Work Visa for Bolivia. Bolivia Visa Requirements and Application

If you plan to work in Bolivia you must not travel to Bolivia on a tourist visa. ALL foreigners, regardless of their country of origin, must request a specific purpose visa (visa de objeto determinado) if they plan to live and work in Bolivia. You cannot travel on a tourist visa if you plan to live and work in Bolivia.

If you travel to Bolivia on a tourist visa, and then decide you'd like to stay in the country to live and work, you will not be allowed to request residency in Bolivia. Bolivian law does not allow you to change your migratory status once you have already arrived in the country. This is why it is very important you arrive on the correct visa if you plan to live and work here.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A WORK VISA

The specific purpose visa, which you will need if you plan to live here, is not a work visa. It is simply a travel visa (or visa for entry into the country). It gives you only 30 days to be in Bolivia, during which time you must begin your residency application process. Some people incorrectly call it a work visa because it is the visa you need to enter the country with if you plan to work here.

If you plan to work in Bolivia, the government requires you have a work permit (permiso de trabajo). You will process this at the Ministry of Labor once your application for residency has been approved. This work permit is also sometimes mistakenly called a work visa.

Because people tend to call both of these documents a work visa, it causes a lot confusion among foreigners. However the easy way to avoid confusion is this: there is no such thing as a work visa.

There is a specific purpose visa, a travel visa you need to enter the country if you plan to work here.

And there is a work permit, which the Ministry of Labor will extend to you once you have received approval for residency in Bolivia.