Updated September 2024

**Update: As of February 2021, the visa requirement for U.S. Citizens has been reinstated. Tourists are granted a maximum stay by the immigration officer generally for 30 days. Tourists are only permitted a maximum of 90 days in Bolivia per calendar year.

Visa requirements may vary for citizens of other countries, so always check the Bolivian government requirements in advance of your trip. Furthermore, this article does not cover requirements related to the pandemic**

Bolivia is filled with beautiful landscapes and endless adventures, and it’s a backpacker’s paradise with the low cost of traveling there. However, obtaining a Bolivian tourist visa for US citizens takes a bit of planning and preparation. Luckily, the visa is good for 10 years, and you can be in the country for 90 days each calendar year.

You can get a Bolivian tourist visa when you enter the country by land or by air or at a Bolivian Embassy or Consulate in the US or other country beforehand. Regardless of how you apply, the requirements are generally the same. In order to obtain a Bolivian visa, you are required to have several items when you apply. Here is a list of all the requirements.

1. Passport Valid for Six Months

Having a current passport may seem obvious, but make sure that it doesn’t expire for at least six months after you plan to leave Bolivia.

2. Completed and Signed Application Form (Sworn Statement or Affidavit)

Fill out the visa application form. You used to be able to fill it out easily online and print it, but the government page that provided it no longer seems to exist.

It seems you can now fill it out via the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores page. You will need some of the list items mentioned below to complete this application form. This option is fairly new and there’s not a lot of info on it. So if you have questions, reach out to an embassy. We’ll try to provide more info as it becomes available.

Otherwise, if you are entering Bolivia by plane or bus, the company often supplies a copy of this form. You can also obtain one from the embassy you are applying at.

3. $160 in Perfect Bills

Getting into Bolivia is a little pricey, and you’ll need $160 in new, crisp bills. The border officials are very strict on this, so make sure the bills do not have many folds, creases, tears, or marks on them. We’re not sure why they have to be so perfect, but we don’t make the rules. Also, be sure to have the exact amount, as we read they’ll often claim not to have change if getting your visa at the border.

If you get a visa on arrival at the airport, you can supposedly now pay by card.

4. Two Passport-Size Color Photos

This one is easy. Get a picture of yourself on a solid white background, scale it down to 2 inches by 2 inches, and be sure your face is about an inch in height.

5. Two Color Copies of Your Passport

Another easy one. Open your passport to the information page and make two color photocopies.

6. Proof of Onward Travel

You’ll need to have a printed ticket showing that you will be leaving the country after your stay. We were planning to head back into Peru after our time in Bolivia, so we booked a bus ticket that worked just fine. If you’re unsure of how long you’ll be there, you can book a refundable bus or plane ticket to use at the border and cancel it after you get in.

7. Travel Itinerary

We ended up making a pretty thorough itinerary (mostly made up). We also included our plans a little bit past leaving the country as proof to go along with our ticket of onward travel. You can easily print out an itinerary online and make a few changes to fit your trip dates.

8. Hotel Reservation or a Letter from a Current Resident

You’ll have to show where you are staying when you get into the country. Simply print out a hotel reservation for the first night or two of your stay. If you aren’t exactly sure, booking a refundable room is another way to do it.

If you are planning to stay at a friend’s or relative’s house, you’ll need a letter from them giving approval. It must include their full name, address, and a copy of their ID or passport. They must also sign the document.

9. Proof of Financial Solvency

To get a Bolivian visa for US citizens, you have to prove that you have enough money to get you through your trip, so you’ll need to print out a copy of your latest bank statement. It looks like they don’t have an official minimum requirement, but we’ve also seen that you should have at least $50 per day of your stay just in case.

10. Proof of Entry into the Country

We didn’t see this requirement online, but when we applied at the embassy, they asked us for a copy of our bus ticket into the country. We’re not sure if you’ll need it, but better safe than sorry.

11. Yellow Fever Certificate

Currently, travelers entering Bolivia are now required to present proof of their yellow fever vaccination. This is also a fairly new requirement and we have heard that this has been pretty loosely enforced. It’s kind of pricey to get this vaccination in the US, but we’d say ‘better safe than sorry’.

Though we had our yellow fever card at the time, this was not a requirement when we visited since we were not arriving from a high-risk country. We got our vaccine at Walgreens before departing for South America and carried the yellow paper card with us throughout our travels there.

SIGEMIG Form

All of the listed items above are required for obtaining a Bolivian tourist visa. In addition to presenting your visa or obtaining one upon arrival, all foreign visitors to Bolivia must complete the SIGEMIG registration online. This just asks for basic info, including your passport and accommodation details. Print and bring this confirmation of registration with you.

There have been many reports of issues with the website. If that’s the case, you can also register upon arrival with an official; however this may cause delays when entering the country.

If you fail to register your information after entering the country, you can be fined.

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Getting a Bolivian Visa for US Citizens at the Embassy in Lima

We were staying in Peru for the few months before we headed to Bolivia, and we decided to get our visas in Lima to avoid any potential issues at the border. We went to the Bolivian embassy in San Isidro, which is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. They sometimes close around 1 p.m. for a lunch break. Make sure to get there early, as it seemed to get busier later in the morning. If you are in Peru, there are also embassies in Cusco, Puno, Tacna, and Ilo.

We went on a Friday morning and arrived shortly after 9 a.m. We handed our passports through the window outside and told the man we needed visas. He let us inside and pointed us in the right direction. There was only one person ahead of us, and it was our turn in just a few minutes.

The woman inside spoke very little English, but we made due with our Spanish. We passed through our passports and packet of the required papers. After a few minutes, she handed back documents and a slip of paper with a bank name and number on it. We walked four blocks to the nearby bank, waited in line, and gave the bank attendant our $160 and the slip of paper. He gave us back a receipt and we headed back to the embassy.

We gave the woman back our passports, packet, and the bank receipt. She told us everything was good and to return on Monday at 10 a.m. to retrieve our passports and visas. Monday?! We’d read that you could get the Bolivian visa the same day. But given that we didn’t have another option, we said ok and left for the weekend without our passports.

After making our way back to the embassy on Monday morning, the guard let us in without a problem. After giving our names, we had our passports and new visas in hand in no time. Overall, getting the visas at the embassy was pretty painless, and it’s definitely nice to have them beforehand to avoid any hassles at the border. For more info on getting into Bolivia from Peru, check out our post on crossing the border.

If you are planning to be in Bolivia for more than 30 days at a time, you’ll need to get your visa extended at an immigration office at the end of your first 30 days.

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