Details about Visa for Colombia

IMMIGRATION AND VISAS

Passport Requirements:

All travelers need a passport, except the following: 

1. Citizens of Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela are issued a Certificate of Identification or a National Document of Identification. 

2. Travelers with an Identification Certificate or a National Identity Document or a Civilian Identity Card or a Military Paybook issued to Argentina’s citizens. 

3. Travelers with an Identification Card given to Brazilian residents.

4. United Nations travelers with a ‘Laissez-Passer’:

• A ‘Laissez-Passer’ issued by the United Nations is not recognized by the peoples of the People’s Republic of China and Haiti.

5. Identity Card travelers issued to foreign residents of Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, provided that their nationality is specified in the Visa Exemptions applicable to regular owners of passports.

6. Travelers with Official Travel Documents provided by the American States Organization.

7. Travelers with documents issued under the 1954 New York Convention to individuals without nationality or citizenship in the country of residence or with documents issued to refugees under the 1951 Geneva Convention.

The Validity of Documents:

On arrival, passports and alternative documents, or any of them, must be valid.

• The people of Colombia can enter the country with passports that have expired.

The Minors:

a. For Colombian children and international citizen children below 18 years of age, the following guidelines apply only when departing from Colombia:

• If they are traveling alone: authenticated parental or guardian permission is required;
• If they are traveling with only one parent, permission is required from the other parent.
• If either or both parents are overseas, their permission must be legally authenticated in the parents’ country of residence by the Colombian Consulate. It must, therefore, be accepted in Bogota, Colombia, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• A death certificate or custody certificate is required when either or both parents are dead and the child is traveling with a guardian.

b. An orphan certificate from the Institute of Family Welfare is required if children live with their parents outside Colombia and traveling alone. This certificate must mean that they are allowed to leave Colombia with parental permission.

c. Children leaving Colombia require a valid birth certificate concerning their place of residence in addition to the documents requested above. Travelers with passports, however, do not need a birth certificate.

Exemptions from Visa:

All travelers must carry a visa except for the following:

1. Colombia’s citizen.

2. Travelers with ordinary passports who only come for tourism and stay for no more than 90 days, given they are:

• Citizens of Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Andorra, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Australia, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bhutan, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Chile, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Dominica, Dominica Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Ecuador, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Greece, France, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Guyana, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Lithuania, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Palau Islands, Netherlands, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Poland, Russia, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent – the Grenadines, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, USA, UAE, Uruguay, Holy see, Venezuela;
• Travelers with passports from Chinese Taipei;
• Travelers with Hong Kong-issued passports.

3. Travelers with British passports, independent of citizenship endorsement, if they come for tourism and remain for no more than 90 days.

4. Diplomatic, official, and service passport travelers, provided that they are:

• For an indefinite duration of stay, residents of the Czech Republic, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Russia, and Slovakia;
• Hungarian, Indian and Spanish people remain for no more than 90 days.

5. Official passport passengers provided that they are:

• Brazilian people remain there for no longer than 30 days.
• Citizens of Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador, Italy, or Uruguay remain for 90 days. 
• People of Costa Rica and Cuba remain for 180 days or less.

6. Diplomatic Passport Travelers:

• People living for an indefinite time in Argentina and Chile;
• Citizens of the People’s Republic of China and Venezuela remain for a period of 30 days.

7. Travelers with service passports are Honduran, Italian, or Japanese people who stay no longer than 90 days.

8. Diplomatic, support, and special passport travelers stay for a period not exceeding 90 days, given they are citizens of Turkey.

9. Diplomatic and official passport passengers, given that they are:

• Unlimited residence of residents of Barbados, Guatemala, Israel, Panama, Cyprus, Peru, and Switzerland;
• Citizens of Guyana and Iran who have not lived for more than 30 days;
• No more than three months of residency for residents of Belize, France, Mexico, and Poland;
• Paraguayan people with a stay of no more than 120 days;
• Dominican people spend no longer than 180 days in the Dominican Republic.

10. Colombia’s international nationals with a return visa.

11. United Nations travelers with a ‘Laissez Passer’:

• Citizens of the People’s Republic of China and Haiti are not recognized by the ‘Laissez Passer’ issued by the United Nations.

(Transit without Visa) TWOV:

TWOV is allowed to allow travelers to continue their journey to the third county on the same or connecting flight within 24 hours, provided that they have confirmed tickets and other documentation required for their next journey. Travelers are not permitted to leave the transit hall at the airport.

• For travelers with Palestinian travelers, this does not apply.

Additional Information:

1. For their stay, return, or onward tickets, all travelers coming for tourism must have enough money and all the documentation needed for their next journey.

2. Travelers with regular passports whose stay can be extended by immigration authorities for a duration not exceeding 180 days or by applying at Calle 100, number 11B, 27 Santafe de Bogota, Division de Extranjeria, provided that they are:

• Andorra Citizen, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Argentina, Barbados, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Belize, Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Canada, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominica, Dominica Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Greece, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Malta, Micronesia, Malaysia, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Palau Islands, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Paraguay, Romania, Russia, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Island, South Africa, Spain, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vatican City, Venezuela;
• Travelers with passports issued by Hong Kong or Chinese Taipei.

3. All travelers arriving from Canada, France, Mexico, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Spain are expected to fill out forms that are available upon arrival due to the outbreak of swine flu (H1N1).

4. Citizens of Belize and Mexico holding diplomatic and official passports can extend their residence to a maximum of 180 by the immigration authorities or by applying to Calle 100, 11B, 27 Santafe de Bogota, Division de Extranjeria.

5. Both San Andres Island travelers, including residents of Colombia who are not indigenous to the island, must have island tickets or return tickets.

Information to know:

Both passengers arriving with incomplete travel documents will be refused entry and deported on the same plane. Besides, significant penalties would have to be charged by the carrier. There are special restrictions on visiting coffee plantations; thus, either the Vegetable Sanitary Control at the airport on arrival or any Colombian Consulate should apply to travelers.

Notes:

It is the Colombian Immigration Authorities’ right to shorten the duration of visits for citizens of any country.

Customs and Foreign Exchange:

Regulations for importation:

Travelers aged 18 years and over are permitted to import free of charge:

• 50 grams or less of nicotine, 50 cigars or 200 cigarettes;
• Per traveler, two bottles of alcoholic beverages;
• A moderate quantity of perfume for female travelers’ personal use.

Prohibited products include:

• Vegetables, plants or plant materials, animal-based meat, and food products.
• Ammunition and weapons, unless authorization from area police departments is obtained. It is essential to declare imported products on arrival.

Regulations on exports:

Free export of tobacco and alcoholic beverages, as stated in “Import.”

Pets:

Passengers arriving with cats or dogs must receive permission at the first point of entry from the Colombian Agricultural Institute (ICA) and accompanied by an accompanying passenger.

1. Sanitary inspection certificate(original) issued (or endorsed) by a sanitary authority official in the country of origin containing all the information of the pet. For a period not exceeding ten calendar days before delivery, the certificate must be stamped and signed and must state that the pet:
   1. It is stable and free from infectious and parasitic diseases and does not have new or healed wounds.
   1. It has an existing vaccination schedule and is ideal for transporting.
   1. The approved internal or external antiparasitic products were treated with.
2. Original and copy of a certificate of rabies vaccination, given at least 60 days before arrival. This must be performed at least 21 days before arrival if the pet is vaccinated for the first time. A certificate issued by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) must be accompanied by pets imported from the USA.

Regulations on Baggage Clearance:

The baggage of a traveler at the first airport of entry in Colombia should be cleared.

The Exemptions:

1. Onward passengers’ baggage on a domestic flight will be cleared as baggage at the final destination airport. However, when flying on a domestic flight to Armenia or Manizales, at the first airport of entry, luggage must be cleared as there are no customs facilities in Armenia or Manizales;
2. b. Baggage of transit passengers on an international flight destined outside of Colombia.

Charge on Airports:

1. Both passengers are expected to pay an airport tax either at the time of issuance of the ticket or the airport’s departure.
2. Place of payment: departure ticket sales office or airport.
3. The exemptions: Airline crew members who fly on duty;
4. On the same day, transit travelers continue their trip and do not exit the international waiting area.
5. An exit tax of USD 19 must be paid in cash only to Colombia citizens leaving the country and to all departing travelers who have lived in Colombia for more than two months.
6. Payment Place: Departure Airport.
7. The exemptions: Diplomatic bureaucrats.
8. Colombian residents remain abroad for no more than 180 days, and Colombian non-residents remain abroad for no more than 60 days.
9. Airline crew members who fly on service.
10. International Air, Sea, and Land Transport Lines crew members, officials or employees traveling on company business provided:
11. They have a certificate stating the reason for their trip from their personnel manager.
12. The ‘Civil Aeronautics Commission’ has been exempted for at least 48 hours before departure.

Regulations on Currency Imports:

Travelers are permitted to import up to USD 10,000 or its equivalent in local currency (Colombian Peso-COP) and foreign currencies. Sums greater than 10,000 USD is needed upon arrival to be declared.

Regulations on Currency Exports:

1. Residents:

• Travelers under 15 years of age are permitted to export local currency (Colombian Peso-COP) up to COP 5 642 per day of stay abroad with a maximum of COP 169 260 per year) or foreign currency up to USD 35 or equivalent per day of stay abroad with a maximum of USD 1050 or equivalent per year;
• Travelers aged 15 years or older are permitted to export local currency up to COP 11 284 per day of stay abroad up to a maximum of USD 338 520 per year or foreign currency up to USD 70 or equivalent per day of stay abroad up to a maximum of USD 2 1100 or equivalent per year.

2. Non-Residents:

Travelers are permitted to export up to USD 10,000 or its equivalent in local currency and foreign currencies. Sums greater than USD 10,000 is needed upon arrival to be declared. 

Wild Flora and Fauna:

It is forbidden or limited under CITES to import some endangered plant species, live animals, and their products. For more details, please visit www.cites.org.