The Colombian Pensionado Visa - Update

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.

By elk on Aug 20, 2007, 14:25 in Visa & paperwork.

vicshere says on Aug 20, 2007, 15:43:

very good report elk good info

listo

arthur brode says on Aug 20, 2007, 16:13:

great elk.
no more trips to Bogota now:)

http://www.calirentals.net/

barrett3765 says on Sep 1, 2007, 14:26:

So basically very little has changed since last year. But I dont know about handing my passport over to a courier , I dont think thats a such a good idea.But anyway it was good of you to mention it. Great info. overall.

bogjudge says on Sep 2, 2007, 20:32:

This is a fine post and gave me all of the information that the young man at the Colombian consulate in Panama City was unable to provide. I arrived in Manizales August 31 and plan to be in Bogota at the US embassy September 4 before 2:00 PM to get this started

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