A participant in the Peru forum sent me some PM messages today .. and seems to be having trouble finding visa information. That's not surprising as Expat arrivals in Peru have slowed in the covid era .. and participation in the Peru forum has been spotty, making reliable updates rare.
In order that more members possibly benefit, I am responding to that member on this new thread.
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When I last entered Peru, where I spent most of 2019, I came in on the usual tourist stamp at the Lima airport, good for 90 days. The immigration officer told me they had just changed the rules .. and 180 days for a tourist stamp was no longer available. (Technically, the free tourist stamp is not a visa.)
I overstayed the 90 permitted días, knowing that Peru is lenient about overstays. When I departed Peru by air, there was an easy procedure at the airport to pay a couple hundred dollars U.S. (under $2 per overstayed day) and no penalty other than the cash payment.
Legally, I could have renewed at much less cost at the 90-day mark, but for personal reasons, I did not. I ended up exceeding the 180 days total anyway.
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I have never sought a long-term visa for Peru, so I'm no expert on that. Should I ever seek a visa for Peru, I would have a visa specialist advise me and get me through the process for a few hundred dollars. If you can't or won't pay such a fee in order to succeed at such an important transaction, you should possibly consider getting a visa in Cuenca, Ecuador, where they historically have been staffed with bilinguals to assist Expats. Of course, that puts you in Ecuador, not Peru. 
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In several trips to Peru totaling well over a year, staying in Miraflores, Lima, I was never approached on the street by police or immigration officers checking my status or legality. This was in marked contrast to my stays in Colombia, where cops and officers questioning me (usually in a friendly manner) did happen from time to time in multiple cities. Part of my time in Colombia I had my Ecuador-plated car with me, so that drew some of the police stops.
cccmedia
Overstaying and Peru Visa Matters
A check of the U.S. Embassy in Peru website indicates at least one important change in the covid era.
The website says extensions to a 90-day tourist stamp are no longer available.
Plan your next trip to Peru accordingly.
Also, know that not everything that you read on embassy websites these days is accurate, and is probably subject to change as well.
cccmedia
I have imminent plans to move to Peru, when I retire, this summer. Of course, I will stay in Canada until I'm fully vaccinated against COVID. I have been trying to get a solid answer on the visa options and have three fairly reliable stories...
One is that I should NOT get a Rentista (retirement) visa, for which I would fully qualify, but would not allow me to have financial dealings in Peru, so if I follow my plan of establishing a finca (a farm with agriculture and animals) and raising cuy (guinea pigs) for sale as food in Peru and potentially to export as pets to the U.S..
Second is the Tourista visa, which supposedly would allow me to stay in Peru for 183 days, leave the country and apply for another 183 days. I could also have fnancial dealings with this visa.
Third, I just read that the Tourista visa is only good for 183 days per calendar year, which was not even on my radar, as far as retirement plans go.
I have contacted the Peruvian embassy in my home city and they told me that they couldn't assist me in any way. The website states that I need to get certain documents and notarizations in Canada and in Peru, but my head is swimming with teh differing stories about the visas.
I will contact the Canadian embassy in Peru, this week, hoping for clarification, but any advice is welcome, particularly from expat Canadians in Peru on their experiences.
Cheers.
Dear Passport,
If you post again about visas, please also tell us why you want to relocate in the little-known (to North American Expats) beach-area town of Monsefú south of Chiclayo in the northern province of Lambayeque.
Favorable beach-town weather? Reputation for great seafood? The annual festival? All of the above?
cccmedia
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