Peruvian Citizenship: Naturalise After 2 Years, Before 5 Apply
One of the fastest passport routes in the world: naturalisation in Peru today after 2 years of legal residence, after 5 once the new law (Ley 32421) is in force, with dual citizenship and around 140 destinations visa-free (Henley 2026: 141).
Who this procedure suits
Naturalisation suits you if you reach, or can foresee reaching, your 2 years of uninterrupted legal residence in Peru, whether your residence rests on passive income, work or investment, and you want the Peruvian passport as a second pillar: dual citizenship allowed, around 140 destinations visa-free or visa on arrival, including Schengen (Henley 2026: 141), plus the irrevocability no residence permit offers. And it suits people who can act now: the two years under Ley 26574 still apply, but the new nationality law (Ley 32421) raises the period to five years as soon as it enters into force. The law is in motion, the 2-year window is time-critical and is checked afresh before every order. Nobody can honestly promise that it will still be open when you file.
And who it does not suit:
- ✕You want a guarantee on the 2 years: Ley 32421, with its 5 years, enters into force when its implementing regulation is published, and nobody knows the date. Anyone who demands a firm promise will be sold one by others that they cannot keep.
- ✕You see the passport as a tax model: this is a passport window, not a tax window. Peru taxes on residence and worldwide income, and citizenship changes nothing about that.
- ✕Your home country does not allow you to keep your nationality when you naturalise abroad, and you want to keep it: then permanent residence without naturalisation is often the wiser route. We flag this question at the start.
Requirements
Under current law (Ley 26574), you qualify for naturalisation with 2 consecutive years of legal residence; the years must be genuinely uninterrupted, never more than 183 consecutive days outside Peru, and a residence card that lapses and is only renewed later breaks the period. You also need to show ties to the country (for example home ownership), a clean record with police certificates from Peru and your country of origin, financial solvency (an annual income of around USD 13,500 circulates as a practical benchmark) and knowledge of Spanish and Peruvian culture: there is a written and oral exam on history, geography and culture and a personal interview, all in Spanish. The file includes apostilled, certified translations of your civil documents and your residence card. And the time-critical layer: the new law (Ley 32421, August 2025) raises the regular period to five years, requires an annual income of ten UIT (around USD 15,000) declared to the tax authority SUNAT and additional checks; it only enters into force with its implementing regulation, and applications filed before then are still assessed under the old law. Where the law stands on your filing date, we check on the day, before you order anything.
What we take care of
- ✓Same-day check of the legal position before every order: does the 2-year rule still apply to your application (until Ley 32421 brings 5 years), and what does that mean for your timing
- ✓Check of whether your periods of residence meet the requirement, including the 183-day limit and gap-free renewals of your residence card
- ✓Gap-free preparation of your residence and travel records, because the immigration authority checks travel stamps closely
- ✓Complete document checklist with an apostille and translation plan for civil documents, police certificates and evidence
- ✓Drafting and assembly of the complete application file so that you can file the moment the time is right
- ✓Filing and case management by licensed attorneys on the ground, together with our local partners
- ✓Preparation for the exam and interview on Spanish, history, geography and culture
- ✓Timely reminder of home-country questions, above all your home country's dual nationality rules, which must be settled before you apply
- ✓One personal contact, coordinating in English, throughout the process
Step by step
- 1
Check window and deadlines
We check on the day whether the 2-year rule still applies to your application (Ley 32421 will raise it to 5) and calculate your residence periods against the 183-day limit.
- 2
Settle home-country questions
Whether you can keep your current nationality depends on your home country's law; in some countries permission must be obtained before naturalising. That belongs at the start, not the end.
- 3
Build the file
Civil documents, police certificates, solvency and residence evidence are obtained, apostilled, given certified translations and assembled ready to file, so that no day of the window is wasted.
- 4
Application, exam, interview
The attorneys on the ground file and run the procedure; we prepare you specifically for the exam on history, geography and culture and for the interview in Spanish.
- 5
Decision, oath and passport
If the decision is positive, the naturalisation ceremony with the oath on the constitution follows, and then your Peruvian passport.
How long it takes
Two clocks run one after the other: first the 2 years of uninterrupted residence (5 once Ley 32421 is in force), then the naturalisation procedure itself, for which around twelve months is a realistic estimate in our experience, so in practice around three years pass from your first day of residence to the passport. Even that is exceptionally fast by international standards. There is no guaranteed date, and the same applies to the legal window: it stays open until the implementing regulation is published, and that day cannot be predicted. That is why we prepare your file so that you can apply as soon as you meet the requirement.
Do you need to be there in person?
The real presence work comes before the application: two years of real life in Peru, never more than 183 consecutive days outside the country (five years once Ley 32421 is in force). Continuous residence here means having actually lived in the country for most of each year, not just entering occasionally; the immigration authority checks travel stamps closely, and gaps can sink the application. During the procedure itself you need appointments in Peru, because the exam and interview take place in Spanish before an official. If you are serious about the window, plan your presence from the first day of residence.
Family members coming with you
Each family member goes through their own naturalisation procedure with their own file; in the quote, the same service item per person applies to principal applicants and dependants, with no hidden family tiers. Which periods apply to each dependant on your filing date (2 years today, 5 once Ley 32421 is in force) is part of the same-day check before you order.
What comes next
With naturalisation you hold a passport that opens around 140 destinations visa-free or visa on arrival (Henley 2026: 142), including Schengen, and a status that, unlike any residence permit, is irrevocable, a real asset in a politically volatile country. Peru expressly allows dual citizenship, so on the Peruvian side you give nothing up. How Peru's window compares with the rest of the region is shown in our naturalisation comparison for Latin America; more on the Peruvian passport in our guide Peruvian citizenship.
What is not included
- •Government fees in Peru
- •Apostilles and legalisations in your home country
- •Certified translations
- •Notary fees
- •Travel and accommodation costs
- •Procedures in your home country (for example permission to retain your nationality)
- •Spanish skills themselves (courses, everyday exam preparation)
- •Tax advice in the destination country
Tax note
This is a passport window, not a tax window, and residence is not the same as tax residence. Peruvian citizenship does not change your tax position: Peru taxes on residence (more than 183 days, effective from 1 January of the following year) and then on worldwide income, with or without a passport. A new Peruvian citizen has exactly the same tax obligations as before as a resident foreigner. How passport and tax are kept apart is explained in our guide Peru's naturalisation window is closing; your individual case belongs with a tax adviser.
One point of contact, from start to finish
Your application is filed together with our local partners, licensed attorneys in each country, with whom we have worked for years. We coordinate your case, check your documents and remain your point of contact: in English, throughout.
That applies whether you are still at home or already on the road: one point of contact, no language barrier, no loose ends across four time zones.
Frequently asked questions
Do the 2 years still apply, or already the 5 years of Ley 32421?+
On 24 October 2026, still the 2 years under Ley 26574: Ley 32421, with its 5 years, only enters into force on the day after its Reglamento is published in El Peruano, and that was still outstanding on that day. We check exactly this afresh before every order, because the regulation can appear at any time.
What does the new law (Ley 32421) change?+
Once in force, Ley 32421 raises the regular naturalisation period to five years, requires an annual income of ten UIT (around USD 15,000) declared to SUNAT plus additional checks, and removes the previous route for retirees without income declared in Peru. Until the implementing regulation enters into force, the old law with two years applies. Crucially, applications filed before it enters into force are still assessed under the old law.
What happens if Ley 32421, with its five years, enters into force during my two years?+
The date you file is what counts: an application before it enters into force runs under the old law, afterwards under the new one. If you are still building up your period, you carry the risk that the window closes first. That is why we check the situation on the day and prepare your file so that you can apply on the day you meet the requirement; there is no guarantee on the window.
How strict are the two years?+
Strict: never more than 183 consecutive days outside the country, and your residence card must be renewed without gaps, otherwise the period starts again. The immigration authority checks travel stamps closely. Once Ley 32421 is in force, five years will apply.
Is there a citizenship test?+
Yes. You take a written and oral exam on Peruvian history, geography and culture and have a personal interview, all in Spanish. We prepare you specifically for it.
Will I lose my current passport?+
Peru allows dual citizenship. Whether your home country lets you keep your nationality when you naturalise abroad depends on its law; some require permission obtained before you apply. We flag this at the start, and you should confirm it for your nationality before filing.
Does the Peruvian passport make me liable to tax?+
No. Peru taxes on residence and source of income, not on nationality. If you are not resident in Peru, you are not taxed there on your worldwide income even with a passport; if you are resident, you are taxed even without one. Passport, tax residence and leaving your home country are three separate projects.
What does naturalisation cost for my family?+
Each family member goes through their own procedure, and in the quote the same service item per person applies to principal applicants and dependants. You see the breakdown transparently in your quote; we state prices there, not on this page.
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