How Can Foreign Founders Get a Visa to Live and Work in Peru?

If you are a foreign founder planning to live and work in Peru, the visa route you choose should reflect how you will fund the business, run it, and support yourself while you are there. The investor resident category requires an investment of at least S/ 500,000, while other residence routes may suit founders with a smaller budget.

In this guide, we explain how foreign founders can secure the right to live and work in Peru in 2026. We cover three resident routes, the separate business-visitor route, the Peru investor visa requirements, company setup, work rights, costs and timelines, and how Peru compares with Singapore as a launchpad.

Which Peru Visa for Entrepreneurs Matches Your Plans in 2026?

Four routes matter in practice: the investor resident visa, a work visa through your own company, the rentista visa, and short business visits.

Peru runs one of Latin America's most open immigration regimes for company founders. The framework sits under Legislative Decree 1350 and its regulations. Migraciones Perú administers every resident category, from investors to rentistas. As at 2026, these are the routes our network sees founders use most.

1. Investor Resident Visa for Funded Founders

This flagship route requires an investment of at least S/ 500,000 in a Peruvian company, made through a single international transfer. Approved investors may establish, develop or administer lawful investments in Peru.

2. Work Visa Through Your Own Peruvian Company

You can hire yourself. The employment contract must be authorised by Peru's Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion (MTPE). The route suits founders who want residence without committing S/ 500,000, though the visa ties you to the sponsoring company.

3. Rentista Visa for Remote-First Founders

Founders with stable income from abroad may qualify as rentistas. The commonly applied benchmark is at least US$1,000 per month in foreign-source income. Thresholds are revised periodically, so confirm the current figure before filing.

4. Business and Tourist Stays for Market Testing

Visitors typically receive up to 90 days per entry, extendable toward a 183-day annual cap. You may hold meetings, inspect premises and sign contracts. Productive work is not permitted on visitor status.

What Are the Peru Investor Visa Requirements?

In 2026 the core requirements are an investment of at least S/ 500,000, a Peruvian company registered with SUNARP, and a complete immigration filing.

The investor category is the cleanest route for founders with capital. Migraciones requires evidence of an investment of at least S/ 500,000 made through a single international transfer. The company and filing records must support the application before you commit funds.

1. Minimum Investment of S/ 500,000

The investment must be at least S/ 500,000 and made through a single international transfer via a supervised bank or financial institution. Keep bank records clean from the first remittance.

2. A Duly Registered Peruvian Company

The investment must sit in a Peruvian entity recorded with the national public registry. Most founders incorporate first, then remit capital and register the investment.

3. Registration With ProInversión

Peru's investment promotion agency registers foreign investments under Legislative Decree 662. Registration evidences your capital and supports any future stability agreement.

4. The Immigration Filing Itself

You apply through Migraciones; if applying from abroad, the Peruvian consulate authorises the visa after Migraciones approves the resident status, and you then obtain the carné de extranjería. Initial validity is typically 12 months, renewed annually under current rules.

How Do Foreign Founders Set Up a Peruvian Company?

Foreigners may own 100% of a Peruvian company, with no local partner required, and incorporation usually completes within weeks.

Peru's Constitution and foreign investment laws guarantee free entry for foreign capital. No sector-wide local-partner requirement applies to typical founder ventures. The standard sequence runs as follows:

1. Choose your entity, usually a limited liability company (SRL) or a closed corporation (SAC), and reserve its name.
2. Execute the incorporation deed before a Peruvian notary public.
3. Register the company with the Superintendencia Nacional de los Registros Públicos (SUNARP).
4. Obtain the corporate tax number, the Registro Único de Contribuyentes (RUC), from the Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas y de Administración Tributaria (SUNAT).
5. Secure any required municipal operating licence and enrol staff on the SUNAT-administered electronic payroll.

In our experience, founders who keep the registry and tax steps clean avoid months of follow-up queries. For a broader view, our overview of setting up overseas operations through a global accounting network shows how member firms coordinate these steps across borders.

What Work Rights Does a Peru Resident Visa Give Founders?

Investor holders may direct their own companies, work-visa holders are tied to an approved contract, and rentistas generally live on foreign income.

Peruvian labour law caps foreign employees at 20% of a company's workforce. Foreign payroll is capped at 30%, under long-standing rules. Directors, senior managers and qualifying shareholders are commonly exempt, so founders with board seats or substantial equity usually sit outside the quota.

Foreign founders become taxable in Peru on worldwide income after they become tax domiciled, generally from the tax year after exceeding 183 days of presence in a 12-month period; top personal rates remain near 30% as at 2026. Non-residents pay Peru-source tax only. Confirm current rates with SUNAT, the national tax authority, before planning salaries or distributions.

How Does Peru Compare With Singapore for Global Founders?

Peru trades a higher tax burden for low-cost entry into the Americas, while Singapore offers a salary-based pass, lower taxes and faster incorporation.

Singapore takes a different approach to founder mobility. An Employment Pass application must meet the qualifying-salary requirement and, unless exempt, pass COMPASS. For most non-financial-sector applications in 2026, the qualifying salary starts at S$5,600 per month and rises with age. ACRA charges S$15 for a name application and S$300 to register a company. Most registrations are approved soon after payment, although complex cases or referral approvals take longer.

Our Singapore member firm, 3E Accounting Pte Ltd, is a corporate services provider. Its published fee schedule lists Employment Pass support at S$1,090 with GST and permanent residence applications at S$2,180 with GST. Singapore taxes companies at a 17% headline rate and applies Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 9%. Qualifying new start-ups may receive a 75% exemption on their first S$100,000 of normal chargeable income for their first three years of assessment.

Peru counters with a 29.5% headline corporate rate and 18% sales tax, the Impuesto General a las Ventas (IGV), as at 2026. Personal taxes reach about 30% for Peru residents, against Singapore's progressive top rate of 24%. Singapore also introduced more flexible registered-office rules under changes that commenced on 20 October 2026.

The better hub depends on where your customers sit, not just headline rates. Founders weighing similar markets in the Americas often read our guides on why set up business in Honduras and why set up business in Puerto Rico.

What Should You Budget and Time for a Peru Founder Move?

Expect company costs, immigration fees, professional support and a first-year runway; the visa filing itself is rarely the largest line.

Notary, registry and licence fees vary with your capital and municipality, so budget on quotes rather than fixed tables. Immigration charges are modest. Document translation, apostilles and professional support usually cost more than the filing itself.

Because the S/ 500,000 investment must be traceable and made through a single international transfer, keep bank records clean from the first remittance. Processing times shift with queues, so treat the indicative timeline in this guide as a planning tool. Many founders contact our team at this stage to lock a realistic calendar before booking travel.

Conclusion

Foreign founders who want to live and work in Peru should use the investor or worker resident route; rentista and business or tourist status do not authorise local employment. The right Peru visa for entrepreneurs depends on your capital, your income structure and how hands-on you plan to be. Peru's open ownership rules mean no local partner is needed at any stage.

We help clients incorporate in Peru, remit and register foreign investment, and prepare resident filings through our international network. We also keep cross-border obligations on one calendar, from SUNAT deadlines to any second hub you choose.

If you are mapping a Peru entry for 2026, our corporate professional advisors can scope the right route before you spend.

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