Colombia Visa Renewal Tips
NEW VISA RULES ARE EXPECTED TO COME OUT SOON. Due to this being an election year our best guess is that the current administration will sign the new visa rules into effect between now and the end of July, but that is just a GUESS. The new administration hands over the presidency in August 2022. Colombia Visa Renewal Tips.Â
MOST VISA RENEWALS REQUIRE HEALTH INSURANCETHAT MEANS STATE-REQUIRED COLOMBIAN EPS HEALTH INSURANCE All visa renewals will require that persons prove they have EPS PUBLIC state-required health insurance for visas where persons are living in Colombia. Certain visitor visas may not require this insurance. Student visas do require health insurance. Foreign insurance policies are not accepted. Private Colombian health insurance known as PREPAGO, or POLICY does not meet this requirement. Yes, private insurance is much much better. For more on Colombian Health Insurance info click here.
Visa history matters when reapplying for the same visa or a new Colombian visa If you had a work, business owner, student, property owner, or marriage visa, the government will verify you complied with previous visas. Even if you comply with a new visa they will make you prove your past visa vas valid during your time in Colombia. Here are just a few examples of visa cases that pass through our office. The second visa is just as hard as the first one generally speaking.
Remember Colombian Visa officials are looking at previous visas and looking for reasons to sanction applicants who stay after their visa goes invalid, or a technical rule (reason) to not approve your new Colombia visa application.
A) Student Visa Renewals– Students may be asked to obtain documents from schools that show they have progressed levels and are/were currently studying during the issued visa period.
C) Marriage Visa Renewals – holders must prove the relationship was valid during visa time and may ask for an explanation why they’re applying for a new visa such as a divorce, or divorce petition to the court.
E) Property Owner Visa – This year you must re-qualify at the 455 million pesos mark to renew another 3 years. If your original purchase value does not meet this new value of 350 minimum salaries then you will not get a new visa. This is probably the worst visa to renew!!! If you are not planning ahead you can have a house and no visa after 3 years!  When you originally get this visa you need to pay attention to the purchase value and plan for inflation, which could be 30% in just 3 years during covid economic timesÂ
B) Business Owner Visa Renewals – must show business activity that occurred or explain what happened during that time. Documents examples for business visa renewal can be found here: business visa renewal
D) Work visa holders must show they have been signed up to government social security and prove this has been paid for the entire period. Unlinking (desvinculacion) from company certifying date worker has discontinued employment. The company must of course requalify, and Migracion might ask for applicant college or professional certifications once again.
Related Topics of Interest for You:
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Ways to add on to your original property investors purchase:
1) purchase new property to add to the original purchase price before you become a tax resident that puts you over 3 years of inflation value.
2) leave the country for more than 6 months in one year to reset your tax resident status and become a foreign tax resident investor again! Thereby allow you to add on to your property investment value.
Visa Requirements are:
Certificate of being single –Â had different requirements depending on the notary. Sometimes this may be declared in Colombia but other times this document must come from country of origen. This is a very delicate and potentially marriage stopping document. (ask James Lindzey for more info on this subject)
Why Use Our Agency For ColombiaVisa Renewal Tips?Â
Since 2005, our legal firm Medellin Lawyer has helped clients who want to get a US visa. We are the oldest expat visa business in Colombia. We also have more attorneys in office than any other visa agency in Colombia.
In addition to our visa services we offer a full range of legal and accounting services to our clients. By having a legal and accounting firm work on your application, we are able to handle any surprises or last minute requests by immigration officials or by a judge.
Applying for legalize documents for colombia
Once you receive online visa approval, if doing this in Colombia, you need to travel to Bogotá to get the visa in your passport. Visas in Colombia are issued at the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores office in Bogotá. Their office is located at Avenida 19 # 98-03, Torre 100 Building, 3rd Floor. It’s open from 7:30 am until noon.
The major challenge with getting a Colombian visa yourself is dealing with a government bureaucracy, making a trip to Bogota, and not understanding the laws properly if you are not fluent in Spanish.
This is where you can benefit from the services of an experienced visa agency such as Visas by James. A visa agency such as ours is your best bet when it comes to obtaining visa for you. An experienced visa agency that has processed hundreds of visas and knows exactly what is needed for each type of visa is exactly what you need.
Another big benefit of using a visa agency is that they offer services to courier your passport to Bogotá to get the visa put in your passport. So, you can avoid a trip to Bogotá. The cost of a visa service including the service to courier your passport to Bogotá can even be cheaper than the cost of a trip to Bogotá.
Our Story
James Lindzey founded the website ColombiaVisas.com, which is constantly updated with new information explaining visa resolutions, procedures, and laws in Colombia to expats. James has worked as a private investigator and paralegal in the United States through the 90s until he moved to Colombia in 2005. James arrived in Colombia in 2005 and started doing visas for expats, but currently works as Director of Legal Services for Visas by James, and Colombia Legal & Associates SAS since June of 2023.
Colombia Legal & Associates acquired the brand name Visas by James as it became a more familiar and easy way for foreigners to remember the business, than the previous Visas y Tramites Internacionales.
While MedellinLawyer.com focuses more on legal issues for expats, ColombiaVisas.com focuses more on visas, and holds the trademark Visas by James. ColombiaVisas.com is the oldest website and provider of visa information for expats in Colombia. We are proud to be the first and always on the cutting edge of providing interactive website content to our visitors.Â
In addition to our visa services our agency offers a full range of legal and accounting services to our clients. We are able to assist better in document collection services in the United States because of James previous legal experience in the United States.
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About Our Visa Services
We can guie you through the most Complicated Immigration Situations. Our aim is to make life easier for expatriates in Colombia!
Please let us know if you need more information, or we can set up a consultation in order to provided you personalized guide.
Our main office is located in Medellin, Colombia near Parque Lleras in El Poblado. We have representation in Bogota, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale. Our main office address is Cra 39#5A-95, Oficina 709, Edificio Avangarde. We accept walk in appointments but its always nice if you can let us know ahead of time so we can schedule a time. Areas codes in Colombia have changed. To reach our office please call (57) 604-444-6634.
