Working in Bolivia as a French Citizen: Permanence, Salaries, Taxes and Contributions

The stay without a visa of 90 days per twelve-month period is reserved for tourism and family visits. To work, a specific visa is requested from the consular section of the Bolivian embassy in France, including for any stay of more than 90 days, whatever the purpose (France Diplomatie). On the spot, the General Directorate of Migration grants temporary permanence of up to three years, with categories of one, two or three years; definitive permanence requires a minimum permanence of three years and an express application.

The standard file includes a sworn declaration form, a passport valid for six months, a photo, a criminal record certificate from the country of origin or an Interpol certificate, a medical certificate and proof of solvency, with foreign documents translated and legalised. The supporting documents specific to employment (contract, employer certificate) are confirmed with the directorate. Every foreigner, including a resident, registers within 48 hours of entering with the address declaration, on pain of a fine of about 300 bolivianos.

No working holiday programme links France to Bolivia in the sources consulted. The guide for employees working abroad and the page on living in Bolivia detail the formalities.

The national minimum wage was raised to 3,300 bolivianos a month, with retroactive effect from 1 January 2026, by ministerial resolution 088/26 of the Ministry of Labour, taken under supreme decree 5516 of 13 January 2026. The adjustment is compulsory where the base salary is below this amount, and the ministry forbids restructuring pay (removing bonuses) to neutralise the increase. The value applicable for the following year is confirmed with the ministry at the end of each year.

Above the floor, pay is negotiated according to the trade and the city. France Diplomatie reminds readers that the informal economy accounts for about 60% of activity and 80% of employment, which makes salary statistics harder to read; an offer denominated in bolivianos is also judged against the exchange rate. The “Economic indicators” block updates growth, inflation and unemployment.

The Caja Nacional de Salud (CNS), a non-profit public institution, runs the short-term social security scheme, which covers sickness, maternity and occupational risks. An official CNS planilla states that the employer contribution is 10% of the total payroll. The regulation of the Social Security Code, published in the Official Gazette, makes the employer jointly liable for the affiliation of its workers and for the payment of employer and employee contributions.

Pensions come under a retirement scheme governed by law 065 on pensions; the employee contribution rates and the management of accounts are confirmed with the pension supervisory authority and the employer’s department. CLEISS does not publish a sheet for Bolivia: no social security agreement organises the totalisation of periods with France. The page on the healthcare system in Bolivia details health cover.

France and Bolivia signed in La Paz, on 15 December 1994, a convention to avoid double taxation on income and wealth taxes, with a protocol; it came into force on 1 November 1996 (decree of 25 November 1996). Article 4 makes residence depend on liability to tax in the State concerned, then on the permanent home and the centre of vital interests in the event of dual residence.

Under article 15, salaries are taxable only in the State of residence, unless the employment is exercised in the other State; the 183-day rule over a twelve-month period protects an employee on a short assignment, provided the employer is not a resident of the other State and does not bear the cost through a permanent establishment. Article 23 provides, for a resident of France, a tax credit: equal to French tax on income taxable only in Bolivia, and to the Bolivian tax paid in other cases, within the limit of the corresponding French tax. Bolivian tax is administered by the National Tax Service; its scales are read on its website.

Without a social security agreement, an employee sent by a French company can be seconded outside an agreement: they remain affiliated to the French scheme for three years, renewable once, covered up to the benefits they would have received in France, on paid invoices using form S 3125c. Contributions are paid in France as if the activity were carried out there, without exempting them from any contributions due in Bolivia (CLEISS). See seconded or expatriate.

An employee on a local contract, by contrast, leaves the French scheme and comes under the Bolivian scheme; the CFE (Caisse des Français de l’étranger, the French expatriate health fund) is added to local affiliation without exempting them from it. A self-employed person can take out the CFE, which covers sickness-maternity for a self-employed person, or international insurance. For a remote worker, the migration law requires a permanence suited to the activity; see the guide to digital nomad visas and confirm with the General Directorate of Migration.

A professional project in Bolivia must take into account constraints that France Diplomatie describes precisely. Social mobilisations (strikes, demonstrations, blockades) are frequent and can disrupt travel between cities: it is recommended to keep informed through the blocked-roads map of the Roads Administration and not to force blockades. For business trips, it is advisable to avoid travelling at night, to use a radio taxi and to check the reliability of bus companies and agencies.

Altitude (La Paz between 3,300 and 3,800 metres) requires a period of acclimatisation, and an employee with a history of heart, lung, neurological or kidney problems is well advised to seek medical advice before an assignment at altitude. For air travel, the airlines BoA and Ecojet offer generally satisfactory safety conditions, whereas the airline TAM is formally advised against. An assistance contract covering care and repatriation is among the preconditions for any assignment: see the page on expat health insurance.

According to France Diplomatie, Bolivia has the lowest GDP per capita in South America and has entered recession after a decade of strong growth; the economy is little diversified and depends heavily on hydrocarbons and the public sector. The country has the subcontinent’s second-largest gas reserve, which forms the basis of its exports, and about 20% of the world’s identified lithium reserves, as well as iron, copper and tin.

Agriculture has significant resources. The main cities of activity are Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the economic capital, La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro, Tarija and Potosí. For a French manager or technician, the openings are in hydrocarbons, mining, agribusiness and the services linked to them; the currency is the boliviano.