VisaColombia gives new visa holders 15 days to complete registration
Visa approval and registration are separate steps. Applicants should check the deadline, age rules, service centre and current identity-card fee.
Official source date: 2026-11-02
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Identify when the registration period begins
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry explains that registering a visa with Migración Colombia is a separate obligation after the visa is granted. Where registration is required, the period is fifteen calendar days from entry into Colombia, or from visa issuance if the visa was obtained while the person was already inside the country. Receiving the visa does not complete the registration step.
The ministry also notes that certain activities under the visitor, or V, category are exempt. A traveller should check the actual category and activity rather than assume that every visa either requires registration or is exempt. This is a current procedural explanation, not a new November registration rule. Use the ministry’s registration answer to identify the deadline and consult Migración Colombia about an uncertain exemption before the period runs out.
Prepare the identity-card application and family evidence
Migración Colombia’s cédula de extranjería resource describes the identification card for qualifying holders and beneficiaries of visas valid for more than three months. Start with the Formulario Único de Trámites, or FUT, attaching one PDF containing the passport and current visa images. The original valid passport is required at the appointment, where fingerprints and a photograph are taken.
Its age-specific guidance distinguishes children aged zero to six, who require visa registration but are exempt from the card, from children aged seven to seventeen, for whom the card is required when applicable. A parent, guardian or legal representative must accompany the child and provide evidence of the relationship. On turning eighteen, the holder must obtain a new adult card within fifteen calendar days. Use the official card page for the current age and document instructions; an adult’s completed registration does not resolve every accompanying child’s requirements.
Use the 2026 fee for the correct service and nationality
The current official fee schedule lists COP 294,000 for a cédula de extranjería and COP 293,000 for a duplicate. It links Resolution 0599 of 10 February 2026, under which the annual charges were established. These are different services, so a lost document and a first identity-card application should not automatically be budgeted as the same transaction.
Ecuadorian nationals have a separate schedule: the first card costs USD 5, while renewal and duplicate or loss cases cost USD 16. Confirm the applicable local-currency conversion when paying. The tariff page also lists other services, including permission to extend a visitor stay; paying one of those charges does not substitute for the required visa registration and card procedure. Use the official tariff resource before payment rather than relying on an older handbook’s peso figures.
Choose an actual service centre rather than the headquarters
Migración Colombia’s office directory separates regional service centres from border-control points and its central headquarters. The central-office entry expressly says it does not provide public service. A person needing a card appointment should therefore find the appropriate Centro Facilitador de Servicios Migratorios, or CFSM, rather than arrive at headquarters or assume every airport desk performs the same procedures.
For example, the directory identifies the Bogotá CFSM at Carrera 19 No. 92-65 and separately lists the El Dorado airport border-control point. It also provides regional office addresses and opening hours. Use the directory to confirm the selected centre and its location before travelling, then attend the appointment associated with the application. This prevents a location mistake from consuming the short registration window.
Collect the document and address a missed deadline promptly
The agency’s official knowledge base distinguishes the visa, issued by the Foreign Ministry, from registration and the identity card administered by Migración Colombia. It explains that registration itself has no charge, although the card has a separate fee. It also describes the card’s validity as linked to the underlying visa; possessing the physical card should not be mistaken for permission beyond that visa.
The handbook says a completed card must be collected within six months after it becomes ready, otherwise it is cancelled and a new paid application is necessary. It also directs people who have missed the required filing period to regularise their situation through the appropriate administrative process before completing the card procedure. Use the knowledge-base questions for that situation and contact the agency rather than simply paying for a duplicate. Its historical fee amounts should be checked against the current 2026 tariff page.
