Colombia resident visa transfer deadline approaches on 31 October

The deadline concerns specified older resident visas

Foreign residents in Colombia holding permanent resident visas issued under earlier rules should urgently check whether the mandatory visa transfer requirement applies before the 31 October 2026 deadline. The Foreign Ministry reiterated the requirement on 15 September. This is a deadline follow-up, not a newly imposed obligation announced today.

The September clarification says the requirement concerns older permanent resident visa labels that have expired, are nearing expiry or were issued indefinitely. It is not directed generally at everyone who recently became a permanent resident, unless another transfer ground under Article 105 of Resolution 5477/2022 applies. Use that clarification to distinguish the visa held from the physical foreigner identity card and from a recent resident grant.

Check the amendment and prepare the transfer evidence

Resolution 9316/2024 extended the transitional deadline to 31 October 2026 and amended the transfer requirements. Its text requires the general visa application documents, a copy of the visa being transferred and the corresponding foreigner identity card, a migration movement certificate, evidence of the person’s activity in Colombia and a letter explaining the transfer reason.

The Foreign Ministry’s explanation of the amendment says the former requirement for a salvoconducto was removed for the permanent resident transfer process. That change should not be confused with a blanket waiver of supporting documents. Use the actual resolution to prepare the case rather than rely on a generic checklist for a first resident visa or an old procedure that still demands the removed document.

Very old visas may need an expanded movement history

The amendment provides a specific option for holders of resident visas issued before 2000 who cannot produce the visa document. They must explain the inability under oath, provide an expanded movement certificate reaching the year of visa issuance, and provide the latest foreigner identity card issued during their stay. This is an evidential accommodation, not automatic approval because a visa is old.

Migración Colombia’s movement-certificate service distinguishes recent records from records before 2012. Recent periods can be requested through the electronic form, while earlier records require the stated appointment and documentary support. Records before 1990 require a formal petition rather than the standard form. Use this resource to request the history actually needed: a certificate covering only the last ten years may not answer a pre-2000 case.

Submit through the official visa portal and preserve the application

The September reminder directs transfers exclusively through the Foreign Ministry’s online visa portal and says an intermediary is unnecessary. The portal requires careful identity and passport details, a recent photograph and readable PDF documents within its file limits. Applicants should prepare the scans before beginning and retain the application number so an existing request can be updated.

The portal also says applicants should not attend the Bogotá visa office unless the authority requests personal attendance through the registered email. Use the online application and official notifications for the transfer, while using Migración Colombia’s separate certificate procedure for the required movement evidence. A certificate request is not itself submission of the visa transfer, and payment alone should not be mistaken for completion of both procedures.

Check costs and unresolved timing before the deadline

Migración Colombia’s 2026 tariff page lists the movement certificate at COP 89,000 for the general public and free for Ecuadorian nationals under the stated reciprocity arrangement. It separately lists foreigner identity-card charges. These are distinct from the Foreign Ministry’s visa-transfer charges; confirm the applicable visa payment request through the official portal rather than adding an unverified universal total.

The movement-certificate page describes additional collection and historical-search steps, so someone starting immediately before 31 October should not assume every required record will be available the same day. The reviewed reminder does not promise a further extension or explain that an incomplete request automatically preserves compliance. Seek official case-specific instructions promptly if a required historical record cannot be obtained in time.

For an illustrative holder of an indefinite older resident visa, the next actions are to establish the applicable transfer ground, obtain the required movement history and lodge the correct online request within the stated period. Updating the visa and any subsequent identity-card procedure remain separate tasks; neither should be assumed complete merely because the other has begun.