Apostille Social Security Income Letter

arthur brode says on Aug 20, 2007, 05:49:

you did not explain what do you needed the letter for??
if its for a pension Visa you go to the U.S.Embassy and ask them to give you a "certification letter" that basicly states that you receive S.S. in spanish.I get my certification letters once a year at the U.S.Embassy in Bogota.

http://www.calirentals.net/

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BAQ says on Aug 20, 2007, 10:25:

I dont understand their thinking, the social security administration is a govt agency and with the

Semper Fidelis !

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BAQ says on Aug 20, 2007, 10:26:

record sharing system within the fed govt they should be able to MATCH and CONFIRM your income for social security, veterans, federal retirement ect. Try asking a supervisor about this since this appears to be an inter-agency situation

Semper Fidelis !

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elk says on Aug 20, 2007, 13:23:

I agree with Art....
I just returned from Bogota for my second Pensionado Visa. All you need is your passport to obtain the social security letter from the U.S. Embassy. It simply states you are receiving Social Security benefits and they don't ask you the amount of the benefit.

You take this letter, which is in Spanish, to Legalizations in Bogota. They will stamp the back of the letter. Process takes about 30 minutes.

You then proceed to MRE where they will issue you the Pensionado Visa good for one year. You then have 15 days to apply for your cedula which I'm doing this week in Medellin.

Art and I have written several posts about the process along with others on the board. Don't waste your time in Panama if all you want is a Pensionado Visa.

I will be posting an update on the process with details and addresses and recent changes later this week.

PM me if you have questions...

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elk says on Aug 20, 2007, 14:22:

Subject: Applying for or renewing the Pensionado Visa in Bogota

August 15th, 2007
This Update reflects my recent experience applying for and receiving the Colombian Pensionado Visa. First, the rules are not written in stone and your experience might be different than mine. You will be required to visit three government agencies during the process.

Your first stop will be at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota. Again, nothing is written in stone. I was asked if I had anything showing direct deposits to my U.S. bank from the U.S. Social Security department. I had attempted to prepare myself and had a folder containing several new and old bank statements downloaded from the internet. I also mentioned having another retirement benefit from the State of California and ask if they would please include this in the certified letter to MRE. I was never asked about the monetary amount of the retirement benefit and they were not reflected in the U.S. Embassy letter to MRE. The letter simply stated I was receiving retirement income from Social Security and “Sacramento, California�. (It was signed by the Vice Consul at the U.S. Embassy)

Note: Take any information you might have relating to your Social Security benefits, like your bank statement showing you have your benefit check direct deposited into a foreign bank. I downloaded mine from the internet. During my second visit, 15 Aug. 2007 they only ask for my social security number and had me sign a form giving them the authority to reveal my social security information. THE EMBASSY ONLY ISSUES THE LETTER BETWEEN 2:00 AND 4:00 PM, MONDAY THRU THURSDAY. I would be at the Embassy prior to 2:00 PM.

Note: The Embassy will ask you to make a change of address with your new Colombian address. The following year for renewal the Embassy will mail the certified letter to you upon request. This will save a trip to the Embassy and an extra day in Bogota. Legalization and the trip to MRE can be done in one morning if you already have the certified letter in hand.

Three steps required for the Visa:

First: Visit the U.S. Embassy in Bogota between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM Monday through Thursday to obtain a certified letter of your Social Security retirement benefits. It will need to be legalized before presenting it to MRE.

Second: Take the certified letter written in Spanish and have it legalized. Legalizaciónes is located at Calle 100 and Cra 17. It might be difficult to find but it is located across and around the corner from Super Carulla. Legalizaciónes has two entrances and they are different. The one directly in front of Super Carrulla isn’t the correct entrance. Walk around the corner to the other entrance with a shorter line. If you don’t speak Spanish take a friend who does and ask questions. It took me about one hour from start to finish. The process is faster now, since they simply stamp the back of the letter. The hours are 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Plan to arrive at 7:30 AM for a shorter line. You can then take a five minute taxi ride to MRE. (taxi is about 5,000 COP)

Third: Take your new legalized document to MRE (“El Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores�) between 7:30 AM and 12:00 PM Monday through Friday. They are located around the corner from Parque 93 at “Cra 13 No. 93-68. I would suggest arriving at 7:30 AM for a shorter line. They will provide you with an application form which you will present at the reception desk along with:

Two 3 x 3 CM color photos and the certified letter.

Two copies of your latest entry stamp into Colombia.

Two copies of the biographical information in your passport. (photo, passport number etc)
They NO LONGER require a copy of all used pages in your passport, but I would have a copy on hand in case the rules change. They will ask you to have a seat and wait for your Pensiondo Visa. There is no visa fee for U.S. Citizens and the visa is valid for one year. You will have 15 days to apply for your Cedula at DAS. DAS offices are located in several Colombian cities. This year the process took three hours, but I arrived after 7:30 AM since I elected to have the document legalized on the same day.

Note: If your living outside of Bogota there are agents who will handle the process for you, providing you have the certified letter. I spoke to several who handle the “legalization and the Visa process� for 250,000 COP. This is appears to be a common practice. You send the required social letter, other documents with your passport to the agency via courier and they complete the process in 3-4 days. I saw several agents in line during my last visit and spoke to at least two.

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BAQ says on Aug 21, 2007, 17:59:

My mistake, thought you were wanting to confirm your income for a U.S. Visa. Yea, just contact the FEDERAL BENEFITS UNIT at the embassy and tell them you need the letter. They will confirm your benefits and get a consular to sign the letter.

AS A SIDE NOTE, if you are having your benefits paid DIRECT DEPOSIT to a COLOMBIAN BANK, after you hit 20K a YEAR, they will automatically stop crediting your account each month. After this point, you will then need to contract the bank each month and have the funds released. Its not hard to do, just a pain in the ass.

Semper Fidelis !

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