Guatemala air passengers must file the free DJRV within 72 hours of travel

Every air passenger flying into or out of Guatemala must file a free digital declaration before reaching the counter and the QR code it generates is what airlines and border officers actually check.

The DJRV, in plain terms

Guatemala's Declaración Jurada Regional de Viajero (DJRV) has been the standing entry and exit requirement since July 19, 2023, when SAT, the tax authority, replaced the old paper migration and customs form with an online version. It's free, it runs on any device with internet and SAT says it takes about four minutes to complete instead of the ten the paper version used to burn.

The rule applies to everyone flying in or out of Aeropuerto Internacional La Aurora, nationals and foreigners alike and it covers any purpose of travel: tourism, business, study, transit or coming home. Land and sea crossings get less explicit treatment in official guidance, so the practical burden falls on air passengers.

What you file and when

The form asks for passport number (SAT wants the 15-digit string with no spaces), passport series, nationality, a valid email, flight number, airline, travel date and origin or destination. Customs questions cover cash, commercial goods and animals. One adult can file as head of family to cover a partner and minor children; adult relatives file separately.

File it within 72 hours of your flight, either through SAT's DJRV portal or the "Declaración Del Viajero SAT-GT" app on Google Play. Some third-party travel sites cite a 15-day window, but SAT, the IGM migration institute and the DGAC civil aviation authority all state three days. Stick with the official number. The confirmation and QR code arrive by email and you'll need to show that QR at airline check-in and again at the migration desk on arrival or departure.

What to actually do differently

File twice per trip, not once. The DJRV is tied to a single flight, so nomads on longer stays in Guatemala need a fresh submission for the outbound leg, ideally the night before. Screenshot the QR before you head to the airport in case the airport Wi-Fi drops or your email doesn't sync at the counter.