Peru Migration Strike To Slow Airports And Borders

Published on Nov 25, 2025, 2:30 pm CST

11 min read

Key points

Peru migration workers plan an open ended strike from November 27 that could slow passport and border controls across the country
The Sicasmigra union says contract staff at the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones will stop work in Lima and regions including Tumbes, Tacna, Puno, and Puerto Maldonado
Union leaders warn of possible paralysis of checks at Jorge Chávez International Airport and at key northern and southern land borders
A similar walkout was blocked in 2024 on security grounds, so authorities could try to limit or reshape the 2025 strike even after it starts
The strike window overlaps Peru's state of emergency in Lima and Callao and the November 29 Copa Libertadores final in Lima, raising crowding and delay risk
Travelers should add generous buffer time at Lima, avoid tight same day connections, and plan for long queues at passport control and border crossings

Impact

Where Impacts Are Most Likely: Expect the longest queues and document delays at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima and at busy border posts such as Tumbes, Tacna, Puno, and Puerto Maldonado
Best Times To Travel: When possible, aim for early morning or late evening arrivals and departures, avoiding local rush hours and dates around the November 29 Copa Libertadores final
Connections And Misconnect Risk: Treat any international to domestic connection in Lima under three hours as high risk, and avoid separate tickets or last flight of the day itineraries
Onward Travel And Changes: Build in at least one overnight in Lima before key tours or cruises, keep hotel and flight bookings flexible, and be ready to reroute via alternative hubs if lines stall
Overland Routes And Borders: Assume border crossings with Ecuador, Chile, and Bolivia may take several extra hours, and have snacks, water, and offline copies of documents ready while you wait

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A new Peru migration strike from November 27 is set to test airports and border crossings, as contract workers at the Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones prepare to walk off the job nationwide. Travelers flying through Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) in Lima, arriving for overland trips, or crossing frontiers in Tumbes, Tacna, Puno, and Puerto Maldonado face a real risk of long lines, slow stamping, and missed connections if passport desks operate with skeleton staff. Anyone heading into or out of Peru from late November onward should treat immigration and border checks as potential choke points, add generous buffer time, and make backup plans for critical transfers.

In plain terms, the open ended Peru migration strike at airports and borders is a labor dispute over contract status and benefits that could slow the movement of people at key gateways, so travelers need extra time, flexible itineraries, and patience if immigration desks back up or partially close.

What The Migration Strike Is About

The strike call comes from Sicasmigra, the national union for contract workers at Migraciones, which says it represents several hundred staff across Lima and regional offices. Union leaders accuse the government of failing to deliver promised changes to their employment regime and to pay overtime and other benefits owed under Peru's public sector rules.

According to union statements reported in Peruvian media, the walkout is open ended starting November 27 and is expected to cover contract workers at airports, land borders, and city migration offices in regions including Lima, Tumbes, Trujillo, Pucallpa, Arequipa, Cusco, Tacna, and Madre de Dios. The union argues that without these workers, many passport issuance and control points cannot function, and has warned that airport and border operations could be "paralyzed" if the government does not respond.

This is not the first confrontation between Sicasmigra and the state. In 2024, Peru's Labor Ministry declared an earlier migration strike call "improcedente," or inadmissible, citing security concerns and the critical nature of border control functions. That precedent matters, because it shows the government has already argued that migration services are essential and may again seek to limit the scope or duration of stoppages.

Legal And Political Context, Including Lima's State Of Emergency

The strike begins while Lima and Callao remain under an extended state of emergency through at least December 21, 2025, a measure that keeps the National Police in control of internal order with support from the armed forces along major routes. The emergency was first declared in October to respond to rising violent crime, then extended for another thirty days from November 21, covering airport access roads and many hotel districts around the capital.

Travel advisories from the United States and Canada already flag Peru at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, or "exercise a high degree of caution," citing crime, civil unrest, and frequent social conflicts and strikes that can disrupt transport. Australian and other partners emphasize similar risks, particularly in southern tourist corridors and near some border zones.

For travelers, the combination of a migration strike and an internal security state means more layers of friction, not fewer. Police and military units will remain active on the roads to and from Jorge Chávez International Airport, and at the same time, the staff who normally stamp passports at that airport and at land borders may be working to rule, partially striking, or replaced by last minute contingents drafted in from other units.

Where Impacts Are Most Likely

The highest risk for long lines and missed flights sits at Jorge Chávez International Airport, Peru's main international gateway. If contract migration staff walk out at arrival and departure control booths, remaining officials will have to process the same number of travelers with fewer people, or in a worst case scenario, close some booths entirely and consolidate flows.

Secondary international airports in Cusco, Arequipa, and other cities could also feel strain, particularly where international flights are concentrated into short windows of the day. However, the most disruptive early impacts are likely at Lima, because nearly all long haul intercontinental flights, and many regional services, funnel through that airport's immigration counters.

On the land side, border posts at Tumbes on the Ecuador route, Desaguadero and other crossing points in Puno for Bolivia, and checkpoints around Tacna toward Chile are all named in union statements as locations where contract staff will stop work. Overland travelers should treat these posts as potential bottlenecks where queues might stretch for hours, especially on peak morning and afternoon waves.

Overlap With The Copa Libertadores Final

The timing is particularly sensitive because Lima will host the 2025 Copa Libertadores final at Estadio Monumental on November 29, drawing thousands of football fans from Brazil and across the region. Official ticket and travel packages anticipate heavy arrivals in the days immediately before the match, exactly when the migration strike is set to begin.

If passenger volumes for the final proceed as planned while immigration staff are on strike, travelers can expect especially long lines at passport control in the evenings of November 27 to 29. Fans who booked tight itineraries, such as same day arrivals from Brazil with immediate transfers to hotels or fan events, are most exposed to delay risk.

How Authorities Could Respond

Peru's government retains several tools to blunt the strike's impact. The Labor Ministry can again argue that migration duties are essential services and seek to require minimum staffing levels, or declare parts of the action unlawful. Migration authorities could also temporarily reassign managers and permanent staff from central offices to frontline passport control and border posts.

However, even a more limited "work to rule," slowed processing speed, or partial staffing can still create significant queues at airports and borders during peak periods. The state of emergency also means authorities may be cautious about any measure that appears to weaken border checks, especially while crime and extortion are politically charged issues.

Travelers should not assume that the strike will be fully canceled or that operations will remain entirely normal, even if the government announces mitigation measures. The most realistic expectation is sporadic disruption that is worse on some days and shifts by location.

Flight Connections And Same Day Itineraries

For air travelers, the most strategic decision is whether to keep or change same day connections through Lima. In normal conditions, many travelers accept international to domestic connection times of ninety minutes to two hours, particularly on through tickets where bags are checked to the final destination. During a migration strike, that pattern becomes much riskier.

If your itinerary requires clearing immigration in Lima, collecting bags, and then checking in again for a domestic leg to Cusco, Arequipa, or elsewhere, aim for at least a three hour gap, and more if you can. Separate tickets become especially fragile, because airlines have less obligation to help when the first leg is late or when you are still in a passport queue as the second check in closes.

Travelers with long haul overnight flights should also build in some tolerance at the arrival end. If your flight from North America or Europe lands during a morning or late night immigration wave, a one hour queue could easily turn into two hours if several flights land close together and several booths are closed. Booking a later onward departure or accepting an overnight stop in Lima will feel conservative, but often proves cheaper than last minute rebookings after a missed connection.

For more background on how the ongoing state of emergency already affects airport transfers and timing in the capital, see our coverage in Lima And Callao State Of Emergency Extends Into December.

Borders, Overland Travel, And Tours

The migration strike is likely to show up at land borders as a slow bleed of time rather than dramatic closures. Buses may still run, and private cars may still reach crossing points, yet passengers could wait hours in fenced corridors while a small number of officers process each passport. This is particularly relevant for travelers combining Peru with Ecuador, Bolivia, or Chile on overland itineraries.

Tour operators and bus companies may adjust departure times to reduce the risk of passengers missing onward links, but few can fully control border processing itself. If you are traveling overland, consider the following practical adjustments:

Stay flexible about exact arrival times at the next city, and avoid booking same day flights, trains, or tours immediately after a border crossing.

Carry printed or offline copies of hotel confirmations, return or onward tickets, and travel insurance, which can speed up any secondary questioning when officers are under pressure.

Bring snacks, water, and warm layers in your day pack, as queues can extend outside covered areas in some remote posts.

If protests or roadblocks reappear in southern regions, as they have in recent years, delays from the strike could stack on top of disruption already highlighted in travel advisories and in our earlier Peru corridor coverage. Travelers heading toward Machu Picchu can refer to our destination guide for more context on planning buffer days around Cusco and the Sacred Valley. See Machu Picchu, Cusco, Peru.

Passport Applications, Visas, And Residence Procedures

Sicasmigra's strike call covers not only border posts, but also migration offices that process passports, residency documents, and other permits. Even if frontline travel functions receive priority staffing, back office paperwork is likely to slow.

Peruvian citizens planning to travel in December or January should move any pending passport applications or renewals forward where possible, and avoid assuming that an urgent request will be processed in a matter of days. Foreign residents renewing documents may also see appointment backlogs, which can affect their ability to leave and reenter the country smoothly.

Foreign visitors who need in person visits to migration offices, for example to extend stays or regularize documents after long trips, should monitor official channels and be prepared for postponed or rescheduled appointments. When in doubt, embassies can help clarify whether a delayed renewal or extension affects your right to exit, but they cannot override Peru's own border controls.

Practical Steps For Travelers Now

For trips already booked, the priority is to reduce exposure to choke points that you can predict. That means allowing extra time for everything involving border control or ID checks, especially in Lima, where the extended state of emergency and migration strike overlap.

If you have not yet booked, consider routing options that reduce the number of critical same day steps in Peru. A single through ticket to Lima plus a separate overnight before onward travel is often safer than an intricate multi leg same day run with separate tickets and tight buffers.

Regardless of route, take these baseline precautions:

Keep an eye on official advisories from your home country, which already describe Peru as a place where protests and strikes can disrupt travel.

Enable alerts from your airline and any relevant airports so you see schedule changes or gate moves early.

Carry both physical and digital copies of your passport, key visas, and entry stamps, and keep valuables discreet in crowded airport or border spaces.

If you are uncomfortable with the level of risk, talk to your airline or tour operator about date changes before the core strike period, or consider shifting nonessential trips to later in the season when the labor situation is clearer.