Last updated April 6, 2016
Editor’s Note: This information is specific to citizens of the USA, though I do believe it applies to most Western countries as well (Canada, Australia, UK). If you’re from another country, double-check the tourist visa rules as they apply to you.
Upon entry into Colombia, the Immigrations officer will usually give you 90 days for your first tourist visa. The amount of time is at the officer’s discretion.
Currently, a tourist visa allows Americans up to 180 days per calendar year in the country.
After your initial time is up, you can use the process below to extend your visa for up to a total of six months. There are two scenarios to be aware of when planning your time in the country.
Scenario 1
You arrive on January 1, 2015 and are given a 90-day visa. You then extend your visa up to the maximum of six months per calendar year.
You must then leave the country by June 30, 2015 and cannot return until the start of the following calendar year, January 1, 2016.
Scenario 2
You arrive on September 1, 2015, and are given a 90-day visa. You then extend your visa in November for an extra 90 days (six months total). You must then leave Colombia by February 28, 2016 because you are not allowed to stay in the country for more than 180 consecutive days, despite the change in calendar years.
You can choose from a variety of quick and easy ways to leave and come back, including cheap flights to Quito or Panama City.
If you return to Colombia March 2, 2016, you’ll get 90 days on arrival, and can then renew your visa once for up to an extra 90 days (for six months total in 2016). In this example, you would need to leave Colombia by about June 2, 2016.
Important: As of December 2015, you must make an appointment in advance via the Migración website.
1. You can now pay for your visa extension by credit or debit card at the Migración Colombia office. As of 2015, the cost is 81,000 pesos ($32).
To pay by cash, visit any Banco Occidente to deposit the Unidad Administrativa Especial Migración Colombia fee.
Don’t rely on the bank branch to have this information. Bring it yourself.
2. You will need one visa style (3 x 4 cm) photo with a white background.
If you do not have any on hand, you can either go to a photography store (available in all the big malls) and get a few printed off, or look for the small store near the Migración office which does them too.
3. Make photocopies of the following:
4. Bring your original passport, photo, and documentation to the Migración Colombia office (formerly known as DAS).
5. Proof of onward travel (copy of a booking for bus or flight out of Colombia).
If you don’t already have exit plans, simply print off an itinerary for a bus or plane ticket out of the country if they ask.
6. Check in at the front gate, where security will ask that you mute your phone. The security guard should also direct you toward the office, which is located directly down the driveway in front of you.
7. Present yourself at the counter where someone will verify you have the proper documentation, and if so, give you an application form to fill out, along with a number for the queue.
The application form requires:
8. When it’s your turn, go up to the right person and answer any questions asked.
Be respectful, and if the worker doesn’t speak English and you have questions, see if anyone else in the office or waiting room can help. Usually, there is at least one bilingual staff member or person in the waiting room who can help.
9. You will be fully fingerprinted using an inkless pad, and if all the required documentation is provided, have your passport stamped for an extra 90 days.
You can follow a similar process in cities around Colombia. For a full list of offices, visit the new Migración Colombia website.
Tourists who overstay their visa will be required to pay a fine before exiting the country. The minimum fine is half of the average salary in Colombia (340,000 pesos, $133) up to 4,000,000 pesos ($1,563). If you are flying out, you should pay this fine at the Migracion office within a few days of your departure, otherwise, you may be delayed at the airport.
If any of this information is incorrect or out-of-date, please leave a comment below or contact me with the details.
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Thank You for providing the information on extending a tourist visa.
The process in Cartagena was seamless.
We got to the bank at 11:15am then caught a taxi to the migration office just outside the old city.
Signed in with security at 11:50am, out the door at 12:05 pm.
Got another 90 days.
Very Happy!!!
Great site!
I entered Colombia on the 9th November 2012 and was given a 90 day stamp in my passport. Is there any chance you could clarify my options for extending my visa? I was under the impression that I could stay for up to 6 months in any calender year? I hadn't previously heard of the 180 day rule.
Stewart, you can extend your visa (assuming you're American or the rules for your nationality are the same) up to 180 days per calendar year.
At the same time, you also need to be aware that "you are not allowed to stay in the country for more than 180 consecutive days, despite the change in calendar years."
You arrived in November 2012, so you can extend your visa for a 4th, 5th and 6th month when the original runs out, but you will have to leave in April 2013 unless you arrange another type of visa to extend your stay (student, business, etc).
Thanks Dave. I really appreciate your advise. I think the most appealing option to me would be to visit another nearby country for a week or two and when I return to Colombia ask as nicely as possible for another 90 stamp. Then if I want to stay any longer I guess it's a matter of enrolling at UPB (I am staying Laureles) although I'm not that keen on studying in a class room environment to be honest.
PS I'm British!!
Re: "you are not allowed to stay in the country for more than 180 consecutive days, despite the change in calendar years".
I had read that as well. However, when I did my extension something odd happened. I arrived in Colombia on November 1, 2012. When I did my extension, they gave me an additional 4 months (until May 31, 2013). So that's 7 months total or about 210 days. I actually went back to make sure that there wasn't a mistake and the women at the counter assured me that was correct. I may still leave at the end of April to be safe.
Anyway, just wanted people to know that something like this may happen. I did my extension in Bogota by the way.
Hi Ed, thanks for sharing. You sound like the exception, so far. Maybe they handle them differently in Bogota?
At any rate, I recently heard through the grapevine that the rules are being changed for the future, and tourists may not be able to extend their visas, period. I imagine that would be on a yearly basis. We should know more in the next few months.
Dave, Thanks for the great information. I enjoy the things you have to say here. You are very useful.
I went back to the office yesterday just to make sure there was no problem with my 120 day extension. After about 10 minutes of waiting, I was told that it was not a mistake. I still don't understand why I received a 120 day extension - my spanish isn't good enough to understand everything the woman told me. Perhaps it's because I'm really good looking! Not!!! :)
Well I continue to be the exception! Spent the first 5 months in Colombia with a tourist stamp. Left for two weeks. Came back yesterday and they gave me another 3 months, giving me a total of 8 months this year as a tourist in Colombia even though the maximum is supposed to be 6 months. I'm not complaining, just not sure what's going on.
They're not going to analyze your stamps as closely coming into the country as they will going out. Just because they gave you another 90 days on arrival doesn't mean you can stay 8 months. As far as I know, you're still bound to 6 months per calendar year under the current rules.
Dave;
Got your name from Molly McHugh in Uruguay. I am 64 yr old retired contractor from Dallas Texas. Want to retire in Medellin. Is there a way to stay indefinately? Once I'm there don't want to return US, Can you help me out? Bought your book. Thanks.
Bill
Hi Bill, thanks for buying the book.
To stay indefinitely without visas to worry about? I imagine that'd require citizenship, which is a path you can go towards through a few different visas.
Since you know exactly what you want, it may be wise to hire a professional familiar with them all to advise you.
I recommend either http://affordablebusinesslaw.com/ or http://colombiavisas.com/ both of which are based in Medellin.
Just a quick update from my experience today:
- It looks like you might now be able to pay using credit card at the office itself. They have a booth for payments with a VISA machine. But don't take my word for it.
- I didn't have to fill out an application form when I got there. I simply provided the completed "Formato Unico de Tramites – Actualization" which was sufficient.
- Referencia 1 is for passportnr, Referencia 2 is codigo 103 (this is the other way around in the post above)
- I don't have to go back to PICK UP my passport, rather have to go back after the weekend to get it stamped (they are not keeping it).
- Unlike mentions of people who have never been asked for a return ticket, I WAS actually asked by the front desk person for a copy of my return ticket - which luckily I did have with me.
Hey Martin, thanks for sharing these updates.
- Being able to pay at the office itself is something long overdue. Glad it's a reality now!
- And I think most foreigners prefer to hold onto their passports, so that's good news too.
- Hopefully the return ticket isn't the new regular protocol. Colombia still gets a lot of travelers who want to take buses overland to Ecuador.
Just thought I would also leave an update of my renewal process. I went in yesterday with all of the information, the 75.050, and one photo (with white background...they said it was ok). I did not have a return flight or anything so they told me to go and search for a bus ticket to a town on the border of col and venez..I didn't have to buy anything, just print out a sheet that I was looking to buy a ticket.
I went back the next day (today) with my passport and they stamped it for an additional 3 months.
Thanks for the info-
Some words of warning guys: be very careful you don't let your tourist visa expire. I did (only by 8 days) and they fined me 300,000 pesos. I understand it was my mistake and I deserve to be penalised but the fine seems a little excessive to me.
Also, they will not let me extend. I have to leave the country and re-enter to get an extension.
PS it was going to be 600,000 before I appealed in writing to the boss at the DSA!
Hola Stewart, wow 600.000 is a lot!!
was it easy to get them down to the half?
please share your experience.
is there anyone out there having made similar experiences?
thks!
Hi Dave,
My fiancee and I will be moving to Medellin later this year. I work from home (consultant) and she will be focusing on learning Spanish and would possibly like a job in some sort of sales environment. If she doesn't get hired by a local company and receive a work visa, how could we remain living in Medellin? How do the digital nomads do it?
Thanks,
Trent
Hey Trent,
Since 2009, I've stayed in Colombia up to 6 months per year on the tourist visas, so that's how I've done it. And I have quite a few blogger friends who've taken the same approach.
Those who want to stay longer than 6 months, begin looking at other visa options, including student visas (which require paying for 10 hours of classes/week) or business visas. I'm planning to apply for a business or journalist visa in Miami this Summer.
If you're willing to pay a few hundred dollars extra, there are companies that can help arrange visas for foreigners.
Thanks Dave,
So, could I take 10 hours a week of Spanish at a private school or would we need to enroll in a University?
A few hundred dollars isn't such a big deal. My wife and I were planning on staying two years and then deciding if it's a permanent place. I know we can buy real estate at 100K and get a visa for that. Would you mind emailing me or could we chat via facebook? I see your posts on Gringo Classifieds sometime.
Trent
For a student visa, you have to enroll with an approved school. Most of the people I know who've done it, go to a university like EAFIT or UPB for classes.
I think, though I can't say for sure, the quality is better, plus you get to hang around a bunch of college kids (which might not mean much since you're spoken for)!
Here's an article from 2010 on getting a student visa.
I'll send you an email and we can talk further that way.
Trent -
The investment visa is $100,000 or $200,000 depending on which category you're in. My spanish isn't good enough to understand the difference between the two categories. You can read more here:
http://www.cancilleria.gov.co/servicios/colombia/visas/categorias_visa/residente/inversionista
I have an excel spreadsheet of approved spanish schools. I downloaded it off of the government's website but they redid their website and I can no longer find it. Anyway, in addition to UPB and EAFIT it looks like the other options are in Medellin are Universidad de Antioquia and possibly Universidad de Medellin.
For what it's worth, I took classes at UPB in 2011 and they were dreadfully bad. I chose UPB after reading really bad things about the classes at EAFIT. So I'm not sure there's a good option in Medellin. But if what you're really after is a visa, then maybe the quality of the classes don't matter much.
Thanks Ed!
Yeah, I would like to get a basic education in Spanish, but the costs are bigger issues. I'll be hanging out with locals a lot which is where the real learning takes place. I speak very basic Spanish now (how are you, where's the bathroom, etc) and I used to speak a lot more back in high school/early college. I dated several girls from Mexico and picked up quite a bit from them. I'm hoping it comes back to me in a couple of weeks.
What visa are you staying on?
From my reading, the difference between the two investment visas is whether the property is a personal residence or an investment/business property. If we decide to stay, it will be with a personal residence property.
Thanks,
Trent
Hey Trent, I'm on a tourist stamp right now. In July, I'll need to sign up for classes or get a business visa.
BTW, if you're interested in private Spanish classes in Medellin, I highly recommend the teacher at Black Sheep Hostel. She's definitely the best spanish teacher I've ever had. Worth every peso I paid her. Be prepared though....she will make you work hard!
http://blacksheepmedellin.com/spanishinmedellin.html
I don't think taking lessons from a private teacher is going to get you a student visa. The classes have to be taken at an approved school or university.
Definitely not Dave! But if they got a business or investment visa then they might be interested in taking private lessons. Or they might want to supplement lessons from the university.
Thanks for that Ed. I may enlist her for my bride-to-be. She wants to get a job in the retail sector so she plans on learning Spanish very quickly. Since I work from home, it's not as important I pick it up so quickly, though I will be taking lessons. I think a pair of student visa's may be our start until she can find work.
You mention staying on a business visa. How will you go about getting that?
Honestly I don't know much about the business visa. But I've met a couple of people who had one even though their business only existed on paper. I need some more information before I can figure out if it's worth pursuing. But it is a year long visa which is nice.
I went today to go and extend my tourist visa in Medellin. The simply was very simple and painless. Cost was $76 850 (for a further 90 days) They will ask for a copy of onward travel, I simply printed an Expedia Itinerary , they dont pay to much attention to the document, more of a formality just to have it. Take with a pen, a copy of the info page and a copy of your entry stamp. Once you fill in the form, they finger print you and the stamp takes another 20 mins. All in all, it took me about 2 hours as there was quite a que.
Thanks for sharing your experience Sandi. The first time I went at the end of last month, it was about 2pm, and I saw the room was packed!
I went back the next morning, and was one of the first few people in the queue. I had to go through the whole fingerprinting process, but it all was over in an hour, and I left with the stamp in my passport for another 90 days.
It sounds like the immigration officers will extend your 90 day visa to 180 just for asking. True? Or do you need to explain your case for needing the extra time.
Thanks in advance.
If you mean the immigration officers at the office in Medellin (not at the airport upon arrival), then yes, they will extend it as long as you pay and go through the paperwork.
It's a tourist visa, so it's not like you need to further justify your need for an extension.