Having to deal with visa regulations is always a challenge for a digital nomad. How long can we stay? Is it possible to do visa runs? What happens when I overstay my tourist visa?
I spent almost three years in Peru between March 2017 and November 2019, both with a tourist visa and a temporary residence permit. In this article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about visas if you plan to visit Peru as digital nomad.
First of all, a disclaimer:
1. This guide is written by and for citizens of countries who don’t need to apply for a visa before entering Peru. This is the case for passport holders of most European, North and Latin American countries. Please make sure to check visa regulations for your specific home country if you intend to spend some time in Peru.
2. Rules and laws change and I’m not a lawyer, so please don’t hold me liable if the information you find here, is no longer valid in 2025, for example.
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How long can I stay in Peru as a digital nomad?
When entering the country, you’ll most likely be given a visa for 90 days. However, it’s the immigration officer who makes this decision and it’s totally possible that you’ll only be given 30 or 45 days. If you see it while he’s stamping your passport, you can ask politely for 90 days. Sometimes, they ask you how many days you’d like to have, sometimes, they don’t.
If you discover only later on that you were given less than 90 days, please don’t panic, it’s possible and not difficult to get an extension. I’ll cover this a little later on.
All in all, you can stay in Peru for 183 days within a period of one year. We’re not talking of a calendar year here. If you enter the country for the first time on May 1, your year lasts from May 1 to April 30. On May 1 of the next year, your visa clock will reset to zero, so to speak.
Peru has become stricter as far as these restrictions are concerned. Visa runs which are so popular among digital nomads are no longer possible. Once you have used up your 183 days, you have to wait for 6 months before you can come back.
What happens if I overstay my tourist visa?
If you were given 90 days or less when entering the country and would like to extend your tourist visa for up to 183 days, you can either do it online or at the Migraciones office at the city where you’re staying. Don’t forget that this is only possible when those 90 or less days are the first days within a period of one year that you’re staying in Peru.
Extending your visa online is the easiest way but sometimes, it doesn’t work because the system won’t accept data you enter. In most of the cases, there’s no apparent reason for it. You may try several times and if you continue receiving an error message, it’s best to go to one of the Migraciones offices.
Here’s the link which you need if you wish to extend your tourist visa online:
https://cel.migraciones.gob.pe:8081/PRPL/PRPL_Inicio
It’s necessary to understand at least basic Spanish to fill in the form (Generar Prórroga) or if you go to Migraciones in person. If you don’t speak the language at all, I recommend asking someone to help or accompany you.
In order to extend your tourist visa online, you need to meet the following requirements:
– You have spent less than 183 days within a period of one year in Peru
– Your tourist visa is still valid
– Your passport is valid until the desired end of the visa extension
– You paid 11.70 soles at Banco de la Nación (don’t lose the receipt) or at pagalo.pe
– You come from a country whose citizens don’t have to apply for a visa prior to entering Peru
Once your extension is granted online, you’ll receive a code, so there won’t be another stamp in your passport.
May I work with a tourist visa?
Like in any other country, the answer is no. However, as digital nomads, we work online. Just don’t mention it when you enter the country. As digital nomads, we’re officially tourists. Always and everywhere. My experience not only in Peru but all over Latin America is that immigration officers are unlikely to grill you with questions when you come from a Western country. It may not be fair but being regarded as a cash machine and constantly having to pay gringo prices isn’t fair, either. I heard it’s worse in some Asian countries, though.
I know foreigners in Peru who teach their native language offline without having a work visa. In fact, I did it for a couple of weeks in early 2018. It was pretty easy to find people in Lima who were keen to learn German with a native speaker. It was also fun for a while but I make more money working online and constantly having to deal with the lack of punctuality of many Peruvians turned out to be a pain in the ass for the introverted, organized and punctual German I am.
Working offline without a work visa sounds a bit more illegal to me than doing the same working online. On the other hand, I’m not someone who blindly follows rules and laws and it’s simply a fact that digital nomads are unlikely to steal a local’s job in Peru or another country, especially if we don’t speak the local language well enough. I’ve met yoga teachers, photographers and fitness trainers who specifically targeted the English-speaking community. It’s a difficult topic, of course and I may write a more detailed article about it later on.
What if I'd like to spend one or two years in Peru?
In that case, you’ll need a residency permit which is what I’ve had for almost two years. Basically, there are two options for digital nomads:
1. Apply for a rentista visa. This is possible if you have a steady and permanent income of at least USD 1,000/month which may be a pension or dividends from a company. Please read this article by Sergio Vargas for more information about the requirements to obtain a rentista visa in Peru.
2. Apply for a work visa as a CEO of your own company. This is the option which I chose. You can read more about it here.
The rentista visa is a permanent visa which you don’t have to renew while the work visa has to be renewed every year. The rentista visa doesn’t require a minimum stay in Peru and is therefore a perfect and affordable solution for digital nomads who are looking for a second residency without any restrictions or obligations.
With a temporary work visa you’re required to spend 183 days/year in Peru. It’s possible to change from temporary to permanent after three years but this possibility goes along with stricter requirements as far as minimum wage and tax obligations are concerned. With a permanent work visa, you just have to return to Peru once a year for 1 day.
If you have any more questions about visas for Peru as a digital nomad, please don’t hesitate to write in the comments.
If you’re interested in living in Peru permanently, please contact Sergio Vargas of NVC Abogados who’s our recommended and trusted immigration lawyer. He has his office in Barranco, Lima but frequently travels to Cusco, Arequipa, Trujillo and Iquitos, too should you be interested to live in one of those places.
- Best cities for digital nomads in Peru - March 5, 2020
- Digital nomads and foreign languages - January 22, 2020
- Do I need an onward ticket to enter Peru? - January 4, 2020
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