How to Get Colombia Work Visitor Visa in 2023
The Colombia temporary worker visa is for foreign workers with temporary, occasional or short-term contracts who are engaged or hired by a natural or legal person domiciled in Colombia. This temporary contract worker visa can also be obtained by those who do not having contractual relationship in Colombia but are required to provide specialized technical assistance.
The temporary worker visa can be granted for up to 2 years taking into account the activity that the foreigner carries out in Colombia. Please note that the temporary work visa is a visitor visa of the V category.
The Colombia temporary work visa is easy to obtain as long as you satisfy all the requirements set forth by the ministry of foreign affairs. It is very popular among foreigners who want to work on contract basis in Colombia and are not seeking long term residency.
The cost for the temporary contract worker visa is $282 USD including the processing charge. Please be aware that the temporary work visa does not expire like the migrant visa.
How to Apply for Colombia Temporary Work Visa?
Applying for Temporary Work Visa from Abroad
A visa applicant who wishes to live, work, and study in Colombia can apply for a Colombia work visa online. In addition, any Colombian visas can be obtained at any Colombian consulates around the world.
The Colombian visa application process is fairly easy as it can be completed entirely online. You can apply for a Colombia work visa online here. This application will require scanned copies of all required documents in Adobe PDF format along with your passport photo in jpg 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 put in your passport at a Colombian consulate. Once you have the Colombia work visa has been approved and added to your passport, you are ready to travel to Colombia as a migrant.
Applying for Temporary Work 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. This 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 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.
What Documents are required for Colombia Temporary Work Visa?
There are some general requirements when applying for Colombia work visa which are the following:
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:
If you’ve had a previous Colombian visa such as a student visa, then a photocopy of this visa.
Passport photo:
Digital visa photo, white background,100 Kb max size, jpg file. No ear rings, no hats, no white shirts.
In addition to the general requirements, here the specific documents that are required when applying for Colombia work visa.
Original Work Contract:
A brief summary of the original work contract as established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry may demand the original work contract if needed to clarify any clauses or inconsistencies.
If you are applying for temporary work visa while working for a business, then you need to submit the following documents
Signed Letter:
A letter signed by the legal representative of the institution or company that includes:
Company Name:
The name of the institution or company,
Tax ID Number
The Tax ID number known as RUT (if legally incorporated in Colombia) along with contact information.
Foreign Worker Identification:
Complete identification of the foreigner as it appears in the passport.
Summary of Activities:
Foreigner’s agenda, activity and duration.
Relationship to Foreigner:
A document stating connection to the foreigner and qualification or expertise.
Economic Responsibility Statement:
A statement of economic responsibility for the foreigner’s accommodation and travel expenses.
Certificate of Legal Existence:
When the institution or company that endorses the application is private and incorporated abroad, it must provide a certificate of existence and legal representation or equivalent document.
Bank Statements
Demonstrate liquidity by presenting bank statements of the institution or company for the 6 months prior to the application. Public entities do not need to comply with this requirement.
Proof of Health Insurance
Health policy with coverage in the national territory against all risks in case of accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalization, death or repatriation, for the time foreseen for their stay in the country.
If you are applying for work visa while working for an individual or a natural person, then you need to submit the following documents:
Bank statements:
Six months of bank statements of the hiring person or the employer. The natural person employer must demonstrate average monthly income of 10 times the legal monthly minimum wages during the six months prior to the application. The minimum salary in Colombia is 828,116 pesos per month in 2019.
Endorsement Letter:
A letter signed by the applicant or by the person endorsing the application that includes the following:
- Full identification of the applicant or the natural person endorsing the visa (as it appears in the passport or citizenship card, or Cedula),
- An explanation of the connection to the foreigner by the sponsor
- The reason for the trip
- A statement of economic responsibility for accommodation and travel expenses of the person or the foreigner.
Copy of identification card:
A copy of employer’s cedula.
For regulated professions, applicant must provide the corresponding permit, license or provisional authorization to perform the respective profession in Colombia, granted by the competent authority.
In the case of practicing a non-regulated profession, a duly validated professional title validated by the Ministry of Education must be submitted.
In the event that employers are bodies, entities or institutions of the Colombian State, International Government Organization, Diplomatic Missions or Consular Offices accredited in Colombia, they should only submit a visa application letter signed by the legal representative or whoever is acting on his or her behalf.
Why Use Our Visa Agency For Getting Colombia Temporary Work 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.
Our Services
Many visas require obtaining complicated documents in the United States or Canada. Just another reason why you should choose our firm.
We organize your immigration profile so that your Colombian visa application is successful.
We elaborate and structure all the necessary documents for your Colombian visa application.
We monitor your immigration process.
Translation Legalization and apostille of the documents required for your visa application.
Chat Over WhatsApp – get your visa questions answered fast.
Online quotes – get immediate quotes for visa and other legal services
Courier your passport to Bogotá to get the visa in your passport.
Office in El Poblado in Medellin services.
Please let us know if you need more information, or we can set up a consultation in order to provided you personalized guide.
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(Visas y Trámites Internacionales)
Testimonial from a current or former client who got a student visa 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 office ours are from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm Monday to Friday, and 9:00 am to 12:30 pm Saturday. 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.
