How to bring your car to Colombia

Because of the page-break I will summarize...

Subcomm brought his motorcycle to Colombia and registered it with La DIAN.  Two weeks later he had an accident and the moto was totaled.  He suffered minor injuries.

He didn't cancel the permit in the remaining four days of his trip before leaving Colombia.  Now he wants to come back and isn't clear whether La DIAN might flag him and deny him a moto permit.

----

That's all up to La DIAN.

Consider using an attorney who knows his way around a DIAN office.

Bring any documents and photos showing what happened to your moto.  If there are medical records indicating that canceling the permit was rightfully not a priority in the days after the accident, bring copies of them too.

Are you 100 percent certain you would want to risk life and limb once again in Colombia by riding a moto?

cccmedia

Not likely but you never know.

Colombia bureaucracy and récords are so random.

Bit if they did keep records could be a big Fine.


You werent charged with any traffic violations were you?

You can import a car that is considered a " classic" car in to Colombia permanently without import taxes, but it is a long drawn out process..

I have several friends that did it.

There is a "Classic car" event in  Medellín every year same time as the Flower Festival and the majority of cars in the parade are imported personally by the owners.

That is a good question. There is supposed to be a trade agreement with no tariffs on American made Harley Davidson, technically should be tariff free as well as a couple others. Unless there is a special tariff on motorcycles and cars, it should be tariff free, but probably isn't.

Hello,

I am starting to plan my move to Colombia. Technically, I am a Colombian Expat as my father is Colombian and I have a Colombian passport as well as my American one.

From what I understand, Colombians are allowed a duty free container every 10 years. It even has a name I don't remember. Does anyone know, if you can put a car in that container with my other belongings under that provision? what would that circumstance look like?

I have a car that does not exist in Colombia and I would like to keep it. I am moving down for business and the company would bulletproof the car (level 3+) as well. Does that change the status of the vehicle as it is now a safety vehicle (does not apply to pico y placa) and has different rules than your standard vehicle rules?

I know that in business, I can register duty free under short supply, could that provision help me based on the fact that this car is not available in Colombia?

The car is not new (2018 with about 6.000 miles) but it was new when I got it.

There is a lot of companies willing to transport your car from Miami to Colombia, do they know something that this forum hasn't hit on?

Any information would be helpful, thank you!

Forgot to mention that it is an American Made car so should fall under tariff exempt due to free trade agreement.

Question:  There is a lot of companies willing to transport your car from Miami to Colombia, do they know something that this forum hasn't hit on?

What they know is, they can get paid well to transport a vehicle.  It is not up to them to determine whether the vehicle may legally be brought into Colombia, or to help you with all the trámites that may be required.  That's strictly up to you, and they will exact payment in any case.

You may bring in a private vehicle to Colombia, for up to 180 days for usage as a tourist.  If you are an accredited diplomat, you can bring in a vehicle for use in your official capacity (which may include personal use) while stationed in Colombia.  But can you bring your private vehicle (vehículo particular) for nacionalización, to register it and keep it in Colombia? 

The first paragraph here should answer your question, in short the answer is NO:

https://www.accounter.co/boletines/dian … parte.html

DIAN does not consider a vehicle as part of your menaje de casa so that would rule out putting it into a container to include it with your other household goods:

https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/sites/de … estico.pdf

The Cancillería also makes it clear that no used car but only a new car of the current year or the next may be a candidate for importation:

https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/faq/que- … s-colombia

You could also read this conversation on https://www.expat.com here, where about halfway down the page the poster JoseGiambruno explicitly states and also posts the entire text of the LEY 1565 DE 2012:

"... estan EXPLICITAMENTE EXCLUIDOS los carros particulares..."

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=585338

There is no way that a private individual who is not a diplomat can import any motor vehicle into Colombia.  (Old classic cars are an exception.)

Even if you did bring it in, it would not have homologation for the Colombian market.

I highly doubt it, and if you are worried , and REALLY want to come here, get a lawyer to "grease the wheels"..with Migraciones (hint hint nudge nudge say no more)

Hi, if I have driven my van to Colombia from Canada. Shipped it over on a container, now I have to leave Colombia to return to my home. Can I sell the Van here in Colombia? It has Canadian licience plates.
Thank you.

Minimeigh wrote:

Hi, if I have driven my van to Colombia from Canada. Shipped it over on a container, now I have to leave Colombia to return to my home. Can I sell the Van here in Colombia? It has Canadian licience plates.
Thank you.

Not legally.  You should read earlier posts on this thread that give links and explanations.

I am somewhat surprised that you did not research this end part prior to your drive, which certainly must have been an interesting adventure.

As a tourist you can drive your vehicle in Colombia for up to the length of your stay, but no more than 180 days.  But as far as the vehicle being sold in and remaining in Colombia  - Colombia does not allow the import of anything but a brand-new vehicle unless it is a "classic" vehicle, and then only if you are a Colombian citizen - or if you are a diplomat bringing in a diplomatic vehicle which may also be for personal use.  If you do not have legal permission to sell your vehicle in Colombia, you are not allowed to do it.

In general it is not the case that if there isn't a law or regulation specifically prohibiting an action, you may undertake that action - just the opposite.  Unless it is specifically permitted, it is forbidden.

As the Cancillería de Colombia explains here, only a citizen may bring in a new vehicle only, and then only if all the other conditions are met:

https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/faq/que- … s-colombia

"...un ciudadano colombiano solo podría importar para este año en curso automóviles bien sea 2016 – 2017." (this was written in 2016, only allowed are new vehicles of the current year or the next)

Thank you! Is 1991 vintage 😆 Even if, I am not a Citizen so it sounds very illegal and almost impossible.

Appreciated !

Minimeigh:

You cannot legally sell your car in Colombia.

However, you can sell it to another traveler.

Legally, you cannot 'sell' it....you have to have paperwork that says you give the new person permission to drive, maintain and all rights to the car, including giving the car to someone else to drive (in the future).

The paperwork is called a "Poder".  I have an example of a Poder for this very purpose, and have already done it for a friend who rode his motorcycle from Chicago to Colombia.

Also, my wife and I are traveling from Alaska to Argentina and will be doing a poder for our van as well.

PM me and I'll send you a template for a Poder.  But, if you only have 90 days in Colombia, it might be to late.....

A few years ago I shipped my vehicle to Colombia [CO] from Houston drove around the country for three months, put it in a container and shipped it back to Houston, no worries. But I don't remember whether or not emigration checked that the vehicle's exodus was assured before they let me pass to catch my plane out of the country. They may have.

Two days ago I recieved an M type, retirement, visa so there will not be a limit on the permitted number of days in country.

I intend a return to CO that will for a humanitarian project which I anticipate having a multiple year duration. This will entail "camping out" in the Guajira area for extended periods and for which my vehicle is particularly appropriate.

I would like very much to get a temporary import for my vehicle. I intend for it to really be a temporary stay for the vehicle, albeit an extended one, planning on shipping it back to Houston, eventually, But I anticipate my returning to the states for short visits in the meantime and staying in CO for not for more than a 179 day period at a time in order to having to submit CO tax returns.

Does anybody have any input regarding possible/likely/assured glitches to my plan?

Muchos gracias.

First off I applaud your through and extremely helpful response to this question.

Im am trying to bring a 2017 Range Rover HSE to Colombia from New York and have been unable to find someone who can assist me as I begin to struggle maneuvering thru this complex and burdensome task.

You seem to have it all figured out and my hope is that I can pay you a few thousand dollars to help me get this all done under the 90 day exemption of import taxes.

My name is Paul and if you would be interested in assisting me please call me ***

I would also be interested in information regarding transporting a vehicle from the US. Please keep me posted?
-following

Entering Colombia with a vehicle is, indeed, a daunting proposition during The Situation.

I have had various contacts with officials at the Ecuador-Colombia 'Rumichaca' border during two recent failed attempts to enter Colombia with my Ecuador-plated Chevy Sail.

I eventually flew to Colombia (Quito to Bogotá/Bucaramanga) without incident, obviously without the vehicle.

This month, as we have reported on these threads, Colombia has re-opened its land borders to cargo-hauling trucks, but not yet to private motorists.

Frankly, there are too many 'moving parts' during The Situation to make a prediction of when a foreigner can reliably cross into Colombia in a private vehicle or have it shipped into the country.  That could change within the next four weeks.  Or not.

Because I have been making -- and will be making -- a series of trips into Colombia in 2021 and 2022, I am following the news on rules for Colombia entry.  One or two other Expat.com members have been doing the same, and we are all posting what we know as things evolve. 

Since the allowable time for a vehicle to remain in Colombia with registration in another country .. is limited .. and the costs of shipping in a vehicle may be high, I would advise vehicle-owners to make other plans if possible (such as relying on public transportation when in Colombia .. or renting a car/truck/Range Rover with proper driver licensing) if they want to travel inside Colombia through the first half of 2022.

cccmedia in Bucaramanga, Colombia

cccmedia:  I just heard reports that the border is open today to passenger vehicles at Rumichaca/Ipiales - Tulcan

929Man wrote:

First off I applaud your through and extremely helpful response to this question.

Im am trying to bring a 2017 Range Rover HSE to Colombia from New York and have been unable to find someone who can assist me as I begin to struggle maneuvering thru this complex and burdensome task.

You seem to have it all figured out and my hope is that I can pay you a few thousand dollars to help me get this all done under the 90 day exemption of import taxes.

My name is Paul and if you would be interested in assisting me please call me ***

Well 929Man:   I would love to take your money, but it really is easy to bring in a vehicle for up to 180 days/yr, but it does have to leave within this time.

What is much, much more difficult is to keep the car in Colombia.  It has to be considered a 'vintage' vehicle, which a 2017 will not be.

Find a shipper first.  Easiest from Ft. Lauderdale, Galvenston or Houston.  Well...the easiest in from Panama, but you'd have to drive there first.  Forget about shipping from New York, unless you hire a company to drive it to one of those ports.

Once it arrives, the process is fairly simple.  Take the bill of laiden to the shipping office, pay the final fees.  Get insurance (SOAT) for the car.  This can be difficult because I've only found one company that will give insurance to foreign vehicles....and it's only third party....it only pays if you hurt someone else....it does not pay for damages to another car nor your vehicle.  Take paperwork to DIAN and get the Temporary Import Permit.  This whole process can be a few days as the government is extremely slow.

PM me if you want to discuss further.  Forgive me, but I'm not calling...

mtbe wrote:

cccmedia:  I just heard reports that the border is open today to passenger vehicles at Rumichaca/Ipiales - Tulcan.

That's a *fascinating* though unsubstantiated rumor .. and not the first time
we've heard or read it on the Internet during The Situation.

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mtbe wrote:

929Man wrote:

my hope is that I can pay you a few thousand dollars to help me get this all done under the 90 day exemption of import taxes.

My name is Paul and if you would be interested in assisting me please call me‬....

Well 929Man:   I would love to take your money, but it really is easy to bring in a vehicle for up to 180 days/yr....

In my experience it used to be easy to bring in a vehicle for up to 180 days, provided one obtained a tourist stamp for 90 days -- and passed VIN inspection at the border -- and successfully renewed the stamp permission about 90 days in.

Not so easy any more, as I found out when I was twice rejected for passage into Colombia with my Chevy in two attempts to cross at Rumichaca in recent months (2021).

In 2016-17 I had legally brought my same car into Colombia at Rumichaca and was able to keep it in the country legally for 12 months through a tourism-permit renewal, a temporary visa and occasional VIN re-inspection (under the hood).  This year during The Situation I couldn't even get permission to cross the Rumichaca bridge into Colombia a single time.

cccmedia

mtbe wrote:

Get insurance (SOAT) for the car.  This can be difficult because I've only found one company that will give insurance to foreign vehicles....and it's only third party....it only pays if you hurt someone else....it does not pay for damages to another car nor your vehicle.

The implication that it's difficult to obtain insurance for a non-Colombia-licensed vehicle is not accurate in my experience.

In my year of driving my Ecuador-licensed Chevy in Colombia (2016-17) I readily obtained SOAT insurance in Ipiales .. and then renewed it repeatedly at insurance companies in other cities as I extended my time in Colombia.  I never had a problem obtaining SOAT coverage as a foreign driver.

The poster is accurate in saying that the SOAT coverage available to foreigners is limited and will not pay for vehicle damages or injury sustained by the foreign driver.

cccmedia

T sucks I know. M truck has little mileage and I thought about driving it to Colombia. The problem becomes part of central America that are risky and then you have to ship it from Panama anyways. The bottomline is simple. They want you to buy a vehicle in Colombia.

cccmedia wrote:

mtbe wrote:

cccmedia:  I just heard reports that the border is open today to passenger vehicles at Rumichaca/Ipiales - Tulcan.

That's a *fascinating* though unsubstantiated rumor .. and not the first time
we've heard or read it on the Internet during The Situation.

I just spoke with a German couple that are in a Canadian plated van.  They tried to cross on Dec 1 as reports said it would open.  They weren't allowed to cross.  They tried again just this morning  (Monday, Dec 20) and passed.

cccmedia wrote:

mtbe wrote:

Get insurance (SOAT) for the car.  This can be difficult because I've only found one company that will give insurance to foreign vehicles....and it's only third party....it only pays if you hurt someone else....it does not pay for damages to another car nor your vehicle.

The implication that it's difficult to obtain insurance for a non-Colombia-licensed vehicle is not accurate in my experience.

In my year of driving my Ecuador-licensed Chevy in Colombia (2016-17) I readily obtained SOAT insurance in Ipiales .. and then renewed it repeatedly at insurance companies in other cities as I extended my time in Colombia.  I never had a problem obtaining SOAT coverage as a foreign driver.

The poster is accurate in saying that the SOAT coverage available to foreigners is limited and will not pay for vehicle damages or injury sustained by the foreign driver.

cccmedia

Thanks for the clarification.  You are correct in that it is easy to get insurance when coming from Ecuador.  There are several places right on the border to buy it, but even in Ipiales it is VERY difficult to find insurance for a North American plated vehicle.  We passed the border into Colombia in our USA plated vehicle in early 2020 from Ecuador and we passed all those places at the border.  We entered Ipiales and couldn't find anyone that would do it.  We had to go back to the border.

Coming from Panama or the US on a ship to Cartagena is a different story.  We did it in 2019 and it took almost a day to find a place that would do it.  The only one was Sura Seguros...and only one of their locations would do it.

We had to renew the insurance when we were around Pereira, and again, found that only Sura would do it for a USA plated car.

I think the person with the latest inquiry will have a USA plated car and enter Cartagena.

After reading all the posts I see that one essential question for some readers remains not very clear so here is the answer.
NO, you can't bring your used vehicle into Colombia and keep it beyond 180 days. If you get stopped and you will with foreign plates, and you have no way of legally explaining why you still have the vehicle in Colombia, the vehicle will be impounded on the spot and I guarantee you will not see it again unless you pay a lot of money to a lawyer that can get it out of the pound and the country after very expensive fees.
YES, you can bring a brand new vehicle into Colombia and pay the importation fee which is equal to 100% of the price of the vehicle. Your sales receipt doesn't show the price, the price is based on the actual cost of the vehicle in the market. You don't tell DIAN how much you pay for the vehicle, DIAN tells you what the cost of the vehicle is.

How I kept my vehicle in Colombia for almost a year.

In 2016-17, I managed to drive my 2016 Chevy Sail in Colombia for about 360 days.

This is not available to tourists;  I had applied for and received a one-year visa.

I was required to bring the Ecuador-plated car to DMV offices several times to have the VIN checked and the paperwork updated.  The check was typically done by inspecting a label under the hood.

---

During The Situation it's not guaranteed that you can drive a car into Colombia from Ecuador, as I did in 2016, or from anywhere else.  In late 2021 I attempted to drive in twice at Rumichaca and was denied by border agents both times.

cccmedia in Santander

@ccmedia thanks for the info. But i would like to ask if after shipping in the car, it can be gifted to my partner who is a colombian citizen. And if she can register it under her name.

@ccmedia very useful info thank you.

But i would like to ask, is it possible to gift the car to my partner who lives in colombia and is a citizen? Instead of shipping the car back to the US?

@emmanuelikhidero

No.  It cannot.  When you ship a used car, it is only temporary.  ALL documents must have the owners name...they must match what is on the registration and/or title.  In this manner, for a used car, you only have 180 days to keep it in country.  There seems to be an exception or two per a ccmedia, but I haven't seen that.

The name on the documents CANNOT be transferred to someone else.  It cannot be imported permanently into the country, unless it's a new car, and taxes can be outrages, so why not just buy here.

I wouldn't send a car, or anything of value, to a partner in Colombia.