- Ways to apply
- Citizen by descent · Descent to the third generation
- Dual citizenship
- Kept, however you apply
Each answer assumes none of your ancestors became a citizen of another country before their child was born. Below is what changes each answer.
On this page›
- 01Who qualifies
- 02Dates that matter
- 03Through your mother
- 04Keeping your citizenship
- 05Ways to apply
- 06The documents
- 07What it takes
- 08Where the records live
- 09Law changes
- 10Other options
- 11Sources
Who qualifies, generation by generation
LIKELY
Can you claim Peruvian citizenship through a parent?
Citizen by descent
A child of a Peruvian parent is Peruvian by birth if registered at a consulate as a minor, and otherwise can opt for Peruvian nationality as an adult.
POSSIBLE
Can you claim Peruvian citizenship through a grandparent?
Descent to the third generation
Peru recognises the grandchild born abroad of someone born in Peru, but each link needs a Peruvian parent: usually your parent registers or opts first, then you.
What would settle itWhether your parent is already Peruvian (registered at a consulate as a child, or by option as an adult); if not, your parent opts first and you follow.
- Nationality by birth for those born abroad to a Peruvian-by-birth parent and registered is recognised only to descendants up to the third generation, counted from the last person born in Peru: the grandchild born abroad. Nationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published), art. 2(3) ↗
- An adult born abroad to a Peruvian father or mother may opt for Peruvian nationality; a parent who is not yet Peruvian must first become so. Nationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published), art. 4(3) ↗
- Law 32421 will replace Law 26574, keeping the third-generation limit and dropping the requirement that registration happen during minority, once its regulation is published; that had not happened by September 2026. New Nationality Law, Law 32421 (El Peruano, 15 August 2025), in force the day after its regulation is published, art. 7(b); third final provision ↗
UNLIKELY
Can you claim Peruvian citizenship through a great-grandparent?
Descent to the third generation
Peruvian nationality by descent reaches the grandchild born abroad of the last person born in Peru, not a great-grandchild.
What would settle itWhether your grandparent or parent was born in Peru; the count starts from the last person born there.
The dates that matter
- 2026
Claiming through your mother or grandmother
Peru’s rule gives the same answer whether the line runs through a mother or a father. Where its reasons speak of mothers or fathers, they say:
- Persons born abroad to a Peruvian-by-birth father or mother who are registered during minority at the Peruvian consulate are Peruvian by birth. Nationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published), art. 2(3) ↗
- Persons born abroad to a Peruvian father or mother may, from majority, declare their will to be Peruvian before the competent authority. Nationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published), art. 4(3) ↗
- Those born abroad to a Peruvian father or mother who are registered in accordance with the law are Peruvian by birth. Constitution of Peru, Art. 52 (as amended by Law 30738, 2018): those born abroad to a Peruvian father or mother and registered "conforme a ley" are Peruvian by birth, Art. 52 ↗
- An adult born abroad to a Peruvian father or mother may opt for Peruvian nationality; a parent who is not yet Peruvian must first become so. Nationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published), art. 4(3) ↗
Dual citizenship with your home country
You keep your citizenship.
On every open route, the rule lets a citizen of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina or South Africa keep that citizenship.
Every way to apply, and the law behind it
The law
- POSSIBLE
Through a grandparent
The law
- Nationality by birth for those born abroad to a Peruvian-by-birth parent and registered is recognised only to descendants up to the third generation, counted from the last person born in Peru: the grandchild born abroad. Nationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published), art. 2(3) ↗
- An adult born abroad to a Peruvian father or mother may opt for Peruvian nationality; a parent who is not yet Peruvian must first become so. Nationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published), art. 4(3) ↗
- Law 32421 will replace Law 26574, keeping the third-generation limit and dropping the requirement that registration happen during minority, once its regulation is published; that had not happened by September 2026. New Nationality Law, Law 32421 (El Peruano, 15 August 2025), in force the day after its regulation is published, art. 7(b); third final provision ↗
- Nationality by birth for those born abroad is recognised only to descendants up to the third generation. Nationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published), art. 2(3) ↗
- The first generation is the last person born in Peru, so the right reaches only the grandchild born abroad. Consulate General of Peru in Rome: Peruvian nationality (reading of the third-generation limit) ↗
What would settle an unsure case
- Whether your parent is already Peruvian (registered at a consulate as a child, or by option as an adult); if not, your parent opts first and you follow.
- Whether your grandparent or parent was born in Peru; the count starts from the last person born there.
The documents, as the rule lists them
Citizen by descent
Through a parent
- Your parent’s Peruvian birth certificate or DNI
- Your birth certificate, apostilled and translated
Descent to the third generation
Through a grandparent
- Your Peruvian ancestor’s birth certificate or DNI
- Your parent’s Peruvian registration or option, if any
- Birth and marriage records for each generation to you, apostilled and translated
Most countries also want proof that your ancestor didn’t become a citizen somewhere else before their child was born: the naturalization record with its date, or a letter saying there isn’t one.
What it takes: time, cost, the hard part, who decides
Citizen by descent
- Time
- A few weeks to a few months for the registration at RENIEC or the consulate; the passport follows quickly.
- Cost
- About $150–350: registration and passport fees, apostilles and certified translations.
- The hard part
- None, really. Bring your parent’s Peruvian birth certificate or DNI and your apostilled U.S. birth certificate to the appointment.
- Who decides
- The Peruvian consulate for your address, or RENIEC directly in Peru.
- The first record
- Your parent’s Peruvian birth certificate or DNI, from RENIEC (Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil). Request the certified copy of the partida de nacimiento online through RENIEC, or bring the parent’s DNI directly to the consulate. reniec.gob.pe ↗
How it’s filed
- Where
- A Peruvian consulate in the country where you were born, the one whose circunscripción covers your state. New York: New York State, 241 East 49th Street, New York, NY 10017. Paterson: New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 100 Hamilton Plaza, Suite 1220, Paterson, NJ 07505. Washington: D.C., Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, 1225 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20037. Chicago: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. consulado.pe publishes the split for every U.S. post. office list ↗
- How
- In person; you appear in person
- Fee
- No fee
- Decision
- 1–13 weeks
What goes in the file (5)›
- Declaración jurada that the birth has not been registered at another consulate or in Peru
- The applicant’s birth certificate from the local authority, with a Spanish translation
- The Peruvian parent’s DNI and/or Peruvian acta de nacimiento (the parent must be Peruvian by birth)
- The other parent’s DNI or valid passport
- The applicant’s ID (adults)
What goes wrong (4)›
- Free, including the first copy. Adults register themselves; a minor is registered by a parent.
- After registration, apply for the DNI (RENIEC) at the consulate, then the passport.
- From AR, BR, CA, GB, AU, NZ, ZA: register at the Peruvian consulate in the country where you were born, or at a RENIEC registry office while in Peru. Argentine Spanish records need no translation.
- The Peruvian ancestor’s own naturalization abroad does not affect the claim: Constitution Art. 53 ends Peruvian nationality only by express renunciation before a Peruvian authority, and Law 26574 Art. 9 says a Peruvian by birth who takes another nationality keeps Peru’s. No proof the ancestor avoided naturalizing is needed.
source ↗
Descent to the third generation
- Time
- Two registrations in turn: your parent at the consulate first, then you; each takes a few weeks to a few months.
- Cost
- About $300–700: the consular registration of an adult is free, so the cost is apostilles, translations and copies for two generations.
- The hard part
- Your parent must be registered as Peruvian first, and the option stops at the grandchild of the last person born in Peru; Law 32421, which drops the registration-during-minority rule, is not in force until its regulation is published.
- Who decides
- The Peruvian consulate for your address, then RENIEC.
- The first record
- Your Peruvian grandparent’s birth certificate or DNI, from RENIEC. Request the certified partida de nacimiento with the grandparent’s name and approximate birthplace, then book your parent’s registration at the consulate. reniec.gob.pe ↗
How it’s filed
- Where
- The Peruvian consulate covering each person’s place of birth, parent first. office list ↗
- How
- In person; you appear in person
- Fee
- No fee
- Decision
- 2–12 months
What goes in the file (3)›
- Step 1, the parent: the full consular registration (sworn declaration, the parent’s translated birth certificate, the Peru-born grandparent’s DNI or acta de nacimiento)
- Step 2, the applicant: sworn declaration, the applicant’s translated birth certificate, the parent’s new Peruvian consular birth record and DNI
- The other parent’s DNI or passport
What goes wrong (4)›
- The same consular registration applies to each generation in turn: under Law 32421 a grandchild of a Peruvian by birth exercises the right only after the parent is registered as the child of a Peruvian by birth (Migraciones).
- The Peruvian ancestor’s own naturalization abroad does not affect the claim: Constitution Art. 53 ties loss of nationality only to express renunciation before a Peruvian authority (see the Citizen by descent path).
- Great-grandchildren are not covered: Migraciones states the grandchild, although Peruvian by birth, does not transmit nationality to their own child. A family whose Peruvian is a great-grandparent can register the grandparent’s or parent’s generation, but the applicant has no claim.
- Law 32421 was published on 15 August 2025 and takes effect the day after its regulation appears in El Peruano. Until then consulates apply Law 26574 and Constitution Art. 52, which reach the child of any Peruvian by birth, a parent registered at a consulate included, so the parent-first sequence is the same.
source ↗
Fees are each office’s published fee, converted to U.S. dollars.
Where each record lives, and how to ask for it
birth
RENIEC (Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil), which holds birth records (actas) registered at the municipal registry offices and centralises them
Search by the person’s DNI number or by name, date and district of birth. Digitised actas can be ordered online; an acta not yet in RENIEC’s system comes from the municipality where the birth was registered.
- Fee
- 10.3 PEN (about $3)
- Takes
- 1–9 weeks
Good to know (3)›
- Consulates accept the Peruvian parent’s DNI and/or the parent’s acta de nacimiento; for a first-generation claim the DNI usually suffices.
- Online copies cost S/ 10.30 (about USD 3), paid on págalo.pe with the requester’s DNI, so a relative in Peru with a DNI orders them. Web copies are for use in Peru; for a consulate, get the copy at a RENIEC agency or agent.
- RENIEC has brought in more than 28 million actas from 185 municipal registry offices. An acta not yet in its system is requested from the municipality where the birth was registered.
source ↗
birth
The Peruvian consulate that registered a parent’s birth abroad (registro de nacimientos consular), with the record also in RENIEC
The parent’s consular birth record, needed for the grandchild route under Law 32421.
- Fee
- 6 USD
- Takes
- 1–4 weeks
Good to know (1)›
- The first copy is free; each further certified copy is 6 soles consulares (1 sol consular = USD 1 in the U.S.).
source ↗
Translations
- Into
- Spanish
- Who may translate
- Any certified translator
- About
- $25–$60 a page
The consulate keeps the original birth certificate. New York and Washington ask only for the original long-form U.S. certificate; Paterson adds a Spanish translation where needed. None of them asks for a certified translator or an apostille on a certificate from their own country.
source ↗
The passport
- Where
- The Peruvian consulate for the applicant’s residence, by online appointment, with the DNI. Delivery time varies by post.
- Fee
- About $70
- Time
- 2–13 weeks
source ↗
Recent and pending changes
We know of no pending bill or recent court ruling for Peru.
Already in the rule
We re-read the official pages behind this guide every day. When one changes, a person checks the rule before we update anything here.
If descent doesn’t reach you
One residence program leads to Peru without an ancestor, each with its own law and road to citizenship.
Every source on this page
4 laws and official pages behind the answers, then the offices and pages behind the records and filing.
- LawNationality Law, Law 26574 (in force until Law 32421's regulation is published) · art. 2(3); art. 4(3)
- LawConstitution of Peru, Art. 52 (as amended by Law 30738, 2018): those born abroad to a Peruvian father or mother and registered "conforme a ley" are Peruvian by birth · Art. 52
- LawNew Nationality Law, Law 32421 (El Peruano, 15 August 2025), in force the day after its regulation is published · art. 7(b); third final provision
- LawConsulate General of Peru in Rome: Peruvian nationality (reading of the third-generation limit)
- RecordsRENIEC (Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil): Your parent’s Peruvian birth certificate or DNI
- RecordsHow to file: Citizen by descent
- RecordsInscripción de nacimiento en el registro consular, with a sworn declaration of no prior registration
- RecordsInscripción de nacimiento en el registro consular, filed first for the parent (as child of a Peruvian by birth), then for the applicant
- RecordsBirth records: RENIEC
- RecordsThe passport: where, the fee and the wait
Not legal advice. Every answer comes from the country’s own laws and is tested against real cases. Where the law isn’t clear, we say “possible” rather than guess.