Before you start

A passport valid well beyond the intended stay
An apostilled criminal-record certificate from your country of residence, translated into Spanish
For the work route, an employment contract registered with the Ministerio de Trabajo and the employer's prior SIVICE registration
A Peruvian address, which the file will ask for

Step-by-step

1
Confirm the employer can actually hire you before anything else
Under Decreto Legislativo 689, foreign staff may not exceed 20% of a company's headcount or 30% of its total payroll. Ask the company where it sits against both. Where an exemption or exoneration is needed, that is the employer's application to make and it takes time.
Via employerWho: Your employerBefore the offer is finalised
2
Get the criminal-record certificate apostilled before you leave
An apostilled and officially translated police certificate is required and is very much harder to obtain once you are in Peru. Do it while you still live where the record was issued.
In personWho: YouBefore departure
3
Register the labour contract with the Ministerio de Trabajo
The contract must be written, fixed-term, up to three years and renewable, and must include a commitment to train Peruvian staff in the same role. It is treated as approved when filed, subject to a possible later inspection — there is no pre-approval to sit and wait for.
Via employerWho: Your employer
4
File the change of migratory status through the Agencia Virtual
Applications, renewals and address changes are all filed on MIGRACIONES' online platform. You upload documents, pay the fee through the state payment system, and are then given an appointment for biometrics and card collection.
OnlineWho: You
5
Complete the INTERPOL check and collect the carné de extranjería
A domestic INTERPOL clearance is part of the file. Once approved, the carné is issued and carries the CE number that banks, SUNAT, EsSalud and your employer will all use as your identifier in Peru.
In personWho: You
6
Diary the annual renewal and track your days outside Peru
Resident statuses run 365 days. Late renewal accrues a daily fine. Separately, the three-year clock to permanent residence requires that you were not out of the country for three continuous months or six alternating months in any of those years — start a spreadsheet on day one.
OnlineWho: YouEvery 12 months

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Apostilled and translated criminal-record certificate
Employment contract registered with the Ministerio de Trabajo
Peruvian INTERPOL clearance
Proof of your Lima address
Payment receipts from the state payment platform

Things most newcomers don’t know

The foreign-worker quota is a company-level constraint you cannot fix from your side.

Decreto Legislativo 689 caps foreign staff at 20% of headcount and 30% of the payroll, measured across the employer. A startup of nine people simply has no lawful tenth slot for a foreign hire without an exoneration. Candidates spend months on an offer that could never have been completed, because nobody asks the arithmetic question early. It is a perfectly normal thing to ask in a second interview.

Source: Ministerio de Trabajo — Decreto Legislativo 689

The labour contract is approved on filing, not after a wait.

DL 689 provides that the contract is considered approved when the application is presented, without prejudice to a later labour inspection. Employers who believe they must wait for a signed approval before the migration filing add weeks for no reason. Knowing this lets you push the immigration file forward in parallel rather than sequentially.

Source: Ministerio de Trabajo — Decreto Legislativo 689

Peru legislated a digital-nomad status and then never switched it on.

Decreto Legislativo 1582 of November 2023 created a nomad category allowing up to 365 days of remote work for a foreign employer. The implementing procedure and TUPA entry had still not been published as of mid-2026, so there is no application to make and no consulate accepting one. Any service offering to file it is selling something that does not exist yet.

Source: Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones

The citizenship clock is mid-reform, and which rule applies depends on when you file.

Naturalisation has long required two continuous years of legal residence — one of the shortest in the Americas. Ley 32421, published 15 August 2025, raises it to five years, but only once its implementing regulation is issued, and that had not happened by mid-2026. If a passport timeline is part of your plan, confirm on the day rather than relying on either figure.

Source: Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones

Common mistakes to avoid

Accepting an offer without checking the employer's 20%/30% foreign-worker headroom.
Arriving without an apostilled criminal-record certificate from your home country.
Letting the 365-day status lapse and accruing daily fines.
Not tracking days spent outside Peru, and losing the three-year permanent-residence clock.
Planning around the digital-nomad status, which is legislated but not operational.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.