Candaina wants to ride out of Peru

[markharf]

I can offer my experience ~15 years ago, which may be relevant or entirely dated. Brazilian visas were always difficult, but I got mine in Buenos Aires with neither bank statements nor air tickets, explaining that I was traveling by land, where I was going, why, how, when, and probably answering a host of other questions, perhaps with proof (or "proof"). It took patience and persistence.

The other obvious option is for your friend to 1) secure some bank statements, which is not too difficult in this day and internet-connected age, and 2) buy a refundable air ticket, which might be expensive in the short term but a wash in the end.

You might also do a site search on the subject, since Peruvian enforcement has been evolving recently. It's my understanding that people have been having Peruvian friends bring bikes over the border, since unlike foreigners they're allowed to do so.

Hope that's helpful.

[mamboman75]

An update, but unfortunately not good news. I will start at the beginning. My friend from Halifax Nova Scotia bought a near-new Honda XRE 300 in the north of Peru about a year ago and rode it down to Cusco where he stored it for the best part of a year, hoping to continue down to Uruguay when he was able to get time off from work. The ownership and insurance papers are all in his name and up to date. He already knew that Peruvian border officials have clamped down on foreigners riding across the border on Peruvian plated bikes, part of a campaign to clamp down on stolen vehicles leaving the country, often ridden across by foreign nationals from neighboring countries with faked ownership papers. But we heard it was possible if you employed a Peruvian national and provided him with the a written permission to ride the bike out of the country. But inquiries to several bike rental companies here came up negative, they advised us its next to impossible since the beginning of 2025, even with the "poder", a permission-to-ride paper witnessed by an attorney. So he turned his attention to riding out via the Peru-Brazil border, which is pretty much an open border. But here he fell foul of Brazil's new "reciprocity" visa rules, effective 15th April, meant he needed to show hotel bookings, a ticket out of Brazil, and proof of sufficient funds. He paid $80 and sent off his application, along with a note saying he was riding through the country so did not have accommodation nor a flight out of Brazil. The Brazilian visa authorities (or maybe it was a bot) replied promptly, saying the lack of flights and accommodation was not problem, as he was driving his own vehicle, but his bank statements had to be verified in Canada. With time running out, my friend decided to sell his bike here. He advertised it at steep discount and was inundated with prospective buyers, many of whom volunteered to do all the legwork regarding solving the paperwork issues. But.. another headache. Foreigners face innumerable obstacles in selling the bike, caught in Peru's new anti-money laundering laws, that any transfer of property over the value of 3000 Peruvian soles (which is less than US$1000), both buyer and seller must register the transfer of funds and get a govt-issued "sale voucher". After many trips to two different Public Notaries, my friend discovered as a foreigner he cannot open a bank account nor cash a cashiers cheque that would come when the sale proceeds. So he had two options: hope his bank in Canada would accept the Peruvian banks cashier's cheque when he got home, or sell the bike at an even steeper discount, putting it below the 3000 Soles threshold. In the latter case, the buyers are risking prosecution for under declaring a property transfer to the Peru govt, so they demand an even bigger discount. Oh, and my friend had a letter issued by the Migraciones office of Peru allowing him to sign contracts, but that was of no help in his case, the banks would not accept it.
Bottom line is: as of 2025, its ok to buy a bike and ride it around Peru, but legally crossing a border or legally selling it is a nightmare.

[markharf]

Sounds to me like it's worth multiple thousands of dollars for your friend to get "verified" (whatever that means) banks statements sent from Canada. I'm not sure why he's putting that off, but that's the choice you're describing.

[mamboman75]

As I understand it, they did not accept his uploaded colour scan of his bank statement, they wanted an original bank statement be sent to the Brazilian embassy in Canada for verification (all in the name of reciprocity, I assume, because some other countries require the same of Brazilians). And they said the process could take up to 15 days, so too late to arrange in his case, but definitely doable, if you are at home and plan ahead. If I were going that route, I would just be worried if the loophole whereby that particular border crossing (Iñapari - Assis) does allow foreigners to exit on Peru-plated bikes, its only a matter of time before they start enforcing the new law there as well.