Visa Requirements & Regulations for Peru

Tourist Visa for Peru

General Info

• Travelers need a passport valid at least half a year with at least 2 free pages in the visa section when entering Peru.
• The maximum stay in Peru on a tourist visa is 183 days (per year)!
• You can't extent your tourist visa once you entered Peru!
• Peruvian tourist visa are single entry visa only!
• Like in most countries around the world you are not allowed to work on a tourist visa!
• In case you need to sign any important contracts (work contract, apartment purchase, sometimes even a marriage certificate...) you need a permission to sign contracts otherwise the papers aren't legal! You can get this permit quite easily at the Immigration Office "Dirección General de Migraciones y Naturalizacion", Av. España 734 in Breña.

According to Peruvian law foreign visitors must have a return or onward ticket /passage when entering the country. While this law isn't enforced by Peruvian immigrations, airlines often demand to see a return or onward ticket when checking in for a flight to Peru. If you can't provide one, most airlines refuse boarding the plane. So in case you are planning to leave Peru for example by bus, check with the airline, if they accept a bus ticket or similar to avoid unpleasant surprises at the airport.

Do I need a Tourist Visa for Peru?

In general citizens of the countries in the listing below do NOT have to apply for a visa at an embassy or consulate before entering Peru. A passport valid at least six months with at least 2 free pages in the visa section is enough to get a Tourist Visa (actually it's only an entry stamp) directly at the border or the airport. Children should travel on their own passport with photo. Below listed countries can get a tourist visa at airport immigrations or any other Peruvian border without applying for it at an embassy or consulate (for a more detailed listing, please check out our pdf document "Visa Obligation for Foreign Nationals in Peru" above as published by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs):

• North America: Citizens of the United States, Canada and Mexico
• Central America: Citizens of most Central American countries (exception Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic)
• South America: Citizens of all South American countries
• Europe: Citizens of all countries within the European Union and Switzerland
• Africa: Citizens of South Africa
• Asia: Citizens of Brunei, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand
• Oceania: Citizens of Australia and New Zealand

Also have a look at the following PDF document with a detailed country listing:

Visa Obligation for Foreign Nationals in Peru

Please note that it is your nationality and not a potential residence permit in another country that is the deciding factor if you need a visa or not!

Peruvian Tourist Visa Requirements & Procedures

Nationals of a few other countries (see our pdf document "Visa Obligation for Foreign Nationals in Peru" above as published by the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) need a visa even for tourism purposes. Peru doesn't offer online visa application, so these nationals have to apply for their tourist visa at the Peruvian Consulate that has jurisdiction over their domicile or country of residence.

Unfortunately especially in Africa and Asia, the continents where most residents have to apply for a tourist visa, there are only a few Peruvian Diplomatic Missions. So finding the correct one and applying for the visa can be a mission. As the Peruvian Foreign Ministry unfortunately doesn't publish which consulate has the jurisdiction over which countries, we recommend getting in contact with the nearest Peruvian Consulate in case there is none in your country of residence. Check out our section "Peruvian Embassies & Consulates Worldwide" to find a Peruvian Diplomatic Mission close by.

Visa requirements for a tourist visa include, but may not be restricted to:

• Application Form
• Valid Passport
• Round Trip Ticket
• Hotel Reservation, Tourist Package Reservation or Invitation Letter
• Proof of sufficient funds
• In some countries personal interview
• In some countries proof of legal residency
• Passport photos
• Application Fee

Extension of Peruvian Tourist Visa

Since July 2008 it is NOT possible to extend your tourist visa once you have entered Peru!!! When arriving at the airport or border, make sure you get a visa for the time you intent to stay. After Peruvian law the maximum time for a tourist to stay in the country is 183 days per year.

Expired Tourist Visa

If your tourist visa is for whatever (intentional or unintentional) reasons expired, you don't have to fear extreme consequences. When leaving the country you will be asked to pay a "fine" of US$ 1. - per day since the expiration of your visa. Depending on where you leave the country, you can pay this fee at a branch of the "Banco de la Nación" (i.e. within the vicinity of the airport). After that you get your exit stamp and can leave Peru.

If you can't pay this fee you will be held in custody until someone pays it for you. Better be prepared and have the cash in US Dollar on hand.

Of course we would like to advise you, to have your visa up-to-date at all times! Even if you usually don't get any trouble, there is always a slight possibility someone will check your passport. In the worst case scenario this might lead to your arrest and deportation to your home country.

Please note: LimaEasy has no affiliation with the Peruvian Government or any Peruvian Embassy / Consulate abroad. All visa information is published to our best knowledge, but subject to change without prior notice! Therefore we recommend checking the current regulations before your trip to Peru with the nearest Peruvian Consulate or Embassy!

Business Visa for Peru

Regardless of the nationality, anyone travelling to Peru for business purposes, especially when business contracts or agreements are signed or business related financial transaction are made, has to apply for a business visa at a Peruvian Consulate before entering the country. The Peruvian business visa is a multiple entry visa and entitles its holder to enter Peru within a time period of 12 months from the date of issue. The maximum stay on a business is 183 day per year, but the consulates abroad reserve the right to grant visas for shorter stays. Peruvian business visa can't be extended.

Visa requirement for a Peruvian Business Visa include, but may not be restricted to:

• Application Form
• Valid Passport
• Round Trip Ticket
• Letter from the company sponsoring the business trip, indicating the purpose of the visit to Peru, length of the stay, and assurance that the business person is travelling with sufficient funds to last the duration of the trip
• Proof of legal residency in the country you are applying
• Passport photos
• Application fee

Student Visa for Peru

Students planning to study at a Peruvian educational institution or wanting to do an internship / apprenticeship (without payment) at a Peruvian company, have to apply for a student visa. Please note that the Peruvian educational institution or training facility has to be recognized by the Peruvian Ministry of Education or the National Assembly of University Rectors.

In some cases "short-term" students and participants of study abroad programs don't have to apply for a student visa. You should contact the nearest Peruvian consulate to check if this exception applies to you.

While Peruvian Consulates in the US still issue student visa for three-month stays (which can be extended once you entered Peru), Peruvian Diplomatic Missions in other countries don't issue Student Visa anymore. Students or interns have to enter Peru on a tourist visa and then change their immigration status at Peru's immigration office Migraciones.

Requirements for a Student visa include, but may not be restricted to:

• Passport valid at least 6 months
• Valid (tourist) visa at the time of application
• For Students: Enrollment certification issued by a recognized educational institution
• For interns: Official letter from the foreign university or higher education institution, legalized by the Peruvian Consulate (or stamped with an Apostille) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Proof of sufficient financial resources to fund your studies or internship in Peru
• Application form and fee

However, many universities know it can be a long and complicated process to apply for a student visa and therefore some recommend you to enter Peru on a tourist visa. If you are only going to study one or two semesters you should be fine with just a tourist visa. At immigration in the airport you should ask for 183 days, the maximum stay for a tourist visa. Many students travel while they are here as they can extend their stay by leaving and re-entering the country. For example, if you go to Ecuador for 5 days and then enter Peru again you will get a new visa with a new amount of days. NOTE! The second time you enter Peru it might be more difficult to get 183 days - sometimes they will give you 30 or 60 days even if you ask for more. There are also cases where the immigration staff has asked for money under the table to give you more days. Sometimes it’s takes a bit of luck to get the amount of days you want. But try to be firm and insist on the number of days that you need. If you received a high number of days on your tourist visa, a strategy is to wait until your tourist visa has less than 30 days left before leaving and re-entering the country, so that you don’t risk coming back with a new tourist visa that can shorten your stay.

Working in Peru

If you want to work in Peru you will need a special visa called “el Carné de extranjeria” which could be translated as “Foreign Resident ID Card”. With the Carné de extranjeria you are allowed to work in Peru and you don’t have a limit on the number of days you can stay. However you will need to pay $20 US Dollars a year and an initial fee of $200 US Dollars.

Other than being married to a Peruvian or having Peruvian family, to apply for the Carné de extranjeria you will need to have a contract with a company that wants to hire you. The contract must be for a year minimum. Unfortunately it is more complicated for companies to hire a foreigner than to hire a Peruvian and they are only allowed to hire a certain amount of foreigners to their company.

If you find a way to get hired, then you need to fill in this form: https://www.migraciones.gob.pe/formularios/f-007-a.pdf and pay $49.90 USD to the Banco de la Nacion. You will bring the receipt of your payment together with a copy of your passport and a copy of you TAM card (the paper you received at the airport when entering Peru).

Next you book an appointment with INTERPOL where you take an exam and pay the fee of $200 USD at the Banco de la Nacion and an additional of $20 USD for an inscription in the “Foreigners Register”.

You will also need to hand in 2 photos in “tamaño carnet” size (similar to passport size but ask at the place where you take your photos for “tamaño carnet”). Finally, you also need to fill in this document. This ensures that you haven’t committed any criminal activities in Peru or in any other country.

Please note that if you are applying for the Carné de extranjeria as a family member to an officer, due to a religious commitment in Peru or as a refugee, the conditions are different.

Also note that the process of applying for the Carné de extranjeria can be a bit complicated and the procedure is not always the same for everyone so make sure that you ask about the details of the procedure at the immigration office. Not all speak English so if you aren’t fluent in Spanish make sure you bring someone who can translate for you.

Volunteer Visa

Peru has no special visa for volunteers. Travelers planning to volunteer in Peru enter the country on a tourist visa and are allowed to volunteer (without payment) at a charitable organization or institution for a maximum of 183 days.

Entering Peru

Entering Peru is quite easy. Already shortly before landing the stewardesses on your airplane will hand you the "Tarjeta Andina de Migracion" (TAM) and a customs declaration form. If you are entering by land, you get the forms at the border.

The Andean Migration Card is available in Spanish and English. Fill out your personal data and after disembarking hand it together with your passport to the immigration officer at the immigration control. If you are not obliged to apply for a visa at a Peruvian consulate in your home country before entering Peru, the officer will stamp your passport and write a number on or next to the stamp indicating the numbers of days you are allowed to stay in the country. Even though the maximum stay on a tourist visa is 183 days, the immigration officers reserve the right to grant any number of days up to 183 days they think appropriate. Make sure you get the amount of days on your tourist visa at immigration you intent to stay in Peru. The upper part of the TAM stays with immigrations; the bottom part is handed back to you.

Take good care of your part of the TAM! Hotel personal will ask you for it when checking in as you are exempted from paying 18% Peruvian VAT on your bill. Additionally you need it again when leaving the country. If you lose the TAM, a duplicate can be issued by Migraciones, Peru's Immigration Office located in Breña or at the airport.

At customs hand in your filled out customs declaration form. Below find a listing of items you can temporarily bring duty-free into the country. Please note: if you are carrying more than US$ 10,000.- in cash when entering or leaving the country, you have to declare it. Carrying amounts over US$ 30,000.- is forbidden when entering or leaving Peru.

Check out as well two short videos about the procedures when arriving and departing from Lima International Airport.

What Items can you bring to Peru?

You can bring (temporary) the following items to Peru for personal use (no taxes or duties applied):

• Clothes for personal use during your trip
• Toiletry for personal use during your trip
• Personal items and jewelry for personal use
• Drugs (medication) for personal use only
• Aids and appliances for personal medical control and mobilization (wheelchair, stretcher, crutches, blood pressure / glucose meter, thermometer, etc.)
• Other articles for personal use or consumption or presents which don't exceed a total value of $300
• Books, magazines, newspapers and documents for personal use
• 2 electric hair dryer
• 1 electric shaver
• 1 set of sporting equipment for personal use
• 1 musical instrument
• 2 conventional or digital camera
• 1 portable, non-preofesional film or video camera
• 1 portable non-professional radio or portable, non-professional audio player recorder
• 1 portable CD / DVD player
• 1 portable video game device
• 10 rolls of film, 10 cassettes for portable video camera you carry with you
• 2 memory cards for the digital camera, video camera or video game advice you carry with you
• 2 external hard discs for PC and 4 USB sticks for personal use
• 20 CDs or DVDs
• 1 laptop
• 1 digital organizer or 1 tablet PC
• 2 mobile phones
• 20 packets of cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 grams tobacco (for travelers older than 18 years)
• 3l of alcoholic beverages (for travelers older than 18 years)
• 1 domestic animal (check the veterinary regulations with the nearest Peruvian consulate and / or SENASA)
• 1 portable electronic calculator

Information as published by Peruvian Customs. All information is subject to change!

Important Info

Please note: LimaEasy has no affiliation with the Peruvian Government or any Peruvian Embassy / Consulate abroad. All information is published to our best knowledge and should only give you general guidelines of Peruvian procedures. As regulations, requirements and practices can change without prior notice, all information is subject to change! Therefore we recommend checking the current regulations before your trip to Peru with the nearest Peruvian Consulate or Embassy!

What vaccinations are obligatory and recommended?

If you are entering Peru from infected areas in Africa or the American continent, then a Yellow Fever vaccination is required to enter the country. Otherwise there are no obligatory vaccinations.

From the Health Ministry recommended vaccinations include:

• Hepatitis A
• Chickenpox
• Hepatits B when you are visiting the provinces Amazonas, Loreto, San Martin, Ucayali, Junin and Madre de Dios
• Yellow Fever when you are visiting the provinces Amazonas, Loreto, San Martin, Ucayali, Junin and Madre de Dios

Peruvian Visa - Comments & Questions:

For all comments on LimaEasy our General Posting Rules apply! These include that all post have to be in English!