Visa types

Grapucine Member

Member since 19 January 2025

GrapucineMember06 February 2025 19:42:06

Hey, I am glad to meet you here

I will arrive in Colombia in May and I wonder what type of visa I should ask and where to ask.

My naive plan was to ask a touristic visa at the entrance of the country (I suppose there is a request form to fill at the immigration checking desk) and to ask my future employer a visa to work. Then I realized that could be a little bit more complicated than that.

First, I鈥檝e read you need a visa to apply for a job and there are several visas to work in Colombia (TP12, TP4, maybe others ?).

Second reason : I am not sure yet what type of structure I want to apply in or provide services for. I plan to work as scientific animator with associations, research institutes, companies鈥� I might create a one-person business at some point (if so, that would be the subject of another post much later !).

Someone has any suggestion for the visa I should ask before or at the entrance of the country and how to manage changes later if needed ?

Thanks and see you !

Grapucine

See also

Short-stay visas for Colombia - Guide
Receiving Income from the Netherlands while on a Colombian V-type visa - 2 Replies
Retirement visa - 3 Replies
Visa Agency - 53 Replies
Tourist Visa - 6 Replies
Do I need a special type of Visa to marry in Colombia? - 1 Reply
Student Visa - 1 Reply

ChineduOpara Serial expat

Member since 08 August 2021

ChineduOparaSerial expat07 February 2025 02:52:09

431

@Grapucine

If you're coming from the USA, no special visa is required. You can stay for 3-6 months as a tourist, explore, research, and then decide if you want to come back and if you want to apply for a longer-stay visa.

nico peligro Serial expat

Member since 18 September 2020

nico peligroSerial expat07 February 2025 10:24:51

955

Read away

You can change language to ENGLISH

nico peligro Serial expat

Member since 18 September 2020

nico peligroSerial expat07 February 2025 10:30:36

955

What country are you from and what makes you think you can make a reasonable living in Colombia where minimum wage is $400聽 US a month, unemployment is close to 12%, Spanish fluency is cumpulsory聽 and most work/ business聽 relations are based on personal contacts/ connections?

Grapucine Member

Member since 19 January 2025

GrapucineMember07 February 2025 13:07:06

@nico peligro

Hello Nico,

Thank you for your reply.

I do have connections (my boyfriend from Costa Rica has a 3-years contract in Cali + I have colleagues in research institutes) but I am trying not to rely only on them.

I am not fluent but I am refreshing my Spanish and take weekly courses since more than two months to be able to understand and speak Spanish at my entrance.

I know what unemployment is, especially in my discipline, even in France where I am from, and that鈥檚 why I am concerned about the activity I could have once settled, and why I want to find out more now about visa types.

To answer you honestly, I know it won鈥檛 be easy, but the more I prepare and try things, the more I get the chance to enjoy my living reasonably.

See you,

Grapucine

South American Voyager Contributor

Member since 11 January 2022

South American VoyagerContributor07 February 2025 15:24:05

143

@ Grapucine - Frankly speaking you would have better chances of "selling ice cubes to Eskimos in Alaska" than being a "scientific animator" in Cali!

Seriously have you been to Colombia yet? Let alone Cali? Do you have any idea whatsoever about the caleno culture, the city, the economic conditions, the instability of Cali, the poor education, the high unemployment, the universities, etc. etc.

The only option you have for your training as a scientific animator in Cali or any other Colombian city for that matter would be a DN/Digital Nomad working online for European/Canadian and US companies so suggest you look into this.

Good luck!