

If your allowed time as a tourist in Peru is up, you either have to apply for a temporary or resident visa or leave the country. If you, however, decide to overstay, since January 1, 2024, a fine of S/ 5.15 (0.1% of an UIT) per overstayed day in 2024 (S/ 4.95 per overstayed day in 2023) has to be paid when leaving the country.

Our article "Peruvian Overstay Fine for tourists" explains in detail the legal backgrounds of overstaying, consequences of overstaying, and how and where you can pay the overstay fine.

Peruvian Overstay Fine for tourists

Legal Stuff

Tourists who stayed longer than the number of days they were given when they entered Peru must pay a fine when leaving the country. While this usua...