GlobeQuest

Peru visas and residency

Who can visit Peru without a visa, and the 5 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting Peru, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesVisa-free · 180 daysUnited KingdomVisa-free · 180 daysIndiaVisa requiredCanadaVisa-free · 180 daysAustraliaVisa-free · 180 daysGermanyVisa-free · 90 daysFranceVisa-free · 90 daysNetherlandsVisa-free · 90 daysIrelandVisa-free · 180 daysSpainVisa-free · 90 daysItalyVisa-free · 90 daysPortugalVisa-free · 90 daysPolandVisa-free · 90 daysSwedenVisa-free · 90 daysSwitzerlandVisa-free · 90 daysSouth AfricaVisa-free · 180 days
Long stay

How you actually move to Peru

Work / sponsoredHigh confidenceVerified August 2026

Trabajador Residente (work permit)

People with an employment contract at a Peruvian company. This is the mainstream route into Peru and the one nearly every relocating professional uses.

What you need
  • A written, fixed-term employment contract with a Peruvian employer, registered with the Ministerio de Trabajo under Decreto Legislativo 689
  • The employer must stay inside the DL 689 quotas: foreign staff no more than 20% of total headcount and no more than 30% of the total wage bill
  • The contract must include an undertaking to train Peruvian staff in the same occupation
  • Apostilled and translated criminal-record certificate, plus an INTERPOL check done in Peru
  • Passport valid well beyond the intended stay
  • The employer's prior registration of the worker in the state's SIVICE system before the migration filing
How long it lasts
365 days, renewed annually through MIGRACIONES' Agencia Virtual. The underlying labour contract may run up to 3 years and be renewed for equal periods.
Path to permanent residence
Yes. After 3 years as a legal resident you may apply to change to the Permanente status, which is open-ended and carries a carné de extranjería valid 5 years. The application also requires that in those 3 years you were not outside Peru for 3 continuous months, or 6 alternating months in any one year.
Cost
MIGRACIONES charges a change-of-status fee plus the carné de extranjería issue fee and an annual residence-renewal fee; the labour-contract approval at the Ministerio de Trabajo carries its own fee. Employers usually carry all of it. Budget separately for apostilles and sworn translations, which are often the larger number.
Processing time
Weeks to a few months end to end, driven mostly by how quickly the employer completes the labour-ministry side. The migration filing itself is done online through the Agencia Virtual.
Worth knowing
  • The 20%/30% quota belongs to the employer, not to you. A small Peruvian company with nine staff simply cannot hire a tenth who is foreign without an exemption, however good the candidate. Ask early how many foreign staff the company already has — this kills more offers than any immigration rule.
  • DL 689 lists exemptions from the quotas, including foreign nationals married to a Peruvian or with Peruvian children or parents, people with an immigrant status, and specialised professional and management roles under an exoneration granted by the labour authority. Whether you fall inside one is worth checking before assuming the quota blocks you.
  • The labour contract is treated as approved when the application is filed, subject to later inspection — it is not a pre-approval you wait for. Employers who believe otherwise delay the migration filing for no reason.
  • Peru legislated a digital-nomad status in Decreto Legislativo 1582 (November 2023), allowing up to 365 days of remote work for a foreign-domiciled employer. It has not been brought into operation: the implementing procedure and TUPA entry had still not been published as of mid-2026, so there is nothing to apply for. Treat any site offering to file one as a warning sign.
  • Naturalisation historically needed 2 continuous years of legal residence. Ley 32421, published 15 August 2025, raises that to 5 years once its implementing regulation is issued — which had not happened as of mid-2026. If a citizenship timeline matters to you, verify which rule is actually in force on the day you would file.
Sources:Superintendencia Nacional de MigracionesMinisterio de Trabajo y Promoción del Empleogob.pe — solicitar cambio a calidad migratoria PermanenteSUNAT — personas, condición de domiciliado
RetirementMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Rentista (permanent passive income)

Retirees and others living on a permanent pension or other permanent income arising outside Peru. Not a route for remote salaries or freelance invoices.

What you need
  • Documentary proof of a permanent income or pension paid from abroad, apostilled and translated
  • The income must be permanent and verifiable — a lump sum in an account is not the same thing
  • Apostilled criminal-record certificate and a Peruvian INTERPOL check
  • Evidence of means sufficient to live independently in Peru
How long it lasts
Granted as a resident status with annual renewal, run through MIGRACIONES' Agencia Virtual.
Path to permanent residence
Yes — time as a rentista counts toward the 3 years of legal residence that open the Permanente status.
Cost
MIGRACIONES filing and carné de extranjería fees, plus apostille and sworn-translation costs.
Processing time
Typically a few weeks to a couple of months once the documentary evidence is complete.
Worth knowing
  • Peru also has a separate tax-favoured treatment for pensioners' foreign pension income; it is a tax question rather than a migration one and the two are decided by different authorities. Do not assume the visa carries the tax treatment with it.
  • Rentista does not authorise you to work for a Peruvian employer. Doing so requires changing status.
Sources:Superintendencia Nacional de MigracionesSUNAT — personas, condición de domiciliado
InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Inversionista (investor residence)

People putting capital into a Peruvian company they establish or take a stake in, and who want residence on the strength of that investment.

What you need
  • A capital contribution to a Peruvian company meeting the minimum set by MIGRACIONES' current requirements
  • Company incorporation documents and evidence the capital was actually paid in, not merely subscribed
  • A business plan showing the activity generates employment or otherwise contributes to the economy
  • Apostilled criminal record and Peruvian INTERPOL check
How long it lasts
Resident status renewed annually.
Path to permanent residence
Yes — counts toward the 3-year clock for Permanente.
Cost
MIGRACIONES fees plus the incorporation and accounting costs of running a Peruvian company, which are the real recurring expense.
Processing time
Several months in practice, because the company must exist and be capitalised before the migration file is complete.
Worth knowing
  • The minimum capital figure is set administratively and has been revised, so any number you read on a blog should be re-checked against MIGRACIONES' current requirement sheet before you transfer money.
  • Holding the status obliges you to keep the company real — a shell with no activity is the usual reason a renewal is refused.
  • This is a residence route, not a citizenship-by-investment programme. Peru does not sell passports.
Sources:Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones
FamilyMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Familiar de Residente / family of a Peruvian

Spouses, civil partners and dependent children of Peruvian nationals or of foreign legal residents, and Peruvian nationals' foreign parents.

What you need
  • Marriage, civil union or birth certificate establishing the relationship, apostilled and translated, and registered in Peru where required
  • Proof the Peruvian or resident family member can support the applicant
  • Apostilled criminal record and Peruvian INTERPOL check
How long it lasts
Resident status with annual renewal.
Path to permanent residence
Yes, and this is the cleanest path — family time counts toward the 3-year Permanente clock in the ordinary way.
Cost
MIGRACIONES fees plus civil-registry costs for registering a foreign marriage or birth in Peru.
Processing time
Weeks to a few months; the civil-registry step abroad is usually the slow part.
Worth knowing
  • Being married to a Peruvian is also one of the DL 689 exemptions from the 20%/30% foreign-worker quota, which makes you materially easier to hire. Employers frequently do not know this — it is worth raising in an interview.
  • A foreign marriage generally has to be inscribed in the Peruvian civil registry before it can be relied on. Start that before you need it.
Sources:Superintendencia Nacional de MigracionesMinisterio de Trabajo y Promoción del Empleo
StudentMedium confidenceVerified August 2026

Estudiante (student residence)

People enrolled in a recognised Peruvian university, institute or formal training programme.

What you need
  • Admission or enrolment letter from a recognised Peruvian institution
  • Proof of means for the period of study
  • Apostilled criminal record and Peruvian INTERPOL check
How long it lasts
Aligned with the programme and renewed annually.
Path to permanent residence
Time as a legal resident counts toward the 3-year Permanente clock, and graduates commonly switch to Trabajador once they have a contract.
Cost
MIGRACIONES fees on top of tuition.
Processing time
Several weeks after enrolment is confirmed.
Worth knowing
  • Study status does not itself authorise employment; taking a job means a change of status, which brings the employer's DL 689 quota back into play.
  • Peruvian universities usually require your foreign qualifications to be recognised (reválida or SUNEDU registration) for postgraduate entry — start it months ahead.
Sources:Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones
On the ground

Where you'd land in Peru

Lima

Peru's whole economy in one grey, brilliant, traffic-choked desert city on a cliff.

Full Lima guide
Cusco

An Inca capital at 3,400 metres where the economy, the rents and the mood all run on the tourist season.

Full Cusco guide

Peru at a glance

Capital
Lima
Population
34.6M
Languages
Spanish, Quechua, Aymara
Currency
PEN