Lima on $500 a month

Updated 2 April 2014

People tend to believe that because Peru is not a first world country, things are very expensive. However, this is not true. One thing that makes Peru a developing country is the large divide between rich and poor. Housing, for example can be cheap, but you will get what you pay for. Learning about Peruvian culture will help you enormously as well. Do your research before you go. There's a lot of information online, such as Expat Peru and Expatriates in Peru (Facebook). Don't just take my word for it, look at what other expats have to say about living in Lima.
 
Housing
Your biggest expense by far will be housing. So if you can find a cheap place to live, that's half the battle. Furnished housing is by far more expensive than unfurnished housing. So if you're planning on staying for a bit, go for the latter option. In Lima, your best bets are San Luis, Surquillo, San Miguel, Jesus Maria, Lince, Barranco, Chorillos and some parts of Surco and San Borja.

We spent about five months in Miraflores, one of the top-end districts in Lima. I hated it. We constantly battled mold as it was near the ocean. When we lived in Surquillo, have a much bigger place and no mold. You'll probably spend about $100 to $200 on housing. Another plus about living in the districts above is that utilities are cheaper. We pay half of what we did in Miraflores.

Transport
Although many foreigners and some Peruvians will tell you that the combis, buses, aren't that safe, I think they're a lot safer than taking taxis and heaps safer than driving yourself around. Combis have routes they follow, unlike taxis which weave all around. Combis charge you a set rate, but you have to ask a taxi driver how much it costs beforehand. If you look foreign or don't speak Spanish, expect to be charged double. I enjoy taking combis, you tend to run into people you know, and you can people watch. Most combis charge one sol or 1.20 soles. A 45-minute combi ride to work is only one sol. If you're going for a short distance, you should only pay "una china", 50 cents, but be sure to ask before you get on the combi.


Groceries
There are lots of supermarkets, but prices tend to be higher than in other places. Eco is a cheaper supermarket. It carries the same things as more expensive supermarkets, a branch of the Wong supermarket. We go to Eco weekly and probably spend about 60 soles, whereas if we went to other supermarkets, we'd pay nearly 100 soles for the same things.

Another good place for grocery shopping is the market. Markets are all over the place. They allow you to get a glimpse of how Peruvians shop. You'll find fresh foods and veggies, even homemade sauces, such as aji.

Shopping
Markets are the best places to shop. Be sure sure to ask for a discount; you can usually get a couple of soles knocked off. In general the shops in the front charge more than those inside. A tip, if you're going to a market, make sure you wear old clothes, no jewelery and hide your money well.

Polvos Rosados is usually where tourists go, but if you cross the streets to Polvos de Higuereta, you'll find better quality, cheaper prices and a cleaner atmosphere. Next to Polvos Rosados is CC de los Altos, which is right on Ovalo Higuereta in Miraflores. There are lots of little kiosks.

El Hueco in Abancay in the center and El Mercado Central are huge markets. I've gone to both, and prefer to go with my husband rather than alone as it's in a bit of a rough neighbourhood. If you look foreign, I wouldn't recommend it unless your Spanish is super. You can find good bargains, though. People come from Chile and Ecuador just to go shopping. It's a sprawling market with blocks and blocks of shops.

A good place for furniture is Plaza Hogar in Av. Angamos in Surquillo. We just bought a dresser and closet there for about $200. Things are often made by hand (even sanded by hand), and you can choose from different woods and varnishes. Av. Angamos also has lots of stores that sell mattresses.

Going Out
There are good freebie places in Lima, such as Parque Kennedy, the Plaza de Parmas, Parque de la Muralla, or the Cathedral of Lima (but only on Sundays during Mass). You can also walk along Larco and look at all the souvenirs that shops there sell.

If you're going into discos, go early as prices tend to be cheaper then. Movies usually have lower prices on Tuesdays. Many pizza joints have two-for-one deals on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For restaurants, look for the smaller hole-in-the-wall places off the main streets. Not only do they usually have cheaper prices, but the food is better. Beaches are also free and great places to relax and people watch.

This article was featured in Boots N All.

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Affadivit of Single Status for US citizens to Get Married in Peru

I know you're head over heels in love, but take a look at reality and the stats about divorce. People are living a long time and you need to think about the future. Sit down with your spouse to be and have a heart to heart. Decide if marriage is right for you. Things I wish I'd known before I got married and 10 conversations to have before you get married are incredibly useful. If this isn't your first marriage, then you have more stacked against you: you're more likely to get divorced, yet again. Saving your second marriage before it starts should definitely be on your reading list.

Affadivit of Single Status for US citizens (Courtesy of Southbound)
The easiest way is to go to the records department at the county clerk and ask for your marriage certificate. If you're single they will give you a "Record Not Found" which means that you are single. If you are divorced, you will have to get your divorce certificate. Remember that you will then have to get this apostillised. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info. After that, the translation will have to be legalised by Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (RREE). For the address, directions, costs, and more information, please see Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (RREE).

OR: Go to your embassy and ask them to notarise a statement that says that you swear that you're single. The majority of embassies already have this document prepared.

OR: You can sign the document below in front of a notary public. This makes it a binding statement and recognized by the Superior Court. Once you get this it has to be apostillised. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info. You can find more info at Travel.State.Gov

Sample Affadivit of Single Status
Name and Address of the County Court
Phone and Fax

Affidavit of Single Status
Declaración Jurada de Estado Individual

On this day of: _____ I, the undersigned
En este día de: Yo, los infrascritos

Full Name:________ ( )Male ( )Female
Nombre completo ( )Hombre ( )Mujer

Date of Birth: _______ Place of Birth: _______
Fecha de nacimiento Lugar de nacimiento

Social Security Number: __________ Passport Number: __________
Número de seguridad social____ Número de pasaporte

Current Employer: ____________________
Empleador actual
Address (street, city, state, zip): ____________
Dirección

Residing at (street, city, state, zip) _________________
Que residen en (dirección)

Being dutifully sworn, hereby solemnly declare that, under the laws of the United States of America, I have never been married / or was divorced/widowed on ________ (Date / Fecha), and have never been remarried since that date/ and am fully qualified to marry the following Peruvian citizen:

Se obedientemente jurado, declaran solemnemente por la presente que, bajo las leyes de los Estados Unidos de América, nunca han casado / o era divorciadas y viudas en ____________ (fecha / date) y volvió a no han nunca se casar desde esa fecha / y estoy completo para casarse con el siguiente ciudadano peruano:

Full Name: __________ ( ) Male ( )Female
Nombre completo ( )Hombre ( )Mujer

Date of Birth: ___________ Place of Birth: _______
Fecha de nacimiento Lugar de nacimiento

Peruvian National Document of Identity (DNI) number: ___________ (if any)
Documento Nacional de Identidad de Peru (DNI)

Permanent Address: __________________
Dirección de permanent

I declare that the statements made in this affidavit are true and correct and I take full responsibility for them under the United States law of perjury. I also declare that I shall marry the above named person according to the laws of the Republic of Peru.

Declaro que las declaraciones formuladas en esta declaración jurada son la verdadera y correcta y tomo plena responsabilidad para ellos en virtud de la legislación de Estados Unidos de perjurio. Declaro también que será casarse lo anterior denominado persona acuerdo con las leyes de la República del Perú.

Signature of Applicant (full name): ______________
Firma del solicitante (nombre completo):
For the Notary Public: Para el notario público

Sworn to and subscribed before me on this _____ day of ________.
Jurado y suscrito delante de mí en este día

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Lawyers in Peru

Updated 8 August 2016

I do not personally endorse any of the lawyers or law firms below. It is your responsibility to carefully research each one. Here are some issues you need to think about to make sure you find a good lawyer. The following lawyers have been recommended by expats. The US embassy also has a list of recommended lawyers you might want to check out. The Facebook group, Expatriates in Peru also might be a good place to get recommendations for lawyers.

• Carmen Patricia Galdos Kajatt: 372-1916, 9985-5109, 9275-3253, cgaldosk2004@yahoo.com
• Cesar Picciotti: ccpicciotti@yahoo.com 
• Delgado Pacheco Law
• Dimas R. Maldonado G.: Calle Pablo Usandizada N. 669, Urb. Las Begonias, San Borja, 226-8737 or 9962-89665
• Divorcio Peru
• Dr. Guillermo Freund: 9791-8125, 9791-8123. Speaks English. He’s familiar with land purchase as a foreigner.
• Dr. José Talavera: 440-5408
• Martin Becerra: 442-1700, ebecerravega@speedy.com.pe
• Mi Divorcio en Peru
• Pan American Law Office SA
• Patricia Simmons: Said to be one of the best.  
• Quest Lawyer Brokers: they'll find you an affordable lawyer to help you. 
• Dra. Silvia (Lanatta) Chiappe: silvialanatta@yahoo.it 446-3382. Speaks Spanish, English, and Italian. She is familiar with property, trusts, inheritances, and divorce.
• Yori Abogados
• Yvonne Espinal Dolorier: 358-9080, espinaldolorier@yahoo.es Specialises in divorce.

Online Legal Advice About Peru

• Expat Peru
• Global Property Guide they have a section on lawyers.

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Translators, Notaries, Legalisations, and Apostillisations in Peru

Updated 23 November 2015

Below you can find information for using documents in Peru and abroad. Here are some issues you need to think about to make sure you find a good lawyer.
 

Using Peruvian Documents Abroad
You can find steps at Using Peruvian Documents Abroad. Apostillisations are for Peruvian documents that are going to be used abroad in countries that are part of the Hague Agreement, like the US and the UK. You can read more about apostillisations in Peru and the Hague Agreement. Legalisations are for foreign documents from non Hague Agreement countries that are going to be used in Peru or Peruvian documents that are going to be used in non Hague Agreement countries, like Canada.

Validating Degrees
Validation is different that legalisation and apostillisation. Here's some info about the validation process.

Recommended Translators

• Jose Antonio Nino de Guzman, C.Jan Traducciones SAC. Ocharan 444. He is in Miraflores off of Larco. Dpt 103 B. tel: 243-0053. cel: 97215022 jantraducciones@gmail.com Someone commented that he charges 150 soles for a birth certificate and divorce certificate to be officially translated. This did NOT include the RREE stamps. He suggests you avoid this translator because his service is VERY expensive compared to the other translators on this page.
• Liliana Ibanez is an official translator in San Isidro. She's off Camino Real just a few blocks from Ovalo Gutierrez. Miguel Dasso 126 Office 301. 441-2122, 998379514. Fax 441-4122, ibaneztraducciones@gmail.com
• Luis Legua. He was recommended because he is fast and does impeccable work plus his rates are very reasonable. His email is english-spanish@hotmail.com
• SEPROADSAC Translators. They actually do business as LexiTrans. Las Begonias 552, Of. 16, San Isidro. Fax: 442-7429. Their phone numbers are 222-0019 and 441-2913. They do the translation, plus the trips to the notary, Colegio de Notarios and RREE. A birth cert cost me 100 soles.
• Shannon Abad does English, Italian, French, Spanish, and German. Although she's not an official translator, she has a business, ConsultUSPeru and helps expats here in Peru. shannonabad1111@msn.com . They also have a Facebook group.

Official Translations

• Only official translations are accepted by the Peruvian government and they have to be done in Lima. A list of official translators can be found at RREE (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores)  or you can go directly to the PDF version.
• Living in Peru has a list of Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, and Russian translators. For times, directions, and more information, see Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (RREE).

Foreign Documents NOT in Spanish
If you need a document that's not in Spanish translated in order to get married or for visa reasons, you will have to have it apostillised and officially translated. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info. If it's not in Spanish, you have to get it translated by an official translator and get the translation legalised. (I know this sounds complicated, but you can pay translators to do this and it's worth it).

Your best bet is going to an official translator and paying them to do everything for you, there are some recommended ones above. It saves a lot of time and frustration, also they know the steps, so you won’t be running around needlessly. They don’t charge too much and it’s well worth it. For example, I needed my degree to be legalised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (RREE). The translator charged me 200 soles and this was for all the stamps and translation. I dropped my degree off on Friday at the translator’s office and they delivered it to my house on Thursday with everything ready to go. Shorter documents cost less, the same translator charged me 100 soles for my birth cert, and took it around to get stamped and signed, just like my degree.

Foreign Documents in Spanish
If you need to get documents legalised that are in SPANISH, then just get it apostillised. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info. If the document is from Peru, it will have to be legalised from the place where you got it. For example, my marriage cert is from RENIEC, I have to pay about 17 soles at RENIEC to have it legalised, after that I can take it to RREE.

Apostillisations and Legalisations at the MFA (RREE)
Peru joined the Hague Agreement in September 2010. If you want to use your foreign documents in Peru you will have to do one of two things.

• If your documents are from countries that are part of the Hague Agreement, such as the US and the US, then they the documents need to be apostillised in your home country and not at the Peruvian embassies and consulates abroad.
• If, however, your documents are from a non Hague Agreement country, such as Canada, then you have to get the legalised in the Peruvian embassy.

First, follow the steps above according to what language your document is in. Here's some useful info, in Spanish, about legalisations at RREE. Then take them to Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Peru. There is also a RREE in Cusco. See the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores website for more info.

Anyone can bring the documents to be legalised, it does not have to be the applicant. It takes 1 day to process your request for a legalisation and about two weeks for an apostillisation. (There are exceptions to the 1 day rule. If you show that you have a bus or plane ticket leaving Lima or Peru the SAME day, then you can pick up your legalisation in the afternoon. You MUST show the original ticket and a copy.)

• Hours are now 8:15 to 2:30pm to drop off documents. To pick up it's 8:15 to 4pm
• Address: Avenida Lampa 545 in Centro de Lima. It's near Abancay, if you get off at Hiraoka, then you have to walk about four blocks.
• Bring: the orginal, a copy of the orginal, your ID (CE, DNI, or passport) and a copy of your ID. Lines are long, expect it to take 30 minutes to an hour.
• You'll have to pay a fee around $10.
• If you have a foreign document and you got it legalised in your embassy here in Peru, instead of the Peruvian embassy / consulate in your country, you also have to pay $37.50 in addition to the regular fee. However, if your embassy in Peru gave you the orginal document, then you just have to pay the regular fee.

Steps

1. Show your documents at Line 1 or 2. They'll give you a ticket and slip of paper. Fill out the little paper with your personal details and the number of the ticket they gave you. They'll also take your originals. If they are Peruvian documents, first they have to be legalised by the authorising center. For example, birth, marriage, and death certificates would have to be legalised at RENIEC. So before you go to RREE, you will have to get the documents legalised first.
2. Then you go in another line to pay at Interbank. Give them the ticket and the slip of paper. They'll give you back both of them, plus a receipt.
3. Then go back to the orginal line you were in, either line 1 or 3 and give them everything. They will take the ticket they gave you and the receipt from Interbank. You keep the ticket.
4. You will need the ticket and your ID to pick up the documents. Pick the documents when they tell you to. You must pick up your document within 30 days of dropping it off.

Notarisations and Certified Copies Documents may also have to be notarized, which can be done at any public notary and they usually charge around 5 soles. Certified copies can also be made at notaries. For both you will have to show the copy, the original, plus a form of ID (CE, DNI, or passport). Usually you show them everything, pay, leave the copies and pick them up in a couple of hours.

Recommended Notaries
Some notaries that have been recommended are in San Isidro near MAC, and in Miraflores, 5th and 6th blocks of Jorge Basadre near Vivanda. Also see this post on lawyers as many of the lawyers are also notaries.

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How to Get Married in Peru

Updated 23 October 2017

*** Rules often change, so be sure to check with the Municipality where you're going to get married.***

Visas
If you'd like to live in Peru after you get married, you can find the information that you need in steps for a marriage visa and getting a CE (resident permit).

Cultural Issues
Learn about cultural issues. There are lots of good books written about Peruvian culture that can help you learn more about your spouse's culture. Another tip to remember is that speaking Spanish will help you greatly. If you're looking to learn Spanish, check out Rosetta Stone.

Practical Advice
I know you're head over heels in love, but take a look at reality and the stats about divorce. People are living a long time and you need to think about the future. Sit down with your spouse to be and have a heart to heart. Decide if marriage is right for you. Things I wish I'd known before I got married and 10 conversations to have before you get married are incredibly useful. If this isn't your first marriage, then you have more stacked against you: you're more likely to get divorced, yet again. Saving your second marriage before it starts should definitely be on your reading list. If you're sure that, they're "the one", then be sure to make a wedding registry!

Civil and Religious Ceremonies
Only civil ceremonies are legal, so if you want to get married in the church, first you have to get married in the municipality (town hall). Exact requirements vary, so check with your municipality.

Name Changes
Name changes are optional. If you change your name and get a new passport, you MUST transfer your visa from your old passport to your new passport. You cannot just simply leave on a completely new passport. The only exception would be for Peruvian citizens.

Requirements Vary from Municipality to Municipality!

People have reported that getting married in a small town is much easier since they often have more lax requirements, may not require things such as an AIDS test or apostillisation, may accept documents last minute, and may not have a waiting period before you can get married. See Tanya's story below.

Preparation Time
Getting married in Peru can be a headache. It usually takes between 2-4 months if your documents are not in Spanish; it will take less time if they're already in Spanish. If you both are foreigners, you can still get married in Peru. Just follow get the documents required for foreigners.

Documents should be recent
In theory, all the documents that you use should have been issued within the last 90 days. However, some countries don't issue new birth certificates. Don't worry. You should be fine. If you can get a new birth cert then ask the municipality if you need it. If you were born in the USA, you have to have the records office at the county clerk and they will issue you another birth cert or a certified true copy. The same goes for single certificates or divorce papers, they should be recent. You can get them from the records office in your country or get a single certificate from your embassy.

Getting Married if You're Divorced

1. If you get married after a divorce you will have more paperwork to do. Both sets of birth and divorce documents must be signed by apostillised. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info. If your country is not part of the Hague Agreement (Canada for example), then you have to get your documents legalised at the Peruvian embassy in that country, then legalised at the Ministero de Relacciones Exteriores (RREE). The same process is required for the divorce certificate, except what you seek from the court is the official judgement nisi. So you must find out the process within the county in which you were divorced to acquire that judgement nisi. Some Secretary of State's office will accept the judgement nisi directly without a notary or county clerk signature.
2. Once legalized, the documents must be officially translated by accepted translators, see the list on the Ministerio's website.
3. Some municipalities have waiting periods after a divorce. Ask yours if they require you to wait a certain amount of time.
4. If you're a woman, foreign or Peruvian, you may have to undergo a pregnancy test if you get re-married within a year of your divorce. If found to be pregnant a DNA test will probably be requested to find out who the father is.
5. Follow the rest of the steps below for marriage.

Certificate of Being Single
You have a few choices to get a single certificate.

• If you're from the US you should go to the county where you last held residency and ask them to search for your marriage. They will get you a page that says "Record Not Found", which means that you're single. If you're divorced, ask for your divorce certificate.
• You can sign an affadivit of single status. You might want to use the affadivit anyways because then you don't have to pay for the translation.
• You can go to your embassy here in Peru and ask them to give you an affadivit that says you're single. Most embassies will give you one that's in the country's language and in Spanish so you don't have to get it translated, but you will have to get it legalised by RREE. In the US, most banks have public notaries that will notarise documents for free if you have an account at their bank.  

What You Need to Get Married in a Civil Ceremony in Peru

• Peruvians need: Original birth certificate and DNI (National ID Document).
• Foreigners need: Original birth certificate, a certificate saying that you are single (or your divorce certificate), a photocopy of your passport, your CE (if you have one). All documents need to be appostillised or authenticated at the Peruvian embassy / consulate. Documents not in Spanish need to be translated and then apostillised.
• Documents required: An application form listing basic information as well as the information about your two witnesses (they should be Peruvian citizens or hold Peruvian residency). An AIDS test, a newspaper clipping showing you published your marriage announcement in the newspaper. 

Steps

1. All documents from abroad first need to be apostillised. If your country is not in the Hague Agreement you can either get your documents stamped at the Peruvian consulate or embassy in your home country or get them stamped at your country's embassy in Peru. For example, a Canadian could take their documents to the Canadian Embassy in Lima or the Peruvian Embassy in Canada. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info.
2. If these documents are in another language besides Spanish, you will have to get them translated by a certified translator, (see translations for more information). Then get the translation legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministerio de Relacciones Exteriores, RREE). Some people have gotten their documents translated by translators who are not certified translators in Peru. It's up to the municipality as to whether or not they accept them.  Address, directions, costs, and more information can be found at RREE. Most official translators will translate the document as well as get the RREE stamps on both the original and the translation. You might have to pay a bit extra, but it's well worth it.
3. While you are waiting for your documents, you can go to the Municipality and pay a fee in order to get an AIDS test form. Then you take the form to a certain medical post, pay another fee and take the AIDS test. The next day you can pick it up. Some people have reported not even needing an AIDS test or doctor's visit.
4. Bring your apostillised birth certificate and apostillised certificate saying that you are single, (with translation if needed) the photocopy of your passport, the AIDS test, your soon-to-be-spouse’s DNI, their birth certificate, and photocopies of your witnesses DNIs or carne de extranjeria. You will then have to fill out the application forms and pay a fee.
5. Publish your marriage announcement in the newspaper. You pick the day and then they give you a choice of newspapers you can publish it in. From the time you go to the Municipality, you usually have to wait a certain number of days, usually 7-15 before you get married. You also have to buy the newspaper and bring the entire page that has the marriage announcement to the municipality the day or day after it was published.
6. Finally, you’re ready, bring your receipt from the municipality, your passport, your soon-to-be-spouse’s DNI and your witnesses DNIs or carne de extranjeria. The whole ceremony takes about five minutes and then everyone has to sign and fingerprint the paperwork. Then you are given your Partida de Matrimonio. Congrats!
7. You can find more information at this discussion and here at Marrying a Peruvian

Tanya's Story
We got married last Friday (Sept. 2nd, 2016). Everything was very easy. My mother sent me my birth certificate (original) with a notarized translation from Russian to Spanish. It wasn't too expensive and it only took 4 days to get from Ukraine to my town in Peru by DHL.

My birth certificate was NOT apostatized, since the old format of my certificate doesn't allow to get an apostille.

We did not have to go to Lima neither to get an "official" translation neither to get the single certificate which the Ukrainian embassy indeed can provide Ukrainians with, should one require so. The municipality advised us we can get the single certificate with them.

The documents did NOT need to be recent. This cased me unnecessary stress.

I was born in Germany as a Ukrainian, 2 months after Soviet Union fell apart. My father was serving there as part of the Soviet army at that time.

When my mother tried to get an official copy (you cannot reissue a birth certificate in Ukraine) from the archives I was not found in the system. 2 companies were investigating about my papers and found my documents in the Moscow archives as we suspected. The companies asked for ridiculous money for making an official copy from the government archive and getting the birth certificate apostatized. Thank God by that time I have long known that this copy was unnecessary.

Regarding the AIDS test, we were only required to provide a certificate saying we were healthy. That was really easy to get. According to the forums the smaller the town the less religious they are with the papers. This turned out to be very true.

We live in a small town, the capital of the region. To get the health certificate we visited a private clinic, where the doctor not only didn't check us but didn't even ask us about our health. According to the forums I read this is widely practiced in smaller towns and villages. We got married in a tiny village 15 minutes away from our town(less paperwork). The last document I dropped in was the day before the ceremony. The photos, we brought them on the day of the wedding.

From what I've learned the information on your website is strictly regarding Lima and the bigger cities. For the rest getting married is quick and simple.

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How to Get Divorced in Peru

Updated 21 October 2017

Practical advice
Divorce is hard. Here are some tips on how to survive a divorce and start a new life. You really need to push your emotions aside and think financially. If your ex is narcissist or has a borderline personality, you're going to want to read this. If you have kids involved, see if you can work with your ex and co-parent. You need to put the children first.  Make sure you check with a lawyer for more information. Mi Divorcio can help you whether you live in Peru or abroad.

Get divorced abroad 

• A fast and easy way is to go to Nevada in the USA (Las Vegas is the easiest). You will have to "live" there for 6 weeks and it doesn't matter if you're not a permanent US resident. After 6 weeks + 1 day you can be divorced, and a divorce in the US can be legalized in Peru (or almost any other country).
• If you get divorced abroad you will either have to register your foreign divorce in Peru (aka exequatur) or re-do the divorce in Peru.  Depending on your situation it may be easier to re-divorce. Registering a foreign divorce can take up to 2 years. The Peruvian Consulate in Atlanta,  Divorcios por Internet, Exequatur Peru, and Mi Divorcio have more info. 

Get divorced in Peru

• You do not have to live in Peru in order to get divorced there if you are a Peruvian citizen. One of you can live there and the other spouse can give a lawyer power of attorney. Or both of you could give your lawyers power of attorney. What happens is that you get divorced by proxy (similar to marriage by proxy). Here are some lawyers that you can contact for more information. I have been through the process and it is legal. My ex was living in Peru and I was in Korea when we got divorced. We were both Peruvian citizens at the time of the divorce.
• If you want to get divorced while living in Peru and have been separated for more than 2 years, you can get divorce and you don’t need your spouse for the legal papers, you can do it by yourself. If there are children involved, you have to wait 4 years before you can file. 
• If your spouse is willing to sign the papers, it's easier. It can now take 3 months and is only 1200 soles. Look at the article below from PeruanosEnUSA.net for more info.
• If you hire a lawyer, make sure that they register your divorce with RENIEC! I cannot stress this enough. If you have all the paperwork, but don't register your divorce, your DNI will still show you as married. If you're doing this on your own, you will have to go to RENEIC yourself. 

Divorce is pretty common nowadays and you can find a lot of advice and guides to divorce that can help you get divorced without ruining your life. Don't forget about the financial aspects of a divorce. They can have a major impact on you. If you have kids, things get more complicated. Although it's hard, try to be amicable for the sake of your children. 


EL DIVORCIO EN PERÚ: AHORA MAS RÁPIDO Y MAS ECONÓMICO
Septiembre 18, 2008
El divorcio por mutuo acuerdo era un proceso judicial que demoraba en promedio un año y cuyo costo, entre tasas judiciales, gastos notariales y honorarios del abogado, no bajaba de S/. 4,500. Pero desde la entrada en vigencia el 14 de Julio de este año, de la Ley 29227 o “Ley del Divorcio en Municipalidades y Notarias del Perú”, las parejas casadas que deseen regularizar su separación podrán estar divorciados en un promedio de tres meses, gastando solo entre S/. 1,200 y S/ 1,500.

La norma en mención, permite que el proceso de Divorcio por Mutuo Acuerdo, en el que no hay conflicto o controversia, este al alcance de las parejas separadas que cuentan con menores ingresos y a la vez, permite descargar al Poder Judicial del proceso de “Separación Convencional y Divorcio Ulterior” a fin de reducir la carga procesal. Tómese en cuenta que según estadísticas, el 70% de las parejas que se divorcian lo hacen por mutuo acuerdo. Los divorcios por causal (detallado en el Art. 333 Del Código Civil) seguirán siendo tramitados por el Poder Judicial.

Para poder realizar el también llamado “Divorcio Rápido”, los cónyuges deberán acreditar haber estado casados como mínimo dos años al momento de presentar su solicitud e iniciar el trámite ante el Municipio o Notario correspondiente al último domicilio conyugal o en su defecto, ante el Municipio donde la pareja contrajo matrimonio civil. Si bien en todas las notarias del Perú se pueden llevar a cavo este trámite, para el caso del trámite en el Municipio, este, deberán estar previamente acreditados o autorizados por el Ministerio de Justicia.

Requisitos Solicitados
Solicitud conteniendo los nombres completos de la pareja, sus DNI, dirección del último domicilio conyugar y la declaración expresa de su deseo de separación y divorcio posterior, con la firma y huella digital de ambos cónyuges puesta al final. Esta solicitud deberá estar autorizada por un abogado.

• Fotocopia de los DNI
• Acta o copia certificada de la Partida de Matrimonio expedida con una anterioridad no mayor a 3 meses.
• Declaración Jurada de no tener hijos menores de edad o mayores con incapacidad, dicha declaración deberá llevar firma y huella digital de ambos cónyuges. De ser el caso que la pareja si tuviera hijos menores o mayores con incapacidad, deberá adjuntar Acta o copia certificada de las partidas de nacimiento de dichos hijos, expedidas con una anterioridad no mayor a 3 meses y copia certificada de la Sentencia judicial firme (si ha habido una separación de cuerpos judicial previa), o Acta de Conciliación donde conste los acuerdos tomados por los cónyuges respecto a los regimenes del ejercicio de la patria potestad tales como alimentos, tenencia de los hijos y régimen de visitas.
• Declaración jurada de no tener bienes sujetos a gananciales, con firma y huella digital de ambos cónyuges. De ser el caso que no los tienen porque optaron por el régimen de separación de bienes, deberán adjuntar la Escritura Pública de Separación de Patrimonio debidamente inscrita en los Registros Públicos. De tener bienes adquiridos bajo el régimen de sociedad de gananciales, deberán realizar la liquidación de estos, antes de iniciar el trámite y adjuntar la Escritura Publica debidamente inscrita en los Registros Públicos.

Trámite a Realizar
Presentar la solicitud, anexando los documentos descritos, ante el notario o Alcalde del Municipio (previamente autorizado por el Ministerio de Justicia) que le corresponda, quien se encargara de calificar el expediente. De estar todo conforme, el Alcalde o Notario, en un plazo no mayor a 15 días citara a una única audiencia donde los cónyuges deberán ratificar su deseo de separarse convencionalmente. Luego de dicha ratificación, el Alcalde, mediante Resolución de Alcaldía o el Notario, mediante Acta Notarial declarará la Separación Convencional de la pareja. Transcurridos dos meses, cualquiera de los cónyuges podrá solicitar la Disolución del Vínculo Matrimonial y sin más tramite, en un plazo no mayor a 15 días, el Alcalde, mediante Resolución de Alcaldía o el Notario, mediante Acta Notarial declarará Disuelto el Vinculo Matrimonial y dispondrá que se emitan los partes correspondientes al Registro Personal de los Registros Públicos y al registro civil o RENIEC.

Si uno o ambos cónyuges radican en el extranjero, podrán llevar a cabo el divorcio conforme a esta ley mediante apoderado en Perú. El poder que otorgue deberá específicamente mencionar la facultar de representación en el proceso de divorcio de su cónyuge (especificar el nombre exacto) ante Notaria o Municipio. Para otorgar dicho poder, los interesados pueden acudir al Cónsul Peruano del país de su residencia, quien ejerce las funciones de notario para los peruanos residentes en el extranjero. En dicho caso, a la solicitud de Divorcio se deberá adjuntar el Poder, debidamente visada por el ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores e inscrito en el Registro de Mandatos y Poderes de los Registros Públicos y fotocopia del DNI del apoderado. Será este apoderado quien acuda a la audiencia única y ratifique el deseo de divorcio de su representado.

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Using Peruvian Documents Abroad

Updated 23 April 2014

For information about using foreign documents in Peru, please see Peru and the Hague Agreement.

Apostillisation for Countries in the Hague Agreement
The Hague Agreement is now valid in Peru which mean documents can be apostillised. See Peru and the Hague Agreement for more info. Thanks go to Rudd for the steps below.

1. You’ll have to go to a notary (you also may have to take it to the Colegio de Notarios after you take it to a notary. Rules constantly change, so ask the notary for more information). The exceptions to this are birth, marriage and death certificates. You take these to RENIEC, not a notary, and have them legalise them.
2. Then go to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (RREE). For times, directions, and more information, see Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (RREE). When presenting your documents for legalizing they ask you for what country. If it is a country that accepts Apostilled documents, they will tell you your document will get an Apostille. This procedure takes about two weeks.
3. If the country you're going to use it in is not a Spanish speaking country, you'll have to get it translated. Translators will usually notarise and apostillise it as well for a fee. 

Legalisations for Countries Not in the Hague Agreement
Not all countries are part of the Hague Agreement. Canada is just one example. If you want to use Peruvian documents in a country that is not part of the Hague Agreement, you've got a lot of work cut out for you. Below you will find the basic steps, but it's best to ask the embassy of the country where you want to use it.

1. You’ll have to go to a notary (you also may have to take it to the Colegio de Notarios after you take it to a notary. Rules constantly change, so ask the notary for more information). The exceptions to this are birth, marriage and death certificates. You take these to RENIEC, not a notary, and have them legalise them.
2. Then go to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (RREE). For times, directions, and more information, see Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (RREE).
3. Go back in a day to pick the legalisation up.
4. If the country you're going to use it in is not a Spanish speaking country, you'll have to get it translated. Translators will usually notarise and apostillise it as well for a fee.  
5. Then go to the embassy of the country you're going to use it in. You may also need to get it translated.
6. Finally, when you get to that country, you will probably also have to get it legalised by the Ministery of Foreign Affiars.

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Visas for Peruvians

Updated 23 April 2014

See your local embassy’s website for more information about visas and requirements. If you're interested in working or studying abroad, see Work/Study Abroad for Peruvians.

• The Canadian Embassy and Canadian Immigrant Visa info.
• The UK Embassy and UK Resident.
• The USA Embassy. If you're interested in getting immigrant visas from the US, try Immigrate2US or Visa Journey.

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Adopting a Peruvian Child

Updated 24 April 2014

Thanks to the internet, adoption is getting easier. There are adoption guides as well as forums and Facebook groups for both families who want to adopt and for children to find their birth parents. You might also be interested in reading up on Peruvian culture.

The time and paperwork involved is different depending on what category you fall into.

• Peruvians living in Peru
• Peruvians living outside or Peru
• Foreigners residing legally in Peru
• Foreigners not residing in Peru.

See MIMDES for information for adopting a Peruvian child. In order to adopt a Peruvian child, your country must have an agreement with Peru. Contact an adoption agency for more information.

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Complaints and Fraud in Peru

• If you would like to make a complaint about a company, go to Indocopi. 
• If you need to report fraud, go to Dinicri. 

 Please do not sign anything that you don't understand.

• Make sure you get everything in writing and make copies of all documents. 
• You might want to get a lawyer to help you.

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Opening a Business / Getting an Investor's Visa in Peru

Updated 10 August 2016


Although there's a lot of red tape involved with any business, it's possible to open a business here and get an investor's visa. Doing Business in Peru.org is a good place to start looking for what you need. You should also read up on how to do business in Peru and Peruvian culture.

Do your research ahead of time, here's some practical advice about starting your own business. 

If you want to keep residency, you'll have to come to Peru every six months. If you spend more than 6 months outside of Peru and want to keep your residency, you will have to get permission from immigration. Here is what you will have to do if you want to leave for more than 183 days. You can read more info about this in Chris' blog. More first hand experience can be read in this thread.

FYI: You cannot simply invest money, never live in Peru, and get a passport. They don't have a quick and easy investment option for people who don't spend time in Peru.  

Requirements for an investor's visa.

• Check with Immigrations does not have the the information about what is needed to get an investor's visa on their website. You're going to have to visit or call them. I got the information below from various forums and Facebook groups.  I also highly suggest you get a lawyer to help you out. 
• Money's the first thing you will need. As of 2013, you'll need $30,000. 
• You'll also need to hire 5 Peruvians. A Peruvian is a person with Peruvian citizenship who has agreed to be treated as a Peruvian. Let me explain. If a person holds more than one passport and they enter Peru on a foreign passport, they would not be considered a Peruvian. They'd have to enter Peru on a Peruvian passport. 
• You'll also have to pay the minimum wage. I'm sure there are ways around it, such as commission, etc. I'm not sure if they can be contract employees or if they have to be permanent.

Another option: create your own company with you as the main shareholder
There's also another option at Peru this Week that explains how to create your own job by creating a company in which you are the main shareholder, for example in an SAC.  You should look at this step-by-step process for a SAC.

Getting help
You can also consider joining Expat Entrepreneurs in Lima. These guys organize regular face-to-face meetings where entrepreneurs share their experience and network.

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