Here’s the process I went through in October 2026 as someone from a Group 2 country, applying in person in Santiago, Chile. Disclaimer that this was just my experience at the time and that this isn’t official advice. Hopefully though, this guide helps you feel a little less anxious than I was, especially since information about the process can be confusing and inconsistent.
1. Before Arrival
Complete the online visa application form.
Fill in the application form online (https://visas.cancilleria.gob.bo/#/), but stop at the payment section. The payment needs to be made in person at a bank in Chile (see Step 2, not enough details are available for international wire transfer, and they want the specific local bank deposit slip as proof of payment). Your application is still only a draft at this stage, so you don’t need to print the draft application just yet. It is not submitted until you attach proof of payment and click Submit (after Step 4).
Print copies of all your supporting documents:
- Passport copy
- Yellow fever vaccination certificate
- Travel itinerary - we had a list of dates, activities and hotel for each night
- Tickets showing entry into and departure from Bolivia
- Hotel booking confirmation
- Bank statement covering the past three months
2. In Chile: Make the Visa Payment
Head to a BCI bank branch to make the payment using a deposit slip.
At the time of writing, the visa fee was US$50.
A few tips:
- Bring clean, crisp US dollar notes.
- If you only have a US$100 note, that should be fine - they gave us change.
- We went to the BCI Sucursal World Trade Centre, opposite the Bolivian Embassy. They seemed familiar with these payments and already had deposit slips filled in with the embassy’s details.
The payment process:
- Get a deposit slip from the reception counter.
- Fill it in using the details in the attached photo.
- Get a queue number from reception so you can be called to the bank teller.
- Hand over the completed deposit slip and your money.
- Collect the yellow payment receipt.
- Take a photo of the receipt for your records!
Once you’ve made the payment, return to your online visa application and enter the deposit number from the receipt to complete and submit the form. There will be a reference number assigned below your photo in the application form once it is completed.
Print your completed application. We printed ours at the Multiservice shop in the basement of Cenco Costanera mall. You can send the documents you wanted printed over WhatsApp when you get there.
3. At the Bolivian Embassy
The staff at the Bolivian embassy in Santiago were very helpful, as were the strangers who could see us struggling with our lack of Spanish!
There doesn’t seem to be a formal ticketing or appointment system for the application process (despite the random QR code pasted on the wall that links to a booking page). It’s essentially a physical queue.
Go early if you can. When we arrived early in the morning, it was less crowded. People sat on the seats nearest the door and gradually shuffled along as the queue moved.
We returned at around 12:30 pm after realising we needed to sort out some documents. By then, the queue was much longer. Although some people were sitting down, the actual queue now consisted of people standing and lining up directly from the door, but when I reached the front of the main obvious queue, I was then also directed to a secondary queue which appeared to be for a different specific staff member to attend to my sort of application. TLDR- no fixed system, judge for yourself on the day what the flow of the process seems to be.
Once it’s your turn, submit your original passport, yellow deposit slip, and documents (physical copies from step 1, and printed complete application form from step 2) to the embassy staff member.
4. Visa Collection
At the time I submitted my documents, I was told to come back 2 days later at 4pm to collect my passport and visa.
So keep this in mind when planning your trip - some extra time might be needed.
Bonus Tip: Forgot Your Application Portal Password?
If, like me, you forget your password before submitting your application, don’t panic - but be prepared to start again!
This happened to me while my application was still in the draft stage, before payment. I tried the password recovery function, but the reset email never arrived, not even in my spam folder. I also contacted the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Facebook Messenger, but never received a reply.
When I went to the embassy in person, I was simply told to create a new account and complete the application again. So that’s what I did - and this time, I made sure not to forget my password!
Hopefully, this saves someone else a little stress!