Immigration
Immigration
Can I open a bank account in Peru without a carné de extranjería?
For a cuenta básica, yes: since 16 June 2025 the SBS rule lets you open one with an identity card, passport or another legally recognised document, not only the carné de extranjería. For regular accounts each bank sets its own requirements, and if you are refused or badly treated you can complain — the bank has 15 business days to answer.
✓ Verified against the official sourceCancellation of migratory status in Peru: when it applies and how it connects to expulsion
Migraciones can cancel your migratory status (your authorized stay or residence) on five grounds: at your own request, due to death or a court declaration of death or absence, due to naturalization, due to a change of migratory status, or as a result of a mandatory departure or expulsion sanction already resolved through a sanctioning procedure. If you hold residence status and leave the country for more than 183 consecutive days (365 if you hold Permanent residence), you can also lose it, unless you obtained authorization for a justified absence beforehand.
✓ Verified against the official sourceDigital nomads in Peru: can you work remotely for a foreign employer on a tourist visa?
Peruvian law created a 'digital nomad' immigration status in 2023 for foreigners who work as employees, in a subordinate relationship, for an employer domiciled outside Peru, without generating Peru-source income. But the regulation that would make it operative had not been published when we checked, in September 2026, and the status could not be applied for. Meanwhile, tourist status expressly bans any paid activity, and staying more than 183 days can make you a tax resident before SUNAT.
✓ Verified against the official sourceFamily reunification in Peru: how to get residency for your spouse, children or parents
A Peruvian citizen or a foreign resident asks Migraciones, through family reunification, for the Family Resident immigration status on behalf of the members of their núcleo familiar (family core) defined in Article 38 of Decreto Legislativo 1350, as worded by Decreto Legislativo 1582: a spouse or common-law partner; the couple's children who are minors, unmarried and studying up to age 28, or unmarried with a proven disability (no age limit); children of only one of the two if they are minors or have a proven disability; and «el ascendiente de la pareja» (the couple's ascendant). Since 2023 the law no longer names the spouse's or partner's parents (in-laws) separately. If the family member is outside Peru, the application costs S/ 58.80 (code 07567); if they are already in the country, the change of immigration status costs S/ 161.40 (code 07568). Either way, Migraciones answers within 30 business days, and — per the official procedure cards, which we did not re-check against Legislative Decree 1582 for this category — the residency lasts 2 years if the resident is Peruvian or 1 year if they are a foreign resident, renewable.
✓ Verified against the official sourceRentier and investor status in Peru: the requirements and minimum amounts for residency
Rentier status requires a permanent pension or income — at least US$1,000 a month if it comes from abroad — and does not allow you to work. Investor status requires proving an investment of at least S/500,000 and only lets you act as your company's Gerente (Manager) or Director. Both are requested from outside Peru or, once you're already in the country, as a change of immigration status.
✓ Verified against the official sourceWhat fines and sanctions can Migraciones impose on me in Peru?
Three: a fine, salida obligatoria (compulsory departure, with a re-entry ban of up to 5 years) and expulsión (up to 15 years). The fine amounts are in article 190 of the regulation and are percentages of the UIT: 0.1% per day of overstay, 1% per month without updating your carné, 10% for working outside your migratory status. No sanction is ever applied to children or adolescents.
✓ Verified against the official sourceYour authorized stay in Peru expired: what to do and how much you'll pay
You have 30 calendar days from the day after your stay expired to regularize your status without leaving the country: file your application, meet the requirements of the immigration status you're switching to, and pay the fine of 0.1% of the UIT for each day of overstay. If Migraciones rejects your application, you get 15 more calendar days to leave on your own before mandatory departure is ordered.
Partly verifiedCan I work in Peru as a foreigner, and with what rights?
Yes, with a migration status that allows work and a written contract the employer files with the labour authority; once hired you have the same labour rights as a Peruvian. The company, not you, is bound by a quota (20% of staff, 30% of payroll) and the company is the one fined for hiring you without authorisation.
Partly verifiedDeportation and expulsion in Peru: the differences and what rights you have
Peruvian law does not use 'deportation' as the name of a migration sanction: the categories are fine, mandatory departure, and expulsion (Art. 54 of D.L. N° 1350). The word does appear elsewhere in the law, for migration-alert registries. The summary expulsion of up to 24 hours under D.L. N° 1582 applies only to three grounds (Ley 32192), not to any irregular situation.
Partly verifiedDual nationality in Peru: how it works
Peru allows dual nationality: you don't have to renounce your Peruvian nationality when you acquire another one, and Peruvian nationality is only lost through express renunciation before a Peruvian authority.
Partly verifiedExtending your residency in Peru: how to renew your immigration status
If you hold a time-limited Resident immigration status (worker, or the "Formación" subcategory, formerly "student"), you must file for an extension with Migraciones before it expires. Rentier and family-member-of-a-resident no longer follow that scheme: since Decreto Legislativo N° 1582, the Rentier term is indefinite and the family-member-of-a-resident term simply tracks the resident it depends on.
Partly verifiedMarrying a Peruvian citizen: how to get residency
Decreto Legislativo 1350 allows a Peruvian citizen to request resident status from Migraciones for their foreign spouse through family reunification (the "Familiar Residente" status), but the text does not say only the Peruvian can start the process: Migraciones also publishes procedures for the adult foreign family member to request that status, so confirm on the current procedure page who files. Migraciones can verify the marriage is genuine before granting it. On how long it lasts, the sources disagree: the regulations and Migraciones' own page say up to two years, but Decreto Legislativo 1582 (2023) says that for a family member of a Peruvian the term stays in force unless a ground for termination applies.
Partly verifiedPTP and CPP in Peru: is extraordinary immigration regularization still open?
No PTP is open. The PTP for Venezuelans closed on 31 December 2018, the Decreto Supremo 010-2020-IN process had its last extension in April 2023, and the 2023 PTP gave six months to apply. Still open: switching from CPP to Especial Residente before the card expires, and the humanitarian status.
Partly verifiedRefugee and asylum status in Peru: the differences and how to apply
Refugee status protects people fleeing persecution or generalized violence. Since Decreto Legislativo N° 1719, the application is filed in person at MIGRACIONES, and CEPR (within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is the body that evaluates and decides the case. Political asylum is a separate, narrower diplomatic protection mechanism.
Partly verifiedStudent immigration status in Peru: requirements and what happens if you stop studying
Peruvian law has no immigration status called 'student': it's called Formación (article 29 of Legislative Decree 1350, as amended by Legislative Decree 1582), and it comes in two versions — temporary, up to 90 days, for short stays with no intent to reside; and residence, 365 days renewable, for regular studies of one year or more. Whether the temporary version can be renewed is a contradiction between two official sources that this page does not resolve: Legislative Decree 1582 itself says 'se aplica prórroga por el mismo plazo' (it is renewable for the same period), but Migraciones' own procedure page for exchanges or internships says those 90 days are 'no prorrogables' (not renewable). It doesn't let you work unless you have a special Extraordinary Work Permit. Stopping your studies doesn't cancel it automatically, but it does stop you from renewing it: the renewal requires an updated transcript proving you're still enrolled.
Partly verifiedWhat happens if you don't pay a Migraciones fine?
If you're a foreigner and left an immigration fine unpaid, Migraciones can refuse to let you back into Peru: Legislative Decree 1350, as amended in 2023, says so. For leaving the country, the law does not name an unpaid fine as a ground. The fine accrues no interest, and the current text no longer calls it imprescriptible.
Partly verifiedWhat rights do foreigners have in Peru?
The same fundamental rights as a Peruvian — health, education, work, equality before the law, property, access to the courts — except where a written rule expressly limits them. The Constitution, the Civil Code and the Immigration Act all say so in almost the same words.
Partly verifiedWhat types of immigration status exist in Peru?
The law recognizes 31 distinct immigration statuses in two groups: 11 temporary ones (tourist, business, crew member, among others) for people not seeking to reside, and 20 residence ones (worker, resident's family member, rentier, investor, permanent, among others) for people who are. Each has its own authority, term, and rules on whether it allows paid work.
Partly verifiedWhen can Migraciones stop me leaving Peru or refuse me entry?
Only on written grounds. To leave: having no travel document, a court exit ban or arrest warrant, health reasons, or breaching the Migration Law. The entry bans in article 48 apply to foreigners and include an unpaid immigration fine, even if you hold a valid visa.
Partly verifiedWork visa vs. worker immigration status in Peru: what you actually need
Peru does not have a separate 'work visa': what you need is the Resident - Worker immigration status (calidad migratoria), which is only granted after a Peruvian employer gets your employment contract approved by the Ministry of Labor.