Traveling with a dog to South America is always a mix of thorough preparation, patience, and a dose of improvisation. Bolivia is rarely mentioned in this context, but you can bring a dog here too—if you know what to expect.
In this article, we cover the official requirements for traveling with a dog from the EU to Bolivia and share our personal experience entering Bolivia with our dog, Ibo, from Paraguay, where we had spent about a month.
Bolivia from a dog travel perspective
Bolivia is not a member of the European Union; in veterinary terms, it is a third country outside the EU. It also has a less centralized administration and pronounced regional differences, which can show up during border checks.
That doesn’t mean entering with a dog is impossible. It just means you need to be very well prepared and ready for a bit of improvisation. In countries with unclear, shifting rules, it helps to hold as many cards as possible—in this case, as many test results and official certificates as you can.
The basics: official entry requirements for bringing a dog into Bolivia
To enter Bolivia with a dog (whether you arrive directly from the EU or from another country), you officially need:
- the dog’s identification by microchip,
- valid rabies vaccination,
- an international veterinary certificate confirming the dog’s health,
- proof of antiparasitic treatment.
Documents should be issued in Spanish or accompanied by an official translation.
Interested in this destination? Would you like to visit it with your dog? Check the entry requirements directly in BorderCooler®.
Our personal experience
Our route: from Paraguay to Bolivia with a dog
We did not enter Bolivia directly from Europe. We first flew to Paraguay, where we spent about one month with our dog. Only then did we continue by plane from Paraguay to Bolivia.
With this route, the dog enters Bolivia as coming from another South American country, not straight from the EU. For the authorities, the dog’s health status and complete paperwork are what really matter.
Before entering Bolivia
When we entered Bolivia, we carried a full set of documents prepared before leaving Europe and then updated during our stay in Paraguay.
That update was something we were counting on. Before leaving Slovakia, it was very hard to track down clear, official information about entering Bolivia with a dog. We even tried contacting the embassy but never received a reply. Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in South America; not everything works as it should, so this didn’t really surprise us. We figured that, since we had enough time in Paraguay for extra preparation, local vets would know how to get us ready for Bolivia—they deal with this far more often than vets back home in Slovakia.
Our hunch proved right: a veterinary clinic in Asunción guided us through the whole process. Having all our test results from Slovakia officially translated into Spanish saved us a lot of time and trouble. The vet accepted the results and only carried out a few additional steps to complete the file. The key was to officially deworm the dog again, 14 days before our flight to Bolivia. It was also necessary to revaccinate Ibo against rabies, since most South American countries recognize rabies shots for only one year, not three as in the EU. Unfortunately, by that point Ibo’s vaccination had already lapsed.
Once everything was done, the local vet entered all of Ibo’s information into the national veterinary system in Paraguay, run by Servicio Nacional de Calidad y Salud Animal (SENACSA). The result was a multi-page official document in Spanish, which we picked up at the clinic just before departure and which allowed us to enter Bolivia without issues. Before the flight we also had to send scanned copies of the papers directly to BoA, the airline we flew with.
After arriving in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia, the inspection was fairly straightforward. We just presented the documents from SENACSA, which had a QR code on the back. An airport staff member scanned the code and, without any extra paperwork, let us enter the country with our dog. We were not even asked to show any of the documents we had prepared back in Slovakia. Ibo stayed in his travel crate the entire time.
Before leaving Bolivia for the EU
For our departure, we essentially followed the same steps as when leaving Paraguay. About two weeks before flying out of Bolivia, we visited a local veterinary clinic in the city of Tarija, explained our situation, and asked them to prepare the necessary paperwork. The vet dewormed Ibo again and, based on the documents from Slovakia and Paraguay, submitted a request to the Bolivian national veterinary authority, Servicio Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria e Inocuidad Alimentaria (SENASAG). Unlike in Paraguay, this process turned out to be surprisingly time-consuming, and the required papers reached us only a few days before departure. We had to show this documentation at the airport, but in practice nobody examined it in detail.
Arrival in the EU
We re-entered the EU from Bolivia in Madrid. The check of Ibo and his documents at the airport was quick and straightforward. We didn’t need to present any previous documents. The only requirement was to take Ibo out of his crate so they could scan his microchip. Within seconds, we were allowed into the EU with Ibo.
Returning to the EU: what not to overlook
Bolivia is one of the non-EU countries from which returning with a dog involves more paperwork.
For re-entering the European Union, the key requirement is the rabies antibody blood test (titer). This test must be:
- carried out in an approved laboratory,
- done after a valid rabies vaccination,
- and the return to the EU is possible no earlier than three months after the blood draw.
If this condition is not met, your dog may be refused entry to the EU or placed in quarantine.
We didn’t fully meet this last requirement. Ibo had his rabies antibody test done before flying out of Slovakia, but—albeit just barely—it was less than three months before our return. Fortunately for us, nobody checked this when we arrived back in the EU.
Practical tips at a glance
- Be aware that in Bolivia the rules can vary by region, season, and the specific border crossing.
- Carry all documents in print and in digital form.
- An official translation of your documents into Spanish can make communication much easier.
- Do not underestimate antiparasitic treatments—they are especially important in tropical areas.
- If you plan to return to the EU, have the titer test sorted before you travel.