VisaColombia closes Catatumbo migration service centre and redirects regional support
Resolution 4873 removes the Tibú centre while identifying continued services through Villa del Rosario and Bucaramanga; applicants should verify appointments and deadlines.
Official source date: 2026-10-23
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
The October 23 resolution closes a service centre
Migración Colombia has abolished the Catatumbo Migration Services Facilitation Centre in Tibú, Norte de Santander, through Resolution 4873 of October 23, 2026. The agency’s official repository records publication and commencement on the same date. People seeking administrative immigration services in the region should verify the receiving office and any existing appointment before travelling to the former centre. The measure changes the service network rather than establishing a new nationality-based visa restriction.
The resolution’s recitals identify local security conditions, operating costs and low demand as reasons for the decision. They say continuity will be supported through the Villa del Rosario and Bucaramanga service centres according to their responsibilities and operational capacity. That is a direction for service continuity, not a guarantee that every procedure or appointment will immediately be available at either office. The signed resolution is the direct resource for identifying what was closed and which regional offices are retained.
Administrative closure does not mean the border posts are closed
The resolution removes the institutional code and abbreviation for the Catatumbo centre and updates the Eastern Regional Directorate’s organisational list. That list separately retains air and land immigration-control posts, including the Simón Bolívar and Atanasio Girardot international bridges, Puerto Santander and Francisco de Paula Santander. Applicants should distinguish a centre handling administrative services from a border-control post processing journeys.
The measure should therefore not be reported as a blanket closure of crossings with Venezuela or an instruction that all regional travellers must obtain a new visa. It does not establish a general new fee, exemption or application deadline for foreign nationals. A person’s existing permission and procedure still determine the documents required. The centre closure affects where support is organised; it does not itself answer whether an individual may cross a border, reside or work in Colombia.
Existing records must be transferred through the agency
The resolution requires administrative arrangements for the centre’s assets, technology and documentary holdings. Its provisions cover immigration files, registration books and physical and digital archives, with supervised transfer and custody under the agency’s document-retention rules. People with a pending matter should retain their filing reference and request confirmation of the competent receiving office rather than assume they must pay to recreate an entire file.
It also provides for relocation of the three public servants assigned to the centre, without abolishing their posts or changing their employment conditions. That explains how the organisational change is intended to redistribute resources. It does not provide an applicant-specific completion date for a transferred case. Where an old confirmation still identifies Tibú, seek a current appointment or case-routing instruction through Migración Colombia’s official channels before incurring travel costs. No automatic extension of immigration status is stated in this resolution.
Use the free appointment service for the actual procedure
Migración Colombia’s appointment resource directs applicants to identify their procedure, complete the corresponding Unified Procedures Form, then choose the city, service point and available date in the booking system. Appointments are free, personal and non-transferable. The identity details entered must match the documents presented; an appointment under someone else’s details is not a reliable substitute for an unavailable slot.
The agency recommends checking the appointment at least a day beforehand and arriving 20 minutes early with the printed confirmation and procedure-specific documents. Availability depends on each centre’s capacity. Use that page’s consultation or cancellation instructions and service-point directory to resolve an old or missing booking. The fact that the former centre has closed should be raised directly with the agency; it does not establish that a paid intermediary can guarantee an earlier appointment.
Document deadlines and charges remain procedure-specific
For a first foreigner identity card, the agency’s current cédula guidance requires a FUT submission with passport and visa evidence, followed by an appointment with the original valid passport and relevant reference. It gives a general 2026 fee of COP294,000, with specific exceptions including the first Ecuadorian card and Pacific Alliance scholarship holders. Appointment booking is free even where the substantive document carries a charge.
The same resource sets a maximum 15-calendar-day initial application period from entry or visa issuance inside Colombia, as applicable. Affected applicants should not treat the centre closure as suspending that obligation. Use the cédula page for the individual checklist, payment methods and special cases, and the appointment page to establish the current location. An unresolved routing problem should be documented with the agency promptly, rather than assuming a new local office arrangement automatically regularises a late application.
