BOLIVIAN VISA REQUIREMENTS

This page provides general information about the types of tourist visa for Bolivia. You can check if you need to obtain a visa for traveling to Bolivia for tourism and what are the requirements.

Visa Groups Overview

This is a short overview of the requirements for each visa group

GROUP 1 – Visa Not Required

Citizens of Countries in the Group 1 Visa Category do NOT require a visa to enter Bolivia for the purposes of Tourism and are granted an initial 30-day validity entry stamp at the entry border point which can be extended by an additional 60 days (total 90 days) at any Immigration office in Bolivia.

GROUP 2 - Visa Required – Available Upon Arrival

Citizens of Countries in the Group 2 Visa Category DO require a visa to enter Bolivia for the purposes of Tourism. The visa CAN BE APPLIED FOR UPON ARRIVAL.

GROUP 3 - Visa Required – Must Be Obtained Before Arrival

Citizens of Countries in the Group 2 Visa Category DO require a visa to enter Bolivia for the purposes of Tourism. The visa MUST BE OBTAINED IN ADVANCE BEFORE ARRIVAL

General Requirements for All Nationalities

The following are required for ALL visitors to Bolivia

• Valid passport valid for at least 6 months from date of entry
• 2 blank pages available in the passport for stamps
• Yellow Fever certificate if traveling to a risk area (see yellow fever section for more details on this)

Bolivia Visa Requirements for US Citizens

Due to the 'reciprical visa policy' that Bolivia has  for US citizens (i.e. they make the requirements as hard & expensive for them as the US does for Bolivians) the requirements can be a bit different.

We will try to provide both the official requirements and some information about the actual reality of the situation here , because it is often very confusing and  there is lots of contridictory information.

OFFICIAL REQUIREMENTS

These are the official requirements that are published by the Bolivian immigration authorities but it is important you also read the  section the "ACTUAL REALITY" for the full picture though.

US Citizens can obtain a visa either in advance from a Bolivian Embassy or Consulate or upon arrival at the immigration point in Bolivia

• 1. Filled in Visa Application Form 
• 2. Passport valid until the date you leave Bolivia
• 3. Valid Yellow Fever Certificate if traveling to a yellow fever risk area and any other vacciene certificate required should there be a currently issued alert by the Health MInestery 
• 4. Travel Itinarary or Return Flight Tickets
• 5. Proof of hotel reservations or a letter of invitation from a legally registered Bolivian resident. The letter must be registered and authorized by Bolivian Immigration Authorities
• 6. Proof of Economic solvency such as a recent bank statement
• 7. Passport Photo 4x4 in color with a white background.
• 8. Payment of the Visa Fee of 160USD$

ACTUAL REALITY

If you can we recommended that you get your visa in advance because there have been numerous reports of people being refused the visa upon arrival. This can sometimes be due to seemingly minor reasons or discrepencies with the paperwork.

The refusals seem to be quite random and simply down to which official you get and how they decide to process your application

Additionally there have been some reports of some US airlines and/or TSA officials refusing to let people board flights from the US to Bolivia unless they have the visa (even though it is obtainable in advance).

This has been reported with American Airlines and we have also heard of TSA officials in LAX telling people this but we have not seen absolute proof of this. 

Regarding the requirements even though these are not specified in the list published by Bolivian migration we also recommend the following :

• 'Passport valid until the date you leave Bolivia' - we recommend that you should have at least 6 months validity left on you passport and not just until you leaving date. This is actually written in the the relevent laws.
• Yellow Fever certificate - we recommended you get one because the situation can change quickly in Bolivia should a warning be issued and then things can get a lot stricter.
  Also whilst you might not think you are traveling throguh an edemic area you might not know-  arriving in Santa Cruz? Doing the Death Road to Coroico? These are both possible yellow fever zones.
  
  

Yellow Fever Certificate Requirements

This is another area were there is alot of confusing information.

Common Questions About Bolivian Visas

How long am I allowed to stay in Bolivia?

It is standard to recieve 30 days validity for visa given on arrival which can be extended to 90 days free of charge at any immigration office.

 

What happens if I over stay my visa period?

If you over stay you allocated visa period you will be charged a fine for each day you have over stayed. Whilst this is fine for a few days , maybe even a week or two, it is not recommended to abuse this and over stay for long periods as this could result in more serious legal issues.

 

Can I just leave the country and come back in to get a new visa period?

The bolivian immigration law states that you are allowed to stay for up to 90 days within in a calender year.  So whilst it is possible to leave and come back you cannot exceed this 90 day limit on a tourist visa.