Countries › Peru › Guide › 8. Immigration › Work residence in Peru: the Trabajador status for employees, intra group transferees and independent professionals

Work residence in Peru: the Trabajador status for employees, intra group transferees and independent professionals

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

Foreigners who will be on a Peruvian payroll or bill Peruvian clients need the Trabajador resident status: 365 days, renewable, based on a contract of at least one year approved by the labor authority. Applying from abroad costs S/ 58.80 and takes up to 30 business days; switching inside Peru costs S/ 161.40, and each annual extension S/ 20.20. Employers must check the worker's migration status and keep their own RUC active and located.

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

Migraciones fee for the Trabajador resident status applied for from abroad	58.8 PENTUPA Migraciones PA3500F439, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Migraciones fee to change to Trabajador resident inside Peru	161.4 PENTUPA Migraciones PA35009176, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Migraciones fee for the annual extension of the Trabajador resident status	20.2 PENTUPA Migraciones PA350026DC, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Maximum processing time for the Trabajador resident application (negative silence)	30 business daysTUPA Migraciones PA3500F439, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Term of each grant or extension of the Trabajador resident status	365 daysDL 1350 art. 29.2 h, as amended by DL 1582, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Minimum contract term for residence rather than temporary worker status	1 yearsTUPA Migraciones PA3500F439, requirement 5 and note 4, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. The Trabajador resident status lets a foreigner carry out lucrative activities as an employee or independently, for the public or private sector, under an employment contract, administrative relationship or services contract. It is granted on the basis of an employment contract previously approved by the Ministry of Labor and includes employees of a multinational group who move to a Peruvian company of the same group as senior management, trusted staff or specialists. The stay is 365 days, renewable, with multiple entries.Decreto Legislativo Nº 1350, Decreto Legislativo de Migraciones, as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1582, Art. 29.2 h, 2023-11-14 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. For an employee, the hiring entity must have an active RUC with a located (habido) tax address; for an independent worker, both the foreigner and the contracting company must have an active and located RUC. The extension is granted for the same period as the original grant.Decreto Supremo Nº 002-2021-IN, amending the Reglamento del Decreto Legislativo Nº 1350 and the Reglamento de la Ley Nº 26574; Reglamento del Decreto Legislativo Nº 1350, approved by Decreto Supremo Nº 007-2017-IN, Reglamento art. 88.3 (as amended by DS 002-2021-IN), 88.4 and 88.5, 2021-03-24 official text · verified 2026-10-28

3. Application from abroad: the file needs the passport, criminal, judicial and police record certificates from the country of origin and every country of residence in the five years before arrival, a copy of the employment contract approved by the labor authority (unless exempt by law) for a term of one year or more and issued no more than 30 calendar days earlier, and a statement of the employer's legal representative (with the registry entry of the signatory's hiring powers if not the general manager). Contracts with a trial period or a term under one year are processed as Trabajador Temporal instead. Migraciones decides within 30 business days, negative silence applies, and the visa is then authorized by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.
Cost to do it: Migraciones fee S/ 58.80 (about US$17.03); then the carné de extranjería S/ 24.00 (about US$6.95) on arrival.
Example: A Colombian CFO with a two year contract approved by the labor authority pays S/ 58.80 to apply from Bogotá and S/ 24.00 for the card after landing, S/ 82.80 in total. / About US$23.99 in total government fees.Texto Único de Procedimientos Administrativos (TUPA) de la Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones, as modified by Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000150-2025-MIGRACIONES, Procedure PA3500F439 (Solicitud de Calidad Migratoria Trabajador Residente), requirements 1 to 6 and notes 1 to 5, 2025-12-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Change of status inside Peru: a foreigner already in the country on another status can switch to Trabajador. On top of the documents for the application from abroad, the file needs the INTERPOL Lima international exchange record (Ficha de Canje Internacional) issued within six months; independent workers present a services contract of at least one year instead of an approved employment contract. If the contract was signed in Peru, the foreigner must have held a status allowing it or the permit to sign documents. The result is the carné de extranjería; Migraciones decides within 30 business days.
Cost to do it: S/ 161.40 (about US$46.76) for the change of status, almost three times the fee for applying from abroad.Texto Único de Procedimientos Administrativos (TUPA) de la Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones, as modified by Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000150-2025-MIGRACIONES, Procedure PA35009176 (Cambio de Calidad Migratoria Trabajador Residente), 2025-12-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Annual extension: the resident files from inside Peru with a sworn statement of no record, the current contract approved by the labor authority, the last three payslips and the SUNAT income and withholding report for the last three months (independent workers: the services contract and the last three fee receipts). The resident must have complied with the duties in DL 1350 art. 10 or paid any fine. Migraciones decides within 5 business days.
Cost to do it: S/ 20.20 (about US$5.85) per annual extension.Texto Único de Procedimientos Administrativos (TUPA) de la Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones, as modified by Resolución de Superintendencia Nº 000150-2025-MIGRACIONES, Procedure PA350026DC (Prórroga de la Calidad Migratoria Trabajador Residente), 2025-12-12 official text · verified 2026-10-28

6. Employers and other public and private entities that hire a foreigner, or grant them a right or license, must check that the foreigner is in a regular migration situation; breach is sanctioned with a fine set in the regulation. Employers and foreign workers signing an employment contract must comply with the migration rules, and Migraciones and the Ministry of Labor share information on infractions.Decreto Legislativo Nº 1350, Decreto Legislativo de Migraciones, as amended by Decreto Legislativo Nº 1582; Reglamento del Decreto Legislativo Nº 1350, approved by Decreto Supremo Nº 007-2017-IN, DL 1350 art. 10-A and 54-A (added by DL 1582); Reglamento art. 161 and 162, 2023-11-14 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Procedure	Where filed	Key documents	Term	Fee
Application (PA3500F439)	From abroad	Contract of 1 year or more approved by the labor authority, records for 5 years, employer statement	30 business days	S/ 58.80 (US$17.03)
Change of status (PA35009176)	Inside Peru	Same plus INTERPOL exchange record of 6 months or less	30 business days	S/ 161.40 (US$46.76)
Extension (PA350026DC)	Inside Peru	Current contract, last 3 payslips, SUNAT withholding report	5 business days	S/ 20.20 (US$5.85)
Carné de extranjería (SE35007459)	Inside Peru after entry	Visa, passport, INTERPOL record	2 business days	S/ 24.00 (US$6.95)

Trabajador resident: the three procedures (TUPA Migraciones as modified by RS 000150-2025-MIGRACIONES; S/ 3.452 per US$)

Worked example

A Lima mining services company hires a Mexican geologist for two years at S/ 25,000 a month.
The company signs a written fixed term contract, files it with the labor authority (approved on filing, see labor/foreign-workers) and checks that its RUC is active and located.
The geologist applies from Mexico for Trabajador (S/ 58.80) with apostilled record certificates from Mexico and any other country of residence in the last five years; Migraciones has 30 business days and then the consulate issues the visa.
On arrival the geologist obtains the carné de extranjería (S/ 24.00) and after a year files the extension (S/ 20.20) with three payslips.
Government fees for the first two years: S/ 58.80 + S/ 24.00 + S/ 20.20 = S/ 103.00, about US$29.84. Had the geologist entered as a tourist and switched inside Peru, the change alone would have cost S/ 161.40 (about US$46.76).

Step by step

Confirm the job and contract fit Trabajador: term of at least one year, no trial period clause; otherwise use Trabajador Temporal.
Check the foreign staff caps (20 percent of headcount, 30 percent of payroll) or exemptions on labor/foreign-workers, then file the written contract with the labor authority.
Collect apostilled criminal, judicial and police records for the last five years from each country of residence, with a sworn Spanish translation.
File the application on the Migraciones virtual agency while the copy of the approved contract is no more than 30 calendar days old; track the 30 business day term.
After the visa is stamped at entry, apply for the carné de extranjería; diary the annual extension before the 365 days run out.

Common traps

Silence is negative: if Migraciones does not answer within 30 business days, the application is treated as denied and must be appealed (reconsideration or appeal within 15 business days).
A trial period clause in the contract sends the file to the temporary worker route, which gives only 183 days.
Missing the extension deadline triggers a fine of 1 percent of the UIT per day of delay, S/ 55.00 (about US$15.93) a day in 2026 (DS 007-2017-IN art. 190 d as amended by DS 002-2021-IN).
The employer must be active and located (habido) with SUNAT; a tax address problem at the employer blocks the employee's file.
Hiring someone whose migration status is irregular exposes the employer to sanctions under DL 1350 art. 54-A.

Sources

← Business visitors and short assignments in Peru: Negocios, tourist limits, temporary worker and designated statuses, signing permitsSecondments to Peru: the Designado status for specialists sent and paid by a foreign employer →

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