When can Migraciones stop me leaving Peru or refuse me entry?

The starting rule is in the Constitution

Leaving the country and coming back is a right. Article 2(11) of the Constitution says everyone has the right:

“A elegir su lugar de residencia, a transitar por el territorio nacional y a salir de él y entrar en él, salvo limitaciones por razones de sanidad o por mandato judicial o por aplicación de la ley de extranjería.”

(To choose where to live, to move within the country, and to leave and enter it, except for limits based on health, a court order, or the law on foreigners.)

So there are three limits: health, a judge’s order, and the law on foreigners. Any ban placed on you must fit one of them. The law on foreigners today is the Migration Law, Legislative Decree 1350.

This page is about the moment at the border: when you can be stopped from leaving or refused entry. The sanctions that force you to leave (salida obligatoria and expulsion) are covered in deportation and expulsion.

When you can be stopped from leaving: the five grounds in article 49

Legislative Decree 1582 (November 2023) rewrote article 49. It applies to Peruvians and foreigners alike:

“Los nacionales y extranjeros pueden ser impedidos de salir del territorio nacional por las siguientes razones: 1. No portar su documento de viaje o intentar salir con un documento distinto al que ingresó al país, salvo las situaciones descritas en el Reglamento del presente Decreto Legislativo. 2. Por registrar impedimento de salida u orden de captura dispuesta por autoridad judicial competente. 3. Por razones de sanidad. 4. Por no cumplir con las disposiciones establecidas en el presente Decreto Legislativo y su Reglamento. 5. Cuando no haya realizado su control de ingreso al territorio nacional, para el caso de personas extranjeras.”

(Nationals and foreigners can be stopped from leaving for these reasons: 1. not carrying a travel document, or trying to leave with a different document from the one used to enter, except as the regulation provides; 2. having an exit ban or arrest warrant issued by a competent judicial authority; 3. health reasons; 4. breaching the decree or its regulation; 5. for foreigners, not having gone through the entry check.)

What it means for you:

• Documents. If you are a foreigner, leave on the same document you entered with, unless the regulation provides otherwise.
• Court order. Ground 2 requires the ban or warrant to come from a “autoridad judicial competente” (competent judicial authority).
• Health. The same limit the Constitution sets.
• Breaching the Migration Law. This is the broadest ground. The law does not spell it out further.
• No entry check. If you are a foreigner and entered without going through immigration control, you cannot simply leave.

The court exit ban: the most common case for a Peruvian

The regulation says what Migraciones does when you leave (article 124):

“MIGRACIONES verifica si la persona nacional tiene impedimento de salida del país. De ser positiva la verificación, MIGRACIONES lo comunica a la autoridad correspondiente para que proceda según sus atribuciones.”

(Migraciones checks whether the Peruvian national has an exit ban. If so, it informs the relevant authority so it can act within its powers.)

There is also an effect on your passport. Article 36-A of the regulation, added in 2019, says Migraciones “suspende la vigencia del pasaporte electrónico ordinario, cuando por mandato judicial se dispone el impedimento de salida del país, detención preliminar o preventiva” (suspends the ordinary electronic passport when a court orders an exit ban, preliminary detention or pre-trial detention). The suspension is temporary: it lasts “por el término del plazo impuesto en el mandato judicial” (for the term set in the court order). It is lifted “a pedido de parte o de oficio, siendo sustentado en el mandato judicial que ordena el levantamiento” (at the person’s request or on Migraciones’ own initiative, based on the court order lifting it).

In practice: a court ban is not argued at the airport. It is argued at the court that issued it.

Child support: the judge can bar you from leaving even if you pay

Article 563 of the Civil Procedure Code, in the wording given by Ley 29279, says:

“A pedido de parte y cuando se acredite de manera indubitable el vínculo familiar, el juez puede prohibir al demandado ausentarse del país mientras no esté garantizado debidamente el cumplimiento de la asignación anticipada o pensión alimentaria. Esta prohibición se aplica independientemente de que se haya venido produciendo el cumplimiento de la asignación anticipada o pensión alimentaria. Para efectos de dar cumplimiento a la prohibición, el juez cursa oficio a las autoridades competentes.”

(At a party’s request, and once the family link is proven beyond doubt, the judge can bar the defendant from leaving the country until payment of the interim or ordered support is properly secured. The bar applies even if the defendant has been paying. The judge notifies the relevant authorities.)

Three points:

• The party claiming support asks for it. The judge does not impose it alone.
• Being up to date does not protect you. What lifts it is payment being secured.
• The judge notifies the authorities. That is why it shows up at immigration.

We found no rule in the texts we read saying that being on the REDAM alone stops you travelling. The written route is the judge’s order. How support is claimed is covered in child and family support.

Minors: no parental authorization, no departure

For a Peruvian child, or a foreign resident child, the regulation requires the parents’ permission (article 136.2):

“Para autorizar la salida de niñas, niños y adolescentes nacionales o extranjeros residentes, será necesario contar con la autorización del o los padres que ejerzan la patria potestad.”

(To authorize the departure of national or resident foreign children, the authorization of the parent or parents holding parental authority is required.)

Article 140.1 says who can certify it: “únicamente, ante Notario peruano o Funcionario Consular peruano” (only before a Peruvian notary or Peruvian consular officer). When it is needed, which documents are asked for and how long it is valid are covered in travel permission for minors.

When you can be refused entry as a foreigner

Article 48 has two lists. Under the first (48.1), Migraciones must refuse entry. Among its cases:

“a. Cuando tengan la condición de sancionados con Salida Obligatoria o Expulsión y que no se haya cumplido el plazo de la sanción. […] e. Que pretendan ingresar al país con información falsa o documentos falsos, adulterados o fraguados. f. Que sean sorprendidos intentando evadir el control migratorio o ingresando por un lugar no habilitado. g. Cuando se detecten en el país sin justificar sus actividades en el Perú, al momento de efectuar el control migratorio. h. Carecer de boleto de retorno cuando corresponda. i. No contar con el visado requerido para el ingreso al país, de corresponder.”

(a. people under a salida obligatoria or expulsion sanction whose term has not ended; e. people trying to enter with false information or false, altered or forged documents; f. people caught evading immigration control or entering at an unauthorized point; g. people who cannot justify their activities in Peru at the immigration check; h. no return ticket where one is required; i. no required visa.)

The same list covers people who pose a danger to “la seguridad nacional, el orden público, el orden interno” (national security, public order, internal order), people on United Nations sanctions lists, and fugitives from justice in other countries.

Under the second list (48.2), Migraciones may refuse entry. DL 1582 rewrote it and added the unpaid fine:

“a. Cuando no cumplan con las exigencias de ingreso de acuerdo a lo establecido en la legislación vigente. b. Cuando la autoridad sanitaria del Perú determine que su ingreso al territorio nacional puede poner en riesgo la salud pública nacional. c. Cuando se cuente con información de organismos de inteligencia nacionales o extranjeros en la cual se califique a la persona como riesgosa para la seguridad nacional. d. Cuando no haya cancelado la multa impuesta como consecuencia de un procedimiento sancionador por infracción a la normativa migratoria.”

(a. not meeting the entry requirements in force; b. when Peru’s health authority finds that the person’s entry may put public health at risk; c. when national or foreign intelligence agencies flag the person as a security risk; d. when the person has not paid a fine imposed in an immigration sanctions procedure.)

Two things people do not expect:

• A visa does not shield you. Article 131.2 of the regulation says the ban “se aplica también a la persona extranjera que posee visa vigente” (also applies to a foreigner with a valid visa).
• The fine waits for you at the border. If you left with an unpaid immigration fine, you can be refused entry when you come back. The amounts are in immigration fines and expulsion.

What to do if you are stopped at the check

Ask which ground applies and who ordered it. If it is a court order, write down the court and the case number: the measure is lifted there. If it is a Migraciones ground, ask for it in writing. If you are a foreigner and are refused entry or served with a sanction, see a lawyer before you sign or give a statement. Your general rights as a foreigner are in rights of foreigners in Peru.

What this page does not cover

We do not explain how each ban is lifted step by step or how long it takes. We do not cover bans ordered in criminal proceedings (detention, restricted release) beyond their effect on the passport. We did not confirm whether the regulation changed after June 2023. And we do not cover diplomatic passports or safe-conduct documents.