Colombia Beneficiary Visa for Relatives
The Colombia beneficiary visa for relatives or dependents is intended for foreigners who are economic dependents and or family members of another foreigner who has a Colombian visa of either migrant (M) category or resident (R) visa or a few types of V visa.
Beneficiary visas are issued to immediate family members related to a principal visa holder. Once a foreigner receives a Migrant (M) or Resident (R) visa or a few types of Visitor (V) visa in Colombia, then some members of his or her family become eligible for a Colombia beneficiary visa.
The Colombian beneficiary visa costs an equal amount as the principal sponsoring the visa. With beneficiary visas work privileges are not conferred to recipients of the visa, meaning that the recipients of beneficiary visa are not allowed to work in Colombia but they can study in Colombia. Beneficiary visas duration of stay, and limits of days in a year are the same as the principal visa holder.
Related Topics of Interest for You:
Recent
Beneficiary visas are based on family relationships. Immediate family members and/or persons who are economically dependent with handicaps, and children up to 25 years old qualify for beneficiary visas.
Parents and other relatives must be shown to be economically dependent or handicapped/disabled (physically, mentally, illness/disease)
For example, if a foreigner receives a Migrant investor or business visa, his spouse, children (under age 25) and economically dependent parents become eligible for a Colombia beneficiary visas.
Definition: It is the authorization granted to economic dependents who are part of the family of the main holder of a visa in the capacity of: spouse or permanent companion, parents, and children under twenty-five (25) years old, or older children who have a disability that prevents them from fending for themselves.
The Colombia beneficiary visa allows for multiple entries into and out of Colombia, but it loses its validity if the visa holder stays out of Colombia for more than six months consecutively.
Under the new visa resolution 5477, all Migrant visas require you to be in Colombia 180 days or more to keep your visa. If you are out of Colombia more than 180 days your visa will no longer be valid, and Migracion Colombia officials may cancel your visa on entry.
If you are allowed entry in to Colombia with just a stamp then the official will most likely allow you to enter as a tourist after cancelling your visa.
Who Can Apply For Beneficiary Visa?
The dependent(s) of the following visa types may apply for beneficiary visa:
- Residency Visa
- Type M Visa
- Type R Visa
- Type V Visa with the following activities:
- Journalistic coverage or press correspondent.
- Temporary contract worker visa (contracted to a corporation or a person)
- Intra-corporate transfer work visa
- Foreign government official or commercial representative of foreign government.
|
|
How to Prove a Spouse Relationship for Colombia Beneficiary Visa?
The visa beneficiary relationship must be proven. Most common valid relationships that qualify for a beneficiary visa are spouse, common law partner, children up to 25 years old. We are double checking parents and disabled persons which depend on family members. All foreign documents may not be older than 90 days at the time of presentation for the visa.
Some couples find it easier to perform a civil union in Colombia. Colombia Legal & Accounting SAS assists in civil unions and marriages in Colombia for foreigners. (Civil unions in Medellin take as little as two days with Colombia legal)
Related Articles of Interest: Colombia Visas
What Documents Are Required For Colombia Beneficiary Visa?
The documents required for Colombia beneficiary visa depend on the category of your sponsor’s Colombian visa. Here is a general list of required documents for all types of investor visa
A birth certificate issued less than 90 days at time papers are submitted, plus proper document legalization. You must bring a certified, apostilled or legalized and translated birth certificate from the country they were born in.
Letter soliciting visa – Both parents must sign visa application documents unless a parent has certified custody (acta de potestad) documents, a death certificate of the other parent, or if only the mother exists on a birth certificate.
For children’s beneficiary visa requires permission from both parents to stay in Colombia
What Documents Are Required For Colombia Beneficiary Visa?
The documents required for Colombia beneficiary visa depend on the category of your sponsor’s Colombian visa. Here is a general list of required documents for all types of investor visa
Photocopy of principal visa holder:
Copy of the visa of the principal holder of which you wish to be a beneficiary.
Basic Requirements for all Colombian Visa Applications:
Passport Photocopy:
A photocopy of the first page of your valid passport showing your biographical data. The photocopy can be either in color or black and white.
Proof of Legal Entry:
A photocopy of the page of your passport showing last stamp of entry or departure of Colombia.
Photocopy of Previously Issued Visa
Passport Photo
Digital visa photo, white background,100 Kb max size, jpg file. No ear rings, no hats, no white shirts.
Documents for Visa of Spouse
Passport of Spouse:
Passport should have more than 2 blank pages and more than 6 months before it expires (Venezuela expiration dates exempted)
Passport of Spouse:
Passport should have more than 2 blank pages and more than 6 months before it expires (Venezuela expiration dates exempted)
Documents for Visa of Child
Passport of Child:
Passport should have more than 2 blank pages and more than 6 months before it expires (Venezuela expiration dates exempted)
Economic Support Letter:
A letter signed by both parents unless custody documents, death certificate is provided, or only one parent is on birth certificate. This written communication is signed by the principal via holder applying for the beneficiary visa and makes a declaration of dependence and economic responsibility for the expenses inherent to the trip and stay of the beneficiary in Colombia.
Economic Support Letter:
A letter signed by both parents unless custody documents, death certificate is provided, or only one parent is on birth certificate. This written communication is signed by the principal via holder applying for the beneficiary visa and makes a declaration of dependence and economic responsibility for the expenses inherent to the trip and stay of the beneficiary in Colombia.
How to Prove a Child’s Relationship for Colombia Beneficiary Visa?
- A birth certificate issued less than 90 days at time papers are submitted, plus proper document legalization. You must bring a certified, apostilled or legalized and translated birth certificate from the country they were born in.
- Letter soliciting visa – Both parents must sign Colombia visa application documents unless a parent has certified custody (acta de potestad) documents, a death certificate of the other parent, or if only the mother exists on a birth certificate.
- For children’s beneficiary visa requires permission from both parents to stay in Colombia.
How to Properly Legalize Documents for use in Colombia:
Prior to submitting visa application all of the documents must be certified. The proper legalization process of documents must pass the following 4 steps.
A. Certified birth certificate
B. Apostille or Legalization Stamp from country of origin
C. Translation to Spanish from Colombian Translator
D. Certification of Translation at Notary in Colombia only if country of origin does not have Spanish as an official language.
How to Apply for Colombia Beneficiary Visa?
There are two ways to apply for Colombian Beneficiary visa.
Applying for Beneficiary visa from abroad
A visa applicant who wishes to Beneficiary in Colombia can apply for a Colombia Beneficiary visa online. In addition, any Colombian visa can be obtained at any Colombian consulate around the world. In the U.S., Colombia has consulates located in the following cities and states:
The Colombian visa application process is fairly easy as it can be completed entirely online. You can apply for a Colombia Beneficiary visa online Tramites Visa . This application will require scanned copies of all required documents in Adobe PDF format along with your passport photo in JPEG format. In addition, a detailed guide for applying online can be found here.
If you are in another country outside of Colombia, then you have to go to nearby Colombian consulate in that country so that you can get the visa added to your passport at a Colombian consulate. Once your Colombian investment visa has been approved and added to your passport, you are ready to travel to Colombia as a migrant and an investor.
Applying for Beneficiary Visa from 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 Sanish.
This is where you can benefit from the services of an experienced visa agency such as Visas by James. A visa agency such ours is your best bet when it comes to obtaining visa for you. An experienced visa agency which 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.
Why Use Our Visa Agency For Getting Colombia Beneficiary Visa?
Since 2005, our visa agency Visas by James has obtained hundreds of visas for foreigners who wish to study, work, invest, and live in Colombia. 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.
Our Story
James Lindzey the owner of Visas by James has worked as a private investigator and paralegal in the United States from the 90s until he moved to Colombia in 2005. James arrived in Colombia in 2005 and started doing visas for expats in 2007.
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 legal experience in the United States.
More About Our Visa Services
Many visas require obtaining complicated documents in the United States, Canada, or other countries. We are experts at handling foreign documents!
Visas By James
(Visas y Trámites Internacionales)
Testimonials from a current and former clients who got a Colombian visas successfully.
Worked with James and Cristina on buying first property in Colombia. They were very knowledgable in Colombia law and banking. Went the extra mile to guide us thru the process of transferring foreign funds, reviewing/advising purchase documents, and walking us thru the maze of legalities. Invaluable, and in dual languages! Thanks to them the process was completed in less than one month!
I had James take care of the renewing of my US passport and all went very well I did not have to go to Bogota and all was completed with a new passport in a little over 2 weeks !! Highly reccomend.
This is really a dependable and reliable legal and accounting service, and for me it was nice being able to turn over these sometimes laborious tasks to competent and trustworthy professionals. I’ll be recommending them to my friends as well.
About Colombia Legal & Accounting SAS and its associates; Reliable, Trustworthy, Pristine, Honesty, Management, Punctual. That’s all you need to know to put yourself in their professional hands.
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.
