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Foreigners planning to study at a Peruvian educational institution or to do an internship / apprenticeship (without payment!) at a Peruvian company, have to apply for a student visa.
Depending on the length of your studies in Peru, a temporary student visa, called Formación temporal (issued for studies less than 12 months) or a resident student visa, called Formación residente (for studies longer than 12 months) is issued.
However, in some cases, "short-term" students and participants of study abroad programs don't have to apply for a student visa at all but can do their studies on a tourist visa. So, best check with the Peruvian university, the organization of your exchange program or nearest Peruvian consulate if this exception might apply to you.
Please note: the Peruvian educational institution or training facility you plan to study / do an internship has to be recognized by the Peruvian Ministry of Education or the National Assembly of University Rectors.
Applying for a Student Visa
Officially, you can apply for a temporary or resident student visa at a Peruvian consulate abroad or at Migraciones in Peru. However, while diplomatic missions in the US and a few other countries issue the visa without a problem, consulates in other countries don't. So, students or interns enter Peru on a tourist visa and then change their immigration status from tourist to either temporary student or resident student - make a so called Cambio de calidad migratoria (as opposed to a Solicitud de calidad migratoria at a consulate) - at Migraciones.
Requirements for a Peruvian Student Visa
In mid-July 2021 the new TUPA (Texto Unico de Procedimientos Administrativos; Single Text of Administrative Procedures) went into effect, which is mainly based on the Peruvian Supreme Decree DS N° 002-2021-IN. This new legislation changes a few immigration processes, procedures, and requirements for some Migraciones paperwork.
So below, find the requirements according to the July 2021 TUPA. As the document is quite confusing, we recommend that those who prefer to read the original requirements either check out the official website of Peru (only for resident visa) or better the corresponding text passage of the Supreme Decree DS N° 002-2021-IN.
- For temporary student visa on page 29 in article 73-A “Procedimiento administrative de solicitud de calidad migratoria formación temporal” (when applying at a Peruvian consulate) or in article 73-C “Procedimiento administrativo de cambio de calidad migratoria formación temporal” on page 30 when applying at Migraciones in Peru.
- For resident student visa in article 83-A “Procedimiento administrative de Solicitud de Calidad Migratoria de Formación” on page 36 (when applying in Peru) or in article 83-B “Procedimiento administrative de cambio de calidad migratoria formacion residente” on page 37 when applying in Peru.
However, please be aware that Migraciones has the right to request other and / or additional documents at any time.
As the best source of information for applying abroad is the Peruvian consulate, below the requirements and a walk-trough of the application process when applying in Peru.
Requirement documents to apply for a student visa in Peru include, but may not be restricted to:
- Interpol clearance - Ficha de canje internacional (see below)
- Receipt for paid application fee (code Migraciones 07568; S/.162.50 in 2021)
- Passport (you will have to upload the page with your personal data and the one with the entry stamp as PDF)
- Police clearance certificate, criminal record and judicial matters check issued in the country of origin and, if the applicant lived in another country before coming to Peru, in the country of residence covering the last 5 years (*)
- For students: Enrollment certification issued by a recognized Peruvian educational institution
- For exchange students: Official letter from the foreign university or higher education institution that has to be legalized by the Peruvian Consulate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lima or has been stamped with an Apostille in the country of origin.
- For interns: Official letter from the Peruvian company
- Sworn statement stating that you (in case of minors the parents) have sufficient financial resources to fund your studies or internship in Peru
(*) This is a new requirement. For the past years, a sworn statement stating that you have a clean criminal record and no previous convictions was enough to satisfy Migraciones. However, the new Tupa and Supreme Decree now state that a police clearance certificate, criminal record and judicial matters check issued in the country of origin and, if the applicant lived in another country before coming to Peru, in the country of residence covering the last 5 years is required. Honestly at this moment, we don’t know if Migraciones will enforce this tighter requirement, especially as some countries don’t differentiate between the in Peru common “Antecedentes Policiales, Penales y Judiciales”. Therefore, we highly recommend checking with a Peruvian consulate before you leave for Peru.
Getting started ...
Before you can even start any temporary or resident visa application process, you first have to get the so-called “Ficha de Canje Internacional” from Interpol in Peru. Find a detailed description of how it’s done in our article “Interpol - Ficha de Canje Internacional”.
Make PDFs from your passport (page with your personal data and the one with the entry stamp), from a passport photo and your signature as well as from all other documents.
Applying for a student visa in Peru
Once you have the Ficha and all documents together, pay the fee of S/ 162.50 (2021) for the Migraciones administrative procedure “Cambio de Calidad Migratoria” under code 07568 at any Banco de la Nacion branch or ATM or on pagalo.pe. As you already paid the Interpol fee, you know how the systems works, otherwise check again in our article "Paying administration charges and processing fees in Peru".
!!!Please note!!! Since the introduction of the new immigration law, not only did some procedures and requirements change but also lots of codes needed to pay Migraciones fees. Until now, pagalo.pe isn't updated, and it's not possible - hopefully only for now - to pay online. So unfortunately, you have to pay all Migraciones related fees at the counter of a Banco de la Nacion branch.
Then open the Migraciones Agencia Digital. Choose "Extranjero" and enter the data requested. Enter your personal data exactly as in your passport.
On the next page you find on the left under “Cambio de Calidad Migratoria” the points “Formacion Temporal” and “Formacion Residente”. Choose the one that applies.
Then just follow the steps as indicated; nothing you can do wrong. Always check that all personal data you entered (or was automatically filled in) is 100% correct. If you apply for the first time your signature and passport photo might not be in the system yet. So, you have to download the App "Enrolamiento Móvil Migraciones" (available for Android and iOS), then scan the code that appears on the Agencia Digital and upload your photo and signature - probably this feature might be included soon into the Agencia Digital.
During the process - under “Pago por derecho de tramite” - you are asked to enter certain information of the bank receipt (click on the little arrow and the fields appear). If you don't know where to find the requested bank information on your receipt, click on the question mark.
Under “Documento de identificacion adminstrado” (click on the little arrow and the fields appear - here you can as well just check which documents are necessary and then leave the page without finishing the process), you have to upload requested documents as PDF.
At the end of the process - if everything works smoothly - you get the confirmation of your application. Download this document and / or print it and keep it safe. At the end of this document, you find the login data for the “Buzon Electronico” which you should check regularly for notifications from Migraciones (for example approval of your visa or request of uploading missing / other documents).
Getting your Carné (foreigner ID)
Once you get the confirmation that your student visa was approved, pay the fee of S/ 49.90 for the registration in the foreigner database and issuance of the carné (temporary student visa holders will get a so-called CTM (carné temporal migratorio), while resident student visa holders get the carné de extranjeria) . As described above, at the moment you can only pay at any Banco de la Nacion branch.
Then once again enter the Agencia Digtal to do the online registration under “Inscr. Reg. central extranjeria”. As before just follow the steps as indicated, check that all information is correct. At the end you get a confirmation which you should download and / or print and keep safe.
With the confirmation in hand or on your mobile device the carné is in the process of issuance and you can make an appointment on the Agencia Digital under “Citas en linea” to pick up your carné. Once again download and / or print the confirmation and keep it safe.
On the day of your appointment arrive at Migraciones 15 - 30 minutes early. Take your passport and confirmation(s) with you. Migraciones personal will point you in the right direction where you are handed you carné.
Congratulations! You made it!
Can I work on a student visa in Peru?
No! The Peruvian student visa doesn’t allow foreigners to work or engage in any professional activity receiving a remuneration. To do a professional (paid) internship or to work during official university vacations foreign students can apply for a special authorization to work. This is done on the Agencia Digital under "Permisos".
Please note: We from LimaEasy are not the Peruvian immigration authority Migraciones or a Peruvian consulate. All information is published to our best knowledge and should be seen as general guidance introducing you to Peruvian procedures. All information is subject to change, as regulations, requirements and processes can change quickly without prior notice! Therefore we recommend checking the current regulations with the nearest Peruvian consulate or, if you are already in Peru, with Migraciones!
