Countries › Peru › Guide › 8. Immigration › Secondments to Peru: the Designado status for specialists sent and paid by a foreign employer

Secondments to Peru: the Designado status for specialists sent and paid by a foreign employer

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Stable

Specialists sent by a foreign company to do a specific technical task in Peru, such as repairs, maintenance of complex systems, audits or certifications, use the Designado status: 365 days as resident (or 183 days as Designado Temporal), stay on the foreign payroll and cannot earn Peruvian income on their own account. The file rests on the intercompany services contract, a designation letter stating the foreign company pays everything and a letter from the Peruvian client; the fee is S/ 58.80. The work is still Peruvian source income for tax purposes.

USD figures use S/ 3.452 per US dollar, the banking system selling rate published by the Superintendencia de Banca, Seguros y AFP for 27 October 2026, from the Banco Central de Reserva del Perú statistics series PD04640PD. Conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Term of the Designado resident status, extendable	365 daysDL 1350 art. 29.2 b, as amended by DL 1582; DS 007-2017-IN art. 82, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Migraciones fee for the Designado resident status from abroad	58.8 PENTUPA Migraciones PA3500B148, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Migraciones fee for the Designado Temporal status	58.8 PENTUPA Migraciones PA3500B34F, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum service term stated in the designation letter for the resident version	1 yearsTUPA Migraciones PA3500B148, requirement 6, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. The Designado resident status lets a foreigner sent by a foreign employer carry out work in Peru that consists of a specific task or function, or work requiring specialised professional, commercial or technical knowledge. The holder cannot carry out paid or lucrative activities on their own account. The stay is 365 days, with multiple entries.Decreto Legislativo Nº 1350, Decreto Legislativo de Migraciones, as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1582, Art. 29.2 b, 2023-11-14 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. The regulation describes the designated foreigner as someone commissioned by an international corporation, highly specialised, for the repair or maintenance of technically complex or advanced machinery, systems or mechanisms, or for corporate audits and international certifications. The holder does not receive Peruvian source income. The 365 day term can be extended.Reglamento del Decreto Legislativo Nº 1350, approved by Decreto Supremo Nº 007-2017-IN, Art. 82.1 to 82.4, 2017-03-27 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Application from abroad: besides passport and five year record certificates, the file needs (i) the services, technical cooperation or similar contract between the foreign company and the Peruvian person or company receiving the service; (ii) an individual designation letter signed by the foreign company giving the specialist's name, passport, specialty and a service term of one year or more, stating that salary, per diems and any payment are borne by the foreign company and that there is no employment relationship with the Peruvian company; and (iii) a letter from the Peruvian company receiving the service describing the activity, place and term and stating that the work is highly specialised. Documents signed abroad are presented as copies authenticated by a Migraciones notary officer (fedatario). Migraciones decides within 30 business days with negative silence.
Cost to do it: Migraciones fee S/ 58.80 (about US$17.03), plus the carné de extranjería S/ 24.00 (about US$6.95) after entry.Texto Único de Procedimientos Administrativos (TUPA) de la Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones, as modified by Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000150-2025-MIGRACIONES, Procedure PA3500B148 (Solicitud de Calidad Migratoria Designado Residente), 2025-12-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. For assignments of up to 183 days within a year, the Designado Temporal status applies on the same documents (with a sworn statement of no record instead of certificates, and the INTERPOL Lima exchange record issued within six months). The Peruvian company's letter must also state that the foreigner cannot carry out paid or lucrative activities on their own account or receive Peruvian source income. The hiring entity must be active and located (habido) with SUNAT.
Cost to do it: S/ 58.80 (about US$17.03).Texto Único de Procedimientos Administrativos (TUPA) de la Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones, as modified by Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000150-2025-MIGRACIONES, Procedure PA3500B34F (Solicitud de Calidad Migratoria Designado Temporal), 2025-12-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Peruvian source income includes income from personal work carried out in Peruvian territory, whatever the nationality or domicile of the parties and wherever the contract is signed. A non domiciled individual pays 30 percent on Peruvian source employment income.Texto Único Ordenado de la Ley del Impuesto a la Renta (Decreto Supremo Nº 179-2004-EF), SUNAT consolidated text, Art. 9 f) and art. 54 g), 2004-12-08 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Point	Designado	Trabajador (intra group transferee)
Who pays	Foreign employer only	Peruvian group company under a Peruvian contract
Contract with Peruvian entity	Services or technical cooperation contract between companies; no employment link	Employment contract approved by the labor authority
Typical use	Repair, maintenance of complex systems, audits, certifications	Managers, trusted staff, specialists joining the Peruvian payroll
Own account work	Not allowed	Employee or independent work allowed
Peruvian source income	Not allowed under the regulation	Normal Peruvian payroll
Fee from abroad	S/ 58.80 (US$17.03)	S/ 58.80 (US$17.03)

Designado versus Trabajador for intra group moves (DL 1350 art. 29.2 b and h as amended by DL 1582; DS 007-2017-IN art. 82 and 88; TUPA Migraciones)

Worked example

A German equipment maker sends a field engineer to recommission a crusher at a Peruvian mine for 14 months under a technical services contract with the mining company.
The engineer stays on the German payroll; the German company issues the designation letter stating it bears all pay and per diems, and the mining company writes the letter describing the highly specialised task.
The engineer applies from abroad for Designado resident (S/ 58.80, about US$17.03) and obtains the carné de extranjería on arrival (S/ 24.00, about US$6.95).
Tax check: the work is physically done in Peru, so the pay is Peruvian source income (LIR art. 9 f); while non domiciled the engineer is taxed at 30 percent on it (art. 54 g), and after more than 183 days in any 12 months the engineer becomes domiciled from the next tax year (art. 7 b and 8). See immigration/tax-residence-for-foreigners.

Step by step

Decide whether the person stays on the foreign payroll (Designado) or joins the Peruvian company (Trabajador); the documents differ.
Sign or update the intercompany services or technical cooperation contract and make sure its term, scope and place match the designation letter exactly.
Prepare the designation letter and the Peruvian recipient's letter with the statements the TUPA requires, then authenticate foreign signed documents.
Apply from abroad; allow 30 business days and then the visa step at the consulate.
Model Peruvian income tax and permanent establishment exposure before the assignment starts.

Common traps

Inconsistent dates or names between the services contract and the designation letter are a common ground for denial; the TUPA requires the information to match.
Paying any part of the salary through the Peruvian company breaks the Designado conditions; use Trabajador instead.
The Designado status does not exempt the pay from Peruvian income tax: the work is done in Peru, so the income is Peruvian source.
Silence is negative after 30 business days; plan the start date with that buffer.

Sources

← Work residence in Peru: the Trabajador status for employees, intra group transferees and independent professionalsInvestor residence in Peru: the Inversionista status, the S/ 500,000 single wire rule and the path to permanent residence →

Get rule changes weekly

Free. One email a week from The LatAm Thread.

One more step after you press the button: we take you to Substack, where your email is already filled in. Confirm there to start. No spam, unsubscribe anytime, we never share your address. By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.