Asian Women in Bolivia

Shamoly Rani Nath. Mother of Adrian Sowmik Nath, a Bangladesh born Bolivian lady, Shamoly works for Aerosur Airlines in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. She may be one of the fewest females from Bangladesh working in so far a Latin American terrotory. Born in Sylhet, she passed Higher Secondary Certificate Exam from Sylhet Govt. College. She obtained her Honours Degree in Sociology from National University of Bangladesh. Later in 2003, on a holiday she made a pleasure trip to Bolivia. Since Bolivia Embassy was not available in Bangladesh, she got her Bolivian visa from London and flew to La Paz. While in Bolivia, she adapted herself with Bolivian society and culture. She learnt Spanish and loved Latin American life. She got two-year residence visa and came back to her native country. She got married and after a few months she went back to Bolivia. Adrian was born and she got permanent Bolivian residence permit. At the same time, she managed to get a job in the catering department of Aerosur Airlines.

Shamoly finds Bolivian life very easy and pleasant. Now she is a fluent speaker of Spanish. She has become a Bolivian lady in dress, culture and attitude. She leads a nice time there.

Like Shamoly, a lot of Asian women are living in Bolivia with absolute ease and comfort. Most of them are from China. Chinese have their restaurants in almost all over Bolivia. But they do not cook Chinese typical food. They cook and sell Bolivian “ Brasa” and “Borasto”. Most of the Chinese restaurants are led by Chinese women. At the same time, Indian, Iraqi, Pakistani, Canadian women are there with their families. They never idle away their time, rather they are involved either in business or in jobs.

Bolivia remains a perfect location for living. ‘Perfect’ in the sense that the weather is not too hot or too cold. No militant activities are found there. People are very helpful and amicable. All these factors are always encouraging Asian women to choose Bolivia as their second home.

Visa Requirements for Bolivia

Recently Bolivia visa requirements for some foreign citizens have been changed by the Bolivia government and many of you must now apply for either a tourist visa or a specific purpose visa to enter Bolivia.

The difference is that you can use a tourist visa if you plan to visit only, or are in transit through Bolivia. But if you plan to live, retire, study, volunteer or work in Bolivia you will need a specific purpose visa to enter the country.

Visa requirements are not same to all Nationals. It depends on the treaties that exist between Bolivia and your country. But all Nationals who plan to apply for residency need a specific purpose visa.

The Bolivia tourist visa

Visa is a very important factor for entering the country. Laws about Bolivia visa requirements for tourists vary by your country of origin and regularly change without notice. You must contact the Bolivian consulate nearest you to make sure that you understand the laws concerning Bolivia visas applicable to you. This post is just a GENERAL guideline. Bolivia does not require travel visas for citizens of some countries, and as well as does for others. Americans do need a Bolivia visa. Apart than this, the length of stay and other information also varies country to country. Therefore you have to make sure about the correct visa and all the necessary requirements prior to traveling to Bolivia.

According to Immigration laws and documents displayed on the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website (Last Update: September 2010) it must be noted that foreigners wishing to enter Bolivia have been classified into 3 groups:

Group 1 list of countries that DO NOT need a Bolivia tourism visa.

Group 2 list of countries that DO need a tourist visa but DO NOT need to get it in the country of origin via a Bolivian consulate (you can get it at border points or an airport immigration point upon arrival).

Group 3 lists countries that DO need a tourist visa and DO NEED to get it in the country of origin by way of a Bolivian consulate BEFORE you arrive in Bolivia. However, there is an exception.

Exception for Group 3: Article 7 of Biministerial Resolution 01/2007 available on the aforementioned website states that foreigners from Group III who fail to get the tourist visa prior to their traveling, but can show that they have fulfilled all the requirements to obtain the tourist visa may, just as an exception, get their tourist visa at the first migratory control point (overland border points or airports). It is only if Bolivian immigration officials have verified that they've complied and fulfilled all requirements.

Extensions:  On 26 February 2010, Immigration officials in Santa Cruz, Bolivia announced that foreigners from all three groups whether they need a tourist visa or not, are NOT allowed staying in Bolivia over 90 days in every year. There is NO possibility for extension. If you even cross the border to a neighboring country to request another 90 days, this request will be turned down and you will be obligated to obtain a “Visa de Objeto De Terminado” (the specific purpose visa) which lasts only for 30 days. After that you may decide about how many days you will stay in Bolivia. If you wish to obtain a residency permit you have those 30 days to begin and complete your Bolivia residency application.

What’s about overstaying? Foreigners from all three groups (including those from Group 1 that do not need a visa) will be fined Bs. 20 per day if they stay in Bolivia beyond the expiration date of their tourist visa or entry stamp. Essentially, if you stay in the country beyond your visa expiration date it will be considered as the illegal stay. You may have trouble to obtain a travel visa the next time when you plan to visit Bolivia.

The specific purpose visa

This type of visa is designed for those who are planning to reside in Bolivia for a length of time greater than 90 days per year to work, to do business, or to get an education there. This visa is valid for 30 days stay. This means that once you arrive in Bolivia you have only 30 days to initiate and turn in your application for residency.

According to the sworn statement for visa application form, and Article 12 of Biministerial Resolution 01/2007, both available on the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website if you enter Bolivia as a tourist you cannot change migratory status once you are here. This means you cannot apply for residency if you have entered on a tourist visa. You will need to leave the country and re-enter on the Specific Purpose Visa.

The yellow fever vaccine

Biministerial Resolution 01/2007 states that everyone over 12 months of age must have a yellow fever vaccination card or immunization certificate to enter Bolivia. However, the document Vacuna Contra la Fiebre Amarilla, found on the same website states that authorities from the Ministry of Health and Sports passed another Ministerial Resolution 0028 dated 21 January 2009, whereby the yellow fever shot will be required exclusively for foreigners who will be traveling to zones at risk of yellow fever (there's a list of those zones) and they must have the yellow fever vaccine a minimum of 10 days prior to entering Bolivia. Disclaimer Before you travel, it is your responsibility to check with the Bolivian Consulate nearest you because immigration laws change frequently. This post should not be considered as legal advice. All of the above information is obtained from the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Visitors may get detailed information regarding Bolivian visas from www.boliviabella.com

Study in Bolivia: an Introduction

Pursuing higher education in Bolivia is not a surprising matter now-a-days. For, the standard of  education, accommodation, availability of courses have made Bolivian institutions ideal centers for local as well as overseas students for learning. Day by day, the number of university students is rising rapidly. They learn, they earn and they establish their careers home and abroad.

The standard of teaching as well as the standard of learning runs in parallel in a very exquisite way. The professors are very amiable, learned, competent and above all highly encouraging. Their approach to the overseas students is so praiseworthy. In a class a student cannot but find a homely environment among the fellow students. In the friendly classes the students gather knowledge with the careful supervision of the efficient teachers. Thus a friendly environment always prevails in every class in almost every institution in Bolivia.

Regarding the cost of tuition, Bolivian institutions may be the lowest of other South American countries. The cost depends from course to course, university to university.  In an average a student has to pay USD 1000 for a six month term including tuition fee, exam fee, lab fee, etc. I the medical university it’s a bit higher. In colleges the cost remains much lower. Besides, a student may pay his fees in installment. Accommodation facility is available for most of the universities on campus. Thus the students reside a serene life within the university. In the hostels both local and foreign foods are available. The universities are located in good localities so that the students find the places to b perfect for communication, transportation and learning chaos-free.

Entry requirements for Bolivian universities are not at all critical. For admission, a student needs a bachelor degree, recommendation letters, character certificate, application, etc. For overseas students the prospective student needs a student visa, a police certificate, a medical certificate, recommendation certificate, character certificate, etc. If a student enters Bolivia with a tourist visa, he or she may apply for a student visa. Firstly, the applicant must finish the admission process and obtain the admission letter, the receipt of fee paid from the respective institution. Then he should proceed to the Migration Office for visa maters. In the counter he should collect the necessary form and a checklist. The form is free of charge. With the application, the student should attach an Interpol certificate, a police certificate certifying the place of residence, HIV (negative) certificate and admission documents.  Upon submission of he documents along with original passport, the student has to pay the free for residence visa. For one year, Bs. 1000, for 2 years Bs. 1500 and for 5 years Bs. 3000 is required. It’s better and wiser to handle the visa matters by a competent solicitor. Solicitors are available around the Migration office. There are Migration Offices (Immigration Office) in Santa Cruz, La Paz and Cochabamba. 

Housing in Bolivia is very comfortable, easy and secured. It is very easy to rent a room in a house. The land lord always rents one or two rooms at the rate of Bs. 300-600 per month. There is the facility of water supply, bath room, etc. Restaurants are found at every corner of residential areas as well as market places. Besides, a tenant may cook himself in the house. Vegetable, rice, fish and meat are available in the local markets.

In Bolivian universities a student have the option to choose his subject from a crowd of courses. There are IT related courses; Science related courses, Arts, Commerce, Engineering, Medical, Tourism, and Theology related courses and what not. Most of the universities have international recognition. Some courses are taught both in Bolivia and abroad. Particularly medical courses are finished in local university and the internship is completed in Europe. Thus a student never finds it insufficient regarding his choice of option in course, institution, accommodation and housing. In Bolivia he is bound to be satisfied with the high quality education system and comfortable living style.