Corporate Immigration 2023 Comparisons

The immigration policy in Colombia has been shaped in recent years by the immigration phenomena that the country is facing due to several factors, including the Venezuelan crisis that has led more than two million Venezuelans to migrate to Colombia in the past few years.

Currently, Colombian local immigration regulation includes international treaties and instruments ratified by Colombia, Law 2136/2021 which defines the immigration policy and multiple Decrees and Resolutions issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Migración Colombia as the main authorities on this matter.

The Colombian government has made significant efforts to maintain an immigration policy in line with the country’s current needs, from a migration standpoint, which is greatly welcomed. However, there are some improvement opportunities, especially for the practical implementation of the policy and the regulations involved.

There are no anticipated upcoming changes to immigration policy in Colombia, as it was recently subject to several changes. In fact, a recent new regulation is currently in force as of 21 October 2022, which introduced important modifications to the visa regime in the country.

The primary visa options for sponsor-based employment in Colombia are the following.

• Technical Assistance Visitor visa – to provide technical assistance to an entity/company in Colombia.
• FTA Entrepreneurs Visitor visa – for the mobility of entrepreneurs or businesspeople, within the framework of Free Trade Agreements (FTA) signed and in force with other countries.
• Services Provider Visitor visa – to temporarily provide services or perform a particular job for a company in Colombia, under a local contract.
• Migrant Worker visa – for foreigners aspiring to work in Colombia with a Colombian entity/company through a local employment contract.

The primary options for unsponsored work and investment in Colombia are the following.

• Digital Nomad Visitor visa – to provide services for a foreign company from Colombia, through remote work, as an independent contractor or employee, or to start a start-up in Colombia within the fields of digital content or information technology aligned with the country’s interest or needs.
• Migrant Mercosur visa – for nationals of the State party of the Mercosur agreement. This visa allows its holder to perform any lawful activity within the national territory.
• Migrant Andean (CAN) visa – for nationals from a State party of the Andean Migration Statute. This visa allows its holder to perform any lawful activity within the national territory.
• Migrant Shareholder visa – for foreigners who have incorporated a company or acquired shares of a company in Colombia, exceeding the minimum quantities defined by the local regulation.
• Migrant Investor visa – for foreigners who have made a direct foreign investment or have acquired real estate properties.
• Permanent Resident visa – for foreigners holding a Migrant visa and meeting the temporal requirement to apply for a Permanent Resident visa (from two to five years depending on the visa category).

Visitors are only allowed to perform the activities authorised by the specific permit or visa obtained to enter and stay in Colombia.

Nationals of visa-waived countries can be granted three different permits that will allow them to perform a wide range of activities, such as the following.

• Permiso de Turismo(PT)/Tourism Permit – for resting activities, medical treatment, to participate in or attend cultural, scientific, sporting or convention events, or for business purposes.
• Permiso de Integración y Desarrollo (PID)/Integration and development Permit – for activities related to co-operation agreements or treaties with other countries; to carry out personal procedures; for activities with importance for the Colombian government or its institutions; for attending non-formal academic programmes, internships or trainings; to be teacher, lecturer or researcher at educational or business entities; to cover important international events as journalists; for urgent cases such as natural disasters, human rights violations, etc; and to represent any other country as part of international relations.
• Permiso para Desarrollar Otras Actividades (POA)/Permit to carry out other activities – for providing urgent technical assistance to a Colombian entity; to perform concerts, events or artistic activities; for temporary transit; or to enter the country as crew members of an international air, land, river or maritime means of transportation.

On the other hand, for nationals from visa-required countries, the specific visa granted to them will define the activities they can carry out in Colombian territory. For instance, the Visitor (V) – Business visa will allow its holders to conduct business negotiations, market research, direct investment plans or procedures and incorporation of commercial companies, negotiation, and termination of contracts or commercial representation.

From an immigration standpoint, remote working from Colombia is allowed and must be carried out with a regular immigration status through the relevant visa.

The following visa categories allow their holders to work remotely from Colombia for a company abroad:

• Digital Nomad Visitor visa;
• Migrant Mercosur visa; and
• Migrant Andean (CAN) visa.

The Digital Nomad Visitor visa was implemented in October 2022, specifically for foreigners willing to work remotely as an independent contractor or employee. It provides services for a foreign company from Colombia, or to start a start-up in Colombia within the fields of digital content or information technology aligned with the country’s interest or needs.

There are no language requirements for visa applicants in Colombia. However, all documents submitted to the authority during the visa application process must be officially translated into Spanish if they are issued in other language.

The latest regulation on health requirements to enter Colombia revoked the necessity of medical or vaccinations certificates.

However, for visa purposes, there are some visa categories for which a private medical insurance policy covering the applicant may be required by the authority on a case-by-case discretionary basis, as part of the visa application.

The current local immigration regulation does not set any minimum thresholds to be met. However, applicants may be required to demonstrate their qualifications and expertise to be able to fill the specific position at the Colombian entity sponsoring the visa. Furthermore, sponsors must comply with all labour and social security obligations under local regulations, including minimum legal wage – or a salary appropriate to the position to be performed in Colombia – and equal conditions with national workers.

An employment-based visa will authorise its holder to work only at the company sponsoring their visa, and in the specific position allowed by the visa. If there is any change of employer or position, a new visa may be required.

All visa applications before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombia have identical processing times. When a visa application is electronically submitted, the visas and immigration authority will have 30 days to send a final decision on the visa application. However, if the authority requires consultations with other entities, the response time may exceed this period and it will depend solely on the Ministry’s discretion.

Moreover, for all visas granted for more than three months (depending on the activity), holders must request a foreign identification card in front of Migración Colombia, within the next 15 days after the visa is granted, and this procedure may take around ten business days.

From a strict standpoint, there are no restrictions on the applicant’s travel to Colombia when filing the visa application before a Colombian Consulate abroad. However, considering that the regulation sets that applicants who are in Colombia must submit their application before the Bogotá Office, it is strongly recommended that the applicants stay in the country where the application was submitted – or at least outside Colombia – while the visa application is being processed.

There is no expedited process or fast track for visa applications in Colombia.

After obtaining a visa, if the visa is granted for more than three months, the foreign national must complete the procedure to obtain a foreign ID card, which will be their main identification document in Colombia and will be needed to perform activities in the country such as being included in a local payroll, open a bank account or being affiliated with the relevant social security entities.

The government fees associated with the Migrant (M) Worker visa are the following:

• Visa study – GBP45; and
• Visa issuance (after approval) – GBP215.

Please consider that the foreign ID card is mandatory for Work visa holders. The government fee for this procedure is GBP43.

Visa costs for an employment visa can by paid by the employer, the applicant or any third party.

The circumstances for which authorities may take enforcement action against foreign nationals or sponsors are set by the immigration penalty regime established by Resolution 2357/2020.

This includes the violations and relevant penalties applicable for both the foreign national and sponsor companies such as: the foreign national performing remunerated activities and not being properly authorised (without a visa or permit); or the sponsor company allowing the foreign worker to work without complying with the requirements set by immigration regulations.

Considering this, a foreign national working irregularly in Colombia may be subject to fines between GBP200 and GBP1,600; and the sponsor company allowing the foreign national to do so, may be subject to fines between GBP800 and GBP19,000.

Employers sponsoring an employment-based visa in Colombia have the following obligations:

• to comply with all labour and social security obligations arising from the employment contract (the same as those applicable to nationals);
• to comply with immigration requirements to hire foreigners and not allow their irregular stay;
• to make the reports of the hire and termination of foreign employees in a timely manner through SIRE and RUTEC platforms; and
• to bear repatriation expenses for the foreign employees and their families to their country of origin, or their last country of residence, after the termination of the contract (regardless of the reason). This applies also when the employee’s visa is cancelled or expired, or the employee is deported or expelled from the country.

The sponsor employers not complying with these obligations may be subject to fines between GBP800 and GBP19,000.

The right to work requirements for foreigners in Colombia would be to hold one of the following documents/permits:

• valid visa that allows its holder to work and a Foreign Identification Card; and
• a Temporary Protection Permit (PPT) for Venezuelan nationals.

Under local regulations, dependants of principal visa holders are their spouse or de facto partner, children under 25 years of age, and children over 25 years of age with disabilities. They must all depend economically on the principal visa holder, and their dependant (beneficiary) visa does not allow them to work or perform any revenue-generating activity.

Dependant visas can only be applied for once the main holder’s visa has been approved.

Dependants are not allowed to work in Colombia under a Dependant visa.