Migrating from Peru to Australia: documents, apostille & translation
General information about the Peruvian documents and procedures that commonly come up in an Australian migration process — with links to the official sources.
This page gathers general information; it doesn't assess your case or replace the official sources. Every situation is different and the rules change — here's the overview and where to go to verify it.
Police certificates
Australia's character check (Department of Home Affairs) generally asks for a police certificate from each country where a person has lived 12 months or more (cumulatively) in the last 10 years, since the age of 16.
For Peru, the Australian Embassy in Lima states that two distinct certificates are presented: the Certificado de Antecedentes Penales and the Certificado de Antecedentes Judiciales. It's not one; they are two separate documents. They are generally handled through the Peruvian State portal; from abroad, usually through the nearest Peruvian consulate.
Some of the issuers' pages may not load immediately: open them from the official links for the current procedure.
Peru is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. The competent authority is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the procedure is offered online, including a digital version with verification.
Important: an apostille is not a requirement for lodging an Australian visa application. For the Department of Home Affairs, the usual requirement is a colour scan of the original document and its English translation (see below) — not an apostille. We include the apostille as general information on how Peruvian documents are validated for official cross-border use.
The Department of Home Affairs asks for an English translation of any document that isn't in English. The rule depends on where the translation is done.
If the translation is done in Australia, a NAATI-accredited translator does it (the national accreditation authority for translators and interpreters). If it's done outside Australia, the translator doesn't need NAATI accreditation, but states their full name, address, phone, and qualifications or experience, in English.
The Australian Embassy in Lima is stricter with official documents: outside Australia, official documents (birth, marriage or divorce certificates, DNI, record certificates, custody documents and military-service certificates) are translated by a traductor público (sworn translator); other documents accept a faithful translation; internet translations are not accepted, and when in doubt the Embassy says to use a traductor público.
Peru's applications are handled by the Australian Embassy in Lima. Visa applications are lodged online via ImmiAccount.
Unlike several countries in the region, currently, per the Australian Embassy in Lima, applicants in Peru do attend in person a biometrics centre operated by VFS Global in Lima. The centre's address and hours can change — check the official link for the current location rather than a fixed address.