Visa for Mexico: What other Latin American countries are required to do so (and why did they add Peru to the list)?

Last Friday, the 5th, the mexican government announced that from April 20th Peruvians will need a visa to enter its territory for tourist or business purposes. This measure, which surprised many compatriots, responds – according to Mexican authorities – to an increase in the flow of Peruvians who overstay their stay, carry out activities other than those permitted by their condition of stay or seek to cross illegally into Mexico. U.S.

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The announcement puts an end to 12 years in which Peruvians were allowed to enter the Aztec country for up to 180 days to undertake trips in which they would not carry out paid activities.

A similar decision was adopted by the Mexican government with Brazilian tourists in August 2022, although on that occasion the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified that the measure was adopted specifically to “combat international organized criminal groups that profit from migrant smuggling and human trafficking”.

Until 2022, in addition to Brazil, the other Latin American countries that Mexico required a tourist visa were:

Since then, the Caribbean islands of:

Amid increased restrictions on visitors, an agreement signed with the Bolivian government emerged in 2021 that eliminated the visa requirement for Mexicans visiting the mountainous country and vice versa.

In the Peruvian case, the measure aims to prevent informal work, illegal stays and, above all, attempts to cross the land border with the United States. During 2022 and 2023, at least 815 thousand Peruvians left the country without returning, according to records from the National Migration Superintendence.

Most of them emigrated to the United States, Spain and Argentina legally and by air; However, many others arrived in third countries to try to cross irregularly to their true destination. This led, for example, to witness phenomena such as the sudden increase in Peruvians crossing the Darién Gap or the expulsion of 35 thousand compatriots who tried to enter Mexico irregularly between 2021 and 2023.

On the other hand, US border authorities reported about 75,000 encounters with Peruvians at the border with Mexico during the 2023 fiscal year, a number that does not compare to the number of Haitians trying to cross into the North American country.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.