Colombia Visa Processing Time, Status Check and Results (2026)

Up to 30 calendar days. Article 13 of Resolución 5477 of 2022 gives the visa authority "hasta treinta (30) días calendario para emitir el pronunciamiento" once the application is complete, with every required document, and the study fee is paid. If checking your documents means consulting other agencies, "el tiempo de respuesta podrá exceder dicho plazo" (the response time may go past that limit). (Res. 5477/2022, art. 13, read Oct 23, 2026)

Cancillería's visa FAQ gives the same 30 calendar days and adds that the study can run longer when the authority asks for more documents or an interview. The FAQ notes that this replaced an older 5-business-day limit. (Cancillería FAQ, question 8, read Oct 23, 2026; the page shows no publication date)

Three details change how you count:

• The clock starts at payment, not at the form. An application only counts as filed once the study fee is paid ("Solo se considerará efectivamente presentada una solicitud cuando se ha efectuado … el pago"). Even visas with a zero fee have to go through the payment step.¹
• Calendar days, not business days. The 30 days include weekends, but the resolution says applications are studied during the ministry's working hours.¹
• The 30 days cover the decision only. If the visa is approved, you still pay the issuance fee and wait for the e-visa (see below).

Not in the rules. Article 13 sets one limit for every visa in the resolution, and Cancillería's ABC page gives "hasta 30 días calendario" with no split by type. (Cancillería, ABC de Solicitud de Visa, read Oct 23, 2026) Cancillería publishes no average times by visa type, consulate or nationality, so searches like "processing time for Indians" or "M visa processing time" have no official answer beyond the 30-day limit.

The rules also say what the authority weighs. For visitor (V) visas, the authority weighs the applicant's ties to home, "expresado en contar con trabajo estable y bien remunerado o bienes raíces, y con pareja estable, cónyuge o hijos en el país de origen o residencia" (a stable, well-paid job or real estate, and a partner, spouse or children in the home country). It can ask for more information or an interview whenever it sees fit.¹

Requirements and fees for specific visas: digital nomad visa checklist · retirement (M Pensionado) visa · spouse and partner visa.

Fees by visa type and nationality: Cancillería, Costos trámites (read Oct 23, 2026).

On Cancillería's SITAC status page: tramitesmre.cancilleria.gov.co › Consult the status of the application. Cancillería's own FAQ points to this link for checking any visa or consular procedure. (Cancillería FAQ, read Oct 23, 2026) As the page appeared on Oct 23, 2026, it asks for:

1. Type of document (the list includes Passport and Foreign document).
2. Document number.
3. Nationality.
4. Application registration number (the "número de solicitud" you got when you created the application).

If you've lost the application number, the visa form page says to call Cancillería's citizen lines: Bogotá +57 (1) 3826999, or the free national line 01 8000 938 000 (numbers as printed on that page). (SITAC visa form, read Oct 23, 2026)

Watch your email as well. Every decision (authorized, requerida, inadmitida or negada) is communicated to the personal email on your form, and that email has the effect of an administrative act.¹ Cancillería's ABC page says to check your inbox constantly. The SITAC visa form page says not to go to the Bogotá visa office unless the authority asks you to appear in person by email.

The SITAC status page asks for no payment, and no agency or third-party "status check" site is needed to use it.

Requerida means Cancillería wants more documents or information; inadmitida means the application was closed without a visa, and you can reapply; negada means the visa was refused, with a 6-month bar on reapplying, counted from the refusal (art. 99); aprobada means approved, pending the issuance fee. The table below gives the source for each, read Oct 23, 2026.

Cancillería's ABC page says plainly that decisions on approval, validity, inadmission, requirements, denial, termination or cancellation "no están sujetas a recursos administrativos". You can't appeal them.²¹

Up to 10 calendar days to answer, and a new decision within 10 calendar days after you do. Article 97 lets the authority give you "un plazo de hasta diez (10) días calendario" to comply. If you comply in time, it "deberá emitir un pronunciamiento dentro de los diez (10) días calendario siguientes", unless it has to consult other agencies. If you do nothing for 10 days, the application is treated as withdrawn and closed.¹

Cancillería can issue a requirement up to three times on the same application.¹ Each round adds up to 20 days on paper: 10 for you, 10 for the decision.

How to answer, from Cancillería's own "Requerimiento" sheet (read Oct 23, 2026):

1. Read the email; it says what's missing.
2. Open your existing application on Cancillería's visa site and enter the application number.
3. Check and complete the form data.
4. In the Supporting Documents section, click (+) next to the requested document. If it doesn't fit any listed field, upload it in any field. Put all the requested documents in a single PDF.
5. Check that the files saved and that earlier documents weren't deleted.
6. Go to Confirmation and click Save.

³

Documents you upload still have to meet the general rules: issued no more than 3 months before you register the application, and apostilled and translated if issued abroad. See apostille for visa documents.

Within 10 business days of paying the issuance fee, per the resolution. Article 101 says that "dentro de los diez (10) días hábiles siguientes al pago" the authority issues the e-visa and sends it to your registered email. Cancillería's FAQ (question 9) also says 10 business days. Cancillería's ABC page says "diez (10) días calendario". The resolution is the binding text, so plan on business days. (Res. 5477/2022, art. 101; Cancillería visa FAQ; ABC, all read Oct 23, 2026)

The full timeline on paper, if nothing goes wrong:

After that, if your visa is valid for more than 3 months, you register it with Migración Colombia within 15 calendar days of entering Colombia, or of the visa's issue date if you got it while already in the country; some visitor (V) activities are exempt.⁴ That registration is the cédula de extranjería step.

Only if your current status stays valid. Filing an application doesn't make your stay legal: "La sola presentación de solicitud de visa no otorga regularidad en el territorio nacional." If you're in Colombia, you must stay in regular status for the whole study, under a valid visa, a salvoconducto or a stay permit.²¹ An application filed while you're irregular can be inadmitida for that reason alone (art. 98).

What this means in practice:

• Visa-exempt visitors on an entry permit (PIP) watch their 90-day permit and the 180-day yearly cap. See the 90/180-day rule and extending your stay with a PTP.
• If you're in Colombia and need to stay regular while applying, Migración Colombia issues a salvoconducto SC-2 "para solicitar visa" to foreigners "en situaciones excepcionales" who need to regularize their stay temporarily. As of Oct 23, 2026 it is valid for 30 calendar days, can be extended once for the same time with Cancillería's prior authorization, costs COP 88,000 (2026 rate), and is handed over 1 business day after payment at a Migración service center (CFSM). With an SC-2 you can only do the activity your previous visa allowed. (Migración Colombia, Salvoconducto, read Oct 23, 2026) Cancillería's FAQ adds that only the ministry can ask for an SC-2 extension, and recommends starting a new visa application 1 or 2 months before your current visa expires.⁴
• If the visa is denied while you're in Colombia, you have 30 calendar days to leave.¹

If you're in Colombia, you file with the "Oficina en Bogotá". If you're abroad, you file with the Colombian consulate nearest your country of residence.²

The reasons Cancillería lists include missing or inconsistent documents, an application that doesn't match the planned activity, irregular immigration status, and a late answer to a requirement. Cancillería can also decide on discretion and doesn't have to give reasons.

Article 98 lists reasons for inadmission, "entre otras circunstancias" (among others):

• you're in irregular immigration status, or have broken immigration rules;
• you didn't answer a requirement in time;
• the application doesn't meet the requirements;
• the visa type doesn't match the activity you plan;
• you applied at a consulate outside the area where you legally live, or at the Bogotá office while not in Colombia;
• discretion.

Cancillería's ABC page also says any inaccuracy in the form data can lead to inadmission or denial, and so can illegible, altered, incomplete or misleading documents. Breaking immigration rules, especially entering Colombia irregularly or staying irregularly, can lead to either outcome, and anyone who helped another foreigner enter irregularly will be denied.¹²

The study fee isn't refunded in any of these cases. "El pago del estudio de la solicitud no es reembolsable y no compromete el otorgamiento de la visa."¹

Cancillería (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

• Resolución 5477 de 2022, consolidated (arts. 5, 11–13, 19, 94–101): https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/resolucion_minrelaciones_5477_2022.htm
• FAQ, question 8, response time (node 10108; no date shown): https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/node/10108
• Visa FAQ page (questions 3, 5, 8, 9): https://cancilleria.gov.co/atencion-y-servicio-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-servicios/visa/preguntas-frecuentes
• ABC de Solicitud de Visa para Colombia: https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/atencion-y-servicio-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-servicios/visa/abece-de-visas
• FAQ, how to check the status of a procedure (node 22911): https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/node/22911
• SITAC, Consult the status of the application: https://tramitesmre.cancilleria.gov.co/tramites/enlinea/consultarEstadoSolicitud.xhtml
• SITAC, visa application form (phone lines, Bogotá office note): https://tramitesmre.cancilleria.gov.co/tramites/enlinea/solicitarVisa.xhtml
• Glossary, letter V (visa inadmitida, negada, requerida): https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/help/glossary/V
• Costos trámites (visa fees by type and nationality): https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/atencion-y-servicio-al-ciudadano/tramites-y-servicios/visa/costos
• Requerimiento solicitud de visa (PDF, posted under 2026-07): https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/sites/default/files/atencion-ciudadano/2026-07/requerimiento-solicitud-de-visa.pdf
• Guía de usuario, solicitar visa en línea (PDF dated Aug 29, 2024), §2.5: https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/sites/default/files/FOTOS2025/Guia%20de%20usuario%2C%20solicitar%20visa%20en%20l%C3%ADnea.pdf

Migración Colombia

• Salvoconducto (SC-1 / SC-2; 2026 fee COP 88,000): https://www.migracioncolombia.gov.co/tramites-y-servicios/tramites-generales/salvoconducto

Non-government (used only where marked)

• Fragomen, "Colombia: Processing Delays and Increased Scrutiny Affecting Work Visa Applications" (Aug 3, 2026): https://www.fragomen.com/insights/colombia-processing-delays-and-increased-scrutiny-affecting-work-visa-applications.html