Registration and numbers in Bolivia: the SEGIP cédula and the NIT
After you receive your permanencia from the migration service, you get an ID card for foreigners from the SEGIP within 25 working days. It costs Bs 600. You only need a tax number, the NIT, once you earn income in Bolivia, for example from renting out property or your own work.
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In Bolivia your paperwork revolves around one card: the cédula de identidad de extranjero, the ID card for foreigners. You get it from the SEGIP, the personal registration service, as soon as the migration service DIGEMIG has granted you a permanencia temporal or definitiva. After that notification you have 25 working days. If you're later, the SEGIP charges a fine of Bs 10 per day from the day of the notification. You only need a tax number, the NIT, if you earn income in Bolivia.
| What | Where | When | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanencia and resolución administrativa | DIGEMIG | first, after your application | DIGEMIG fee |
| Cédula de extranjero, first time | SEGIP | within 25 working days of the notification | Bs 600; students and people with a disability Bs 300 |
| Late | SEGIP | after those 25 working days | Bs 10 per day extra, counted from the notification |
| Renewal of the cédula | SEGIP | within 25 working days of expiry | Bs 600 |
| Duplicate | SEGIP | if lost | Bs 200 |
| NIT | Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales | when you start a source of income in Bolivia |
What do you bring to the SEGIP?
The SEGIP wants everything in one folder per application, with originals and a copy:
- your valid passport, the page with your details;
- the permanencia the DIGEMIG gave you;
- the original of the DIGEMIG's resolución administrativa;
- a copy of the notification stamp, or the original of the handover record;
- the pre-registration form, filled in and signed. You do that pre-registration online beforehand.
You pay into the SEGIP's account at Banco Unión and put the payment receipt, original and copy, in the same folder. Paying with a QR code does not work here, the SEGIP writes: the transaction number the system needs is then missing.
The 25 working days start on the day the DIGEMIG notifies you of the decision, not on the day you want to collect the card. So book the SEGIP appointment straight after the notification.
Do you want your marital status or degree on the card?
You can, and it is optional. If you married abroad, you hand in a copy of your marriage certificate, legalised by the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs or endorsed by the DIGEMIG. The same applies to a foreign degree. So bring a recent extract with an apostille from the Netherlands and ask the SEGIP whether that is enough; see the residence routes on the Apostille Convention.
How long is the card valid?
As long as your permanencia. When your residence is extended, you also renew the card, with the same documents and your old cédula. If you renew a permanencia definitiva, from the second permanencia the SEGIP also asks for the original certificate from the DIGEMIG.
For anyone over sixty with permanent residence, the migration law has provided since Ley 997 of 2017 for a cédula of unlimited validity. That saves a trip to the SEGIP at every renewal.
Do you need a NIT?
Only if you are going to earn income in Bolivia. The NIT, the Número de Identificación Tributaria, is your number with the tax authority, the Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales. A natural person registers according to the economic sector they work in: renting out property, consultancy, education, accommodation and catering, and so on.
For registration the tax authority asks for:
- your cédula de extranjero;
- the address for tax purposes (domicilio tributario), the address of your activity and your home address;
- if you work as an independent professional or consultant: a Título en Provisión Nacional, the Bolivian professional title at technical or professional level.
The NIT of a foreigner with a cédula is created by the tax authority itself. The last three digits contain the code 04 and a random digit from 1 to 9.
If you live only on your Dutch AOW and pension, the NIT usually does not affect you: Bolivian income tax looks at income from Bolivia. How that works is in AOW, pension and tax.
What do you arrange on the Dutch side?
You deregister with your municipality; see deregistering with the municipality. If you keep your DigiD and a Dutch account, you can keep handling your affairs with the SVB and the Belastingdienst; see keeping your bank account and DigiD. With your cédula you can then open a Bolivian account; see banking and payments.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: 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 5.1 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.
- SEGIP — the cédula de identidad de extranjero, requirements, fees and fine — segip.gob.bo
- Ley 370 de Migración, article 34: anyone granted a permanencia gets a cédula — diputados.gob.bo
- Ley 997 (2017) — the cédula of unlimited validity for permanent residents over sixty — diputados.gob.bo
- Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales — the requirements for a NIT as a natural person — siatinfo.impuestos.gob.bo
- Servicio de Impuestos Nacionales — how a foreigner's NIT is built up — siatinfo.impuestos.gob.bo
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