child born in Bolivia a citizen?

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child born in Bolivia a citizen?

If foreigners in Bolivia have a child born in Bolivia, is the child automatically, or easily eligible for citizenship? If so, how long does it take and what laws apply to then taking the child out of the country back home with the parents?

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child born in Bolivia a citizen?

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Sep 21, 2010

it is legal not to vote i think?
by: Anonymous

i dont think the law actually says you are obligated to vote - its just that it is a pain if you dont as you are unable to do anything official like legal tramites, take money from banks etc without showing your voting ticket you receive. That said , if the person is foreign looking it is highly unlikely you are ever asked for this anyway.

Regarding the renouncing your Bolivian nationality it is not always that easy. There is currently a case in china where a boy was born in Bolivia, left when he was 4 years old to return to china and has never returned to Bolivia. he choose a military career and has passed all requirements for becoming an officer except people with duel nationality cannot become an officer and he was told to renounce his Bolivian nationality. He had no problems doing this but the Bolivian authorities have so far refused saying there is no need as he can legally have both nationalities so the poor guy is stuck.

Jan 25, 2010

my son was also born in bolivia
by: Anonymous

My son was also born in Bolivia and like the person below, has the same documents. Our sons are 100% Bolivian citizens. This I've confirmed with two judges. In fact, he is eligible for all the same benefits as any Bolivian child (or adult) when he is over 18. We were even told to apply for the SUMI (the government benefits children and lactating mothers get like milk and cheese - we didn't make use of it though). We were even told he could some day run for president if he wants. The verdict was, if he was born on Bolivian soil, he's Bolivian - fully.

What worries me is that our sons won't only have the right to vote, they will be OBLIGATED to, because in Bolivia voting is obligatory. And like you, I also worry about him losing some of his rights as an American citizen if he should vote or serve in the military in Bolivia (which is also obligatory).

However I've been told there are ways to get exemptions to this (such as due to a physical disability, an illness or a religious belief that doesn't permit handling weapons and such). Still worried though.

Jan 24, 2010

My Experience
by: Anonymous

Our son was born in Bolivia in 2005. He has a Bolivian Birth certificate and also a "report of birth abroad" certificate that we received from the American consulate in Cochabamba. We immediately got him both a Bolivian ID card and a US passport & SSN. He is definitely a US citizen but is he officially a Bolivian citizen? Well, we visited this last June and at immigration they let him in with just his ID card and he did not have to pay any VISA fees (nor officially have a visa). We then renewed his Bolivia ID with no problem. I think the real question is will he receive benefits when older or have the right to vote. In Bolivia it is important for all males to serve in the military. If they do not they lose many benefits of being a citizen like voting. I don't think he will want to join the Bolivian military when he is 18 and I doubt the US govt. would be too keen on this either.

Jan 24, 2010

is a child born in Bolivia a citizen
by: GoSouthExpat

I ran your question through our sister site BoliviaBella.com to see if we can get some additional opinions for you. See it here.

Jan 24, 2010

child born in Bolivia a citizen?
by: GoSouthExpat

Are you asking if the child would automatically be a Bolivian citizen? or if the child would also be a citizen of his/her parents' country(s)?

If a child is born to foreigners in Bolivia, the child is automatically a Bolivian citizen and will be given a Bolivian birth certificate. The child would also be eligible to get a Bolivian passport. In addition, the child would also have the obligations of a Bolivian citizen when he/she is of legal age.

If you are wondering if the child would be a citizen of YOUR country, you have to go to your country's Embassy or consulate and register the child and request citizenship. Some countries allow dual citizenship and some don't. I'm not sure which country you're writing from. And some countries allow dual citizenship with certain countries, and NOT with others.

If, for example, you are American, you can register your Bolivian-born child at the US embassy in La Paz. The US does allow dual citizenship with Bolivia at this time. Your child would be given a US birth certificate, passport and social security card.

But there are a lot of considerations. For example, are you and your husband both from the same country? If you are from one country and your husband from another, and one of your countries doesn't allow TRIPLE citizenship, you might have to choose which citizenship (aside from Bolivian) to give your child - yours or your husband's.

And finally, there is another option. If you don't want your child to have Bolivian citizenship, I've heard you can go to court and have the Bolivian citizenship annulled (if you and your husband are both foreigners).

I'm American and my son was born in Bolivia. I applied for his US citizenship at the US embassy in La Paz. The paperwork was not difficult and I did it all in 2 days. I don't remember how much it cost, but it wasn't much. About 8 weeks later I was sent an envelope with his US original birth certificate, his social security card and his US passport.

Since he has a US passport he can come and go from Bolivia with me without any problem. When we leave the country we exit with his US passport. We also re-enter Bolivia with his US passport. However, because he is also a Bolivian citizen, he doesn't need a visa to enter Bolivia like I do. We just show immigration his Bolivian birth certificate and they exempt him. He also doesn't need to apply for residency here.

All of this is from my own experience. I'm not an immigration lawyer and laws change frequently (especially with US-Bolivia relations not being at their best at this time) so I would really encourage you to contact your country's embassy in Bolivia (especially if you are American) and get the latest from them.

Here's a list of embassies and consulates in Bolivia.

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child born in Bolivia a citizen?

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child born in Bolivia a citizen?