How to Get a Bolivian Visa
If you have no plans on traveling to Bolivia anytime soon just skip on down to our account of dealing with Bolivian Beaurocracy.
There is a ton of confusion out there on just what you need to do if you are a U.S. Citizen to obtain a visa for entrance into Bolivia. Evo Morales, in response to U.S. visa requirements imposed on Bolivian citizens, changed entrance requirements for Americans entering Bolivia to the same as those imposed on Bolivians desiring to enter the U.S. This means it is a pain in the ass to get a Bolivian visa and it costs $135 USD.
The details on how to get a Bolivian visa:
1. Copy your main passport page (the one with picture and details).
2. Copy your yellow fever vaccination record (if you don’t have proof of vaccination you will have to get vaccinated again).
3. Print out your most recent bank or savings account statement showing that you have money (enough to show you can support your travel).
4. Print out the home page of a hostel or hotel (needs to show address and name). It doesn’t matter if you never stay there.
5. Print out your e-ticket or copy your paper ticket showing your return flight (this can be a return flight from any South American country; i.e. Argentina); doesn’t matter if you are biking, walking, or bussing it. We printed our bus schedule from Uyuni to Calama, Chile and were told we had to print our plane ticket even though it was from a different country.
6. Bring a passport picture.
7. Bring $135.00 USD cash (visa, check, other currencies not accepted).
If you are entering from the Lake Titicaca area you can either go to the Bolivian Consulate in Puno or take care of it at the border. Previously it cost $100 USD in Puno and $135 USD at the border. This is no longer the case, as of September 2009 they both cost $135 USD. The Bolivian Consulate in Puno is much more tranquil (meaning you waste your time sitting around). I recommend having all of the above mentioned items with you and taking care of it at the border since both are the same price.
Bolivian Beaurocracy B.S.
Deeanne and I arrived in Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca around 10:30pm where we were greeted by the friendly staff of Ollanta Inn. We crashed and headed over the next morning to the Bolivian Consulate at 8:30am when it opens. First we found out that it now costs $135 USD; this wiped out our main reason for going to the Puno office, but we were at the consulate and so decided to take care of it then.
We first were told that the bus schedule we printed was not sufficient enough proof of onward travel and so had to go find an internet café and print our return flight ticket from Buenos Aires. After returning 20 minutes later we waited for a bit and then we were given a bank routing number where we needed to deposit $135 USD each. We walked the 5 blocks and deposited the necessary funds (fortunately there were no bank lines). The teller returned several of our $10 bills (from Ecuador) telling us they were too old, and we needed to use newer bills. Luckily we still had a few nicer looking ones. Returning to the consulate, we handed over the deposit slip to the worker and were told to return in 1 hour. By this time we had spent almost two hours between waiting and the two errands for copies and deposits, and wondered how we would spend a third. We ended up finding a great little vegetarian restaurant and had a second breakfast of yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit.
We arrived at the consulate an hour later at 11:00am and were asked to go make copies of the visa that was just given to us (inside our passports) so that they had a copy of it. Hmmm… you wouldn’t know that an entire consulate office didn’t have a copy machine! I wonder what our $135 fee is actually going towards. We went and made a copy of the visa and returned. It was by this time 11:30am, a full three hours after we started the process.
I can’t imagine what the wait would have been like had we not been the only people there requesting visas! Then again, maybe it was precisely because we were the only ones there that it took as long as it did. At the border, there are busses of people waiting, and one couldn’t be forced to wait three hours if they had the proper documentation. It was beaurocratic and inefficient and in the future I would absolutely use the border; but at least we had our visas.
If you have no plans on traveling to Bolivia anytime soon just skip on down to our account of dealing with Bolivian Beaurocracy.
There is a ton of confusion out there on just what you need to do if you are a U.S. Citizen to obtain a visa for entrance into Bolivia. Evo Morales, in response to U.S. visa requirements imposed on Bolivian citizens, changed entrance requirements for Americans entering Bolivia to the same as those imposed on Bolivians desiring to enter the U.S. This means it is a pain in the ass to get a Bolivian visa and it costs $135 USD.
The details on how to get a Bolivian visa:
- Copy your main passport page (the one with picture and details).
- Copy your yellow fever vaccination record (if you don’t have proof of vaccination you will have to get vaccinated again).
- Print out your most recent bank or savings account statement showing that you have money (enough to show you can support your travel).
- Print out the home page of a hostel or hotel (needs to show address and name). It doesn’t matter if you never stay there.
- Print out your e-ticket or copy your paper ticket showing your return flight (this can be a return flight from any South American country; i.e. Argentina); doesn’t matter if you are biking, walking, or bussing it. We printed our bus schedule from Uyuni to Calama, Chile and were told we had to print our plane ticket even though it was from a different country.
- Bring a passport picture.
- Bring $135.00 USD cash (visa, check, other currencies not accepted).
If you are entering from the Lake Titicaca area you can either go to the Bolivian Consulate in Puno or take care of it at the border. Previously it cost $100 USD in Puno and $135 USD at the border. This is no longer the case, as of September 2009 they both cost $135 USD. The Bolivian Consulate in Puno is much more tranquil (meaning you waste your time sitting around). I recommend having all of the above mentioned items with you and taking care of it at the border since both are the same price.
Bolivian Beaurocracy B.S.
Deeanne and I arrived in Puno on the shores of Lake Titicaca around 10:30pm where we were greeted by the friendly staff of Ollanta Inn. We crashed and headed over the next morning to the Bolivian Consulate at 8:30am when it opens. First we found out that it now costs $135 USD; this wiped out our main reason for going to the Puno office, but we were at the consulate and so decided to take care of it then.
The Bolivian Consulate in Puno
We first were told that the bus schedule we printed was not sufficient enough proof of onward travel and so had to go find an internet café and print our return flight ticket from Buenos Aires. After returning 20 minutes later we waited for a bit and then we were given a bank routing number where we needed to deposit $135 USD each. We walked the 5 blocks and deposited the necessary funds (fortunately there were no bank lines). The teller returned several of our $10 bills (from Ecuador) telling us they were too old, and we needed to use newer bills. Luckily we still had a few nicer looking ones. Returning to the consulate, we handed over the deposit slip to the worker and were told to return in 1 hour. By this time we had spent almost two hours between waiting and the two errands for copies and deposits, and wondered how we would spend a third. We ended up finding a great little vegetarian restaurant and had a second breakfast of yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit.
We arrived at the consulate an hour later at 11:00am and were asked to go make copies of the visa that was just given to us (inside our passports) so that they had a copy of it. Hmmm… you wouldn’t know that an entire consulate office didn’t have a copy machine! I wonder what our $135 fee is actually going towards. We went and made a copy of the visa and returned. It was by this time 11:30am, a full three hours after we started the process.
I can’t imagine what the wait would have been like had we not been the only people there requesting visas! Then again, maybe it was precisely because we were the only ones there that it took as long as it did. At the border, there are busses of people waiting, and one couldn’t be forced to wait three hours if they had the proper documentation. It was beaurocratic and inefficient and in the future I would absolutely use the border; but at least we had our visas.
Bolivian Border Near Copacabana
Welcome to Bolivia
Tagged as:
Bolivia,
Border Crossing,
Immigration,
Visa Requirements
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
And I just know that you and Deeanne were gracious and lovely. A time to practice remaining calm in the face of aggravation. Copacabana eh – that’s the name of a club in some famous song – didn’t know it was a real place. Have a great day!