Moving from the UK to Peru (2026): Complete Guide

Relocating from the United Kingdom to Peru means closing out two very different administrative systems: HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Border Force on the way out, and the Superintendencia Nacional de Aduanas y de Administración Tributaria (SUNAT) and the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones on the way in. This guide is for a UK resident — British or otherwise — planning a household move to Peru, and it covers both halves of the journey: exporting your goods and closing your UK tax/registration footprint, and clearing customs, registering as a resident, and importing pets, vehicles and money in Peru. A short section at the end covers the reverse move, Peru to the UK.

Key takeaways

• You must submit a UK export customs declaration through the National Export System (NES) before goods leave Great Britain, and you (or your mover) need an EORI number to do so — gov.uk: Export goods from the UK, gov.uk: Get an EORI number.
• If you’re leaving the UK to live abroad permanently, tell HMRC — via form P85 or your Self Assessment return — and your residence status for tax is worked out separately under the Statutory Residence Test (SRT), not by the P85 itself — gov.uk: Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad, HMRC RDR3: Statutory Residence Test notes.
• Peru’s household-goods relief ("menaje de casa") lets arriving travellers pay a single 12% tax on customs value instead of standard duties, provided they’ve lived abroad at least 13 consecutive months and bring the goods in within 1 month before to 6 months after arrival — SUNAT: El menaje de casa.
• Long-term residence in Peru requires a calidad migratoria (residence status) granted by the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones, processed through its Agencia Virtual — gob.pe: Solicitar calidad migratoria para trabajador residente.
• Dogs and cats entering Peru need an official export health certificate from the UK (rabies, core vaccines, deworming within 30 days) plus a SENASA inspection on arrival — SENASA: requisitos sanitarios para mascotas.
• Carrying £10,000 or more in cash out of Great Britain requires a Border Force declaration; Peru requires travellers to declare cash over US$10,000, with a hard cap of US$30,000 outside the banking system — gov.uk: Take cash in and out of the UK, SUNAT: Ingreso y salida de dinero en efectivo.
• Used vehicles imported to Peru generally cannot be more than 2 years old (by model year), and used diesel cars, SUVs and light commercials are barred outright — gob.pe / SUNAT: Requisitos para importar vehículos usados.

1. How your Peru immigration status shapes the customs treatment

Peru’s household-goods concession (menaje de casa) is granted by SUNAT to a traveller — of any nationality — who can prove at least 13 consecutive months living abroad and who arrives in Peru with a valid passport or travel document; it is not, strictly, contingent on holding a specific visa category (SUNAT: El menaje de casa). In practice, however, the two processes are tightly linked for anyone actually settling in Peru: to live and work there beyond a tourist stay you need a calidad migratoria (resident worker, investor, family-of-resident, etc.) issued by the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones, and this is a separate application from the customs benefit, filed through the Agencia Virtual de Migraciones (gob.pe: Solicitar calidad migratoria para trabajador residente). A tourist who later decides to import a full household of goods under the concessional 12% rate must still meet the 13-month-abroad rule and the arrival-window deadline regardless of what visa they hold — so plan your Migraciones application and your shipment’s arrival in Peru around the same 6-month window, and keep proof of your last 13+ months of foreign residence (tenancy, payslips, utility bills) for both applications.

2. The UK export side: HMRC, customs and tax exit

Customs authority. UK exports are administered by HMRC through the National Export System (NES). Whoever submits the declaration — you, your removal company, or a customs agent — needs an EORI number, applied for free online via a Government Gateway account. Most EORI numbers are issued instantly or within one working day, though HMRC can take up to five working days if it needs to run checks (gov.uk: Get an EORI number). A full export declaration must be lodged and cleared before goods leave Great Britain; timing depends on transport mode, and for road or inland-waterway moves the declaration must be made at least one hour before departure (gov.uk: Making a full export declaration, gov.uk: Export goods from the UK: step by step). A professional mover handling a household shipment typically manages the NES filing on your behalf, but the EORI number and underlying inventory/valuation are your responsibility to provide.

Deregistration and leaving admin. There is no single "moving abroad" office — you close out separate registrations. Tell HMRC you’re leaving via form P85 (unless you already file Self Assessment, in which case you report your departure on that return) (gov.uk: Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad). If you’ll be abroad for three months or more, your GP practice is required to remove you from its list — request copies of your medical records before you deregister (NHS: Register with a GP surgery). British citizens who move abroad can still vote in UK Parliamentary elections as an overseas elector, but need to register (or re-register) with their last UK local authority, and renew that registration every three years (gov.uk: Voting when living abroad).

Tax residency exit. Submitting a P85 does not itself make you a non-UK tax resident — your status for each tax year is determined under HMRC’s Statutory Residence Test (SRT), weighing days spent in the UK and your remaining ties (family, accommodation, work), with split-year treatment potentially applying in the year you leave (HMRC RDR3: Statutory Residence Test notes). Get this reviewed by a UK tax adviser if you retain UK income, property or business ties after moving.

Cash. If you or your household are carrying £10,000 or more (or the equivalent) out of Great Britain, you must declare it to Border Force, online or by phone, no earlier than 72 hours before you travel (gov.uk: Take cash in and out of the UK).

3. Ports and transit — realistic timings

For sea freight, UK household-goods shipments to South America typically load at major container ports such as Felixstowe or Southampton, transiting via the Panama Canal to Callao, Peru’s principal port near Lima. Freight-industry estimates put this voyage at roughly 35–40 days door-to-port — this is a commercial estimate from freight forwarders, not an official government transit figure, and actual timing depends on carrier schedules, transhipment and port congestion. Air freight between Heathrow and Lima’s Jorge Chávez International Airport is considerably faster, typically a matter of days rather than weeks, though air is far costlier per cubic metre and is usually reserved for essentials rather than a full household. Always confirm current sailing schedules and transit estimates directly with your carrier or mover before setting a moving date.

4. The Peru import side: SUNAT and the menaje de casa process

Household goods enter Peru under the Régimen de Equipaje y Menaje de Casa, administered by SUNAT. To qualify for the benefit — a single 12% tax on customs value instead of standard import duties — you must show at least 13 consecutive months of residence abroad immediately before arrival (return trips to Peru of up to 30 days per year, whether consecutive or spread out, don’t break this clock), and your goods must arrive within a window running from one month before to six months after your own arrival date. You cannot have used the benefit within the previous two years, and eligible goods are limited to the categories of new or used household furniture and effects listed under Article 14 of the Reglamento de Equipaje y Menaje de Casa — general furniture, linens, tableware, kitchenware, home decor, cleaning and domestic tools, one of each type of household appliance, one item per book title, up to three rugs, and similar personal household effects, with quantities expected to match a family’s realistic needs rather than resale stock (SUNAT: El menaje de casa, SUNAT: Menaje de Casa — orientación aduanera).

The process: present yourself at the Customs Intendancy at your port of entry with your passport, request the free Declaración Simplificada de Importación (DSI) form, and submit it along with the international transport document (bill of lading or air waybill) and supporting documentation such as an inventory or sworn valuation of the goods; an insurance policy and any sector-specific permits (for restricted goods) are required only where applicable (SUNAT: Menaje de Casa — orientación aduanera). Goods that fall outside the menaje regime, or shipments belonging to businesses rather than an individual household, clear instead through the standard commercial import channel using a full Declaración Aduanera de Mercancías (DAM).

5. Pets

Exporting from the UK. Peru is not on the UK’s "Part 1" or "Part 2" pet-travel lists, so dogs, cats and ferrets travelling from Great Britain to Peru move under the non-EU export route: your vet completes an Export Health Certificate (EHC), and if you’re in England, Scotland or Wales you also submit an export application (EXA) before travel; check Peru’s own entry rules in parallel, since UK export paperwork alone doesn’t guarantee entry (gov.uk: Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad — non-EU countries).

Importing into Peru. SENASA requires, for dogs and cats only, an original export health certificate issued by the official veterinary authority in the UK, showing current core vaccinations (canine: parvovirus, distemper, hepatitis, leptospirosis and rabies; feline: panleukopenia and rabies — rabies compulsory from 3 months of age) and internal/external deworming carried out within 30 days of travel. Pets are inspected by SENASA on arrival, with inspection and entry-document fees payable at that point (SENASA: requisitos sanitarios para mascotas).

Reverse note — bringing a pet back to the UK. Because Peru is unlisted, a pet returning to Great Britain from Peru needs a rabies antibody (titer) blood test taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination, followed by a mandatory 3-calendar-month wait from the date of that blood sample before entry, on top of the usual microchip, vaccination timing and GB pet health certificate requirements (gov.uk: Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain).

6. Vehicles, money, and things people forget

Vehicles. Peru only permits used petrol vehicles that meet minimum quality standards — including a maximum age of 2 years from model year, plus mileage, accident-history and left-hand-drive requirements — while used diesel vehicles are barred outright for cars, SUVs and most light commercial categories (heavy buses and trucks are treated differently). Importers need a DAM, commercial invoice, bill of lading or air waybill, and the vehicle’s technical documentation (gob.pe / SUNAT: Requisitos para importar vehículos usados, SUNAT: requisitos de antigüedad vehicular). Given the age cap, shipping a UK right-hand-drive car rarely makes financial sense — most relocators sell in the UK and buy locally in Peru instead.

Money. Declare cash of £10,000 or more leaving Great Britain (gov.uk: Take cash in and out of the UK); on the Peru side, travellers must declare cash and negotiable instruments over US$10,000, and amounts above US$30,000 cannot be carried physically at all and must move through the banking system (SUNAT: Ingreso y salida de dinero en efectivo).

Easy to forget: the two-year cooldown before you can reuse the menaje de casa benefit if you move again; that the SUNAT 13-month clock is interrupted only by trips back to Peru exceeding 30 days a year (short trips elsewhere don’t count against it); and that your UK EORI number and export declaration are needed even for a single container of used household goods, not just commercial cargo.

How Flyto handles your UK to Peru move

Flyto runs its own offices, warehouses, crews and vehicles across Northern, Central and Southern Europe, so the UK collection, export documentation and consolidation stage of your move is handled largely in-house. For the ocean or air leg to Callao or Lima and the final delivery, we work through a carefully vetted network of partner carriers and subcontractors, plus trusted local partners in Peru who handle SUNAT clearance and last-mile delivery on the ground — giving you one coordinated move without pretending a single company can staff both continents alone.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an EORI number for a personal house move, not a business shipment? Yes — any goods leaving Great Britain for a non-UK destination need an export declaration through the NES, and that requires an EORI number, even for household effects (gov.uk: Export goods from the UK).

Does filing a P85 make me a non-UK tax resident? No. The P85 notifies HMRC of your departure; your actual residence status each tax year is determined separately under the Statutory Residence Test (HMRC RDR3).

How long do I have to bring my household goods into Peru under the reduced tax rate? From one month before your own arrival to six months after it (SUNAT: El menaje de casa).

Can I bring my car from the UK? Only if it’s a used petrol vehicle no more than 2 years old by model year that meets Peru’s other quality requirements; used diesel cars and light commercials are barred, and UK right-hand-drive cars face separate practical and roadworthiness issues in Peru (gob.pe: vehículos usados).

What vaccinations does my dog or cat need for Peru? Core vaccines (rabies, plus parvovirus/distemper/hepatitis/leptospirosis for dogs, or panleukopenia for cats) and deworming within 30 days of travel, backed by an official UK export health certificate (SENASA).

If I later move back from Peru to the UK, can I bring my furniture in duty-free? Potentially, under HMRC’s Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief, if you’ve lived outside the UK for at least 12 consecutive months, have owned the goods for at least 6 months, and apply for a ToR1 reference before shipping (gov.uk: Transfer of residence to Great Britain).

Sources

• gov.uk: Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad
• HMRC RDR3: Statutory Residence Test (SRT) notes
• gov.uk: Export goods from the UK: step by step
• gov.uk: Making a full export declaration
• gov.uk: Get an EORI number
• gov.uk: Voting when living abroad
• gov.uk: Taking your pet dog, cat or ferret abroad — non-EU countries
• gov.uk: Take cash in and out of the UK
• NHS: Register with a GP surgery
• gov.uk: Bringing your pet dog, cat or ferret to Great Britain
• gov.uk: Transfer of residence to Great Britain
• SUNAT: El menaje de casa
• SUNAT: Menaje de Casa — orientación aduanera
• gob.pe / Migraciones: Solicitar calidad migratoria para trabajador residente
• gob.pe / SUNAT: Requisitos y documentos para importar vehículos usados
• SUNAT: Requisitos de antigüedad vehicular
• SENASA: requisitos sanitarios para mascotas
• SUNAT: Ingreso y salida de dinero en efectivo