Visa

Visa

There are  a variety of visas (marriage, investor, retiree, medical, student, resident and work visa, etc.). To determine the right course of action and the right visa for you it is essential to understanding your current situation and what your goal is. Depending on the case, the right conditions must first be created before the application is made (e.g. registering a company registered partnership, founding a company, obtaining documents or translations, etc.). We are also happy to support you with all work previous to a visa application. (See also our other services).

A short telephone consultation is free of charge. In 90% of the cases we can find out after a short telephone consultation which visa and procedure is the right one for you. If your case is very complex and we hold a consultation session with you besides a brief review of  the first documents, a fee of 120,000 COP (approx. 35 USD or 30 EURO) is due.

We do not deliberately publish a table of costs at this point, as this only leads to misunderstandings and we do not consider this to be serious, because each case is individual. In some cases, translation and apostilles are required, in others, documents have to be obtained from the embassy or from a public notary. Some customers ask us to do this, others want to do it themselves. Therefore, a general price indication does not make sense. In addition, the fees from the migration office change regularly. A non-binding phone call or a meeting is essential for us so that we have clarity about your case and we can send you a detailed offer so that you do not have any surprises and unexpected costs.

In bureaucratic matters in particular, it is important that the customer understands the situation, which is usually very difficult in a foreign language. We have also made the experience that information published on Facebook or other media is sometimes incorrectly out of date or incomplete. Even the information published on the homepage of the migration authorities sometimes deviates from the current procedure; there are even more documents requested during the visa procedure than the ones published in such websites. Many people who apply for a visa for the first time are of the opinion that the Colombian state can be happy when foreigners bring money into the country and conclude that applying for a visa is a simple process. Unfortunately, we cannot confirm this, the bureaucracy and the procedure often turn out to be very tedious and nerve-wracking. If a visa is rejected, the applicant is blocked for 6 months for each visa application and it is reserved in the system of the migration authority.

12 steps to a visa

1. Contact by email, WhatsApp, phone

2. A short telephone analysis of the situation (free of charge) or a personal meeting (COP 120,000).

3. Elaboration of an offer and discussion of any ambiguities (free of charge).

4. Placing of orders and payment of our fee as well as the application fee of the migration authority.

5. We will send you a list of questions about yourself that we need to make the application. You will also receive a list of documents that we need for the application.

6. We check the documents and, depending on the visa, we also create documents that you have to sign.

7. We submit the application and pay the fee to the migration office.

8. We will keep you up to date until the visa is approved.

9. If the visa has been approved, the visa fee is due, which you can either pay directly to the migration office or you transfer the amount to us and we will forward the money to the authorities for you.

10. When the visa has arrived, we will make an appointment with the migration authorities and prepare all the documents you need for the Colombian identity card (Cedula).

11. At your appointment at the migration office, a passport photo will be taken and your fingerprints will taken. You pay the fee for the identity card with your bank or credit card directly in the office of the migration authority.

12. After 10 days your identity card is ready, we will make an appointment again and you can pick up the “Cedula” at the migration office.

Experience has shown that the process takes between 2 and 6 weeks after the application is submitted, and in individual cases it could take longer. The preparatory work can also take a few weeks. It is therefore important to deal with the topic in good time. We want our customers to be correctly and completely informed. Close and individual support is what sets us apart. We don’t see ourselves as a visa factory, but as your personal advisor.

For many foreigners, a lot depends on an approved visa. You shouldn’t leave it to chance and take the matter seriously. Contrary to popular belief, the Colombian state does not give away visas. We therefore recommend anyone who has no experience with visa applications to work with a professional agency of your trust. We have noticed that since 2020 there have been increasing inquiries from the migration authorities and additional documents are being requested. The pandemic also has an impact on the process and a lot changes within a few weeks.

We cannot guarantee whether your visa application will be approved or not, as the authorities can reject an application without giving reasons and there is no possibility of appeal. We have been working in this area since 2016 and we have a success rate of around 95%. However, good preparation and a correct application are prerequisite for success, even if a residual risk remains.

Extension of the tourist visa

Upon entry, the tourist receives an entry stamp in his passport. This entry stamp is valid for 90 days (the number of days is handwritten on the stamp at the bottom right). The day of entry counts as the first day. An extension of another 90 days is possible at the migration authority. However, the extension should be applied for at a time when the tourist is still legally in the country. We recommend submitting the application around two weeks before the 90 days are up. 

Legalize an over-stay

If your visa has expired and you are staying illegally in the country, you can legalize yourself again with a so-called salvoconducto. You have to pay a fine of around 600,000 COP for staying illegally.

There are two ways to apply for a “Salvoconducto”.

1. You have an over-stay and want to leave Colombia:

If you have a valid exit ticket (not a mere reservation), you can apply for a Salvoconducto. With a salvoconducto you prevent from any problems when leaving the country.

2. You have an over-stay and want to apply for a visa.

If you are in a visa process, but you are illegally in the country, you have the possibility to apply for a “Salvoconducto”. The Salvoconducto legalizes you for the period of your visa application.

Your consultants

We look forward to hearing from you

Let us help you!

If you need any helps, please feel free to contact us. We will get back to you with 1 business day. Or if in hurry, just call us now.

Call (English/German):
+57 (319) 284-7292

Call (Spanisch):
+57 (319) 551-1587

autarchy@autarchy.co Mon – Fri 08:30-18:00

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