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Bolivia passport photo requirements

The photo rules set by Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Bolivia for the Bolivia passport, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 4 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What are the Bolivia passport photo requirements?

You do not need to bring a printed photo for a Bolivian electronic passport. No requirement list published by Bolivian consulates for a new passport, a renewal or a lost passport includes a photograph, and you apply in person at the Dirección General de Migración (DIGEMIG) in Bolivia or at a consulate abroad. No official print size exists, so 40 x 50 mm is not a Bolivian passport rule. Prints are needed only for related consular procedures.

The ordinary Bolivian passport is the electronic passport (pasaporte electrónico). Citizens in Bolivia apply to the Dirección General de Migración (DIGEMIG), the immigration directorate, while Bolivians living abroad apply at the consular offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The consular network says the procedure is personal: because of the characteristics of the passport system, it is carried out in person, starting when the citizen presents the documents at the consular office.

What you bring is identity paperwork, not pictures. The consular lists for a first passport, a renewal and a replacement after loss or theft ask for a cédula de identidad (or an assigned identity number) or an updated birth certificate, plus documents for the particular case. The Bolivian embassy in Canada adds that your identity record is first checked in the SEGIP system, and that data capture at the embassy takes about half an hour.

Two related consular procedures do use prints. A Bolivian born abroad who has no identity number must have one assigned first, and that procedure asks for 3 x 3 cm photos on a white background. A citizen abroad who must go home without a valid passport can be given a safe-conduct (salvoconducto), which asks for two photos of size 3 x 4.

Bolivia passport photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Bolivia:[1]

Print sizeNo print or upload: none of the consular passport requirement lists includes a photograph
BackgroundNot published: applicants are given no background rule because they supply no photo
Print qualityNot applicable: no prints are listed, and the application is made in person

Key requirements

  • No photograph on the list

    The requirement lists for a first passport (under or over 18), a renewal and a passport replacing one lost or stolen contain no photograph. Do not pay for prints unless your consulate asks for them.

  • Apply in person

    Consular pages state that, because of the characteristics of the passport system, the procedure is carried out in person. The Ottawa embassy calls the process personal and says the data capture at the embassy takes about half an hour.

  • Identity record first

    You need a Bolivian cédula de identidad, an assigned identity number or an original updated birth certificate. The Ottawa embassy checks your data in the SEGIP identity system before a renewal, and errors there must be corrected with SEGIP before the passport can go ahead.

  • When a renewal is accepted

    Consulates renew a passport that has expired or will expire within the next 6 months, is damaged or has run out of pages. They also ask for a letter to the consular authority explaining why you need the renewal.

  • Lost or stolen passports

    Report the loss or theft to the authorities of the country where you are, or make a sworn statement (declaración jurada) at the consulate, and bring your cédula, identity number or birth certificate with a simple photocopy.

  • Prints only for side procedures

    Photos come in only when you need an identity number assigned first (3 x 3 cm, white background) or a safe-conduct document to travel home (two photos of size 3 x 4).

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Check the current arrangements with DIGEMIG or your consulate before you go.
  • Bring your cédula de identidad or assigned identity number, with a simple photocopy.
  • Bring an original, updated birth certificate if you are Bolivian through your parents.
  • Bring the old passport and a letter explaining why you need a new one when renewing.
  • Attend with both parents for a child, or bring a sworn authorisation from the absent parent.
  • Correct any error in your SEGIP record before you apply.

Don't

  • Do not buy passport prints for an ordinary passport application.
  • Do not treat 40 x 50 mm or any other print size as an official Bolivian passport size.
  • Do not plan to send the application by post: it is made in person.
  • Do not wait for the passport to expire: renewal is accepted within 6 months of expiry.
  • Do not leave a loss or theft unreported: the replacement needs a police report or a sworn statement.

Babies and children

For a first passport for a child under 18, consulates ask for the child's original updated birth certificate, the child's cédula or assigned identity number with a photocopy, and the parents' passports or cédulas (a foreign identity card or passport for a parent who is not Bolivian). The copies are checked against the originals.

If only one parent applies because the other is in another country, the absent parent authorises the passport by a sworn statement made before a competent authority of that country or at a Bolivian consulate. No authorisation is needed when both parents apply together. For a child's renewal, the Ottawa embassy asks for both parents to be present, or for a notarised letter from the absent parent with a copy of that parent's identity document and the child's original birth certificate.

A child born abroad who has never had a Bolivian identity number needs one assigned before the passport. That consular procedure asks for both parents in person and 3 x 3 cm photos of the child on a white background.

Neither prints nor digital uploads appear in the passport requirements, so there is no photo for you to prepare. The application is made in person, and the Ottawa embassy describes a data capture session of about half an hour at the embassy.

The only things you may be asked to send electronically are copies of documents. Before a renewal, the Ottawa embassy asks for a copy of your passport data page and your Bolivian birth certificate by email so that it can verify your identity data in the SEGIP system.

Where to submit the photo

In Bolivia, passports are issued by the Dirección General de Migración (DIGEMIG). Check its current booking arrangements before you go.

Abroad, apply at the Bolivian consulate or embassy consular section for your area. The Ottawa embassy says the passport takes about 30 days to arrive after the data capture and can be sent on to you in a prepaid envelope with a tracking number.

How to get your Bolivia passport photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Bolivia passport. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: no photograph on the list; apply in person; identity record first; when a renewal is accepted.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Neither prints nor digital uploads appear in the passport requirements, so there is no photo for you to prepare. The application is made in person, and the Ottawa embassy describes a data capture session of about half an hour at the embassy.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. In Bolivia, passports are issued by the Dirección General de Migración (DIGEMIG). Check its current booking arrangements before you go. Abroad, apply at the Bolivian consulate or embassy consular section for your area.

Make this photo online

Bolivia passport photo FAQ

No printed photo is listed. Bolivian consulates publish the requirements for a first passport, a renewal and a replacement after loss or theft, and none of those lists includes a photograph. You attend in person with your identity documents instead. Ask your consulate if you are unsure, but do not buy prints in advance.

There is no official print size, because applicants do not hand in a print. Sizes such as 40 x 50 mm that appear on some websites do not come from Bolivian government sources. If a consulate asks you for a photo for a related procedure, use the size it names, such as 3 x 3 cm for an identity number assignment.

No. The consular pages say the procedure is carried out in person because of the characteristics of the passport system. The Ottawa embassy will post the finished passport to you if you provide a prepaid tracked envelope, but the application and the data capture happen at the embassy.

First ask the consulate for an identity number assignment (asignación de número de identidad), which consulates say is required to obtain a passport or a safe-conduct. It asks for an original updated birth certificate, forms completed at the consulate and a 3 x 3 cm photo on a white background; some consular lists ask for six such photos.

A consulate can issue a salvoconducto, a document granted only to Bolivian citizens so that they can return to Bolivia when they have no valid passport or cédula. It needs two photos of size 3 x 4, a Bolivian birth certificate, a return ticket and your presence for fingerprints and signature.

Consulates accept a renewal when the passport has expired, will expire within the next 6 months, is damaged or has no free pages. Bring your cédula, identity number or birth certificate with a photocopy, the old passport and a letter to the consular authority explaining the need.

Related photo specifications

Other Bolivia documents

Passports nearby

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Official sources

  1. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Bolivia. Pasaporte: requisitos en las Oficinas Consulares consulados.cancilleria.gob.bo. Checked 2 November 2026.
  2. Embassy of the Plurinational State of Bolivia in Canada. Passport Renewal bolivianembassy.ca. Checked 2 November 2026.
  3. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Bolivia. SEGIP: Asignación de Número Cédula de Identidad consulados.cancilleria.gob.bo. Checked 2 November 2026.
  4. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Bolivia. Otros trámites: Salvoconducto (Consulado General en Washington D.C.) consulados.cancilleria.gob.bo. Checked 2 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Bolivia before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Bolivia passport photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/bolivia/passport-photo

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