Working in Peru as a French National: Work Visa, Minimum Wage, Contributions, Income Tax and Economy

A tourist stay does not give the right to work. Migraciones issues a worker residence visa to a foreigner who has an employment contract, an administrative relationship or a service contract in the country. The conditions are to be outside the country when obtaining the immigration status and to have no criminal record. The documents include the form, a copy of the passport, a document from the competent authority certifying the absence of judicial, criminal and police records for the five years before arrival, the employment contract, less than 30 days old, approved by the administrative labour authority except for legal exceptions, with a term of at least one year, and a declaration by the company’s legal representative, the company having to appear as active with SUNAT.

• Cost and time: 58.80 soles per procedure (code 07567); reply within 30 calendar days; stay of 365 days, renewable. A contract with a trial period or of less than one year falls under the temporary worker visa.
• Quota: the Ministry of Labour recalls that, since Legislative Decree No. 689, private-sector companies may employ no more than 20% foreign workers in their workforce; the decree provides for exceptions, which should be confirmed with the ministry.
• Carné de extranjería (the foreigner’s residence card): once residence is approved, the carné allows you to work, study, start a business and be integrated into the public health system; see living in Peru.

The guide to working abroad gives the overall picture.

Supreme Decree No. 015-2026-TR, published in the official gazette on 28 September 2026, raises the minimum living wage (RMV) by 170 soles in two steps: 1,230 soles a month from 1 October 2026 (an increase of 100 soles on 1,130 soles), then 1,300 soles in the first half of the following year, by a forthcoming decree that will add 70 soles. The EsSalud pages read, last changed on 20 March 2026, still quote 1,130 soles.

The official sources consulted do not publish a scale of average salaries by profession or city; the “Economic indicators” block above gives the macroeconomic indicators. The RMV offers a reference scale, and the employer cannot declare to EsSalud a pay lower than the RMV. Salaries are negotiated in soles; expat contracts sometimes set part of the pay in foreign currency, to be specified in writing.

• EsSalud (health): the contribution for a dependent worker is 9% of pay or monthly income (Law No. 26790), borne solely by the employer, and cannot be lower than the RMV. It covers the worker and their dependants: spouse or partner, minor child, adult child with a disability and expectant mother. SUNAT collects these monthly contributions through the PLAME declaration.
• Pension, national system (ONP): the rate is 13% of pay (SUNAT).
• Pension, private system: the deduction consists of 10% of pay, plus the insurance premium and the commission (Superintendency of Banking, Insurance and Private Pension Fund Administrators, SBS). The employer withholds and pays these amounts for the dependent employee.

How care works is described in the healthcare system in Peru and on the page healthcare reimbursement in Peru.

SUNAT sets the value of the tax unit (UIT) at 5,500 soles (Supreme Decree No. 301-2025-EF). Income tax on earnings from work applies in five brackets expressed in UIT: 8% up to 5 UIT, 14% from 5 to 20 UIT, 17% from 20 to 35 UIT, 20% from 35 to 45 UIT and 30% above 45 UIT. With a UIT of 5,500 soles, this corresponds to thresholds of 27,500, 110,000, 192,500 and 247,500 soles a year. For employees as for the self-employed, a fixed amount of 7 UIT, or 38,500 soles, is deducted from annual pay; an additional deduction of up to 3 UIT applies, on supporting documents, in the worker’s annual return and not in the employer’s monthly withholding.

No tax treaty links France and Peru: the list of treaties in force on 1 January 2026, published in the BOFiP (the French tax authority’s official bulletin) on 29 April 2026, does not mention it. Each state applies its domestic law, and French tax residence must be assessed case by case: you can remain a French tax resident even though your home is abroad. A tax adviser should confirm the treatment before departure.

CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security) describes secondment outside an agreement: an employer based in France that sends an employee to a state with no agreement can keep them in the French scheme under domestic law, for three years renewable once, with a two-year gap before a new secondment to the same country for the same company. The employee then has a dual status: affiliated to the French scheme, they are also affiliated to the host country’s scheme, whose compulsory contributions are due. Once the maximum period has passed, they become an expat and fall only under the local scheme. See seconded or expat.

A self-employed person working in Peru declares their income under SUNAT rules and can contribute voluntarily to the private pension system on a declared income that cannot be lower than the RMV (SBS). For health, the guide to the healthcare system in Peru explains the ways to affiliate. A remote worker finds no dedicated category in the Migraciones pages read for this page; prior advice from Migraciones is needed, and the guide to digital nomad visas and the page on digital nomad insurance complete the subject.

The Directorate General of the Treasury (page of 11 June 2026) describes a 341-billion-dollar economy in 2025, built on three sectors, mining, agriculture and energy; Peru is the world’s third-largest copper producer and also produces silver, gold, zinc and tin. Growth reached 3.4% in 2025 and the Treasury projects about 3% in 2026, driven by household consumption and private investment; construction (+6.7%), trade (+3.6%) and agriculture (+4.8%) led the expansion, with mining up 1.8%. The currency is the Peruvian sol.

Informality is the main structural constraint: it affects 76% of people in employment, 95% in rural areas and 70% in urban areas, and informal activity accounts for 18% of GDP. Public finances call for vigilance, with debt at 30.2% of GDP and a deficit of 2.2% in 2025. For a formal employee, these benchmarks show a market where the registered contract, EsSalud affiliation and the pension contribution structure protection; see also expat health insurance.