Spain · Peru

Consulate General of Spain in Lima

Overview

For anyone in Peru with paperwork bound for Spain, the Consulate General at Calle Los Pinos 490 in San Isidro is the office that matters — not the embassy chancery a few blocks north, which handles diplomacy rather than dossiers. This single consulate covers the entire Peruvian territory, and its workload reflects the density of the Spain–Peru corridor: national visas for the Peruvian students and professionals heading to Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, civil-registry files for binational families, and the full run of passport and notarial services for the sizeable community of Spanish citizens living in Peru. The counters work weekday mornings from 09:00 to 13:00, almost everything runs on prior appointment, and the sections are unusually well separated — visas, passports, civil registry, notarial acts, legalisations, assistance to nationals and support for detained Spanish citizens each have their own channel, which is worth knowing before you queue.

Visa Services

The consulate issues national visas — study, work, residence, family reunification and non-lucrative residence — for stays in Spain longer than 90 days, all by prior appointment. Peruvian passport holders need no Schengen visa for short stays: since 2016 they enter Spain visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Schengen short-stay visas are therefore mainly issued here to third-country nationals legally resident in Peru whose own passports do not carry the exemption. The visa section answers written enquiries through its dedicated address, and applicants should expect document legalisation and apostille requirements on Peruvian civil documents.

Consular Services

Spanish citizens in Peru are served across the full consular range: ordinary and emergency passports, consular registration (alta consular), civil-registry acts — births, marriages, deaths — notarial services, legalisations and certificates. A walk-in window for Spanish citizens operates Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 11:00 for matters that do not involve passports or civil-registry documents; those two always require an appointment. Dedicated channels exist for consular assistance and for Spanish citizens under detention in Peru.

Service Area

The consular district covers the whole of Peru — this is Spain's only consulate general in the country. Honorary consulates elsewhere in Peru act as local relays, but files are decided in Lima.

Appointment Information

Passports, civil registry, visas and legalisations are strictly by prior appointment, booked through the consulate's online system. Public hours are weekday mornings 09:00-13:00. The Spanish-citizens window (09:00-11:00) takes walk-ins for other matters. Written enquiries go to the section addresses — general matters to the main consular address, visa questions to the visa section's own inbox.

Special Notes

Bring Peruvian civil documents apostilled — Peru and Spain are both Hague Apostille states, and unapostilled documents are the most common reason files stall. In an after-hours emergency involving a Spanish citizen, the consular emergency line is +51 995 655 898.

Frequently asked questions

Do Peruvians need a visa to travel to Spain?

Not for short stays. Peruvian passport holders enter Spain and the whole Schengen area visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period — an exemption in force since 2016 — for tourism, family visits and business. Anything longer, or any stay involving work or study, requires a national visa issued by this consulate before departure.

How does a Peruvian student or worker get a national visa for Spain?

Through this Consulate General, by prior appointment. Study, work, residence, family-reunification and non-lucrative visas are all national-visa categories decided in Lima. Files typically combine the Spanish-side authorisation or admission letter with apostilled Peruvian civil and background documents, so start assembling paperwork well before the intended travel date.

Which office in Lima handles Spain visas — the embassy or the consulate?

The Consulate General at Calle Los Pinos 490, San Isidro. The Spanish Embassy on Jorge Basadre is the diplomatic mission and does not process visas, passports or any individual paperwork.

Does the consulate cover cities outside Lima, like Arequipa or Cusco?

Yes. The consular district is the entire territory of Peru — this is Spain's only consulate general in the country. Wherever you live in Peru, visa and consular files are decided in Lima, with honorary consulates in some cities acting as first points of contact.

What services can Spanish citizens get here?

The full consular range: passports, consular registration, civil-registry acts such as births and marriages, notarial services, legalisations and certificates. A walk-in window for Spanish citizens runs Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 11:00, though passports and civil-registry documents always need an appointment.

What if a Spanish citizen has an emergency in Peru outside office hours?

Call the consular emergency line +51 995 655 898, which covers genuine emergencies — accidents, arrests, hospitalisations or deaths — outside the consulate's morning opening hours. Routine questions should wait for the next working day.

Treat this Visaja page as your starting point: verify the current rules directly with the official source before you submit an application.