Sabor a Selva Life in the Peruvian Amazon…

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Back in December of 2011, after two years of legal residency, I began the process of becoming a Peruvian citizen. I am proud to say that I now have dual citizenship.  The process outlined below is specific to marriage to a Peruvian citizen.  In our case, 14 years this September.  Before I go into the process itself, I want to share my view of the pros and cons of citizenship versus residency in Peru.

Pros:

• You get a DNI(national ID card).  Renewal is only once every seven years.  Unlike a CE which generally requires two trips a year to DIGEMIN and a few other places.
• We plan on living here and this give us more flexibility with travel and spending time outside Peru.
• Never making another trip to RENIEC for a stamped copy of your marriage certificate.
• You save time and money!
• No more standing in line paying renew and annual fees.
• No more trips to DIGEMIN (immigration) except to renew your passport.
• Peruvian passport.  Peru is part of the Comunidad Andina which allows you visa free travel to Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador and Columbia, using just your DNI.  Citizens of some countries are required to obtain a visa before travel to Brazil at cost of $130, even as a CE holder you are required to get a visa for travel to Brazil.  Bolivia charges $130 as well that you can pay as you cross the border.  Chile and Argentina have similar requirements if you arrive by air.
• New rights and responsibilities.
• I am sure I have left out many other positives, but these immediately came to mind as I was writing this.

Cons:

• None that I can see, unless you don’t like voting.

My title!

Here is the process, which we completed 100% on our own.  We also did it without paying a single bribe, nor did we have anyone solicit one from us to make the process go ‘quicker.’

• Spend two years of continuous LEGAL residency in Peru (you must spend at least 183 days a year in Peru to maintain your residency).  The process of getting your residency is not complicated and is quick, 30 days or less in most cases.  I have written about the entire process in posts from 2009.  Those processes are still the same, though the costs associated with the steps have changed.
• After the two year anniversary of the issuance of your CE (carné de extranjería) you can apply to become a naturalized citizen.  It depends on your home country as to whether or not they allow dual citizenship.  In my case that is possible.
• Gather up the required documents.  You will need your passport, CE, spouse’s DNI and birth certificate (spouse’s NOT yours), your marriage certificate with the seal from RENIEC no older than 90 days and 4 passport photos (it says one on the DIGEMIN website). Pay about S/. 50.00 in fees(city hall and RENIEC).
• You will need to make several copies of the passport pages as requested.  Several copies of your CE (two should do) and spouse’s DNI.  I think the extra copies were for the local office to keep on file, in case the original documents were somehow lost in transit.
• Once you have everything gathered up and you have passed the two year mark on your CE, head to your local DIGEMIN office.
• You can actually complete the entire process from the provinces if you live outside Lima.
• They will update you on any changes in the process and you will need to go to fill out form F-006 located here:  http://www.digemin.gob.pe/formularios/f-006.pdf  and then go to Banco de la Nación and pay a fee of S/. 46.55(as of December 2011) and another fee of 1% of the UIT which at the time I applied was S/. 36.00.
• Fill out this form: http://www.digemin.gob.pe/documentos/solicitud_irpm.doc . It is a request to register the change in your status from resident to citizen.
• Fill out a simple declaration that you have a place to live, you are in good health and have not committed any crimes in Peru or in your home country since obtaining your residency.  They will provide this in most cases or models are available, Google it.
• You will sign all the papers and have a few fingerprints taken.
• Then you wait… and wait… and wait.
• The process from Lima should take about 30 days, from the provinces it takes about 60 days.  The TUPA(transparency act) states 15 days but that is not accurate.
• When your title has been approved, you will be contacted to come to the DIGEMIN office and sign your title.  From there it will be sent back to the main office in Breña for three signatures.  This part takes as little as a few days or, in my case, almost a month.
• Once you are notified that your title is ready you must do this step, it is not listed anywhere but trust me, you need to do it.  Go to the nearest notario and get certified copies of your CE as you have to change over your ID on all your accounts and property.  The cost is a whopping 2 soles per copy and will save you a world of hassle down the road.
• You will be notified that it is approved via phone or email and in my case, when to pick it up.  It works differently in Lima.
• Go pick up your title.  It looks similar to the one my wife received when she became a US citizen.  Your CE will be retained and destroyed.  In Lima you will have a cool swearing in ceremony, like in the States. In the provinces they just give it to you and you are on your way.
• Get copies of your title made, it is S/. 11.55 for up to five copies.  Fill out form F-002. You do this at the DIGEMIN office.
• Next step is to go to RENIEC with your title to get your DNI.  That takes 14 days and costs S/. 24.
• After you receive your DNI, then you can get your passport.  That takes about an hour at any DIGEMIN office. The cost as of this posting is S/. 37.05.

The process itself is simple yet extremely frustrating when applying from the provinces.  I have nothing but praise for the Pucallpa DIGEMIN team; they were amazing throughout the process.  If only Lima had some people that actually cared about the provinces, life in Peru would be so much better.  Once again I found out how little Lima takes the provinces into consideration.

While I was waiting for everything to be approved, several of my friends that applied around the same time as I did but in Lima were done in 30 days or less.  In my case, my application was held in Lima for a month before it was sent back to Pucallpa not because the application was incorrect, but the fees had changed and Lima failed to publish that.  The process is not without flaws, but what isn’t.  Compared to the US citizenship process, this was easy and fast.  Overall I would rate the experience as an 8/10 and the Pucallpa office a 10/10.

Peruvian DNI sample

UPDATE(16/04/2012):  Effective 01/01/2012

Peru does now require proof of income during your residency. They now ask to see receipts, bank statements, labor contracts to make sure you met the terms of your residency.  I have not been able to confirm if they require copies of bills paid. I will update this again when I have the correct information.

Outdated:  I would also like to take a moment to address misinformation I have seen posted regarding the process.

• At NO time will you asked to provide financial records as part of the process.
  • This includes bank records, payroll records, job contracts, etc.
  • You will NOT be asked to provide copies of bills you have paid.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.