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International Health Insurance for Remote Employees in Peru

Peru ties health cover to formal employment. Whoever employs a worker there registers them with EsSalud, the social health insurer, and pays a contribution equal to 9% of pay, and group life insurance under the Vida Ley is due from the start of the job as well. An international plan cannot take EsSalud’s place, and Peru limits who may offer insurance in the country. Here is how the schemes, the duties and the private EPS option fit together, and how to request an introduction to a benefits partner.

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EsSalud and SIS: two public schemes

EsSalud, the Seguro Social de Salud, covers formal employees and their dependants and is funded by employer contributions. Under Law 26790, social health insurance is compulsory for active employees in a dependent employment relationship, members of worker cooperatives and pensioners, and other people can join voluntarily as asegurados potestativos.

The second scheme, the state-funded Seguro Integral de Salud (SIS), is for people with no other health insurance. Government guidance on gob.pe describes SIS Para Todos as open to holders of a Peruvian DNI or a foreigner’s identity card, the carné de extranjería, with no means test, after a check against the register of insured people kept by SUSALUD, the national health superintendency. Taking out other insurance that covers the essential plan ends SIS Para Todos cover.

The employer’s duties: 9%, Vida Ley and SCTR

The EsSalud contribution is 9% of the worker’s monthly pay. The employer pays all of it, with nothing deducted from the employee, on a monthly base no lower than the minimum wage (remuneración mínima vital), and SUNAT, the tax agency, collects it. The rate is set in Law 26790 and still appears in gob.pe guidance in 2026; check the current figure before payroll starts.

Vida Ley is group life insurance, not health cover. Under Emergency Decree 044-2019 and its 2020 regulation, private-sector employers must buy it from the start of employment rather than only after four years’ service. A third item, the complementary high-risk work insurance (SCTR), is compulsory and employer-paid only for activities listed by supreme decree, so it is unlikely to touch a remote office role.

Enrolment, waiting periods and dependants

The employer enrols the worker and their dependants in the T-Registro payroll register, and the worker can check online whether contributions are being paid. Care becomes available after 3 consecutive months of contributions, or 4 non-consecutive months within the previous 6 calendar months; after an accident, being enrolled is enough. If an employer fails to pay and the worker needs care, EsSalud, or the EPS where there is one, still has to provide it and can recover the cost from the employer.

Dependants, the derechohabientes, are a spouse or common-law partner, minor children and adult children who are totally and permanently unable to work, and a child’s cover begins before birth through the care given to the pregnant mother. Law 26790 also lets members with at least 30 months of contributions in the previous three years keep cover for a latency period of 6 to 12 months after losing a job.

The EPS route to private cover

An employer can provide part of its workers’ health cover through an entidad prestadora de salud (EPS), a private provider entity, once an absolute majority of the workers chooses it in a vote. The employer then receives a credit against part of its EsSalud contribution, and EsSalud continues to handle the more complex care. Each worker can still decide individually to stay fully with EsSalud.

An EPS plan has to give every covered worker the same benefits and cannot fall below the minimum plan. Health insurance funds in Peru, known as IAFAS, answer to SUSALUD.

International plans and the SBS

Because the 9% contribution is compulsory for every employee, an international plan cannot replace EsSalud. At most it adds cover on top of it.

Peru also controls who may offer insurance. The regulator is the superintendency of banking, insurance and private pension funds, the SBS. The consolidated text of the banking and insurance law, Law 26702, lets residents buy insurance abroad, yet it bars anyone without SBS authorisation from offering insurance to the public in Peru or acting as an intermediary for local or foreign insurers. Peruvian business press has reported the SBS warning that policies issued abroad come from companies not authorised to sell in Peru. A foreign policy is therefore no route around EsSalud, and whether any insurer can provide cover for a particular employee living in Peru is for that insurer to confirm.

Entity, staffing firm or contractor

Supplying workers through a third party is regulated by Law 27626 on labour intermediation. Legal-portal and chamber-of-commerce guidance describes the limits: only companies set up solely for intermediation and registered for it may supply workers, and only for temporary, complementary or specialised services, with a 20% cap on some uses. Misuse leads courts to treat the worker as the user company’s employee. A separate supreme decree, DS 001-2022-TR, restricted outsourcing of core business activities.

A foreign company with no Peruvian entity usually needs a local entity or a local employer to hire someone there, and with staffing this tightly regulated, an employer of record is not a simple shortcut. Whoever is the employer in Peru carries the 9% contribution and Vida Ley, and an independent contractor is not a regular EsSalud member, so their cover would come from voluntary EsSalud membership, SIS or private insurance. Settle the structure with a local adviser in Peru before the hire; our guide to health coverage for EOR employees and contractors abroad sets out the general comparison.

Requesting an introduction for a team in Peru

Mithril1’s role here is an introduction only; we do not sell or recommend health plans. Fill in the quote form on this page with the city where each employee lives, how many people you have in Peru, who employs them there and whether they already have EsSalud or EPS cover, and we will send the request to a benefits partner focused on international and remote-team health coverage. The partner and the insurer then work out who is eligible and which plans and prices apply.

See the Latin America overview, plus our pages on Chile, Colombia and Brazil. For every other country, start from the overview for employees abroad or the benefits hub.

A few useful answers

Common questions

How much does an employer contribute to EsSalud?

9% of the worker’s monthly pay, paid entirely by the employer on a base no lower than the minimum wage, as gob.pe guidance gave it in 2026. Check the current figure before running payroll.

Can an international plan replace EsSalud for an employee in Peru?

No. EsSalud membership and the 9% contribution are compulsory for employees, so any international cover comes on top. Peru also bars anyone without SBS authorisation from offering insurance to the public there.

What is an EPS in Peru?

A private entidad prestadora de salud that an employer can use for part of its workers’ health cover when an absolute majority of them votes for it. The employer gets a credit against part of its EsSalud contribution, and each worker can still stay fully with EsSalud.

Is Vida Ley a health benefit?

No. Vida Ley is group life insurance that private-sector employers must buy from the start of employment. It does not provide health cover.

When can a new employee in Peru use EsSalud?

Generally after 3 consecutive months of contributions, or 4 non-consecutive months within the previous 6 calendar months. After an accident, enrolment alone is enough.

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