Tourist visa extension in Peru online

This is the first online form you’ll need to fill in to get your tourist visa extension in Peru (screenshot from Migraciones website)

As of May 2018, you can now extend your Peruvian “tourist visa” (what is actually a Tarjeta Andina, or TAM entry-exit card) by applying online. This process if known as the Prórroga de Permanencia como Turista (“Extension of Permanence as a Tourist”) and can be carried out at the official Migraciones website.

So, for example, if you were given 30 or 90 days when you first entered Peru and later decide you want to stay longer, you can apply online for more time, up to an additional 90 days. Any extensions, of course, cannot pass the maximum allotted time in Peru (for a tourist), which is 183 days in a 365-day period. I highly recommend also reading How Long Can You Stay in Peru as a Tourist? as it clears up some of the oddities you might come across when dealing with Migraciones in Peru.

Before you carry on reading: I had a conversation with a guy from Migraciones a while ago (via Facebook messenger) about various errors and oddities in the online system, and conflicting info being given by Migraciones officials. And, according to him, only citizens from the Comunidad Andina and Mercosur nations (so some South American countries, basically) should be able to extend their stay in Peru online. The fact that many people from Europe, the USA and elsewhere have successfully extended their tourist visas online was a surprise for him and his colleagues, and they say they’ll look into it. So… it’s a bit of a mess. But for now at least, it seems like you can still extend your visa online, even though officially it shouldn’t work. You should go do the extension in person at a Migraciones office, but feel free to try either/both.

Requirements for Extending Your Stay in Peru

Before you try to extend your stay in Peru online, have a look at the requirements that need to be met according to the official guidelines for the Prórroga de Permanencia at the Migraciones website (click to open this in a new tab, as you’ll need it to fill out the extension application). Before you apply, you must have:

  • The correct migratory status in Peru. Only tourists who have entered Peru with a standard Tarjeta Andina (TAM Virtual), and therefore have the official status of “temporary authorization to enter as a tourist,” can apply for this extension online. If you previously had to apply for a tourist visa for Peru at a consulate before you traveled, then this is not for you.
  • A valid current status in Peru. In other words, you must not have already overstayed your initially allotted time in Peru when you try to apply for your extension. It will be rejected if you have already overstayed (you can read more about the Peru overstay fine here). And, as mentioned above, you must not have already spent more than 183 days in Peru during the current 365-day period.
  • A valid passport (make sure it hasn’t expired).
  • Your receipt for the payment of the visa extension process. Yep, it’s not free to extend your stay in Peru. But the good news is it only costs S/ 11.70 soles (about $3.50 US). You can pay this at any branch of the Banco de la Nación. Tell them you need to pay for the Prórroga de Permanencia, which has the code 1857. Keep the receipt safe. You can also pay online at the bank’s pagalo.pe website, in which case you’ll get the receipt by email.

For How Long Can You Extend Your Time in Peru?

According to Migraciones, you can extend your stay in Peru for a maximum of three months. Whether that is considered to be 90 days is unclear, but I’d imagine it is. And, again, remember that you cannot extend beyond the total time allowed in Peru, which is 183 days per 365-day period. If, for example, you were given 140 days when you entered Peru (not likely to happen, just theoretically), you’d only be able to extend for 43 more days, taking you to the 183-day limit.

Migraciones also notes that anyone wanting to extend their stay for more than three months (up to the 183-day max.) must first go to Interpol (in Lima) for clearance. Details on this are a little thin right now. I’ll update if I get some more info.

How to Do Your Tourist Visa Extension for Peru Online

OK, now that you’ve got your head around all of the above, it’s just a matter of heading over to the Prórroga de Permanencia en Línea (PRPL) page at the Migraciones website and filling in the form. Filling in forms at the Migraciones website is a notorious pain in the ass, however, so don’t expect it to be sooth sailing all the way.

First, click on the button that says Generar Prórroga (or click here). Now fill in all of the fields. It’s all in Spanish with no translation options, for now at least, so here’s a brief rundown of what you’re looking at:

  • Documento — Select the type of document you used when you entered Peru, probably your passport.
  • Número de Documento —  Enter your passport number.
  • Nacionalidad — Select your nationality from the drop-down menu.
  • Primer Apellido — Your first surname. If you only have one surname, then enter it here.
  • Segundo Apellido — Your second surname. Leave this blank if you only have one surname (it’s not a required field).
  • Nombres — Your given name(s), exactly as they appear on your passport.
  • Fecha de Nacimiento — Your date of birth.
  • E-mail– Your email address.
  • Días Prorroga Solicitados — The amount of additional days you are requesting. This should be up to a maximum of 90, as long as you’re not exceeding the 183-day maximum. If your request isn’t going through, try fiddling with the  numbers (see comment below).
  • Once you’re done, fill in the captcha and hit the Continuar button.

If some kind of miracle occurs, everything will work just fine and you’ll receive your requested extension. If so, you should receive some kind of certification with a code (which takes the place of the stamp you’d previously receive in your passport). But plenty of people have had problems completing the online extension….

Problems With the Online Visa Extension for Peru

If you receive an error message at any stage of the online visa extension process, don’t panic — plenty of people have run into problems (see comments section below for various examples). Error messages are common, including messages that say you don’t exist, or that your bank receipt number doesn’t exist, and other existential conundrums.

Sometimes people also try to extend their visa too early. I’m not too sure what the exact time frame is, but it seems best to extend when you only have 10 days, or maybe a couple of weeks, left before your current tourist visa expires.

If you do run into problems, feel free to ask in the comments section below. But a lot of these bugs are totally random and often the best way to get everything sorted out is to visit your nearest immigration office in Peru.

Tourist Visa Extensions in Peru for Your Kids

If you try to do the online extension for your child, and your child is 16 or under, you’ll get the following message: La prórroga de permanencia en línea no está habilitada para menores de edad, usted deberá acercarse a las oficinas de migraciones. (“The online extension of stay is not enabled for minors, you should go to a migrations office”).

In which case, make sure you’ve fulfilled all the requirements mentioned in the article above, and then go to your nearest Migraciones office to get the extension.

Have You Tried Doing a Tourist Visa Extension in Peru?

If you’ve tried doing your online tourist visa extension in Peru, I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below. Being a new system, it’s almost certainly going to throw up a few snags, bugs and oddities. If you have any questions about getting your tourist visa extension in Peru, feel free to ask.