The first weeks in Peru: what has to happen on arrival and after
The most important thing in your first weeks in Peru is the carné de extranjería, because without that card you cannot join the SIS or exchange your driving licence. You first need an Interpol certificate for it. Clocks are also running for your household goods, your licence, your tax and every change you have to report.
4 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
The first weeks in Peru revolve around one document: the carné de extranjería, your identity card as a foreign resident. Without that card you cannot join the SIS, the public health insurance, or get a Peruvian driving licence. For the application you first need an Interpol certificate, which you obtain in Peru. Migraciones gives no deadline for the application; do it in your first weeks anyway.
| What | Deadline | More |
|---|---|---|
| Collect the visa at the consulate | within 30 calendar days after Foreign Affairs has been informed of the approval | the residence routes |
| Declare cash | on arrival, above US$ 10,000 | banking and payments |
| Pet to SENASA | on arrival at the airport; deworming at most 30 days old | pet to Peru |
| Interpol certificate | at most 6 months old when you apply for the carné | registration and numbers |
| Carné de extranjería | no deadline given; you must be in Peru | registration and numbers |
| Household goods in | from 1 month before to 6 months after your arrival | household goods to Peru |
| Change of address or job | report to Migraciones within 30 days | registration and numbers |
| Dutch driving licence | the first 6 months at most | car and driving licence |
| Tax resident | after more than 183 days within 12 months, from the following 1 January | AOW, pension and tax |
| Voluntary AOW insurance | within a year of no longer being insured | SVB |
What happens on arrival?
You enter with the resident visa you collected at the consulate. Under the regulation you collect that visa in your country of origin or where you habitually live, within thirty calendar days after Foreign Affairs has been informed of the approval.
At customs you use the Declaración Jurada de Equipaje to declare what is taxed or restricted. If you carry more than US$ 10,000 in cash or securities, you declare that too. If you have a dog or cat with you, go to the SENASA desk at the airport for the inspection.
What do you arrange in the first weeks?
The Interpol certificate and then the carné. You get the Interpol certificate by appointment at the Interpol office of the police, with your passport and a copy of your entry stamp. You apply for the carné online at Migraciones, with the certificate attached and S/ 24 paid. You must be in Peru during the application; if you have to leave in between, you ask for permission first.
The Interpol certificate may be no more than six months old when you apply for the carné. Only get it when you will submit the application straight afterwards, and not in the first days if you are then going travelling for a month.
Meanwhile you can live. If you rent, the landlord has to register you as a foreign tenant with Migraciones; see renting in Peru. Until your carné arrives you have no SIS; so keep your travel or international health insurance; see healthcare in Peru.
And once the carné is there?
Then a lot opens up at once. With the carné you join the SIS, open a bank account, and enrol your children at school if that has not happened yet; see banking and payments and school in Peru. If you have income in Peru, such as rent or your own work, you register with SUNAT for a RUC.
The driving licence has its own clock. According to the Ministry of Transport you drive with your Dutch licence for the first six months at most, and then only if an international treaty applies. Plan the exchange, with a theory exam, well within that time.
Which other clocks are running?
Your household goods must be in the country within six months of your arrival. Every move or new employer you report to Migraciones within 30 days. After more than 183 days in twelve months you become a tax resident; that status counts from 1 January of the following year. And anyone outside Peru for more than 183 consecutive days loses their residence status; for a permanent resident that limit is 365 days.
On the Dutch side the SVB deadline runs: within a year of no longer being insured, you apply for voluntary AOW insurance, if you want it. How all these steps fit into your order is in the route to Peru.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.7: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Peru or go straight to step 2.7 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- SUNAT — what you declare on arrival in Peru, including cash above US$ 10,000 — gob.pe
- Decreto Legislativo 1350 and its regulation — collecting the visa within 30 days (art. 102), the reporting duty (art. 47) and the absence rule (art. 33) — cdn.www.gob.pe
- Migraciones — applying for the carné de extranjería with a resident visa — gob.pe
- Ministry of the Interior — the Ficha de Canje Internacional (Interpol) — gob.pe
- SIS — SIS Para Todos, with DNI or carné de extranjería — gob.pe
- SENASA — the pet on arrival at the airport — gob.pe
- SUNAT — menaje de casa, arrival between one month before and six months after the traveller — gob.pe
- Migraciones — the register of foreign tenants (Decreto Supremo 011-2024-IN) — gob.pe
- MTC — with a foreign driving licence for the first six months (February 2026) — gob.pe
- Ley del Impuesto a la Renta, chapter II — tax resident after more than 183 days, from the following 1 January — sunat.gob.pe
- SVB — applying for voluntary AOW insurance within a year — svb.nl
Read on
- PeruAankomst in Peru4 min
Children and school in Peru: enrolment, the school year and revalidation
Your child can be enrolled in Peru at any school in any district, with a carné de extranjería or passport. Public schools are free and may not require an entrance exam. The school year starts in March. Because the Netherlands has no education treaty with Peru, you have earlier school years revalidated at the ministry in Lima.
Updated 15 October 2026
- PeruAankomst in Peru4 min
Registration and numbers in Peru: carné de extranjería, CUE and RUC
After arriving with a resident visa you apply to Migraciones for the carné de extranjería, your identity card in Peru. You first need an Interpol certificate for it. The card costs S/ 24 and is valid for four years. You only need a RUC, the SUNAT tax number, once you have income in Peru, such as rent or your own work.
Updated 15 October 2026
- PeruAankomst in Peru4 min
Banking and payments in Peru: opening an account, the ITF and the S/ 2,000 limit
Since June 2025 you may also open a simple Peruvian bank account, the cuenta básica, with your passport. Every deposit or withdrawal costs a 0.005% transaction tax, and amounts from S/ 2,000 or US$ 500 must go through the bank. Your AOW arrives in euros; keep your Dutch account as well.
Updated 15 October 2026