Peru

Peru has some of the lowest levels of immigration in the Americas relative to its population, with fewer than 1,500 permanent immigrants in 2012 and less than half this number of temporary immigrants. However, the observed change in the foreign-born population over the past decade is much larger than the number of new registered immigrants, suggesting that some of these may be missing from the official statistics. These could include irregular immigrants but also foreign-born Peruvian citizens who return to Peru and whose entries are not registered with the immigration figures.

In 2013, the foreign-born population stood at 0.3 percent of the total resident population, a very low level indeed.

Regarding emigration, some 130,000 Peruvians, both permanent and temporary, were registered in 2012 as immigrants in the area of ​​OECD countries or other countries of the Americas. This is essentially the same level as in 2009, with a drop to around 120k per year in the intervening period. Nearly two-thirds of this migration went to Argentina and Chile and an additional sixth to the United States. Migration to Argentina and Chile has increased significantly since 2009, as movements to the United States and Spain have decreased. It should be noted that these statistics do not normally include tourists or business visitors, crew members or diplomatic personnel, nor do they cover persons who entered a destination country without authorization or who overstayed their visas.

The insertion of Peruvian emigrants in the labor market in Europe and the United States was stable in general terms from the period 2010-2011 to 2012-2013, but mainly as a result of the compensation of movements between men and women. While the employment and unemployment rates improved for Peruvian men, they worsened for women, with unemployment rising by 3 percentage points and the employment rate falling 4 percentage points.

In 2013, Peru received 440 asylum applications, showing an increase of 17% in relation to asylum applications in 2012. Colombia, Cuba and the Dominican Republic are the most important countries of origin. For the same year, 1,162 refugees resided in the country.

In 2013, remittances amounted to 2,707 million dollars, being the second largest recipient of remittances in South America after Colombia. The United States (34.5%), Spain (12.4%), Japan (8.9%) and Italy (7.8%) are the most important sending countries of remittances, followed by Chile (7.5%) and Argentina (5.2%).

In recent years, the Peruvian State has promoted policies aimed at serving Peruvian migrants who return to the country, as is the case of the Law of Return. The objective of the Law of Return or Law of Economic and Social Reintegration for Returned Migrants (Law No. 30001), is to facilitate the economic and social reintegration of Peruvian returnees through various incentive programs such as: (1) National Service of Employment, which links people seeking employment with companies that require personnel, through labor intermediation services, advice for job search, information on the labor market and occupational orientation; (2) “Let’s go Peru” program,

In 2013, the regulations of Law No. 30103 were approved, which establishes the procedure to regularize the immigration status of foreigners who have entered the country before December 31, 2011, through immigration posts and who are in an irregular situation such as consequence of the expiration of the authorization to stay or reside in the country. The law establishes the granting of a temporary or resident visa (maximum of two years) under the migratory status of worker, independent professional or resident family member, as the case may be. The regulation establishes a term of 180 days from its approval for foreigners to present their application for migratory regularization.

In April 2011, the Pacific Alliance was created, of which Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru are part; integrating Costa Rica and Panama as observers.

The general purpose of the Pacific Alliance is to move progressively towards “the free movement of goods, services, capital and people” by the member countries. Likewise, it establishes the prioritization of the movement of business people and the facilitation of migratory transit, including migratory cooperation and consular police.

In May 2013, based on the mandates described in the Constitutive Treaty of the Pacific Alliance, Peru announced the suppression of visas for business people from Chile, Colombia and Mexico for up to 183 days as long as they carry out an unpaid activity in the country. .

That same year, Peru signed the “Agreement on Residence for Nationals of the States Parties to MERCOSUR, Bolivia and Chile”, ratifying it in its internal regulations. Its purpose is to grant a legal residence to the nationals of a State Party – temporary residence for 2 years – after which, temporary residents can opt for a definitive one through the accreditation of their nationality and presentation of the respective requirements. The marked increase observed in the emigration of Peruvians to Argentina and Chile as of 2011 is undoubtedly related to this fact.

In 2011, the Parliament of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) approved the decision that proposes that the CAN countries adhere en bloc to the Agreement on Residency of the Mercosur States Parties, Chile and Bolivia. In practice, this accession only requires the adoption by Ecuador and Colombia, facilitated by the fact that both are associated with Mercosur since 2004.

Main indicators of migratory movements, the migrant population and the employment of emigrants