Hi Sunflower,
I'm Australian and similarly have only been allowed 90days which is due to expire in a few day. I was planning to get married before this time period however unforeseen circumstances such as covid infection, as well as my partner still being in hospital prevent this happening. My question is, now that I will be 'illegal' I assume I will not be allowed to either marry nor get a extension of the 90 days entry? Is there a way to extend so I can get married? If I do stay longer is it still possible to get married or as an illegal is that not possible? Information is extremely hard to obtain digitally. Regards Burt
- This commment is unpublished.@BURT Hello Burt,
First of all, I hope you are doing good, and your partner is getting better soon.
Yes, Australians as many other nationalities are only allowed to stay as tourists 90 days in a 183-day period.
Once your “tourist visa” expires, you are illegal in Peru. From that day on, your options are extremely limited. Most municipalities won’t allow you to marry, or even if, they might ask for a “permit to sign contracts” so you can sign your marriage certificate which you can’t get on an expired “tourist visa”. And even if you manage to get married, you can’t apply for a residence visa (change your status from tourist to family resident) when you are in the country on an expired visa.
And as far as I know, no matter the circumstances Migraciones won’t do extensions at the moment. However, you could always try to get in contact with them (try to call or use the chat on the Agencia Digital), explain your case and ask what options you have. Personally, I fear they can’t and won’t do anything.
So, the point is to find a tolerable solution for you and your partner. So, have you already started to prepare for your marriage (see our article “Marrying in Peru")? Have you already talked to the municipality you plan to marry? Do you already have all necessary documents? Do you already have the medical certificate? Or ideally, do you already have a date?
Personally, I think your only option is to leave Peru (best as long as your “tourist visa” is still valid; if not, so be it) and then return after a few days. Yes, you will return before your 183-day period is over and it’s uncertain how many days the immigration officer you have to face will give you when re-entering (other travelers reported they got anything between only 7 and 30 days). So be prepared that you might get scolded by the immigration officer, might have to explain your case, might have to beg for every single day. So, anything proving that you planned to marry when you first entered, that you and your partner got sick, that you already have done some preparation work for your marriage, etc. might be helpful, so you get as many days as possible. If it works? I don’t know, but it’s the only chance I see.
Before you leave Peru make sure that you can get married in the time frame you may get when re-entering. So, prepare as much as somehow possible, best have a date and then cross your fingers that the immigration officers has a heard.
Greetings
Eva
- This commment is unpublished.@Sunflower Thankyou for your well wishes, speedy and honest reply. As I imagined this would be the case. I have been coming here for 12 years now and have found that in the land of Adidas anything is possible, however, this is become more and more like a bad Adidas copy from Gamara. Cheers and best regards Burt
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- This commment is unpublished.@Abram Hello Abram,
Having money? Is this a nice paraphrase for bribing someone or paying an immigration lawyer enough money that he is handing out the bills at the right place?
Yes, as everyone who is familiar with Peru knows, unfortunately bribing someone at the right place can work until it doesn’t and you are in real trouble. We from LimaEasy and I personally do not support corruption and give advice based on current Peruvian laws / regulations and my personal experience.
As mentioned above, there are municipalities that might allow you to marry on an expired tourist visa (no need to bribe someone), but what comes after that? At the latest, when you try to apply for your residency - one requirement is to be on a valid visa / be legal in Peru - you hit yet another wall. While bribing someone at a municipality in my opinion is already bad enough, when buying off someone at Migraciones (as well through an immigration lawyer) to forget about this little requirement, you enter dangerous territory.
However, everyone must decide for themselves if greasing someone’s palm is the right way to go, start a marriage and a life in a new country.
Greetings
Eva
P.S. I only published one of your two comments as both were the same.
