Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Peruvian citizens wishing to obtain a passport to travel abroad will now be able to do so for a much cheaper price.

According to a supreme decree promulgated by Peru's president Alan Garcia, two of the three fees that had to be paid to obtain the document have been eliminated, thus, reducing the price of a new passport to 37.05 soles.

In the case that travelers want to renew their passports, the new fee will be 33.36 soles. According to Peru's Immigration Services, passports are to be valid for five years.

As soon as the regulation is placed into force, citizens will no longer have to pay a 29-sol service or a 15-dollar processing fee.

These fees were eliminated with the help of Peru's Supreme Court, which established in January that the extra expenses were unconstitutional.

The Supreme Decree also establishes that the ministry of the interior, through the country's immigration services, is responsible for all of the paperwork needed to be done for the acquisition and renewal of a Peruvian passport.

The funds raised will be administered by the ministry of the interior to continue providing citizens with new and renewed passports.