When I went to extend my Bolivian tourist visa, this realization struck me: Out of all the Latin American countries I have been to, Bolivia is probably the weirdest when it comes to tourist visas.
The country is a traveler’s paradise- the mines, the lakes, the small towns, the salt desert, and the people- always something new to see. And so cheap.
But for some reason, visitors to Bolivia are normally granted a 30-day initial entry, not more than that. As a US citizen, I did have to get an actual visa that was valid for 10 years and it would permit me 90 days maximum every year. I came thinking I would get 90 days but apparently, that wasn’t the case. Welcome to the 30-day club, they said.
I don’t know if other people see some logic in it, because I don’t. I mean, why not give people 90 days right when they enter? Why make things harder?
Anyways, within the first 30 days that I had been in Bolivia, I hadn’t seen much outside of Cochabamba. I wanted to visit the Salar de Uyuni and lake Titicaca and many other places, so I decided to extend my stay in Bolivia beyond 30 days. And I went for a second extension for 30 days as well.
In this article, I will explain how I got a Bolivia visa extension in Cochabamba and in Sucre. But in case you are looking to study, work or live a nomadic life in Bolivia, you would need a visa that’s not a tourist visa.
So, here is a guide to different visas for Bolivia and requirements.
Table of Contents
Do You Need a Visa for Bolivia?
Group 1: Countries in Green
Group 2 : Countries in Yellow
Group 3 : Countries in Brown
** Countries in orange are part of Mercosur countries **
If you are from a country that comes under Group 1, your Bolivia tourist visa extension is free and not complicated at all. The 30 days initial entry period can be extended for 30 more days, and then 30 additional days for free.
But for countries in Group 2 or Group 3, extending your Bolivian tourist visa will cost you and you might be asked for more documents than me since you entered with a Bolivia embassy visa or visa on arrival. Examples would be India, Russia etc.
If you are planning to get a tourist visa from a Bolivian embassy, here is how.
Where to Extend Bolivian Tourist Visa?
You can extend a tourist visa at any of the immigration offices in Bolivia. I did it at the office in Cochabamba.
Website of Bolivia Immigration– https://www.migracion.gob.bo
When to Extend Tourist Visa to Bolivia and How?
The when part is really important. The extension starts running from the day it’s issued. So, it’s best to extend it a day or two before. So there is no point showing up a week before to extend the visa.
And in lots of immigration offices, they would actually turn you back if you go for the extension more than 5 days before your stay expires. So let’s say, your 30th day is on 21 October, then you are good to go any day after 16th October.
So, make sure to time it right so you are not in the middle of the salt flats ( although Uyuni has an immigration office). Plan your trip well around these dates so that you are in a city with an immigration office towards the end of your 30-day stay.
And, try to avoid last day extension just in case there are any issues.
No Migración – no Good!Requirements for Bolivia Tourist Visa Extension
- Photocopies of the first page of the passport and the page with the entry stamp.
- Photocopy of the Bolivian tourist card ( the green form that was stamped and returned to you when you entered the country), as well as the original.
Now, if you didn’t get your tourist card while entering Bolivia, that’s alright. A couple of my friends from Denmark didn’t get the tourist cards when they crossed the border and they extended their Bolivian tourist visas just fine. So, If you didn’t get one at the border or airport, explain that to the immigration officers.
Submit the Documents in an Bolivian Immigration Office
I did my extension in the immigration office in Cochabamba. To get there, I took a truffy-cab from the main square to the Fidel Anze park. From the park, it’s a short walk. The office was mostly empty except for a couple of foreigners.
There were a couple of immigration officers behind the desk. I spoke to them in broken Spanish and explained why I was there. One of the officers examined my passport and asked me for the photocopies, which I promptly handed over.
Five minutes and he stamped my passport and the tourist card with a 30 day extension. It was that simple.
Second 30-day Extension for Bolivian Tourist Visa in Sucre
The first extension adds 30 days to your tourist stay, which effectively gives you 60 days in Bolivia. If you want to spend the beyond 60 days in Bolivia, then you need to extend your the Bolivian tourist visa one more time.
I did my extension second time in the immigration office in Sucre and the process was all the same, except for the fact that the Sucre office has a numbering system owing to the huge influx of tourists there.
Fine for Bolivian Tourist Visa Overstay
As a principle, I never think overstaying is ever a good idea even if the country is easy about it. If you overstay a few days or weeks you will be required to pay a fine of 20 Bs per day at the border or airport when you leave.
However, overstaying for months doesn’t have that good of an ending. You may get detained or being banned from entering Bolivia for some time. So, please extend your stay in time and don’t overstay.
Did you extend your tourist visa in Bolivia?
Let us know if you tried to extend your tourist visa in Bolivia. Please share the article if you think it’s useful.
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It is a useful and exciting article. A lot of helpful knowledge to use in travel, especially that bolivia is on my bucket list. I would love to visit this country. I dream of seeing the Salar de Uyuni and the Colorada Lagoon. So, it is excellent to know how to extend your stay 30 days for free.
This is great information for getting a visa in Bolivia. Bolivia is a country that we wish to visit. It seems easy to extend your visa as well and thanks for sharing the details on this as well.
This was very interesting. I have never been to Bolivia (yet), so I was not familiar with this. Most countries allow you to visit 3 months before you have to renew. I would be in group 1 so I’m glad to learn that getting a renewal shouldn’t be too hard. Great info!
Yes, the Bolivian system is a lil strange when it comes to visa renewals.
Thank you, Katy, for the helpful information and shared experiences.
Cheers,
ivy
I’m glad I’m part of group 1! I would have thought a 90 day visa would mean 90 days, not 30 days to start. This is a great guide and it’s always good to research your destination beforehand, making sure you don’t have to alter your plans needlessly.
Bolivia is high on my wishlist as it is really a traveler’s paradise with all beauties like the mines, the lakes, the small towns, the salt desert and the people- always something new to see. Good to know this country is not very expensive. I never knew that visa rules here are weirdest but it is good you had written all information here which is very helpful.
Well I know this article is a year oldz but I guess we had bad luck because none of this was explained to us. They literally told us we’d have to pay the $160 fee every 30 days, which is ridiculous. What’s the point of the 10 year visa then? Maybe my husband looked too white er something. I have Bolivian parents, but no dual nationality yet. I’ll work on it now. We went to the same office in Cochabamba.
Hi IM,
Sorry to hear this. The 10 year visa allows U.S. citizens to enter Bolivia without the need for applying visa every time, for 30 days a year. However, everyone needs to get an extension.
Will update the article with this information. Seems like they have changed things since COVID hit.
My Vietnamese friend just went through this process and its SAP. A few comments.
Not all immigration offices do extension. In SC the office in Ventura mall send us to city center. Given the huge lines we opted for the airport and they send us back to city center as well. The guy was kind enough to say dont bother just pay the fine is easier :-))
At guapay you cue up till your number pops up. Hand them all the copies. Cue up again for payment. Cue up again to give your passport and you will loose it for 4 days. Oh and dont come to late as they dont receive payments after 14.00
The clerk asked if we wanted to extend for 60 days. Sounds great but as we were informed 30 days the flight out date did not match 60 days so left with 30 day extension.
This above situation is for countries with an actual visa not the stamp only.
We both learned our lessons and i gladly pay the fine for the 60-90 days as not going through this again and loose almost a full day.
Thank you Niels for sharing your experience. You are right about not all immigration offices doing the extension.