I have a 90 day tourist visa. I’m allowed to be in the country for 90 days and after that, I am to be charged each day that I over stay my visa. The original plan was to arrive in Peru, get my immigration papers moving and have my residency visa before the 90 day period was up, no problema. It’s no secret that the original plan didn’t work. It’s day 88 and my papers finally went to immigrations this morning. Nothing like waiting to the last minute. Thanks for nothing, my dear employer.
Luckily for me, once all the paperwork arrives at immigrations, the clock stops on my tourist visa. I’m allowed to stay in the country until my papers are processed and I receive the final word regarding my residency status. So here I am, in bureaucratic limbo, waiting and waiting. I’m told that I should receive my visa in about four weeks. Which realistically means about six weeks. Though yesterday I was told, “It really just depends on how busy they are. Sometimes it takes longer, sometimes not.” The real answer: no one knows, welcome to Peru!
On the bright side, this is the final stretch. I need to complete a few more obstacles: take visa pictures, register at INTERPOL, give my fingerprints to the Peruvian government, and then it’s just waiting for my long awaited carne de extranjeria to finally come home to me. And once it arrives- Pisco Sours to celebrate!
