Entry Requirements & Customs

Entry Requirements

For an up-to-date, country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go to the "Foreign Entry Requirement" Web page of the U.S. State Department at http://travel.state.gov.

Citizens of the United States, Canada, Great Britain, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia do not require visas to enter Peru as tourists -- only valid passports. Citizens of any of these countries conducting business or enrolled in formal educational programs in Peru do require visas; contact the embassy or consulate in your home country for more information.

Tourist (or landing) cards, distributed on arriving international flights or at border crossings, are good for stays of up to 90 days. Keep a copy of the tourist card for presentation upon departure from Peru. (If you lose it, you'll have to pay a $4 fine.) A maximum of three extensions of 30 days each, for a total of 180 days, is allowed.

No immunizations are required for entry.

In the U.S.. -- The Embassy of Peru is located at 1700 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (tel. 202/833-9860; www.peruvianembassy.us). There are Peruvian consulates in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, and San Francisco. For their contact information, visit the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Relations website at www.rree.gob.pe.

In Canada -- The Embassy of Peru is located at 130 Albert St., Suite 1901, Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5G4 (tel. 613/238-1777; emperuca@bellnet.ca). There are Peruvian consulates in Montreal (tel. 514/844-5123), Toronto (tel. 416/963-9696), and Vancouver (tel. 604/662-8880).

In the U.K. -- The Embassy of Peru is located at 52 Sloane St., London SW1X 9SP (tel. 020/7235-1917; www.peru-embassy.co.uk).

In Australia -- The Embassy of Peru is located at 43 Culgoa Circuit, O'Malley ACT 2606 (tel. 02/6286-9507; www.embaperu.org.au). The Peruvian consulate has an office in Sydney at 30 Clarence St., Level 3, NSW 2000 (tel. 02/9262-6464).

In New Zealand -- The Embassy of Peru is located at Level 8, Cigna House, 40 Mercer St., Wellington (tel. 04/499-8087; embassy.peru@xtra.co.nz).

Customs

What You Can Bring Into Peru -- You are allowed to bring 3 liters of alcohol and 400 cigarettes (20 packs) or 50 cigars into Peru duty-free. New items for personal use, including camera equipment and adventure-sports gear such as mountain bikes and kayaks, are allowed. Travelers may bring in up to $300 in varied gifts, as long as no individual item exceeds $100. To avoid the possibility of having to fill out forms or pay a bond, it's best not to draw attention to expensive, new-looking items that officials might believe you are intent on reselling. (It helps to take them out of their original boxes.)

What You Can Take Home -- Exports of protected plant and endangered animal species -- live or dead -- are strictly prohibited by Peruvian law and should not be purchased. This includes headpieces and necklaces made with macaw feathers, and even common "rain sticks," unless authorized by the Natural Resources Institute (INRENA). Vendors in jungle cities and airports sell live animals and birds, as well as handicrafts made from insects, feathers, or other natural products. Travelers have been detained and arrested by the Ecology Police for carrying such items.

It is also illegal to take pre-Columbian archaeological items, and antiques, including ceramics and textiles, and colonial-era art out of Peru. Reproductions of many such items are available, but even their export could cause difficulties at Customs or with overly cautious international courier services if you attempt to send them home. To be safe, look for the word REPRODUCCION or an artist's name stamped on reproduction ceramics, and keep business cards and receipts from shops where you have purchased them. Particularly fine items might require documentation from Peru's National Institute of Culture (INC) verifying that the object is a reproduction and may be exported. You might be able to obtain a certificate of authorization from the INC kiosk at Lima's Jorge Chávez International Airport or the INC office at the National Museum Building, Av. Javier Prado Este 2465, sixth floor, San Borja (tel. 01/476-9900).

Returning U.S. citizens who have been away for at least 48 hours are allowed to bring back, once every 30 days, $800 worth of merchandise duty free. You'll be charged a flat rate of duty on the next $1,000 worth of purchases. Any dollar amount beyond that is dutiable at whatever rates apply. On mailed gifts, the duty-free limit is $200. Be sure to have your receipts or purchases handy to expedite the declaration process. Note: If you owe duty, you are required to pay upon your arrival in the United States, either by cash, personal check, government or traveler's check, or money order (and in some locations, Visa or MasterCard).

To avoid paying duty on foreign-made personal items you owned before your trip, bring along a bill of sale, insurance policy, jeweler's appraisal, or receipts of purchase. Or you can register items that can be readily identified by a permanently affixed serial number or marking -- think laptop computers and cameras -- with Customs before you leave. Take the items to the nearest Customs office or register them with Customs at the airport from which you're departing. You'll receive, at no cost, a Certificate of Registration, which allows duty-free entry for the life of the item.

With some exceptions, you cannot bring fresh fruits and vegetables into the United States. For specifics on what you can bring back, download the invaluable free pamphlet Know Before You Go! online at www.cbp.gov. (Click on "Travel," and then on "Know Before You Go! Online Brochure.") Or, contact the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667), and request the pamphlet.

For a clear summary of Canadian rules, write for the booklet I Declare, issued by the Canada Border Services Agency (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4044). Canada allows its citizens a C$750 exemption, and you're allowed to bring back duty-free 1 carton of cigarettes, 1 can of tobacco, 40 imperial ounces of liquor, and 50 cigars. In addition, you're allowed to mail gifts to Canada valued at less than C$60 a day, provided that they're unsolicited and don't contain alcohol or tobacco (write on the package "Unsolicited gift, under $60 value"). All valuables should be declared on the Y-38 form before departure from Canada, including serial numbers of valuables you already own, such as expensive foreign cameras. Note: The $750 exemption can be used only once a year and only after an absence of 7 days.

Citizens of the U.K. who are returning from a non-E.U. country have a customs allowance of 200 cigarettes; 50 cigars; 250 grams of smoking tobacco; 2 liters of still table wine; 1 liter of spirits or strong liqueurs (over 22% volume); 2 liters of fortified wine, sparkling wine, or other liqueurs; 60cc (ml) perfume; 250cc (ml) of toilet water; and £145 worth of all other goods, including gifts and souvenirs. People under 17 cannot have the tobacco or alcohol allowance. For more information, contact HM Customs & Excise at tel. 0845/010-9000 (from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152), or consult its website at www.hmce.gov.uk.

The duty-free allowance in Australia is A$400, or, for those under 18, A$200. Citizens can bring in 250 cigarettes or 250 grams of loose tobacco, and 1,125 milliliters of alcohol. If you're returning with valuables you already own, such as foreign-made cameras, you should file form B263. A helpful brochure available from Australian consulates or Customs offices is Know Before You Go. For more information, call the Australian Customs Service at tel. 1300/363-263, or log on to www.customs.gov.au.

The duty-free allowance for New Zealand is NZ$700. Citizens over 17 can bring in 200 cigarettes, 50 cigars, or 250 grams of tobacco (or a mixture of all three if their combined weight doesn't exceed 250g); plus 4.5 liters of wine and beer, or 1.125 liters of liquor. New Zealand currency does not carry import or export restrictions. Fill out a certificate of export, listing the valuables you are taking out of the country; that way, you can bring them back without paying duty. Most questions are answered in a free pamphlet available at New Zealand consulates and Customs offices: New Zealand Customs Guide for Travellers, Notice no. 4. For more information, contact New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).