We offer expert guidance on immigration processes, business opportunities, housing, and investment, ensuring you have all the resources for a successful and smooth transition to life in Colombia.
Whether you’re planning to relocate, start a new business venture, invest in real estate, or manage the legalization of your U.S. documents, we provide expert guidance every step of the way. Our team of specialists is dedicated to helping you navigate Colombian regulations, business requirements, and investment processes with ease and confidence. From visa applications and company formation to foreign investment certification and document apostilles, we offer personalized support tailored to your needs. Trust us to make your transition to Colombia smooth, efficient, and fully compliant with local laws.
Background check is only required for some visas. But even if criminal records are mandatory only for certain visas, such as the retirement visa, the Colombian government has been requiring them as additional documentation for almost all visas, including marriage, investment, business, and digital nomad visa applications.
It is necessary to obtain a Colombian visa corresponding to the activity you will perform in the country. Expatgroup.co can represent you and advise you on this process.
A visa holder in the migrant category loses their right to maintain a Cédula de Extranjería if they are absent from the country for more than one hundred eighty (180) consecutive days. For holders of a Resident Visa, the right is lost if they are away from the country for two (2) consecutive years.
If you are on an irregular stay, we offer advice to comply with immigration requirements, make the fine payment, and obtain a special permit. For additional information, please visit our blog, Migración Colombia fines. Contact us for a consultation and resolve your situation effectively.
Colombian visas are divided into visitor, migrant, and resident. Each category has different types of visas, which we list below.
Visitor
Additionally, there are six courtesy type V visas.
Migrant
Resident
The holders of most M-type visas, some of which have restrictions, R-type visas, and some restricted V-type visas, will be authorized to engage in any legal occupation in the country, including those developed under an employment relationship or contract.
Below, you will find the detailed list of visas in Colombia that permit work according to Resolution 5477:
Student Visa (V): This visa allows graduate students to work up to twenty (20) hours per week.
Crew Member Visa (V): Permits to work in Colombian jurisdictional waters as a vessel crew member or on an offshore platform.
Seasonal Agricultural Worker Visa (V): This visa allows work in agricultural activities under programs established by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development or the regional governments in concert with the agricultural sector, the Ministry of Labor, and the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.
Religious Worker Visa (V): Work permission is restricted to the activity registered and authorized on the visa.
Temporary Journalist Visa (V): Only allows the exercise of the activity registered and authorized on the visa.
Technical Assistance Visa (V): Work permission is restricted to the activity registered and authorized on the visa.
TLC Entrepreneurs Visa (V): Work permission is restricted to the activity registered and authorized on the visa and exclusively for the organization that requires it.
Temporary Worker Visa (V): Work permission is exclusively for the position, entity, profession, or activity it was granted.
Spouse Visa (M): This visa grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
Partnership Visa (M): Grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
Parent of a Colombian National by Birth Visa (M): Grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
Mercosur Visa (M): Grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
Andina Visa (M): This visa grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
Refugee Visa (M): This visa grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
Worker Visa (M): Work permission is exclusively for the position, entity, profession, or activity it was granted.
Business Owner Visa (M): This visa grants work permission exclusively applicable in the company where they are a partner, shareholder, or owner.
Freelancer Visa (M): This visa will have a work permit exclusively for the profession or activity it was granted.
Visa for Renunciation of Nationality (R): Grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
Resident Visa: This visa grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory, except when the visa has been granted for accumulated time with a Pensioned Visa (M).
Venezuelans under ETPV Visa (R): Grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
Special Peace Resident Visa (R): This visa grants an open work permit and allows the holder to engage in any lawful activity in the national territory.
According to Article 13 of Resolution 5477, the MRE has a term of 30 calendar days from the date of application. However, this time may be shorter or longer, but this depends entirely on the ministry.
The foreigner’s identification card is issued by Migration (at checkpoints in each city of the country) and is the identification document for foreigners within the Colombian territory.
The registration must be made before Migración Colombia within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of issuance.
Any document drafted by a lawyer or a public official, as well as a large number of financial and academic documents with legal implications, need to be translated by a professional legal translator if it is to be used in a foreign country that speaks a different language than the country where the document originated.
The following are some of these documents:
And, in general, any legal, financial, academic, religious text, etc., which entails the creation of rights or obligations for a given party.
Expatgroup.co has, among its functions, that of a legal translation agency specializing in the translation of legal documents, documents issued by public administrations, business documents, financial documents, etc. For this purpose, our team of collaborators includes professional personnel specialized in the legal translation of documents in each of the aforementioned areas, which allows us to guarantee their absolute validity in Colombia and abroad.
The professional legal translator must have a solid academic background in law. But, at the same time, he/she will face multiple translation challenges throughout the text, so a solid background in the field of translation is also necessary. In addition, specialization in certain areas, such as education, finance, business, etc., is essential to be able to guarantee quality work in such complex subjects.
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