How Much You'll Pay For Overstaying Your Visa In Colombia

It is a very common mistake of foreigners not to comply with the reporting obligations or the timely renewal of their permits to stay in the country, for this, Colombia created The Migration Special Administrative Unit, which is an entity that acts as a civil security body, to exercises surveillance and control functions over foreigners in Colombia.

For this reason, in this blog, we will identify each of the fines and penalties that Colombia establishes for the different infractions that foreigners can commit.

The different fines and their cost are calculated in UVT (Unidad de Valor Tributario), which means Tax Value Unit. Instead of setting a range in Colombian pesos, the DIAN/ National Taxes and Customs Government entity; has the UVT value, which represents a variable amount of pesos, and is updated every year.

UVT value as of 2023: $42.412 COP

The Special Administrative Unit has different types of fines and level of penalties that are classified as mild, moderate, serious, and very serious:

Mild Infractions:

Related to non-compliance with the obligations of registration like the renewal and reporting by a foreigner, which places them in an irregular migratory condition giving rise to an economic sanction, which will constitute a fine between 26.31 and 210.50 UVT 

Fine as of 2023: From $1,115,860.00 COP to $8,927,727.00 COP that equals $238 USD to $1,900.00 USD. 

1. Not giving notice of the change of residence, domicile, employer and/or contracting party within fifteen (15) calendar days following the event.
2. Not requesting prior authorization from the Internal Working Group that the Minister of Foreign Affairs determines for the change of employer and/or contracting party within fifteen (15) calendar days following the event's occurrence.
3. Not appearing for the registration of the change of entity, profession, trade, activity or occupation in the visa within the fifteen (15) calendar days following the authorization thereof.
4. Failure to appear for registration when required, within fifteen (15) calendar days following the entry into the country or the issuance of the visa, as appropriate, or failure to present minors for registration within the same term.
5. Incur in irregular permanence, as long as there are special circumstances 
6. Not processing the corresponding Salvoconducto when required.
7. Not requesting a Cedula de Extranjería/foreign ID Card within fifteen (15) calendar days following reaching the age of majority. 
8. Not renewing the Cedula de Extranjería/foreign ID Card within fifteen (15) calendar days following its expiration.
9. Entering or leaving the country without complying with legal requirements
10. Exercise profession, occupation or trade other than authorized.
11. Carry out paid activities without being authorized to do so.
12. Exercising activity or occupation with the Salvoconducto issued for exiting the national territory.
13. Failure to comply with the other obligations contained in this Decree and other regulations that modify, add or repeal it.

Moderate Infractions: 

Related to the neglect of the duties and obligations of natural and legal entities who have a link or relationship with a foreigner, which will give rise to an economic sanction between 105.25 and 2,631.30 UVT

Fine as of 2023: From $4,463,867.00 COP to $111,598,697.00 COP that equals $950 USD to $23,780.00 USD. 

1. Repeatedly refusing to appear before the immigration authority, despite having been requested in writing.
2. Breach of any of the obligations by the owners, administrators, tenants, holders, and tenants of hotels, pensions, hostels, residences, farms, apartment, houses, and other establishments that provide the service of lodging.
3. Enter into commercial contracts with foreigners without complying with legal requirements.
4. Facilitate obtaining visas by simulating some type of contract.
5. Not giving written notice to the Colombian Migration Special Administrative Unit of the entry and withdrawal of the foreigner within the following fifteen (15) calendar days, by the entity, federation, confederation, association, community or other entity of a religious nature.
6. Allowing a foreigner to begin studies without the corresponding visa and/or not giving written notice to the Colombian Migration Special Administrative Unit, of the start of their studies and their final termination, within thirty (30) calendar days following this .
7. Failure to inform the Colombian Migration Special Administrative Unit of the entry and termination of work or activity by a foreign citizen who participates in a non-profit entity, Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), diplomatic mission or international organization within fifteen (15) calendar days following the occurrence of the event.
8. Failure to report in writing within five (5) business days following the date on which the formal delivery of real estate was made by the owners or administrators of farms, apartments, houses, or hotel and real estate properties that rent or provide lodging services to foreigners.
9. Failing to facilitate the review of documentation related to the hiring, bonding and/or admission of foreign personnel by employers or contractors.
10. Transporting foreigners without the corresponding legal documentation, and/or failing to comply with the obligation to return them, when the immigration authority does not authorize entry.
11. Not making the person who has been deported, expelled or returned available to the immigration authorities upon arrival in the country, or omitting or delaying the delivery of the corresponding documentation.
12. Not presenting disabled passengers, minors or any other person in charge of the company, before the immigration authorities for immigration control.
13. Link, hire, employ, admit or allow a foreigner to carry out a job, work or occupation without complying with the migratory requirements. Promote their irregular permanence; or, refrain from communicating the relationship, admission, dismissal and / or termination of work within the following fifteen (15) calendar days.
14. Promote the irregular entry or exit of foreigners or nationals from the national territory by companies, companies or agencies of any nature, without prejudice to other legal sanctions that may apply.
15. Refrain from informing in writing five (5) calendar days prior to the realization of the event or public, cultural or sports spectacle, by the contracting parties or businessmen, without prejudice to the legal sanctions that may apply.
16. Refrain from paying the expenses of returning to the country of origin or to the last place of residence of the contracted or related foreigner, as well as that of his family or beneficiary if applicable, when the contract is terminated or severance, and/or when appropriate the cancellation of the visa, deportation or expulsion, without prejudice to the legal sanctions that may apply.
17. Failure to comply with the obligations by clinics, hospitals or medical centers that provide care to foreigners for emergencies or hospitalization.

Serious Infractions:

The foreigner who, while in the national territory, is found in any of the following causes of immigration infraction, may be subject to deportation

Deportation: The official sanction of the country to a foreign citizen consists of sending him to his country of origin, preventing him from returning for a certain period of time, for having incurred in some offense against the Immigration Law.

1. Entering or leaving the country without complying with the rules that regulate the matter, as long as no special circumstances warrant the sanction of a fine.
2. Abstaining from paying the economic sanction imposed by the immigration authority, or when more than two months have elapsed since the execution of the sanctioning act without having made a payment to the obligation.
3. Being in irregular permanence, as long as no special circumstances warrant economic sanction.
4. Obtaining a visa through fraud or simulation, making a false statement in the visa application or in the development of administrative procedures carried out by the immigration authorities, as well as presenting documents that mislead the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the immigration authority for entry, output, legalization, control and registration.
5. Abstaining from changing the visa or not requesting it when you are obliged to do so.
6. Carry out an activity for which it is not authorized in the corresponding entry permit.
7. Incurring in any of the grounds for inadmissibility or rejection.
8. Being the object of constant complaints that classify the foreigner as persona non grata for social coexistence or public tranquility.
9. Not leaving the country within thirty (30) calendar days following the notification of the visa cancellation order.
10. Show waiver of payment of pecuniary obligations with any natural or legal person demonstrating reluctance to pay.
11. Having been economically penalized two or more times within the same calendar year by the same public entity.

Very Serious Infractions:

The Colombian Migration Special Administrative Unit may expel from the national territory, the foreigner who incurs the following offenses:

Expulsion: is a sanction that is imposed on foreign citizens for incurring in any of the grounds of immigration regulations, even when their stay in Colombia is legalized. The foreigner can return to the country once he had completed the term of expulsion, which may not be less than 5 years.

1. Refrain from complying with the deportation resolution within the term established in the Salvoconducto to leave the country, or return to the country before the term of prohibition established therein or without the corresponding visa.
2. Register reports or notes in the files of the competent authorities for promoting the entry of foreigners with false promises of contract, provision of visa or entry or permanence documents.
3. Having been sentenced in Colombia to a prison sentence whose sentence does not consider expulsion from the National territory as ancillary.
4. Being fraudulently documented as a Colombian national or from another country.
5.  When the expulsion is decreed as an accessory penalty by means of an enforceable sentence.

What is a Salvoconducto: 

After reading all these types of penalties, you may wonder what a Salvoconducto is. This is a temporary document issued by the Colombian Migration Special Administrative Unit to foreigners who require it. This document may be of two kinds: for departure from the country or for stay.

The Safe Conduct for permanence may be issued to foreigners who, being within the national territory, carry out procedures to obtain a visa. In this case, the duration of the Safe-conduct will be up to thirty (30) calendar days, extendable in special cases, up to thirty (30) more calendar days.

To obtain your Salvoconducto, you can click here and follow the next steps: 

Steps To Obtain Your Salvoconducto:

1. Click Make Request
2. Select Temporary Permit to Stay to Extend Permanence and choose the Migration Office to process your application (Select a Migration office of a city near you)
3. Fill the form with your personal information like:

• Full Name
• Passport Number, issuing date and expiration
• Country of Origin 
• Email
• Information in case of emergency: A friend, family member or third party as an emergency contact 

4. Upload a PDF copy of the first page of your passport with your biometric information

Visa Overstay Fines:

Now you may wonder what will happen if you overstay your Salvoconducto or overstay the 180 days a foreigner has per year. The simple answer is that you will be fined, and the fine will be determined according to the number of days you overstayed