After only a short 3 years of living in Colombia I officially have my Permanent Resident Visa!
I wanted to share the whole process it with you because to my surprise, it was so easy.
The whole process took about three weeks for me because at first I didn’t know I was eligible for the Resident Visa so I went in with the idea of renewing my Partner TP10 Visa.
After gathering all my documents to renew my TP10 Partner Visa, I arrived at the passport office only to be told by the guy reviewing my paperwork that I could apply for the Resident Visa and all I needed it were an additional two documents.
Along the way I also cleared up the confusion I had about the union marital document I had signed with my partner three years ago at a notary. I had understood that after two years, the document automatically turned into a Colombian marriage. But I was wrong. Although it does give couples the same rights as a married couple, they are NOT married. To be honest I was kind of a relieved.
Back to what you came here for: below is a breakdown of all the documents, the costs, and anything else I think you might need to know.
1. A copy of your passport along with the entry and departure stamps.
2. A copy of your TP10 Visa
3. A notarized letter from your partner
Granting you permission for you to apply to your Resident Visa. It costs about $5,000 to get it notarized.
4. Migratory Movement Certificate
Showing all your movements in and out of the country to show that you haven’t left Columbia for more than 90 days.
COST: $56.000
WHERE: Migración office in Calle 100
HOW: You must fill out an application for the certificate here. You’ll receive an email confirmation telling you the documents needed and that you must also make an appointment. TIP:Arrive with all your the given reservation numbers that appear in the emails.
5. A copy of your partner’s ID
Front and back.
6. A copy of your marriage certificate or union marital de hecho
No older than 90 days old. This was a little bit tricky for me as I got the original notarized form at a notary close to where I used to live which is now really far from where I currently live! This turned out to be a whole day trip as you can only get a copy in the notary that did the document for you.
COST:$14.000
WHERE: At the original notary where you got the certificate done.
The cost of the visa was $385 which I paid in Colombia Pesos.
Doing the Resident Visa application online versus in person
Although nowadays you can do the whole process online, I found it kind of pointless because afterwards you still have to go back to the passport office to get your visa. And if there are any mistakes in your paperwork, they will not be forgiving if you do the application online.
I was missing documents and they simple refused my application and made me pay for it again in person.
But if you DO do it in person and there happen to be any mistakes, you’ll have up to 30 days to fix it or complete your application. Or if everything is good to go, you will most likely receive your visa the same day.
Renewing your Colombian cedula
After getting your new Visa, you’ll have to renew your Colombian cedula at the migration office. Once again, you will have to make an appointment and fill out a form through the same website. Officers at the migration office will take your picture and you’ll have to come back within 8 business days to pick up your new cedula.
Even if your Resident Visa does not expire you will still have to renew your ID every five years. Renewing my ID this year had a cost of 183,000 Colombian pesos. I think this is just an excuse to make money off foreigners, but what can you do?
If you are in the process of applying for your Resident Visa after having been under the TP10 or Partner visa, then I wish you the best of luck!
7 comments
Isn’t it 180 DAYS (6 months) maximum out of the country in order to maintain validity of the M/TP visas? Then if NOT by marriage, then must wait 5 years before can qualify for the Resident VISA.
Thanks again for this article! It’s so helpful! I have one question and one suggestion:
1) do you know if the 90 day are CONSECUTIVE or TOTAL? I’m quite sure I’ve been out of colombia more than 90 days in the past 3 years, sadly, but not at one time.
2) the links are really helpful, but in the future, you may consider that they default to opening in a new tab so as not to accidentally drive traffic away from your blog. I’m opening like that now, but I almost lost you on the first one!
cheers!
Thanks for this post! It’s the most relevant and straightforward of all those I’ve seen and exactly what I need. Wish me luck!
Other than what you mentioned as necessary document/requirements are there any other documentation required….I am getting conflicting information…I am being told that now financial support documents proving income are required…Is this accurate.
I am told they now requirement proof of income for a Res Visa…I have a TP-10 that expires 2018….
Are those actual US dlollae Costs??? Omg!
it looks like most of the costs are in Pesos, except for the visa itself which would be $385 USD. The other little costs add up to about $25 USD, so about $410 total, not counting the trip to Bogota.