Santa Fe de Antioquia
Editor’s Note: For more up-to-date information on obtaining a work visa, please visit this post published June 2013.
Falling in love with Colombia and its people is easy, staying here is a little more difficult.
Unless you want to visit the DAS office every month, the best way to stay in Colombia is to study, or work.
With a student visa, you need to find a university to study Spanish or another subject area, and then pay for your classes first. Most schools require that you pay for half the classes you desire.
So, if you want to study for three months, you have to pay for a month and a half in advance. And, if you want to study for more than 3 months, you have to pay more money for your visa because you also have to pay to receive a celula.
Other then that, the process is fairly easy. The school can usually help you find someone to receive your passport and other documents in Bogota, bring your papers to the Embassy and then ship it back to you within 3 days. Again, at an additional cost.
On the other hand, I have read a few blogs about the difficulties of getting a job in Colombia and the visa associated with it. Maybe I was just lucky, but within a week of coming to Colombia, I was hired at a well-known private school along with 2 other Americans.
The school took care of almost everything required to get me a work visa in Colombia, including paying for all the expenses, like sending me to Panama for 2 nights, the hotel room, extra spending money, and taxis to and from the airports.
They set up an appointment with the consulate for me and provided me with all the paperwork I needed to apply for a work visa in Colombia, except for the apostilized diplomas. This had to be done in New York, and was apparently quite a hassle according to my parents from who I had to request their services for the task.
The only thing left for me to do is go to the DAS office for my celula.
Another incorrect statement I found online: “If you are thinking about working as a teacher and you want a work visa you will need a teaching qualification. This rule is quite new. So, no teaching qualification, no work visa as a teacher.”
This is not true, as I do not have a teacher certification and I was just hired 3 weeks ago. However, I have taught for a year in Peru which helped me during the hiring process.
And, it is important to bring currency in the country you are going to.
My job gave me Colombian Pesos to use in Panama, but they didn’t accept them, and I had to change money at a very poor exchange rate, losing money for my school.
Editor’s Note: For more up-to-date information on obtaining a work visa, please visit this post published June 2013.
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That's actually a benevolent employer if they paid for your trip to Panama to pick up the visa. I've heard of some institutes in Bogota that charge teachers to sponsor their visa, and of course they're on their own for travel. So that's a good company!
I'd add that, when renewing your work visa, you have to register the new visa with DAS immediately to avoid a fine. Also, employers will cancel your work visa effective immediately if you quit or get fired. My visa was cancelled less than a month after paying out the millions of pesos, and it was the third visa which would've been good for two years!
P.S. It's cedula with a 'd' (edit this out afterwards)
Good point. I think you have 5 or 15 days to register with DAS.
When I quit teaching at a place in Medellin, I was already on the conyuge visa but the very nasty person in charge at the institute called the DAS on me anyway. The DAS called me and then apologized when I pointed out that my visa didn't depend on my job.
How do you renew your work visa? What documents are required, how much time in advance of current visa expiration do you need to apply? Thanks.
I have a colombiana friend who once worked at DAS who tells me that a Panameña can get a work permit as a domestic employee for a private individual. Anyone know if that's still true?
I had a similar experience. Once I went and applied for a job I was hired quickly and they took care of my paperwork. I had to fly back to the states to actually get the visa tho, which was a pain.
There is a service which will take your document to the relevant office to get the apostille. I used it once and it worked fine. Can't remember the name tho.
You do actually need to prove idoneidad (suitability for the job at hand), or at least you did back in 2001. A college degree did the trick for me.
I've gotten the conyuge visa and the resident visa now as well, but it's been years. I don't remember all the details. Within another year or maybe even less I will be eligible to apply for citizenship. Should be interesting!
I am from India, presently i am living in INDIA. I have been working as a truck driver for14 years in India I would like to chang my carrier in COLOMBIA how can i apply for truck driver job or work permit or permenent resident in COLOMBIA.
Guy , hello , i'm from Medellin Colombia, here so much work about driver, but you need know Spanish , do you know spanish ?
Thanks for the info on the requirements. Hope the expense for the education is not that high. Colombia is one of my dream destinations. Three months is a short time. It is great because I could stay there and learn Spanish at the same time.
Hi Jessica,
I enjoyed reading your article and I'm planning on traveling to Colombia in about two months to teach English. I have a University degree, a teaching credential, and I'm TESOL/TEFL certified. Do you know of any language institutes or school that are hiring? I just receiving an email from a company that is interested in me, but they did not offer to cover any of the visa expenses.
I would greatly appreciate your advice.
Best Regards,
Devin
Actually, my school just let go of someone and they are looking for an English teacher to start ASAP. Im sure they will help you get here faster. If you are interested send me an email sattvictiger@gmail.com
I have a British friend who got a job in Bogotá as a teacher, the name is Bretaña, he loves his job and the visa process was really easy... he holds a degree as a computer science instructor.
Hey Shawn,
I'm hoping to teach in Colombia too, would I be able to contact your friend for advice?
Thanks
Thanks for this helpful information. I've never had to get an apostle diploma before - is this something I can get before I leave for Colombia and just have with me?
Cheers!
Apostille. And yes.
Hello I want to work in Colombia Colombian citizen How do I get a work visa Thank you
Hello I want to work in Colombia Colombian citizen How do I get a work visa Thank you
As far as I know, first you need to find a company willing to hire you. Ideally, they will also help you obtain the work visa to do so.
Hi Jess,
Thanks for your article. I'm a Canadian and am planning on going to Colombia in a few weeks. I already have a job lined up, and will soon have finalized my TESOL certification. I have a college diploma from a Canadian college, and this is my biggest concern, because I believe Colombia specifically requires a Bachelor's Degree.
Do you, or does anyone you know, think I would have any problems acquiring a work visa with my college degree?
Hey Ben,
I'm heading down again as well - might I ask how you found the work?
Thanks,
Sarah
Hey thanks a bunch for putting down the costs of everything - just wondering if you wouldn't mind saying the name of the school so that I can get ideas of where to apply? I have a list but just checking for the top ones :P Thanks so much!
I wonder if you can share your schools list? It's 2017 now and I'm getting my CELTA certificate and have a masters degree plus am fluent in Spanish. I would like to apply to go teach in Medellin as soon as the kids graduate from high school in June!
i have a question regarding getting a work visa, i dont have a college degree, would that get in the way of me getting a work visa. And i only have my TEFL certificate as far as teaching credentials go, is that enough? Thanks!
This is excellent information. I find the visa information for a lot of countries in South America VERY confusing. I live in Brazil, a country which has 10 different consulates in the United States, each with different rules and regulations on how to get the different types of visas. Thanks for sharing!
i have a question regarding getting a work visa while travelling to colombia on tourist visa . Is that possible to get work permitt visa on tourist visa ???