Report on Citizenship Law: Bolivia We also see that the legislation still maintains nationality by blood since anyone born abroad to Bolivian parents can acquire Bolivian nationality, irrespective of the place of residence. Previously, children of Bolivian expatriates had also to express their will to reside in the country in order to acquire Bolivian nationality.28 For people born abroad to Bolivian parents, the procedure that must be followed is in accordance with the provisions of Supreme Decree 21629 of 22 July 2009. These provisions establish that the acquisition of Bolivian nationality by children born abroad to Bolivian parents requires completing the formality of registration in the Birth Register of the consulates of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. The consuls and diplomats in charge of consular affairs are the competent officials to carry out the formalities related to the acquisition of nationality through the procedure of registration in the Birth Register. 3.1.2. By naturalisation: The Bolivian constitution regulates the naturalisation of foreigners in article 14230, which establishes that this way of acquiring nationality by naturalisation is for foreign persons who reside in the country for a determined period of time in an uninterrupted manner, who manifest their will to obtain it and comply with the requirements established by law. The requirement of uninterrupted residence in order to acquire nationality by naturalisation is three years. However, the rule grants the exception that it can be of two years for persons who marry a Bolivian, have Bolivian children, children adopted by Bolivian parents, as well as persons who provide military service to Bolivia at the required age and according to Law;31 or that service the country in the National Legislative Assembly. It leaves open that the established time of residency for naturalisation may vary in cases where reciprocal agreements with other states exist, prioritising Latin Americans. Uninterrupted residence according to the legislation is an important factor for foreigners to acquire Bolivian nationality. These people must be legally in the country, and fulfil the requirements established by the legislation. It establishes that this permanence must be under the guardianship of the State, that is to say, it must be legal, with an authorised visa to reside in the country, which must have been processed before migration. Foreigners must explicitly and voluntarily express that they wish to acquire Bolivian nationality and comply with the requirements established in the Migration Law, of 8 May 2013 and its Supreme Decree No. 1923, of 13 March 2014. Regretfully, Bolivia is still a country in which one encounters huge bureaucracy in the realisation of any procedure. In order to be able to naturalise, a series of requirements must be met, which means that foreigners find themselves with one impediment after another, as the requirements are extensive and depend on other instances to which they must previously turn. Naturalisation by permanence32 is processed before the central office or before the departmental administrations of the General Directorate of Migration, habilitated by means of 28 Constituciones, 1826, 1831, 1834, 1939, 1843, 1880, 1961, 1967, 1994,2004. Decreto Supremo 216 30 Constitución Política del Estado 2009 31 Decreto Supremo reglamentario Nº 1923 32 Decreto Supremo reglamentario Nº 1923 Art. 20 parágrafo II 29 RSCAS/GLOBALCIT-CR 2020/2 - © 2020 Author 9