Ley de Retorno: How the Peruvian Government is Trying to Get Peruvians to Come Back to Peru

One of my most popular posts of all time is how to get Peruvian citizenship. I thought this post might benefits Peruvians like me who have left. (I got citizenship in early 2009 and left in early 2010. I haven't been back since.) I saw a poster about the Ley de Retorno when I went to the embassy a bit ago here in Seoul. Since so many Peruvians have gone abroad and not come back, their human capital is diminishing. They're trying to do something to entice people to come back.

The complete name of the law is Ley de Reinsercion Economica y Social para el Migrante Retornado and is number 30001 and there are monetary and social benefits. For the monetary benefits there are no taxes on cars up to $30k, household goods up to $30k, instruments, machines, equipment, and capital assets up to $150k when you repatriate to Peru. For the social benefits, they will help you find loans, jobs, with certification, and assistance with psychological and social integration.

In order to qualify for the monetary benefits you must be a Peruvian who has lived abroad for at least 4 years. If you have to leave the foreign country due to immigration issues then they lower it to 2 years. For the social benefits you must be a Peruvian who has lived abroad for at least 3 years. If you have to leave the foreign country due to immigration issues then they lower it to 2 years.

You can find out more about this law on RREE, Ley de Retorno, Facebook, or leyderetorno@rree.gob.pe

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Menial Jobs are Dragging Peru Down

From canstockphoto.com

When countries shift towards first world economies they move from being primarily manufacturing economies to being service economies. While manufacturing does help the economy it has a negative impact on the environment and people's lifestyles. Countries can change rapidly when changes are made. The USA has led the way in becoming a service sector and as a result people's lives have dramatically increased. If you think that a short while ago there were no child labor laws, slave wages, and sweat shops were commonplace.

Certain stereotypes exist about menial job workers in the US and one is language. Since many immigrants are from Mexico, some people look down on those who speak Spanish. Whether they like it or not, Spanish is becoming a very important language not only in the USA, but also in the world. Learning Spanish will help you assimilate to the culture and you'll be able to communicate easier.

While Peru isn't well known as a manufacturing company, no cars are made there, few electronic are, many items are imported from China. However, menial jobs are to Peru as manufacturing was to the USA.  Some of these menial jobs include:

• fare takers (cobradores) on the buses
• gas attendants
• street vendors
• people who sell things on buses
• shoe shine kids
• live-in nannies
• the people who shout numbers out to the bus drivers to let them know about their competition

Peru has come a long way in recent years. Fujimori's gone. As is the Shining Path. But there are still many obstacles in the way keeping Peru from becoming a developed country.

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Reader Request: I'm Going to Live in Peru Forever!

From dogwalkmusings.blogspot.com

Updated 20 October 2017

It's not uncommon for me to get emails from people who say that they want to live in Peru forever, but don't know how to do it. It's usually accompanied by statements saying that someone (their husband / wife / partner / boyfriend / girlfriend / fiance / fiancée) is living in Peru / going to move to Peru and they'll get married and live happily ever after. More often than not the person emailing me has never been to Peru or has spent less than two weeks there.

Keep in mind that marriage is no longer forever. Divorce rates are high enough between people from the same culture let alone those from different cultures. The good news is that there are alternatives to residency besides marriage.
Differences in culture can also wreck havoc on cross-cultural partnerships. There's a reason why I wrote think carefully before marrying a Peruvian and that's it's one of the top 5 posts on my blog.

Moving is hard but it can be even harder if you move to a different country, don't speak the language, or if you don't have a job waiting for you. More often that not people end up begrudgingly teaching English. While there are other options than teaching English in Peru, they do take time to set up. If you do decide to to move to Peru, definitely take time and read the advice that other long-term expats have written.

While there are plenty of people that do end up living in Peru forever, just remember to keep your options open. Don't limit yourself to one country. Take things in stride and realise that there are many things beyond your control.

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Peruvian Universities That Offer Distance Learning Bachelor Degrees

Distance learning is a new concept in Peru. In the US it's been around for ages. I remember looking at my dad's old comic books and they had adverts for correspondence courses in order to finish high school and get your high school diploma. High school diplomas are now the bare minimum needed for jobs. Most places ask for a bachelor degree, if not a master.

One tip to remember is that speaking Spanish will help you greatly. You'll be treated differently than if you speak English all the time, it'll help you assimilate to the culture, and you'll be able to communicate easier.

Background to Bachelor Degrees in Peru
In Peru there are two levels of bachelor's degrees. You get your bachiller and your titlulo. The first means you've finished all the courses. The second means you've done a capstone course: such as an intensive course, internship, or thesis.

3 Universities in Peru
Peru has three universities that I know of that offer distance learning, but even then it's not completely possible to do if you don't have someone in Peru to help you. My husband is going through Garcilaso de la Vega University and he had to go there in order to apply and spent a couple months trying to get credits transferred and whatnot. At the beginning in 2011 he had to have relatives physically go to the university and pick up the books and post them to him.

• Garcilaso de la Vega University: 3 semestres a year. You should be able to finish in about 3 years. Affordable. It's not that organised. Even a month into most semestres not all the professors have told you what work is expected to you and if they tell you it's vague. They'll tell you to write a paper or do research but will have no word or page limit. In order to get your diploma for either your bachiller or your titulo you also have to physically go to the university and fill out tramites and wait a couple months. The kicker? If you want to do your titulo at another university, which is common enough in Peru, you have to wait until you have your diploma in hand. Idiotic.
  Passing your thesis is another grey area. Not only do you have to rent the space where you give the thesis, but you also have to pay the profs for their time. It seems like they'd be pretty likely to fail you since then you'd have to hire them again. Peruvian culture is full of shades of grey and bribery: reminds me why I left Peru in the first place.

• Los Angeles Chimbote University: Should be affordable. Not that well-known of a university.

• San Ignacio Loyola University: Pretty expensive. Aimed towards rich people or those whose companies will pay.

Conclusion
Hopefully there will be more universities that offer BA degrees and they'll organise their info better so that you don't physically have to go there to get stuff done.

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Lack of Libraries in Peru Leads to Low Literacy

I didn't miss food so much as I missed libraries when I lived in Peru. I guess I was spoiled to grow up near one of the best libraries in the state. Peruvian libraries just can't hold a candle to US ones. In an early post I wrote about the low literacy rates in Peru and how the government was fighting against illiteracy, but in my opinion, is making some big mistakes.

First off, I used to live across the street from the National Library. One day I decided to go visit and I didn't even get to see one book. Getting into the building is hard enough due to the lack of signs and security guards asking you what you're doing (Um, trying to get books?). So I went into a massive hall and went to the desk and asked to go in. Nope, I was refused entry. (Remind me again WHY I pay taxes if I can't even use the library). They said that I needed two reference letters and a letter from my university saying I was studying. There were fees, but since I was technically a student, I was exempt. I couldn't believe it! Sometimes Peruvian culture really ticks me off.

To make things worse, I later found out that you couldn't even TAKE the books out of the library. Kind of defeats the point of a LENDING library, doesn't it? Needless to say, I left, extremely pissed off, yet completely understanding why so many Peruvians are illiterate.

So I decided to go to Britanico and ICPNA and buy a membership to their libraries. I never actually used the Britanico one, but I did use the ICPNA one: I wasn't impressed.

You could borrow 2 (TWO: whoop-dee-doo) books and they had to be returned in prestine condition. I was slapped with a 30 soles fine and banned for two months when one of the pages bent on a 40 year old book. Seriously? I'd hate to think of the poor kids who check out kids' books. To make things worse, I had joined so I could research for my thesis and none of the books I needed could be checked out. Of course there was no copy machine either; you had to request copies: max of 10 and it took 2 days to get them. Again: seriously?! Oh, and you had to check your bags, they were so afraid you'd steal something.

And don't get me started on the toilets there. No soap and no TP was the norm. I went to complain once, it was a Saturday morning. I was told that the kids from the children's classes must have used up all the soap and TP for the day. They weren't allowed to use more than the quota for the day. Once again: seriously?! That's gross. Peru's not exactly a clean country, I can't believe they don't care about all the germs that would get on their precious 40 year old books.

Britanico's library is supposed to be nicer. I know it's bigger since I had a tour. Though I lived farther away. I guess there's always a next time!

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For Better or For Worse: Peruvian Education

My husband has recently told me he wants our daughter to study in Peru for 3 to 5 years. I nearly fell off my chair when he said that. Before he said if we had kids, he wanted them to go to Peru for 6 months to experience the culture. 6 months in one thing, 5 years is another. I have issues with Peruvian culture and schooling is one of them.

Image source

Now, I'm not saying that I want our daughter to study in the US either.

However, education in Peru is a bit of a nightmare. Private schools are ok-ish, though high grades are handed out like candy. I was told to change Bs to As, since my students were in therapy and a B would "undo everything the therapist had done".  When I refused to change the grades, the homeroom teacher changed them for me. Nice.

Public education in is horrid, especially after the results came out a couple years ago saying the average teacher in the public schools knew just as much as a fifth grader did. The way they care for schools is atrocious. Graffiti, overgrow school yards with weeds, rotting buildings, broken windows, and unhinged gates are just a couple of examples that I saw at the school on Benavides: in Miraflores to boot!

Alan gave 25 schools money to fix things and there were banners proclaiming all this. Though if you took into account the amount he gave and the number of schools, it came out to about $3000 per school. Not much, even in Peru.

Hopefully things will change, though it's going to take a while. One thing I know for sure, is that students who study at home are a heck of a lot smarter than those who go to school. No matter where that school is located.

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Pay, Benefits, and Retirement Plans in Peru

Updated 1 July 2017

Pay
The average pay in Peru is $6-8 an hour, so you'll probably earn about $600-800 a month. If you don't have a budget the first thing I recommend doing is learning how to budget. You can live on $600-800 a month as long as you don't live like an expat meaning don’t expect to take taxis everywhere and eat out all the time. Look more at the following articles for info on money and budgeting.

The average Peruvian salary is around $250 a month. However, you have to remember most of them live with their family, so they are not paying rent or food. Also, they will take public transport rather than taxis, so this allows them to save money.

International Schools
International schools pay around $25,000 plus benefits, but you usually need a teaching license (qualified teaching status) from your country plus two years experience teaching in a school and you may have to sign a two-year contract. Also, if you have a legal working visa, you will be more likely to be paid more, because the school knows that you will stay for a while rather than only teach in order to get money to travel.

Earning More Money
A good place to start is buy buttons which has everything you need to know and shows you how you can do what you love while being your own boss. There's also 501 free websites you can use to make extra money in your spare time. Making extra money isn't easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it. Just look at it for what it is: extra money. If it turns into a steady income, great! If not, that's ok.

Perks and Benefits
Benefits may include transport, insurance, lunch, a housing stipend, and paid vacations. Make sure you clarify everything with your employer and sign a contract. You will usually have one month of vacation unless you work at a school, in that case you will probably get more than a month of vacations.

Some schools may put you on planilla. That means that you get an extra month salary in July and December. You also get another bonus in June, called CTS. This is an unemployment fund. You're allowed to take half of the money out every six months. If you quit or get fired, you’re allowed access to the funds after completing the necessary paperwork.

Retirement Plans
Retirement plans in Peru are called AFP. (If you're considering a retirement visa, look at this article about Retirement Visas in Peru.) Your employer should set up the fund for you. When you leave Peru or retire you can get AFP contributions back on a simple checking account. Use CPP as a reference and after 6 weeks you should get a wire on your personal checking account. Check your AFP for more details, here’s information about Integra as an example. Some of the most common ones are below.

• Horizonte
• Integra
• Prima
• ProFuturo
• Union Vida

Reference Letters
If you leave your job because you finished your contract or quit, you should get both recommendation letters and a constancia de trabajo. Recommendation letters speak well of you and your work. The constancia de trabajo should be given by the head of the company and should state whether you were full-time or part-time, the dates when you started and finished working, your title, and duties. If possible, have this put in your recommendation letter as well. Have the constancia de trabajo signed and stamped with the company seal. If you’re in planilla, when you leave your job, you’ll get liquidacion, which is basically your last salary plus a month and a half. You can also take out all the money in your CTS. Be sure to ask about this.

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Studying Spanish in Peru

Updated 1 May 2017


Studying in-country gives you an advantage over those who simply stay at home. Not only will you practise Spanish while in the classroom, but you’ll get added real-life practise while doing daily activities, such as going shopping or even asking for directions. If you decide to come to Peru to study Spanish, you’ll have three options available to you: studying in an institute, studying an a university, or studying with a private teacher. There are pros and cons to each of these options.

Institutes
You’ll find that there is no shortage of Spanish schools here in Peru. There are two types of institutes, private ones and cultural ones. Let’s look at the private sector first. No matter if you want to go to a big city or out in the country, you’ll be sure to find an institute or two to choose from. The good thing is that classes tend to be small, start often, and you can meet people from all over the world. Flexibility is often key as well. Institutes usually have course that range from an hour or two a day to complete immersion courses that are eight hours a day. In addition, most will provide home stays at an additional cost. The downside tends to be the cost. People usually do intensive study for a couple of weeks, so prices tend to be high. The quality of the programme also tends to vary greatly. A good place to look for institutes is through Study Abroad.

Next are cultural institutes. ICPNA and Britanico are the main ones here in Peru, they offer classes at more affordable rates and classes are usually longer than the private ones (which tend to be a week in duration). Programmes are pretty structured at these institutes. The downside can be the schedule as these classes are targeted at long-term residents who are only looking for a bit of Spanish a week. However, you can easily meet local expats at these types of institutes, but this may also be a downside, since you won’t be forced to practise your Spanish skills. If you want to study at a cultural institute, you’ll have to contact that institute directly.

Language Exchanges
And don’t forget about trying to set up language exchanges. Find a Peruvian that wants to speak your language and you’re good to go. Arrange to meet at a café and spend half the time speaking in your language and half the time in Spanish. Try looking at Conversation Exchange to find a language partner.

On Your Own
Fluenz Spanish Latin America works so well that it is being used by the US Navy, senior personnel at the UN and UNICEF, executives of Fortune 500 companies, students at Harvard Business School and other leading universities. Rosetta Stone is a tried and true method that has been around for a while and consistently gets good reviews. Living Languages allows you to learn Spanish completely and is backed up by linguistic studies.

Private Tutors
Lastly, many people find that a private teacher is the way to go as the teacher can tailor the lessons to your needs and schedule. Cost might be a factor, but it might be well worth it. The downside is finding a private teacher is you’re only going to be in Peru for a short time. Most teachers want you to sign up for a month’s worth of classes and will often have the classes in your home. Another downside is finding a reliable teacher. If you’re interested in finding a private teacher, try asking around at Expat Peru or Living in Peru.

Universities
Studying at a university is another option available to those who want to study in Peru. Private universities are the way to go and there are usually a couple of prominent ones in cities around Peru. The positive side is that there’s a structured programme and often people involved in these classes are exchange students. Prices tend to be decent as well. The negative side is that you might only receive a couple of hours of instruction a week and that many studying at a university are college-aged students taking a semester abroad. Universities in Peru can be found at Universia, Universidad Peru, and Bulter.

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Education in Peru

Updated 28 January 2015

If you're going to be moving to Peru with kids, you'll need to know about the educational options available. There are public and private schools in Peru and the majority of the private ones are religious. As expected, private schooling is more expensive and can range from $200 to $1000 a month, depending on the school. Most of the English speaking ones are in Lima, but you can also find some in the provinces.

Schools are broken into Primary (grades 1-6) and Secondary School (grades 1-5). There is also “Nido” which is Nursery school and usually starts around age 2. Since school is only 11 years, university is five years. A list of schools in Peru and International Schools (at the bottom) can be found in the LA Job List and this Guide to Peru. There's also, ExpoUniversidad which publishes a yearly guide for Peruvian schools. If you're considering homeschooling, you might want to look into virtual schools. You can also find helpful info at Moms help Moms.

Lima: Schools

International education can be very expensive in Lima. Some schools can cost more than $25,000 a year. Here's a list of the 10 most expensive schools. More schools can be found at the LA Job List and TEFL Tips.

• Colegio Peruano Britanico
• Hiram Bingham 
• International Christian School of Lima
• Markham
• Monterrico Christian School
• Newton College
• Roosevelt, (FDR)
• San Silvestre

Lima: Nursery Schools
Schools often have nursery schools that start at age two. However, if you're looking for places that just offer nursery school, try the places below.

• Beginners: Los Pinos 308, Camacho 4376242
• Donde Leslie: Alameda Corregidor 1310, La Molina 4953382
• Garabatos: Los Laureles 447, San Isidro 4410040
• Kids First Nursery School: Redon 134 San Borja 3461377
• Little Villa: Jose del Llano Zapata 454, San Isidro 4405835
• Medalla Milagrosa: Av Monte de los Olivos 145, surco 2791736
• Nido John Arriman: Av Nicolas de Rivera 948, Surco 4221084
• Nido Playschool: Islas Aleutianos 120, Planicie 4791058

Provinces
Here are some English schools in the Provinces.

• Davy College in Cajamarca
• Fleming in Trujillo
• Prescott in Arequipa

Special Education
Although there are only a few special education schools, they have high standards and will help make your transition to Peru easier.

• Centro Amanecer: Av del Parque Sur 668, San Borja
• Centro Ann Sullivan del Peru: Celle Petronila Alvarez 180, San Miguel 2636296
• Centro Peruano de Audición, Lenguaje y Aprendizaje: Calle Martin Pizarro 172, Surco 3440051 or 3440193
• Kallpa: Av Primavera 1860, Surco 3450805

Universities
Peru has one of the oldest universities in the Americas, San Marcos. It’s very difficult to get in, about 60,000 apply but only a couple thousand are actually admitted. University is considerably harder than in many English-speaking countries. The reason for this is that most grades are based on the midterm and final exams.

Some professors expect students to buy their books, memorise them and write their exact words on the exams. They may even take off points if they paraphrase, which is why many students think nothing of copying and pasting and then not giving any credit in the form of a bibliography. Here are some websites with statistics, such as the admission rate and number of students as well as other helpful information.

• ANR
• Butler
• Universia
• Universidad Peru

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