Tuesday, September 20, 2011

The Carné de Extranjería in Peru: My Personal Experience


Today I became a resident of Perú. I received my carné de extranjería or my residency ID card to live in Peru.

The process was long and time consuming and I do not really like the photo, but I sure am glad to finally have my card. The carné (also called carnet) allows you to open a bank account, obtain credit cards/mortgages, and purchase cell phone service. It essentially affords you the right to live a complete life while in Peru. The most common ways to obtain one are through employment or marriage.
I began the process in June (with the attorney and staff at my employer) which included filling out and notarizing several documents. Then eventually I received a stamp in my passport that allowed me to sign contracts.

We filled out more forms and paid many types of processing fees along the way. There was also a lot of hurry up and wait. Sometimes I would wait for weeks at a time with no news. Then I went to Interpol (I thought this was the most complex and form-filled part of the process) and they sent off a background check to the FBI in the US.


After about three and a half months in the process I was allowed to go to a very non-descript government building and fill out more papers and pay more transactions but I left with my shiny new ID card.

The website Expat Peru has a very good explanation of the process at the following link.

I do not pretend to be an expert and I did have a lot of help. I can only convey my personal experiences.
I am very pleased to finally have all my documentation and my residency ID card. 



2 comments:

  1. I went through this same process while I was very ill. It was very frustrating.

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  2. Can you please tell me how much you paid to the banks? My friend is helping me and on every single website I see $200 for the change of status. But a friend showed me on DIGEMIN that it is $200 to one bank and $300 to another.

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