What is the Pension Visa in Colombia?

What is the Colombian Pension Visa?

The Colombia retirement visa, formerly known as the TP-7 visa, has been a popular choice among expats looking to retire in the country. However, the retirement visa has undergone some recent changes. It is now known as the Migrant (M) visa of category 11 or M-11 visa for short, and is valid for up to three years. If it is your first year applying for the visa, you will likely receive one year, and after renewing, you will usually receive three years. Some lucky individuals may receive three years on their first application.

Once you have held the retirement visa for five years, you can apply for the Colombia resident visa.

Who is the Colombian Pension visa designed for?

Are you considering retiring in Colombia? If so, you may be interested in the Colombia Retirement Visa or Pension Visa. This visa is designed for retired individuals or those receiving a retirement income, such as a Veterans Disability Pension Visa, from their home country. While the visa has low-income requirements, there are some additional requirements that were put in place in 2022, including a criminal background check, a medical exam, and proof of health or travel insurance.

Colombian Pension Visa
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It’s important to note that under the new visa resolution 5477, all Migrant visas require you to spend 180 days or more in Colombia in order to keep your visa valid. If you are out of the country for more than 180 days, your visa may be cancelled upon re-entry by Migracion Colombia officials. However, if you are allowed entry with just a stamp, you will likely be allowed to enter as a tourist after your visa is cancelled.

In addition to the income and residency requirements, new requirements for the Pension visa include a criminal record report and insurance that covers repatriation. It’s always a good idea to research and understand the requirements before applying for any visa.

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What Are Income Requirements For Colombia Retirement Visa?

Requirements For Colombia Retirement Visa

As per the Colombia retirement visa requirements, an applicant needs to have a monthly income of at least $1,000 USD, which is roughly COP 3,900,000 pesos, calculated at the exchange rate of 3,900. The monthly pension payments must be certified and legalized correctly to be accepted by the Colombian government. It is essential to note that the exchange rate used by the ministry or consulates is not updated daily or weekly.

Private pensions are now accepted as per the new pension law, which came into effect in November 2017. The Colombia retirement visa allows multiple re-entries into Colombia, but if you stay out of Colombia for more than six months consecutively, the visa loses its validity, even though it is valid for three years.

The Ministry of Foreign Relations announced a new rule on visas in July 2022, which will apply changes to the category of various types of visas. These new visa rules will be applicable from October 22, 2022. The new set of rules for the most popular visa, the retirement or pension visa, include a requirement for a mental and physical fitness certificate, a criminal background certificate, and proof of health insurance. Pension letters such as social security letters are now only accepted if they are notarized and have an apostille.

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What are the Requirements for the Colombian Pension Visa?​

Before applying for the Colombian M-11 pension or retirement visa, make sure to organize the following list of items. Ensuring you have all the necessary documentation ready will streamline the application process and help you secure your visa efficiently. The government visa office will not begin processing your documents until all documents are provided. Remember that documents older than 90 days are not valid. Documents must remain valid during the entire process.

Passport Photocopy

When submitting your documents, please include a copy of your valid passport’s first page that displays your biographical details. The copy can be in either color or black and white.

Entry Or Departure Stamp

Provide a copy of the page on your passport that displays the entry stamp if you are currently in Colombia, or the exit stamp if you have already departed the country.

Photocopy of Previously Issued Visa

If you have been granted a visa for Colombia in the past, such as a student visa, please remember to include a photocopy of the visa with your application.

Proof Of Pension

To apply for certain purposes, you may need to provide a document called “Proof of Pension”. This document can be issued by a government, publicly held or privately owned company (note that private pensions may be harder to approve), foreign entity, or diplomatic or consular mission from the country where the foreign national receives a pension. The document should indicate that the applicant receives a monthly income as pension which is at least three times the current legal minimum monthly salary.

Health Certificate

It’s important to note that individuals holding a pension visa are required to provide a health certificate. However, please be aware that pension holders will no longer be able to carry on with EPS insurance after obtaining their new visa. The visa officials will review the EPS insurance payment history until October 21, 2022, when the new visa regulations came into effect.

Passport Photo

To apply for a passport, you’ll need to submit a digital visa photo with a white background. The maximum file size should be 100 Kb, and it should be in JPG format. Please avoid wearing earrings or hats and refrain from wearing white shirts in the photo.

Health Insurance

If you’re a foreigner applying for a retirement or pension visa in Colombia, it’s important to note that you’ll need to have health insurance that covers all risks and repatriation of your body in case of death. While some people may have premium insurance that covers everything except repatriation, this isn’t always the case. In such situations, it’s recommended to purchase a traveler insurance policy that covers repatriation expenses as well.

It’s worth noting that EPS (Entidad Prestadora de Salud) is not currently a mandatory requirement for visas as of October 21, 2022. However, it’s still a great and affordable insurance option for those living in Colombia. By law, EPS payments are 5% of your income. However, if you hold a pension visa, you’re exempt from this requirement as the new visa law prohibits obtaining this insurance.

Finally, it’s worth keeping in mind that paying for medical services in Colombia without insurance is usually more affordable than paying for medical services in the United States with insurance.

Criminal Background Check

In order to proceed, it is necessary to provide a criminal background certificate from either Colombia or your previous country of residence. The certificate should be obtained from the country where you have resided for the past 3 years.

Apostilles for the Colombian pension visa in just 3 days
Translations for the Colombian Marriage visa in just 3 days

Frequent Questions for the Pension Visa:

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Does the Pension Visa have work permissions?

No, the pension visa doesn’t allow you to work.

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What restrictions does the visa have?

1) You can not work with this visa. 2) You must be at the country at minimum 180 days total each year. 3) you can study and you can go to school, all Migrant visas require you to be in Colombia 180 days or more to keep your visa and to ac

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How much time does this visa take to get approved?

Once the requirements are ready and the application is summited the government take 1 to 2 weeks .

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How long does it take to prepare requirements for the Pension Visa?

Organizing documents takes 1 to 2 months.

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How long does it take to get the Pension Visa?

The time to get the visa is divided in two parts the process to prepare the documents and the  government application process in time.

Does Colombia have a Veterans Disability Pension?

For the Colombia Veterans Disability Pension Visa, the Ministry of foreign relations now requires a disability ratings letter, which must be notarized, apostilled, and translated into Spanish. Some individuals may also need to show proof of ongoing treatment for PTSD and other mental illnesses. It’s important to note that visa officials may deny your application if they see ratings or diagnoses of mental illness, which could affect future Colombia visa applications. However, our office is here to guide you through this process, although some of these documents may require your physical presence in the United States.

Veterans Pension

If you think that your mental illness diagnosis may affect your Colombia visa application, we recommend applying for a student visa or marriage/civil union visa as an alternative. For more information on Colombia student visas, please click here. To learn more about Colombia marriage or civil union visas. Additionally, you can check out the top 5 most popular Colombian Visas by clicking here.

Applying for Retirement Visa from Colombia

If you plan to obtain a Colombian visa, keep in mind that once you receive online visa approval, you will NOT need to travel to Bogotá to get the visa stamped in your passport. The process changed during 2020 due to Covid. All visas are now issued electronically via email. You will have to register your visa at your local Migracion Colombia office. Have in mind since 2024 the Colombian Cedula de Extranjeria process is completely overloaded in larger cities so applicants may have to apply for cedulas en a small city or file an additional petition with a judge to get an appointment in larger cities. 

Dealing with government bureaucracy, traveling to Bogotá, and understanding the laws can be challenging, especially if you are not fluent in Spanish. For this reason, it is recommended to use the services of an experienced visa agency like Colombia Legal & Associates SAS. Our agency has processed hundreds of visas and knows exactly what is needed for each type of visa. 

One of the significant benefits of using a visa agency is that they offer services to courier your passport to Bogotá to get the visa stamped in your passport. This can help you avoid the trip to Bogotá, which can be time-consuming and costly. In fact, the cost of the visa service, including the courier service, can be cheaper than the cost of traveling to Bogotá yourself.

If you’re reading about How to Get a Colombia Retirement Visa, you might also find these articles helpful: For insights on pension visas, visit What is the Pension Visa in Colombia?. To explore marriage visa options, check out What is a Colombian Marriage visa?. For passport renewal details, see How Renew Passport in Colombia?. For visa comparisons, check out Popular Types of Colombian Visas.

How to Get Proof of Pension for Colombia Retirement Visa?

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When applying for a Colombia retirement visa, you will need to provide a proof of pension. This document must be accompanied by an apostille. If you are a US citizen, you can obtain the necessary proof of pension from the United States Social Security Administration (SSA), in the form of an SSA Benefit Verification letter. For Canadian citizens, the equivalent document would be proof of pension from the Canadian Pension Plan.

To obtain the SSA Benefit Verification letter, the easiest method for US citizens is to visit the Social Security website and create an account. Once you have logged in, navigate to “Benefit & Payment Details” on the top menu bar, where you will find a link to “Get a Benefit Verification Letter”. Clicking on this link will allow you to access and print your letter.

It is important to note that, in order to use your SSA Benefit Verification Letter in Colombia, you will need to have it apostilled. While this can be done in the past via the Federal apostille service, you may also use legal messenger services, such as Visas by James consular messenger services, to have your federal benefit letters certified at the American Embassy instead.

Please keep in mind that, as a federally issued document, your Benefit Verification Letter can only be authenticated by the U.S. Department of State in Washington D.C. In order to be eligible for an apostille.

  • your letter must be executed by a U.S. federal agency.
  • must include a legible signature of the official’s name, printed name and title, and seal of the agency.
  • Must be on agency letterhead.
  • If your letter does not have a signature, you can obtain one by visiting a local SSA office.

Apostille Process for Colombian Pension Visa

For a successful Colombian Pension Visa application, the apostille process is crucial. Any document issued outside Colombia, like the criminal background report, must be apostilled and translated. Each visa application varies, so it’s important to understand the specific requirements.

Key Documents for Apostilling:

  • Criminal Background Report: Get a national or state-level background check, notarized, and apostilled.
  • Power of Attorney: Obtain and notarize the necessary power of attorney documents.*
  • Colombian Sex Laws Acknowledgment: Ensure this document is notarized if required.*

*These documents do not require apostille if they are signed in Colombia at a Colombian notary. Criminal background reports such as the FBI Criminal Background always require an apostille. For more details on how to apostille these required documents for the Colombia Investor Visa, click here.

Our Story

James Lindzey founded the  website ColombiaVisas.com, which is constantly updated with new information explaining visa resolutions, procedures, and laws in Colombia to expats. James has worked as a private investigator and paralegal in the United States through the 90s until he moved to Colombia in 2005. James arrived in Colombia in 2005 and started doing visas for expats, but currently works as Director of Legal Services for Visas by James, and Colombia Legal & Associates SAS since June of 2023.

Colombia Legal & Associates acquired the brand name Visas by James as it became a more familiar and easy way for foreigners to remember the business, than the previous Visas y Tramites Internacionales.

While MedellinLawyer.com focuses more on legal issues for expats, ColombiaVisas.com focuses more on visas, and holds the trademark Visas by James. ColombiaVisas.com is the oldest website and provider of visa information for expats in Colombia. We are proud to be the first and always on the cutting edge of providing interactive website content to our visitors.

In addition to our visa services our agency offers a full range of legal and accounting services to our clients. We are able to assist better in document collection services in the United States because of James previous legal experience in the United States.

Other Related Services We Offer:

Colombia Accounting

Colombia Family Law

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