June 5, 2013
Previously published on May 31, 2013
The Peruvian government has extended visa exemptions to Chilean and Mexican nationals for business trips of 183 days or less, pursuant to the Pacific Alliance pact signed in June 2012. Exemptions from business visas for Colombian nationals will soon follow, though no implementation date has been confirmed. Chilean, Colombian and Mexican nationals all previously required a business visa issued by a Peruvian consular post in order to make business visits to Peru, though they were visa-exempt for tourism. Peru previously treated only two nationalities as visa-exempt for business purposes. The Pacific Alliance pact was designed to create a trade bloc among Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Each Pacific Alliance member state has gradually implemented visa exemptions or created special visa categories for fellow member states. In 2012, Mexico added Colombian and Peruvian nationals to its visa waiver program, for which Chilean nationals were already eligible. Earlier this year, Colombia issued a new law that will create a specific visa category, the NE-2 visa, for foreign nationals engaged in business dealings related to the Pacific Alliance trade bloc and other treaties. Prior to the Pacific Alliance Pact, nationals of the four member nations were eligible to enter both Chile and Colombia without a visa.
|