After marriage procedures

Hi takimonster,

Welcome to Expat.com and thank you for your post.

Please note that i created a new thread with your post on the Colombia forum as it will give more light to your questions. This new topic may also help you to receive more up to date answers from the members.

Thank you

Priscilla
Expat.com team

Just go to Panama and stay 2 or 3 days then return they will give you a new 90 day stay.

OK, the prior respondent who said to go to Panama for a few days and then return is an option if you are afraid of running out of time. After you get married, you will need to make a bunch of papers.

Copy of the front pages of your passport
Copy of your Colombian visa
Copy of her Colombian cedula (front and back)
Your wife writes and signs a letter saying you are married and want to apply for a temporary residence visa
Notarized copy of your civil marriage registration

There might be one or two more small things, but I think that is about it. You will take these papers and go to the Ministry of Migracion Colombia. The address is Avenida 19, No. 98-03, Bogota. You will go to the office on the third floor. It will cost about $250 or so. They only operate in the morning, from 8am to 12 noon. Get there as early as possible and bring a book!

You will go to the front window and present your passport. Then, you might be asked to pay a small fee. You return to the window and are given a number. Wait for the number to be called. Then, you go into the back room to meet with one of the visa adjusters and they tell you what to do. You will probably have to go back out, pay the rest of the money and then wait some more.

My wife and I just went through this. Depending on where you plan on residing in Colombia, you may also have to register your temporary resident visa within 15 days. I am in Barranquilla and can do this locally. If you are actually living in Bogota, you may or may not have to do this...the visa counselor should tell you exactly.

After three years, you can get permanent residence, if you are so inclined.

Anyway, hope this helps and good luck!

Hmm this is not understood by me ,sorry,if the man hasn't got a visa yet how can he make a copy of it?

I am reading this because soon I will be needing to do this.I got married in January 2015.

The man most certainly has a visa. He received a temporary 180-day visa when he entered Colombia.

Or, he got a 30, 60, or 90 day visa that has been renewed up until the maximum amount of time (which is indeed 180 days).

It is located in his passport. Depending on what country you are coming from almost everyone gets an immediate visa upon entering the country. Otherwise, you would not be allowed in.

Perhaps the confusion is due to the fact that this is a TOURIST visa in the passport. After these copies and papers are made, it will eventually lead to the man having a resident visa and/or a temporary (but renewable) Colombian Cedula. After coming to Colombia and getting married, I made all these papers, went to the office in Bogota and got my Cedula. I have renewed it each year thereafter. After this last time in February, the will issue me a permanent Cedula...and then I need to look into what needs to be done to get a Colombian passport.

Dadomite....are you in Colombia now? If so, the process is just as I have outlined. Remember it is your tourist visa that you will need to make a copy of.

Hello JRC410,,Thank you,I was unsure about the visa other than the stamp on my passport.I am living in Giradota,,from the USI have been here since august 5th but went back to US for 2 weeks in October then returned the 11th of nov. and got married jan. 12,,knowing that I need to do this to stay here now am reading all I can for info,,,can you tell me the cost and when I need to do this ,also do I have to go to Bogota?

Yes, you will have to go to Bogota to do this. Although ask them about returning to renew for the following years....sometimes you don't need to renew each year. In some cases, you might be able to renew at a different office closer to your location.

Basically you have 180 days you can remain in Colombia on a tourist visa during each calendar year. So, the clock starts again beginning Jan. 1. Need to have this done roughly by the end of June. Honestly, I did all of this like three years ago, so I'm not sure the cost. I want to say it was around $100USD (but needs to paid in Pesos), but I'm not sure. Have the wife call up the office in Bogota, or maybe even she can find it online (I'm not sure about an web address, though).

I will tell you this, though... Once you get the Cedula, if you end up leaving for a vacation, business, or even just tying up loose ends in the US or elsewhere, make sure you tell the visa office you are taking a trip. I remember that they gave me heck for returning to the US for about 2 months (tying up loose ends) without telling them. Of course, a little pesos or dollars handed quietly under the table goes a long way to smooth rough edges and nerves, but not a situation I would recommend anyone being in!

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much for the advice,,and I caught that under the table comment.Take care,
Tracy S.