Family reunification in Peru: how to get residency for your spouse, children or parents

What it is and who can request it

Family reunification is the mechanism in Article 37 of Decreto Legislativo 1350 (the Migration Law) that lets a Peruvian citizen or a foreign resident in Peru bring the members of their family core to live with them. The law distinguishes three situations:

• A Peruvian national can request from Migraciones, or from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs depending on the case, “the immigration status of resident for any member of their family core” (Article 37.1).
• A foreigner can also request it. The same Article 37.1 states that “the foregoing also applies to the foreigner to request family regrouping in the situations set out in the Regulation” — this is not a benefit exclusive to Peruvians.
• If the foreign resident holds a temporary status with a stay of more than 90 days, their family members automatically receive the same immigration status they hold (Article 37.2). If the foreign resident already holds resident status, their family members do not receive the status automatically: they may choose resident status or another one, if they meet the requirements (Article 37.3).

In practice, the procedure most families use — whether the family member you are joining is Peruvian or a foreign resident — is to request Family Resident immigration status from Migraciones for the relevant relative, following the official pages detailed below.

Who counts as the family core: the eight categories of Article 38

Article 38 of Decreto Legislativo 1350 defines exactly who is part of the family core for reunification purposes. There are eight categories:

• a. The spouse, or a person in a common-law union, under the Civil Code.
• b. A minor child.
• c. An adult child, up to age 28, unmarried, pursuing technical or higher education.
• d. An adult, unmarried child who cannot support themselves because of a duly proven physical or mental disability — no age limit.
• e. A minor child of the spouse or partner, born abroad (a minor stepchild).
• f. An adult, unmarried child of the spouse or partner in the same disability situation as item d (a stepchild with a disability).
• g. The first-degree ascendant — the father or mother — of the resident.
• h. The first-degree ascendant of the spouse or partner — the resident’s father-in-law or mother-in-law.

Item a (spouse or common-law union) has its own page with more detail, including the exact documents and a legal discrepancy over the permanence period: marrying a Peruvian citizen: how to get residency. This page focuses on items b through h: children and parents.

Children: minors, adult students, or children with a disability

Items b, c, d, e and f cover different scenarios involving children, with somewhat different requirements depending on age and situation:

• A minor child (item b). The official page for this case asks, besides the passport and application form, for a copy of the parents’ marriage certificate (if applicable) or the sworn statement of a common-law union registered with Sunarp. It does not require minors to present the criminal/police background document required of adults.
• An adult child up to age 28 who is studying (item c). The page for adults asks for a legalized or apostilled birth certificate, a sworn statement of single status, and an enrollment certificate from a technical or higher-education institution officially recognized by the Peruvian State, stating the type and duration of the studies.
• An adult, unmarried child with a proven disability (item d), and the same case for stepchildren (item f). This requires the birth certificate, a sworn statement of single status (signed by the legal representative if the disability prevents the person from expressing their will unmistakably), and the official document proving the permanent disability that keeps them from supporting themselves.
• A minor child of the spouse or partner, born abroad (item e). This follows the same minor-child procedure as item b, additionally proving the relationship with the foreign spouse or partner.

If a guardian, safeguard, support person, or similar legal figure is involved — for example, for a minor traveling without one of their parents, or a child with a disability who cannot handle the process themselves — the official pages point to Articles 56-A, 56-B and 56-C of the regulation of Decreto Legislativo 1350 (as amended by Decreto Supremo 002-2021-IN). We did not read those three articles directly: we only know, from what the official pages say, that they exist and cover this situation.

Parents (first-degree ascendants): the lesser-known route

Items g and h of Article 38 let the father or mother of the resident (item g), or the father or mother of their spouse or partner — that is, the father-in-law or mother-in-law (item h) — request Family Resident status.

The specific requirement, per the page for adults, is the birth certificate of the Peruvian or foreign-resident son or daughter, legalized by the Peruvian consulate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or apostilled), proving the parent-child relationship with the applicant. For the father-in-law or mother-in-law case (item h), the certificate must show the filial relationship with one of the spouses or partners.

Beyond that additional document, the rest of the procedure — fee, background-check conditions, and review period — is the same as for any other adult family member applying from outside the country.

How to request it: from outside Peru, or a change of status while already in the country

There are two different routes, with different fees, depending on where your family member is when the application is filed:

Route 1 — Your family member is outside Peru. This uses the “request Family Resident immigration status” page (for adults, or for a minor child, depending on the case). The conditions are: being outside the country when the status is granted, having no police, criminal or judicial record in the country of origin and in any countries of prior residence during the 5 years before entry (minors and people with total incapacity are exempt from this document), and the Peru-based family member (Peruvian or foreign) having a valid ID or valid residency. The fee is S/ 58.80 with code 07567, paid at Banco de la Nación, and Migraciones responds within a maximum of 30 business days.

Route 2 — Your family member is already in Peru. For example, they entered as a tourist and now want to stay with their family. In this case the status is not “requested” from scratch: instead, you request a change of immigration status to Family Resident. The procedure is personal (no proxy allowed), requires being in the country when the application is filed, and the fee is S/ 161.40 with code 07568 — almost three times Route 1. The review period is also up to 30 business days.

In both cases, Family Resident status allows the holder to work as an employee or as a self-employed person, with no separate work permit needed, as both official pages expressly state.

How long the residency lasts

The three official pages cited on this page — last updated between April and July 2024 — agree on the same figure: the permanence period is 2 years if the titular, the family member you are joining, is Peruvian, and 1 year if the titular is a foreign resident. In both cases, the period is renewable for the same length of time that applies to your case.

That is not a minor difference: being related to a Peruvian citizen gives you double the time before you must renew, compared with being related to a foreigner who is themselves a resident. To renew, follow the general residency extension procedure.

One important clarification: this page does not re-examine whether the regulation of Decreto Legislativo 1350, or its 2023 reform (Decreto Legislativo 1582), say something different about this period — that analysis has already been done, for the spouse’s case, in marrying a Peruvian citizen: how to get residency, which found a discrepancy between those two legal texts. What we can say with certainty is that the three procedure pages in force in 2024 — for minor children, for adults, and for the change of immigration status — are internally consistent on the 2-year/1-year figure, with no discrepancy among themselves.

Once your family member’s status changes, or if you need the foreigner ID card

Once Family Resident status is approved, the next practical step is applying for or updating the carné de extranjería (foreigner ID card). If your family member later wants to understand other available immigration statuses, or has already spent three years as a legal resident and wants to evaluate permanent status, the full picture is in types of immigration status in Peru.