Bolivia

[jonnodubai]

I am leaving Mendoza on April 14th '17 and riding north to La Paz - I would ideally like to store my bike in La Paz for a period of 9 months but at least 6 months - does anyone have any experience of doing this ? in terms of time allowed and where I might find secure parking ? _ Jonno

[mika]

Entering Bolivia you should get 180 days for your bike from customs, but many travelers only get 30 or 60 days, this depends on entry point and offical in charge at that moment.

Cant help you with secure parking in La Paz. I live in Samaipata (near Santa Cruz de la Sierra) and organise the HU meeting here 21.04. to 23.04., you are and I know we will find a secure parking for your bike here.

Enjoy your ride.
mika

[Tony LEE]

Seems that getting 30 days is more the norm and then you have to go to aduana to beg for another 30 days.

We have left vehicles in other countries for extended times but haven't heard of anyone trying it in Bolivia.

[xfiltrate]

We entered Bolivia from Argentina. rosa del desierto is Spanish and I am USA. The TVIPs for our motorcycles were issued for 90 days.

We were both issued 5 year tourist visas with the provision that we could not stay in Bolivia for more than 90 days in one calendar year. It is best to obtain the tourist visa for Bolivia prior to attempting to cross border.

Applying for the tourist visa at the border was a long procedure - the requirements were the same as if I had applied at the Bolivian Consulate in Buenos Aires. The $100.00 fee was demanded in USD, but I only had $80.00 USD so was permitted to pay the other $20.00 USD in Bolivianos.

I remember being required at the border to provide a photo - see requirement below - and it had to have a certain size and color background - my extra passport photos were the wrong size and wrong background, so I cut the photo to size and colored the background in with a colored pencil. When I presented the photo, there was great laughter and much passing of my doctored photo around. It passed muster and once I provided a complete itinerary, including the the name of Chamalu, a Bolivian shaman with a multi million dollar facility outside of Cochabamba for whom we had translated one of his 60 books, I became a VIP and looks of respect and admiration replaced the laughter. We stayed with Chamalu at Janajpacha, his ecological community. http://janajpacha.com

Elisa/ rosa del desierto, a citizen of Spain was not required to provide a photo nor pay the $100.00 tourist fee.

As a citizen of the USA, I paid $100.00 USD non refundable fee at the border and had to meet the following requirements. From Embassy of the United Sates in La Paz, Bolivia

xfiltrate (see Bolivian visa requirements of US citizen below)
It did not matter that I am a permanent foreign resident of Argentina!!!

https://bolivia.usembassy.gov/servic...ist-visas.html

General Matters

Tourist visas for U.S. citizens shall be valid for 5 years from the date of issuance. After the expiration date, the tourist must reapply for a visa and pay the corresponding fee once again.

Tourist visas shall allow the bearer to stay in Bolivia for 90 days in a year, except that under exceptional circumstances and with sufficient justification such stay may be extended in accordance with Article 29.2 of the Supreme Decree N. 24423 of November 29, 1996. In this case, the tourist shall apply for an extension prior to the expiration of their authorized stay in the district offices of the National Immigration Service of Bolivia.

The non-refundable cost of the visa shall be US$100 (one hundred U.S. dollars).

The visa shall permit up to three entries, including the first entry, and the cumulative stay shall not exceed 90 days in a year.


Procedures For Applying In Person At A Bolivian Consulate

Reception of sworn application and required documents.

The (Bilingual) Sworn Statement for Visa Application Form may be obtained at Bolivian consulates or downloaded from the webpage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the following address:

D75 (PDF 94kb)
The application shall be accompanied by the following documents:

Recent 5x5 [cm] color photograph without glasses.
Passport with an expiration date of not less than 6 months, after the arrival date in Bolivia (as established by Article 4.2 of the Bi-ministerial Resolution 01-2007).
Hotel reservation or letter of invitation.
Round trip ticket or trip itinerary.
Economic solvency (credit card or cash or a current bank statement).
Photocopy of International Certificate of Vaccination against yellow fever.
The following requirements are obligatory and cannot be waived: obligation to present the letter of invitation or the provision of a hotel reservation, the round trip ticket or itinerary, deposit slip or money order for US$100, credit card or bank statement and yellow fever vaccination.

In the event that the tourist does not have a hotel reservation, he/she may request information about hotels in Bolivia from a Bolivian consulate. Such information is also available on the web page of the Ministry of Foreign Relations (http://www.rree.gob.bo/), on the Consular Services link.

In the case of minors, the requirement for economic solvency shall be provided by their parents or legal guardians.

In the event of an unaccompanied minor, he/she must present an official Parental Authorization and Consent Certificate duly provided by the appropriate authorities.

Payment of Fees

The tourist shall pay US$100 (one hundred U.S. dollars). The payment may be made in cash, by deposit to the consulate’s bank account or by money order, as indicated by the respective consulate.

Visa Issuance

The visa affixed in the passport of the applicant with the signature and seal of the consular official, shall be in the form of a sticker, which sticker has safety features designed to avoid tampering or forgery.

In the case of a lost passport, the visa shall be considered void and the tourist shall proceed to reapply for a new visa.

[jonnodubai]

Originally Posted by mika

Entering Bolivia you should get 180 days for your bike from customs, but many travelers only get 30 or 60 days, this depends on entry point and offical in charge at that moment.

Cant help you with secure parking in La Paz. I live in Samaipata (near Santa Cruz de la Sierra) and organise the HU meeting here 21.04. to 23.04., you are and I know we will find a secure parking for your bike here.

Enjoy your ride.
mika

Thanks Mika - I was aware of your event from HU site but unfortunately I dont think that we will make it in time - we are only departing from Mendoza on 16th April and going via Santiago so the time will be difficult to reach your event as much as i would like to !
i will keep you informed and will try to make it
do you have any idea which border crossing is the most likely to allow 6 months for the bikes
regards
john

[mika]

do you have any idea which border crossing is the most likely to allow 6 months for the bikes
regards
john

Hi John, no dont know which one would be best for this, but as Tony LEE rightly stated most try first to give you 30 days for the bike ... same as your visa ... but you can ask for 180 days and if the officer has a good day he will give it to you. Good luck. See you here. mika

[Turk34]

Originally Posted by mika

Entering Bolivia you should get 180 days for your bike from customs, but many travelers only get 30 or 60 days, this depends on entry point and offical in charge at that moment.

Cant help you with secure parking in La Paz. I live in Samaipata (near Santa Cruz de la Sierra) and organise the HU meeting here 21.04. to 23.04., you are and I know we will find a secure parking for your bike here.

Enjoy your ride.
mika

We will try to make it...

[Peter Bodtke]

If you need to store a moto for a period within your TVIP, then use the Contact a Community feature and send a request (with a smile not a demand.)
Contact a Community | Horizons Unlimited

There are some times vehicle storage services at the border, actually in the space between countries, where you can find covered or uncovered storage for a low daily fee.

Alternately, I have read reports of bonded warehouses, usually near large seaports and international airports. Storing your bike in this type of facility stops the clock on the TVIP. It does not stop the clock on insurance (which is becoming more and more common in Latin American countries.) You'll have to do some research to find the spanish name for this service and to learn if it is available near La Paz.