[Wolfy]

Another story from one of our readers. We thought we should share it with you to clear up some misunderstandings regarding trourist visas and extended stay in Peru: "Dear All, I am desperate and really need some help! My plan has been to come to Peru and live with my partner in Lima for one year while I attend an American online university earning my master's degree. The purpose of living together and the degree are both related to qualifying for immigration to Canada later. We cannot be married in Peru but living together gains us "common law" status in Canada so it MUST be at least one year. I know I can only stay on a tourist visa for 6 months (with extensions) before I must leave the country to get a new visa. I thought everything was settled until this morning when I tried to buy a one way ticket to Peru and was told this would be a big problem. So I called the consulate in Vancouver, BC to ask if there was a waiver available of the requirement for a return ticket (as indicated by a person I spoke to at Continental Airlines) but he insists there is no such thing and that the Customs official in Lima may well not allow me to stay there without a return ticket. He also said I cannot just leave the country for a short trip to La Paz (or wherever) for a new tourist visa as there is a maximum stay of six months out of any year allowed in Peru on a tourist visa. When I asked if a ticket to LaPaz on Lan after 6 months on the ground in Lima would satisfy customs he said there is no way he can say it will or will not. He said my situation is basically that I can do nothing avoid all of this - that I will be at the mercy of Peruvian customs when I arrive in Lima and it is completely up to the whim of whomever I encounter at that time. Can anyone help me?" Answer: I think someone has given you misinformation, especially about how long you can stay here on a tourist visa. As far as the one-way ticket is concerned, my experience has been that it is only a problem in the US (in my instance anyway, so possibly it is the same in Canada). I've never had a problem entering Peru without a return ticket, but I have had problems leaving the US without a return ticket. Even now that I have permanent residency, it was a problem using the automatic check-in machine. It wouldn't give me a boarding pass to leave the country because I didn't have a return ticket. However, once I showed my docoments to an agent, she was able to check me in manually. Another problem is that most round-trip tickets have a maximum of 30 days for the return trip. We always brught round trip tickets knowing that the return trip ticket would never be used. With regard to how long you can stay in Peru on a tourist visa, I was here for two years. I got 3 months when I entered the country. Then three 30-day extensions, then we went to Tacna and crossed over to Arica, Chile and came back the same day. Upon returning, I was given an additional 3 months. That continued for two years when I finally got my Carnet de Extranjeria (Peru's equivalent to a green card). So you probably will have no alternative but to buy a round trip ticket, but you don't have to use the return ticket. I also found that one-way tickets were more expensive than round-trip tickets. (Thanks to Dale and Ed!)

[Just a thought...]

I, too, am certain your information is incorrect. When my family moved here my wife and daughter only had one way tickets, but rather than purchase the return trips they simply had to book the return with a travel agent. Once they arrived in Peru they called the agent and cancelled the return...no lost money. As far as the visa goes, my family and I made the trip to Tacna then Arica every 3 months until last December when my wife and I rec´d our Carnet´s and then twice more for my childrens 90 day stamp and then to retrieve their resident stamps... There is no regulation for how much time you must be out of the country to get another 90 day stamp...i never left the country for more than a few hours, sometimes on the day my visa expired, and never had any problems...

[RaechelParker]

This is exactly what i was looking for. thank you for the informative post and keep up the good work!