How to Get Colombia Student Visa
The Colombia Student Visa is intended for foreign students who want to enroll in an academic program at a school or university in Colombia. To be eligible for a student visa you need to be enrolled in a public or private educational institution.
This institution must be recognized by the Colombian government. Most universities in Colombia are recognized and are approved for the purpose of obtaining Colombia student visa. In addition, you need to be taking at least 10 hours of classes per week.
A student visa is very popular among foreigners who to study and stay in Colombia for a longer period of time and is quite easy to get. The length of student visa depends on the length of the educational program that you have enrolled into. In most cases, the length of stay is more than 6 months and up to 1 year.
The Colombia student visa was previously known as the TP-3 visa. The student visa is typically valid for the time you are enrolled in an approved school. By end of 2017, Colombian government changed the student visa and is now known as a Migrant (M) visa of category 9 or M-9 visa for short and Visitor (V) visa. Furthermore, if you have an existing TP-3 student visa, it doesn’t change to one of the new types of student visas.
A new rule on visas was announced by Ministry of Foreign Relations Resolution 5477 of July 22, 2022.
This rule will apply changes in the category of various types of visas and will require adjustments in Colombian Visa Application System.
According to this resolution, the new visa rules will be applicable starting October 22, 2022.
The new set of rules eliminates Student M visa and replaces it with Visitor V visa. Please note that taking Spanish language classes will not be affected by this visa change.
- Foreign applicants can still apply for student visitors visa for primary education, post primary university education and beyond
- Applicant can take in-person or virtual classes.
- An applicant can also submit beneficiary visa application if the applicant is engaged in post-graduate coursework
- The applicant must show evidence that he or she receives income equal to or greater than 10 times the local minimum wage
- Please note that student visa applicants must have travel insurance.
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Why Study in Colombia?
In Colombia, educational programs are very varied and rich in content, quality and are recognized worldwide. Therefore, every year a good number of foreigners travel to Colombia to study at undergraduate and postgraduate level at public and private universities. For the most part, students feel very comfortable with the environment, academic training offered at institutions, enjoy natural tourist attractions and quality of life.
If you plan to study in Colombia for more than six months, it is essential to previously request a Student visa this one depends of what kind of studies are you thinking to apply for.
Who are the types of Colombia Student Visa?
The Colombia student visa is primarily divided into two categories.
Visitor (V) Visa
The V student visa is intended for non-degree programs like studying Spanish Also, once you have a Visitor (V) visa you reportedly can no longer apply for another visa while in Colombia. To apply for another visa when you have a Visitor student visa you have to go to a foreign consulate in another country.
Note the Visitor (V) student visa for studying Spanish is now reportedly being granted for only for a maximum of six months according to visa agencies we have talked to with the possible exception of studying Spanish at Universidad EAFIT in Medellin, which may still qualify for a year-visa.
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What Academic Programs Qualify for Colombia Student Visa?
The following academic programs qualify for Colombia student visa.
1. Academic exchange, studies in art or crafts and postgraduate
2. Intern or Trainee
3. Students of primary, secondary, media and undergraduate.
This type of visa will be valid for three years. When the duration of the studies is less than three years, the visa may have a lower validity.
The duration of this visas will depend of the academic program, with multiple entries the duration of each course, usually have a validity between 2 to 3 years.
So that you can enroll in a public or private educational center, institute or university in the country. Remember that before applying for a visa, the foreigner must have been accepted into an academic program in Colombia with a minimum duration of (10) hours per week. Only students who wish to participate in these duly registered courses can obtain student visas.
That is, this kind of visa applies to foreigners who wish to enter the national territory in the development of an academic program, with or without a scholarship, given by an educational or training center in the country duly certified for that purpose, or by virtue of an academic agreement of exchange and student internship. Also, when the foreigner wishes to enter the national territory to be trained in an art or trade.
In the present case the validity of the visa will be up to five (2/5) years considering the total duration of the academic program, with multiple entries.
The permanence of the foreigner the validity of the Temporary Visa will end if the foreigner is absent from the country for a term greater than one hundred and eighty (180) continuous days or 6 consecutive months.
In any case you must be accepted to an educational institution, you must show that you have enough funds or resources. You can also show that you have a sponsor who will be provide all the financial support you need during your stay as a student in Colombia.
What are the Financial Requirements for Colombia Student Visa?
A letter (in Spanish) from the person with economic responsibility for the student guaranteeing the expenses of the student and documents showing economic solvency. If you are the student, the letter should say you will be financially responsible for yourself while in Colombia.
To show “economic solvency” you could use a bank “certificate” showing the average balance over the past six months is greater than 10 times the legal minimum wage in Colombia or 13,000,000 pesos ($3,900 at an exchange rate of 3,900 pesos to the USD) in 2024. And this certificate should be notarized and translated.
Another alternative is that you can provide six months of bank statements with no need for translation of bank statements. Also, credit card statements which show a sufficient available balance could be used.
What Documents are required for Colombia Student Visa?
Passport Photocopy:
Proof of Legal Entry:
Photocopy of Previously Issued Visa:
Admission Letter:
Proof of Health Insurance
Proof of health insurance is required. Must have full coverage including hospitalization, illness, accident, disability, death and repatriation.
Proof of Existence and Legal Representation:
Proof of Financial Sponsorship or Economic Solvency:
Legalization Of Financial Sponsorship Document:
Passport photo:
Digital visa photo, white background,100 Kb max size, jpg file. No ear rings, no hats, no white shirts.
How To Apply for Colombia Student Visa?
Applying for Student visa from abroad
A visa applicant who wishes to study in Colombia can apply for a Colombia student visa online. In addition, any Colombian visas can be obtained at any Colombian consulates 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 Student 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 Student 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.
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.
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.
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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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!
We identify necessary documents for your visa application.
We monitor your immigration process.
We handle Translations required for your visa application.
We handle Apostilles required for your visa application.
Main Office located in El Poblado, Medellin, Colombia.
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.
