Border control at Peru airports: what happens to travellers and their data

Arriving: the steps at the border

Under Article 45 of Legislative Decree 1350, every national or foreign passenger must enter and leave Peru through an approved control post with an identity or travel document. Migraciones sets up control posts at ports and airports so that every person entering or leaving is recorded. It can limit the entry and transit of foreign nationals for reasons of national security, public health and public order, in line with the principle of proportionality ³.

Migraciones ordered that from 29 May 2023 the TAM Virtual would serve as proof of entry and exit at international airport control posts, and stamps would stop. Stamps remain as a fallback if the TAM Virtual cannot be used. Migraciones asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to put the change into TIMATIC, the travel document database used by airlines. It told airline associations, the tourism ministry, the tax and customs agency SUNAT and the interior ministry ³. Migraciones had approved the TAM Virtual at the Iquitos airport control post in April 2020 ⁴.

The TAM Virtual holds the traveller's personal details, the date, time and control post used, and the authorised length of stay. Tourists can download it online to check their stay and prove regular entry, for example in consular procedures ².

Entry permission: visas and visa exemptions

Under Peru's migration rules, a visa is the authorisation of a migratory status. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs grants it through Peru's consular offices ⁶.

In April 2024 the government restored visa-free entry for Mexican holders of ordinary passports, for tourism and business, through Supreme Decree 012-2024-RE. The decree allows stays of up to 183 calendar days within one year, in one visit or several ⁶.

Biometrics and e-gates

Migraciones opened e-gates at the new Jorge Chávez International Airport on 1 June 2025. They are open to adult Peruvians and to foreign residents with a valid carné de extranjería and migratory status. Users need an electronic passport with at least six months left before expiry ¹.

Users first pre-register through MigraCheck on the Migraciones website. They create an account once, then file a pre-registration within the 48 hours before each international flight. Migraciones said it had added counters and inspectors at the new terminal. It said the pre-registration would be improved as automated control develops ¹.

Travellers with children cannot use the e-gates. They go to staffed counters so officers can check the notarial, court or consular permits for the minors. Non-resident foreign nationals use the counters too ¹.

Passenger data: PNR

Ministerial Resolution 118-2019-IN, published on 19 January 2019, approved a technical standard on the PNR data that airlines must send. It binds every national or foreign company that flies international routes under a permit ⁵.

Migraciones set a timetable for PNR rollout in February 2019. In July 2019 it extended the airline testing phase by 90 days, after which the production stage would begin ⁵.

Watch lists and checks

Migraciones says data that travellers file through MigraCheck is checked against national and international alert systems before entry or exit is allowed. It names Interpol, arrest warrants and the Pacific Alliance among them ¹.

Legislative Decree 1130 gives Migraciones the duty to authorise, deny and control the entry, exit and stay of foreign nationals. It must stop nationals and foreigners who do not meet the rules from entering or leaving ³.

Your data: the law and how to ask for records

Law 29733, the Personal Data Protection Law, sets the rules and the rights of data subjects, known as ARCO rights. The national data protection authority is exercised by the General Directorate of Transparency, Access to Public Information and Personal Data Protection of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights ⁷.

The Ministry of Justice says data protection is a fundamental right under Article 2 of the Constitution. A new regulation, approved by Supreme Decree 016-2024-JUS, has been in force since 31 March 2025. It adds a duty of proactive responsibility and a duty to report personal data security incidents. The law treats biometric data as sensitive data ⁷.

Under the regulation, public bodies that process personal data must name a personal data officer. The officer checks and advises on compliance with the data protection rules ⁷.

Under the regulation, a data holder must answer an access request within 20 days. Requests for rectification, cancellation or objection must be answered within 10 days. A request for information about processing must be answered within 8 days. Each period runs from the day after the request is filed ⁷.

The law created a National Registry of Personal Data Protection, run by the authority. Anyone can search it to see which databases exist, what they are for, and the identity and address of their owners ⁷.

The authority can impose fines for breaches. Minor breaches carry fines from 0.5 to 5 tax units (UIT). Serious breaches carry up to 50 UIT and very serious breaches up to 100 UIT ⁷. Data holders must give people simple, quick and free ways to withdraw consent ⁷.

Who runs the systems

The Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones was created by Legislative Decree 1130. It is a specialised technical body attached to the Ministry of the Interior. It runs migration control in coordination with other agencies at control posts ³. It runs the TAM Virtual, MigraCheck and the e-gates ^1,2. Lima Airport Partners operates Jorge Chávez airport ⁸.

Security screening on departure

Peru Retail reported in September 2024 that Lima Airport Partners was applying EU-aligned limits on liquids, aerosols and gels for direct flights to Europe from 1 September. Passengers on those flights could carry liquids only in containers of up to 100ml. The report said the measure followed a European Commission technical report on C3 scanners ⁸.