Personally speaking, the only painful part in the whole planning of a trip is-to get the visa approval in time without much hassle.The reason it is so painful is because no matter how much effort one puts in ensuring, that all the documents are in place and every box on the check list is ticked- one can never be sure on whether in the end, they will get a visa or not.I was in the same predicament, when I decided to apply for my PERU visa, for a trip which I had to commence in three weeks. I had read online that for the citizens holding an American passport, the visa could be received at the airport after arrival or at the border(in case of using the ground transport). I for few days was very lax, thinking it would be the same for the rest of the world as well. But, I was wrong.
At the last minute, I decided to check online for the requirements for the Peru visa for an Indian passport holder. Thank god I did that, else I would have been in a situation where I would have been sent back home from the Peru border for not having completed the visa formalities.
Passport holders of countries not requiring to apply for a Visa in advance:
If you hold the passport of any of the countries listed below, then you don't have to bother applying for the visa in advance, and instead when you land at the Lima airport, you will just be required to fill up an Immigration Card. Based on it, you will be granted a stay of up ti 183 days.
- North America : Citizens of the United States, Canada and Mexico
- Central America : Citizens of all C.American countries(exception Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Dominican Rep.) - South America : Citizens of all South American countries
- Europe : Citizens of all countries within the European Union and Switzerland
- Africa : Citizens of South Africa
- Asia : Citizens of Brunei, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, - Philippines, Singapore and Thailand
- Oceania : Citizens of Australia and New Zealand
Passport holders of countries that require to apply for a Visa in advance:
The citizens of India, Pakistan, China and All African countries(except South Africa); need to apply for a Peruvian visa in advance and need to present the same, at the time of entering the country. The requirements are very simple and basic, and in my experience the embassy is not fussy unlike others that I have experienced in the past.
Since I currently reside in Ecuador(but am an Indian passport holder),I had to approach the Consulate of Peru(Consulado de Peru) in Guayaquil to submit the required documents.
The required documents that need to be submitted are:
- Written request stating the reason for the travel and time required stay in the Peru.(A simple word document stating that you are traveling for tourism purpose is sufficient. Refer attached image.)
- Proof of legal residency in the country you are applying for the visa.
- Passport with validity not less than six (6) months.
- Passage of entrance and exit of the Peru reserve.(If traveling by bus, please mention the same in the written request. No tickets required in this case.)
- Reservation of hotel or tour package.(If backpacking, and not booked hotels in advance, only provide the hotel reservation confirmation of your first city stop in Peru. Refer attached image.)
- Demonstrate economic solvency, copies of State of current account, savings or credit cards from the last month.
- Negative certificate of criminal record.
Once I had the set ready, I went and submitted the same at the counter of the Consulate. After the person had checked all the documents and was convinced of their correctness, he asked me to return after 4 days with a payment receipt of USD 30 from an affiliated bank(check from the counter for the bank details). All this was done in less than 15 minutes.
On day 4, I was back and voilà, my visa had been APPROVED.
I got my photograph for the visa clicked there at the consulate, and submitted my passport. The next day at the same time, I had my visa in hand. My entry to Peru was now secured and assured :).
My experience at the consulate was very smooth and quick. In exactly 5 days(not including Sat and Sun when the offices are closed), I had my visa in hand. But the same might not always be the case in the Peruvian embassies/consulates across the world. So, don't take the chance and apply for the visa as soon as your travel dates are confirmed.
The links below were what I referred to when I was searching for details on the process of applying:
1)Travisa
2)Limaeasy
Hope the information was helpful. Any more questions, please feel free to write to me. Will try and help in the best way possible.
Till then
Chao!
Adiós!
Hasta Luego!
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