For more than six years now, I’ve helped foreigners navigate the Migration bureaucracy and successfully apply for Colombian Visas, and today I wanted to share helpful information about this topic to make sure applicants avoid making some of the most common visa mistakes.
Here are the top 5 visa mistakes according to my experience:
1 – Getting an extension on the temporary permit / tourist visa (PTP)
This is the most common mistake. You need to check your entry stamp and count 90 days (including holidays and Sundays). If you want to stay longer in Colombia, then buy a cheap ticket to Ecuador, Panama, or any other country. Then you can ask for an extension, and you will get 90 extra days, without leaving. If you can’t prove that you are planning to leave, then Migration will not give you the extension.
Tips:
- Buy a refundable ticket, so after you get the extension, you can get your money back.
- Apply for the extension BEFORE your tourist visa expires. And best to do it at least 3 days before your current tourist visa in order to avoid paying fines or getting deported.
- Don’t fight with the migration officers, it sounds crazy but people tend to blame the officers, and even if they overstayed just 1 day, they will have to pay the fine. Getting angry at them, will not solve your problem.
2 – Coming to Colombia with old papers:
If you’re planning to apply for a migrant or resident visa, then you will need a lot of documentation, such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, pension letters, references, etc. Remember that any document presented before Cancillería (Migration) can not be older than 3 months.
Tips:
- If you already are in Colombia, you can ask someone in you home country to get the copy of these documents for you. Some countries will ask for an authorization letter, keep this in mind.
- Before shipping the documents to Colombia, remember to get the apostille stamp/notarized.
3 – Documents without Apostille Stamp
All documents issued by a foreign country need to get the Apostille Stamp in order to be valid in Colombia. There are companies specializing in providing this service. In some countries, you can even order the Apostille online. If the country is not member of the Hague Convention, you will have to get the document notarized before a public notary and you will have to find a Colombian Consulate and sign the document before the Colombian Consul.
4 – Documents translated to Spanish not complying the requirements
You need to find an Official Translator to translate your documents to Spanish and this person needs to print the document with the date of the translation. And after December 14th of 2018, they also have to have their signature recognized before a public notary.
5 – Applying for/ renewing visa too little time in advance
You need to apply for / renew your visa, at least with one month in advance, depending on the type of visa you’re looking at. Remember, in many cases you will have to collect and order documents from other institutions abroad, and if you don’t do with sufficient time in advance, you will end up applying and paying for a Salvoconducto (emergency extension only given in very specific situations), visiting the migration office several times, stressing out and getting angry. Don’t put yourself in that situation.
Like with many things in Colombia, instead of wasting a lot of time and money trying to figure everything out yourself, you can make the experience a lot more pleasant by hiring the right person to manage these procedures. If you need help or have any questions, then send me a message to jessy@calicapital.com and I’d be more than happy to assist you. You can also follow me on social media @calicapitalsas.
Also make sure you read here about the different visa types that Colombia has and how you can qualify.