The first weeks in Bolivia: stamp, permanencia, cédula and bank
Your first weeks in Bolivia revolve around three clocks: the 90 days you have as a visitor, the six months in which your household goods must arrive, and the 25 working days for your cédula after the decision on your permanencia. With that cédula you then open your bank account and register at a health centre.
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The first weeks in Bolivia have three clocks. As a Dutch citizen you may stay 90 days without a visa; in that time you apply to the DIGEMIG for your permanencia temporal. Your household goods must arrive within six months of your arrival. And after notification of your permanencia you have 25 working days to collect your cédula de extranjero from the SEGIP. Much of what follows, the bank and healthcare, goes through that cédula.
| What | Period | More |
|---|---|---|
| Entry stamp in your passport | on arrival; without a stamp you can be fined on departure | NederlandWereldwijd |
| Form 250 at customs | on arrival, if you bring US$ 10,000 or more in cash | banking and payments |
| Pet to the SENASAG | straight away at the border, with the original documents | pet to Bolivia |
| Visit without a visa | 90 days at most | the residence routes |
| Applying for a permanencia temporal | in Bolivia, after legal entry | the residence routes |
| Household goods in | from 1 month before to 6 months after your arrival | household goods to Bolivia |
| Cédula de extranjero | within 25 working days of the notification, Bs 600 | registration and numbers |
| Tourist vehicle | 90 days at most | car and driving licence |
| Voluntary AOW insurance | within one year after you are no longer insured | SVB |
What do you do on arrival?
Make sure your passport gets a stamp on arrival. NederlandWereldwijd warns that without a stamp you can be fined on departure. If you travel overland, you need an exit stamp from the neighbouring country and an entry stamp from Bolivia. Point this out to the bus driver, and do not travel at night: border officials may then be absent.
If you bring US$ 10,000 or more in cash, you fill in customs form 250. If you continue by car, bear in mind that according to NederlandWereldwijd there is a fuel shortage and you cannot fill up everywhere. With your dog or cat you report to the SENASAG at the border, with the import permit and the original documents.
If you arrive high up, for example in La Paz, take it easy for the first days. Many areas are above 3,000 metres, and NederlandWereldwijd warns about altitude sickness.
What do you arrange in the first weeks?
Your permanencia temporal, at the DIGEMIG. Anyone who entered legally may apply for it in Bolivia (article 30 of Ley 370). Do it well within your 90 days as a visitor. As long as you are in the country as a tourist, you may not do paid work, not even for yourself (article 51).
After the DIGEMIG's notification the 25-working-day clock starts for your cédula. If you're later, each day from the notification costs a Bs 10 fine. Prepare the folder for the SEGIP while you wait for the decision: a copy of your passport, the online pre-registration form and the Banco Unión payment receipt.
If you came with a container, your household goods are on their way by now. They may arrive up to six months after you, through one customs office, and a customs broker files the declaration. For that you need the visa de objeto determinado you entered with.
And after that?
With your cédula you open a bank account; without a cédula that does not work under the ministry's minimum requirements. Until then you pay from your Dutch account.
If you are sixty or older and not employed, you register at the primary health centre in your neighbourhood. Ley 1152 then gives you free care in the public system; see healthcare in Bolivia.
If you have children, they can go to school straight away, even without Bolivian papers; see school in Bolivia. If you are going to earn money in Bolivia, you register for a NIT. You sign a longer-term rental contract once you know the neighbourhood; see renting in Bolivia.
Which clocks keep running?
You drive with your Dutch licence and an international driving permit. Conversion is only possible with a permanencia definitiva, after at least three years. Until then you can get a new Bolivian licence with your cédula.
In the Netherlands the period for voluntary AOW insurance is running: you have one year after you are no longer insured. Every year without insurance later gives 2 % less AOW. For the year you leave, you file a Dutch tax return with the M form; see the M form for the emigration year.
There is no Dutch embassy in Bolivia. In an emergency you contact the embassy in Lima, or the honorary consul in La Paz or Santa Cruz. How everything fits together is in the route to Bolivia.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.7: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Bolivia or go straight to step 2.7 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for Bolivia, 90 days without a visa, the entry stamp and the embassy in Lima — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- Ley 370 de Migración: permanencia after legal entry (article 30), cédula (article 34) and no work as a tourist (article 51) — diputados.gob.bo
- SEGIP — the cédula de identidad de extranjero, Bs 600 and 25 working days — segip.gob.bo
- Aduana Nacional — the customs regulation, the period for your household goods (article 193) — aduana.gob.bo
- Aduana Nacional — form 250 for cash and new goods — aduana.gob.bo
- Ley 1152 of 2019 — free public care for foreigners from age 60, through the health centre — diputados.gob.bo
- SVB — voluntary AOW insurance within one year — svb.nl
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