Yesterday afternoon, I renewed my tourist visa for the 4th and final time in 2009.
In a little under 4 weeks, I will be on a flight back to the USA. It feels like I have so little time left.
On the flip side, by most working Americans’ account, 4 weeks is A LOT of time to be on vacation in another country. But it has been a long time since I felt like I was on vacation.
A few months into my trip around the world, traveling became my way of life. I successfully, albeit temporarily, ejected from the traditional cycle of working hard, taking a week or two off per year, and return to work again. I did what I set out to do and so much more.
And the only way I’m going to know how much I’ll miss Medellin and Colombia and living abroad….is to go home.
The good news for this blog (and everyone reading) is that I’ve received a handful of responses from my call for contributors. Tomorrow, I will introduce you to Holly, Idaho’s favorite ballet-dancing base jumper!
Enjoy the 4 weeks left you have over there.
Hi Dave, I have a question about tourist visas (really visas in general). I am was wondering how the renew process works. Right now I have no understanding of visas. If I stay six months on a tourist visa and leave, how long do I have to wait before I can re-enter Colombia on a tourist visa. How many times can one renew a tourist visa? I hope you can find a couple of minutes to answer.. I would truly appreciate your taking the time.
Hi Steve, you are limited to a maximum of 180 calendar days in Colombia per calendar year with a tourist visa. See this more recent post for more details – http://www.medellinliving.com/how-to-extend-a-tourist-visa-in-medellin/.
Thank you Jeff.
Hello again Jeff.
Thank you for answering my question and now I have another visa question if you don’t mind. It is concerning the bank statement, balance information that is required for a first time tourist visa.
What exactly do they want? My ending statement balance on my checking account is usually pretty low. Will that hurt me? Again, they want something like a average balance? How do I get that?
And finally, can I submit a statement from my Scottrade stock account instead of bank account statement? Please help!
I am not aware of a bank statement being required for a tourist visa renewal. See this for more up-to-date details – http://www.medellinliving.com/how-to-extend-a-tourist-visa-in-medellin/.
If you are a citizen from the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland, Germany, or Australia, and have a passport, and are not planning on staying more than 90 days then you will not need a visa to be issued before you travel to Colombia.
Thank you.
I am hoping to get a 180 day tourist visa and they do require bank statements. 🙁
I am a US citizen…
As a US citizen you will normally will get a 90 day tourist visa stamp in your passport on entry. You can extend this by 90 days at any Migración Colombia office. I talked to someone who did this a month or two ago in Medellín and he didn’t need bank statements. What he needed was listed on the link I provided above:
– Photocopy of passport info page
– Photocopy of entry stamp to Colombia
– Copy of flight itinerary/booking of flight out of Colombia within next 90 days
– Visa style photos (3cm x 4cm)
You can pay for the visa extension by credit/debit card.
Thanks and have a happy New Year!
Hello,
I’m a US citizen and just extended my “visa on arrival” here in Medellin on Friday, February 26th good until May 28th (I arrived in Medellin on December 1, 2015).
I made my appointment online on the Migracion Colombia website for 8:30am and was finished with my extension by 9:00am.
The cost was 87,000 Colombian pesos ($26.15 USD) and I paid using my credit card.
The only documentation required was:
-Passport
-Photocopy of passport info page
-Photocopy of entry stamp to Colombia
They returned the photocopies to me after everything was completed.
There was no need to show proof of onward travel (plane or bus ticket leaving Colombia) nor was there any need for passport photos.
After paying, I was sent over to a photo booth where an Immigration Officer took my digital photo as well as finger-printed me. It was very easy and I only had to wait for a family of 4 in front of me.