Household goods to Bolivia: duty-free up to US$ 35,000, but only with the right visa
A foreigner settling in Bolivia may bring their used household goods without import duties up to a value of US$ 35,000. The condition is a visa de objeto determinado. The goods must arrive between one month before and six months after you, and a customs broker files the declaration.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
If you are going to live in Bolivia, you may bring your used household goods without import duties, up to a value of US$ 35,000 (FOB, the value on board at the port of departure). That is in article 192 of the customs regulation. The exemption applies to foreigners who settle in Bolivia and show a visa de objeto determinado (article 191). Without that visa you have no right to the exemption.
| What | Rule | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Exemption for a foreigner who settles | used household goods up to US$ 35,000 FOB | 192 |
| Condition | visa de objeto determinado | 191 and 194 |
| More than US$ 35,000 | the part above it pays import duties (heading 98.01) | 192 |
| Arrival of the goods | from 1 month before to 6 months after your arrival | 193 |
| Customs office | one office for the whole shipment | 193 |
| Declaration | through a customs broker (despachante de aduana) | 194 |
| Validation by the consulate | free | embassy fees |
What counts as household goods?
The regulation names clothing, furniture, appliances and everything you normally use in a home. What does not fall under it: cars and other motor vehicles. Exceptions are bicycles, prams, wheelchairs, hand carts and walking tractors, as long as they are not for trade (article 192, paragraph III). So your car falls outside the exemption; see car and driving licence.
A returning Bolivian may also bring tools and machines for their profession, up to a higher amount. For a foreigner the regulation only names the household goods.
Why is the visa so important?
Because the regulation makes it a condition. Article 194 expressly names the visa de objeto determinado (para extranjeros) among the documents you hand in. Anyone who enters as a visitor and then applies for a permanencia in Bolivia, which the migration law allows, does not have that visa. With only a permanencia the exemption isn't in the text. Ask the Aduana before you ship.
Arrange the visa de objeto determinado at the Bolivian embassy in The Hague before you let the container leave. The visa costs US$ 100. If you don't get the exemption, you pay import duties on all your household goods, at the ordinary rates per type of goods.
Which route suits you is in the residence routes.
How does the declaration work?
You fill in the sworn declaration of household goods (declaración jurada de ingreso de menaje doméstico) in the Aduana Nacional's system. You print it, sign it and present it to the Bolivian consulate, which validates it in the customs system. At the embassy in The Hague that is a free service. The shipment is in your name as the owner.
In Bolivia a despachante de aduana, a licensed customs broker, files the import declaration with the exemption. At clearance you hand in:
- the sworn declaration from the customs system;
- the document with which the consulate validated it;
- your visa de objeto determinado.
Make a detailed inventory with the value per box. You need it for the declaration and to show that you stay below US$ 35,000.
What if the goods arrive earlier?
That is allowed, up to one month before your own arrival. You cannot clear the shipment until you, or someone with a power of attorney, reports to customs (article 193). If the shipment arrives later than six months after your arrival, it falls outside the conditions and you clear it under the ordinary rules (article 194, paragraph III).
Everything must come in through one customs office. If you ship in parts, they must arrive at the same office. Ask your mover at which Bolivian customs office the shipment will be declared.
Do your household goods count later on?
Not for the Bolivian tax on large fortunes. It applies to residents with net assets above Bs 30 million, in Bolivia and abroad, but the law on that tax (Ley 1357, article 7) expressly leaves household goods out. Cars, jewellery, art, antiques and collections are not household goods under that tax's regulation, and so they do count. More in AOW, pension and tax.
What is better left behind?
A car, and anything new or intended for sale. The exemption applies to used goods; what falls outside the conditions is imported under the ordinary rules (article 194, paragraph III).
If you bring a pet, that runs outside the move, with its own permit; see pet to Bolivia.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.5: 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 2.5 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.
- Aduana Nacional — the customs regulation (DS 25870), articles 191 to 194 on the exemption for household goods — aduana.gob.bo
- Bolivian embassy in The Hague — household goods for foreigners, with the visa de objeto determinado and the US$ 35,000 limit — embajadas.cancilleria.gob.bo
- Bolivian embassy in The Hague — the consular fees, the certificate for household goods is free — embajadas.cancilleria.gob.bo
- Aduana Nacional — the page for travellers, with the form for declaring household goods — aduana.gob.bo
- Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales — Ley 843 with Ley 1357 and its regulation, household goods do not count for the tax on large fortunes — impuestos.gob.bo
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