Thank you to Angela Atkins for submitting the detailed step-by-step process below. The information is accurate at the time of publishing, and subject to change. Be sure to verify the steps as you go.
If you arrive in Colombia as a tourist, and decide to stay longer, you can take Spanish classes and extend your stay for up to 12 months on a student Visa.
How To Get A Colombian Student Visa
Note: The school that you enroll with must be eligible to apply for Visa’s. Mostly Universities are approved. You need to study a minimum of 10 hours/week.
Step One: Enroll with approved school.
Step Two: Complete forms and make all necessary photocopies.
Step Three: Get registration form notarized (signed by official).
Step Four: Take all documents and passport to Ministry of Immigration in Bogota or pay an Agency.
Step Five: Take all necessary documents to DAS within 15 days of obtaining Visa.
Forms You Need for Immigration:
- Official application for the Visa and why you want one.
- Copy of Passport and copy of tourist visa entry stamp page.
- 2x photos: Must be a white background and size 3×3.
- Certificate of administration from the school/University you will be studying at — this needs to be notarized at a notaria cinco -- see below.
- Certificate of authentication from the school — to show that school is registered to apply for Student Visas.
- Print out of your bank statement showing the amount you have to live on while in Colombia.
Visa costs: 80,000 COP
Take it to all to the Ministry or an agency.
NOTE: To get the Visa, you need to go to the Ministry of Immigration in BOGOTA.
You can do all the above from Medellin – it costs a little extra. There are some agencies that can do all the sending and Visa organizations for you. You supply all the necessary documents (photocopies ect) they check through it all, and send it off with your passport. It takes about 5 days.
2 Agencies in Medellin:
- TLICOLOMBIA: www.tlicolombia.com
Calle 16A Sur #48B,La Aquacatala, Medellin, Colombia. Ask for Natalie
Costs: 300,000 COP
- International Document Management: www.inter-col.com
Notaria Cinco
The Certificate of registration (from the university) must be notarized (ie. Signed by an official). You will need to find a Notaria Cinco. It is like a registry office for all official business (getting married, etc).
Upon showing your certificate and asking “para autenticar esto por favor,” your form will be stamped and dated, and then you sign and fingerprint it (with your index finger).
Costs: 2,800 COP
You then take it to the official to sign.
For DAS
After you receive your Visa, you have 15 days to find a DAS (Department of Security) to get your official ID card. Failure to do this within 15 days results in a massive fine.
Deposit 139,800 COP into the account in Banco De Bogota.
Empresarial Fondo Rotatorio D.A.S
Nro. 43491140-0
You will need to bring:
- Original deposit slip, and 2 photocopies.
- Application form.
- 2x photocopies of your passport.
- 2x photocopies of your Visa.
- 2x photocopies of your entry stamp.
- 3x passport photos with a blue background 3X4.
- 2x copies of the blood test results to show your blood type.
- Copy of acceptance of registration certificate from your university.
To Study at UPB in Medellin (Univeridad Pontificia Bolicariana)
Course name: Programa de Español para extranjeros ESPEX- Spanish Program for Foreigners.
At UPB: Building 6, level 1-Centre for languages
Ask for Gustavo Jaramillo Cardona.
He’s the co-coordinator and has all the necessary forms you will need to fill out.
What you need for UBP Medellin:
- 2x Passport photocopies.
- 50% of the course amount you intend on studying for. For example, if you want a 6 month visa, you need to pay 3 months worth of the course fees. (Note: if you pay for more than 120 hours you get a 10% discount.)
- Copy of Travel Insurance Certificate.
Noticia Cinco … Are you sure that’s not a Notaria and you lived closest to Notaria (numero) Cinco?
Excellent writeup.
Hi George, thanks for catching that mistake.
What’s the average tuition at a school that can issue visas? Say, for six months or a year?
Hey Charlie, I checked into the cost of Spanish classes at EAFIT, one of the most expensive schools in Medellin (and Colombia), but I can’t remember the numbers. Part of the benefit of picking a university is getting to meet the local students. Anyways, I’m checking with the author of this post to see if she can give us some info. It’s not much by Western standards, but I was really broke last year and didn’t want to pay a few hundred dollars for classes.
You state that you need to provide a copy of your bank statement showing how much you have to live on while you are in Colombia. Is there a minimum amount you need to show on this statement? Do they only look at your stated balance? Also, if you leave the country before your visa expires can you come back to Colombia on that SAME student Visa?
Hey guys!
Sorry about the ‘Cinco’… My notes sneaking in…
Charlie: here’s the link straight to the fee structure for UPB: Here
Also, jRo: As far as i know there isn’t a minimum amount- i guess you’ll need enough in the account to show that you can survive for the intended time you want your visa for. Also, you can do multiple entries into the country.
Thank you Angela!
Angela:
thank you for the very helpful article. Can you tell me what might be the cheapest school that would be registered with DAS, since 1) i am learning well on my own and 2) need the money to pay my programmers for my INternet startup here.
Also, since it might be cheaper to get a biz visa, can you refer me to anyone who could advise me on that. I hear two different stories, one from an Iranian guy wholives here who says all i have to do is ask for it in Miami, show US passpot and at most a one or two pager describing my startup. But a woman at DAS told me that in Nov there are all sorts of new regs. If Miami really is easy, and flite fare is less than even a cheap school, then i guess that is what i should do.
THIS IS KIND OF URGENT, since my 6 mo runs out in 20 days.
–gary krane PhD
CEO/ Relationship Technologies
P.S. since i will soon become an expert on this, feel free to give out my email to anyone else needing help or simply any one whose mission in life is to a lot of good for lots of people, since rather lonely here
Hey gregorio…. have no idea about the business visa thing… but have a mate that is looking into it for himself. Check out the Chamber of Commerce in Medellin, apparently they can help you out setting up a business for a smaller fee than going through the hassle of starting at a uni for the student visa.
Good luck
Angela:
Might there be any less expensive school that would qualify one to get a student visa, than UPB? Is U de Antioquia probably the cheapest? And if one only needed to stay 3 more months, would these or any school allow one to just pay for one or two months?
If you wish, you can email me directly at GhandiKing / gmail. I would be soooo grateful, since the job visa i thought i would get just fell through and i only have about 15 days left and am getting into a panic. I need to stay longer to finish honchoing web programmers here to finish our startup’s beta, and then i would be going back to states for investors. After that, it will be January and i can return again on a tourist, and then have enough time to get a regular business visa to stay and live here indefinitely. If it makes any difference, the site we are building could do lots to help marriages here succeed and therefore reduce the immense numbers of single struggling mothers.
–gregorio (gary)
P.S. still would love to talk with your mate (see Aug 9th email from me), and am going to C of Commerce today
Hey there….
Wow 15 days isn’t long…
Can’t really help you anymore with the business visa angle… haven’t heard how my mate is doing…
Am not sure if U of Antioquia has a visa approved course- this is a massive stipulation to getting a student visa. You can defiantly enrol at UPB for a month or 2.. is totally up to you.I do know that the UPB course is cheaper than EFAT. I’d get cracking on something because it will take you a full week to get you student visa- providing there are no problems.
Talk to Gustavo in building 6 at UPB- he’ll sort you out… if you choose to go the student Visa route.
Best of luck
Hi ANgela: Thank you for replying. Might you be willing to put me in touch with your mate since i am making some progress, have what sounds like a decent price from one outfit (that only charges if successful). You can give him or her my fijo- twothreefour, sevensix six six, since i assume i am not allowed to give out emails here.
I know I SHOULD go to a Spanish school, given my comprehension level, but for now that sort of tuition (seems high every where), i badly need to pay my Colombian programmers and to hire a new designer. I heare UPB is the cheapest and it is like $300 per month.
-gary
Angela:
MOre re Student Visa (U de A option): I Just spent the afternoon at U de A, and they don’t even offer Spanish classes. If you can get four other people yourself to join you and make your own group, their price “fals to about ” $500 or $600/mo, and to take anything else there to meet the 10hrs/wk requirement also costs a small fortune. So people: Forget U de A. No idea re UNAL, and I think i heard even at UPB the price per month is at least $300/mo, right? I am finding out lots about common law marriage option, however.
–gregorio
Great, thanks Dave.
In China you’ll pay about $800 for a semester at a normal university, or over $1,000 for a well known school like Sichuan University.
Just found out today that there is a new requirement- you also need to provide the original receipt of payment from the Uni with the Uni stamp on it. Apparently there have been a few fraudulent applications.
This thread has up-to-date info on getting the regular tourist visa extension in Medellin:
http://colombiatravel.lefora.com/2010/07/11/how-to-extend-a-tourist-visa-in-medellin/#post0
I was wondering if anyone has a list of approved schools in Colombia or if any of the schools do distance classes? I am considering living in a pueblo or something but don´t really know what other visa options I have to stay here. I have to go to DAS tomorrow, I´ll ask a few questions and see if I can post some more info here
Hi people, how are you?
I am in a similar situation.
Does any one have a list of student visa approved schools in Medellin?
Or maybe more info about the the common law marriage visa? (cónyuge)
I just need to stay 1 or 2 months over my tourist visa limit and am looking into the cheapest option to do that…
Thanks a million!
Joseph
What happens if someone overstays their visa? Do you get a fine or banned from the country? I don’t understand why a poor country would want to limit how much time tourists from rich countries can spend in their country. You would think they would make it easy as possible for us to stay in Colombia and spend our $usd.
@ Matthew B
Colombia is not as poor as you might think and as every other country they have laws no matter where you’re coming from
@ susan
“Colombia is not as poor as you might think”
Yes Colombia is very, very poor compared to germany, usa, canada, uk, japan, australia, etc by every economic statistic there is.
“as every other country they have laws no matter where you’re coming from”
No $hit $herlock! Yes I realize they have laws. If you would read my post I didn’t ask IF they had laws. I questioned WHY their laws limit the amount of time a foreigner can spend in the country, that’s all.
Does anybody happen to know what happens if someone overstays their visa?? Anyone? If it’s something minor like a small fine then I may not even bother to renew my visa and just reside there illegally. I mean does it really matter if you have a visa or not?
@ Mattew B
I said is ” NOT AS POOR AS YOU MIGHT THINK” …compared to Germany,Us, Canada,Uk, Japan,Australia of COURSE IT IS!! Duh!!!!!! Stay in the States and pay high prices for tuition Sherlock they don’t need you $usd
Have a nice day
If you go to the Ministry of Imigration Office in Bogota with your student Visa Application is it usually processed that same day if you show up early?
I have never gone for a student visa but I have gone for many other kinds and they always got me out the same day. Definitely get there early but one time I got there around noon and they still had me out before closing.
George Donnelly´s last [type] ..Welcome to Learn English with George!
George thank you for your answer. It was very helpful. Do you, or does anyone else, know when you go to the visa office in Bogota and pay the (USD $15) estudio fee and the (USD $40) visa fee; do you pay Banco Sudameris there at the visa office after you hand in your application, or must you pay at a bank in advance of handing in the application?