Applying for Passports in Peru

You will need a valid Peru passport to leave and enter the country. A Peruvian passport is burgundy in color, has the Peruvian coat of arms emblazoned on its front cover, and displays the words “Comunidad Andina” (Andean Community) and “Republica del Peru” (Republic of Peru) above its coat of arms. The official passport is actually called the “Andean passport.”

The Andean passport is the standard passport for countries in South America that are members of the Andean Community of Nations (ACN). It was only in 2001 that the passport was created and it is now effective in the countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

An Andean passport is a passbook with rounded edges, gold-printed legends, and front and back covers that are “bordeaux” in color.

Types Available

Countries that belong to the Andean Community created this unified type of passport in June 2001. Having harmonized and standardized features, the Andean passport comes in three types: ordinary, official, and diplomatic. The ordinary passport is for traveling with purposes of studying, visiting, or touring. The official passport is for government officials who are traveling abroad on official government business. The diplomatic passport is issued to members of the diplomatic community.

Requirements

To obtain a Peruvian or Andean passport, you will have to submit a completed passport application form, as well as pay the necessary fees. You also need to supply the following documents:

• Birth certificate
• Certificate of identity
• Proof of citizenship
• Recent passport-size photographs
• Self-addressed stamped envelope if you want it mailed to you

Additional Information

An Andean passport, just like other types of passports, is in a passbook type format that has rounded edges and measures 88 millimeters by 125 millimeters. In addition, it is also a machine-readable passport that has a zone where information is written in the form of strings of alphanumeric characters. This form is read through optical character recognition. Immigration and law enforcement agents are able to process the documents quickly and without having to manually input the information into the system. Peru is known for their exports, for more information read The Guide to Peru exports.