Type M Visa advice... ?

You can get married in Dallas, it doesn't have to be in Colombia.

Here in Spanish is the account of a colombiana whose husband is French, that deals with what you're looking for with the new type M visa.  She confirms your suspicion that the process can be inconsistent, and her opinion is that it's better to get your information and do as much of the process as you can outside of the government:

http://miviajar.com/2018/03/07/visa-de- … atrimonio/

Dear Robert,

Welcome to the Colombia forums of expat.com ....

A Type V visa now allows tourist-status for up to three years and might be easier to obtain than an M visa, although the M appears to be appropriate for your circumstances as well.  The V visa is not a tourist visa per se;  it is granted for tourism, journalism or dozens of other reasons that might attract someone to Colombia for up to three years without dealing with the permanent-residency process.

A V visa would allow you to circumvent the legal obligations of a full-on marriage or even a civil union.

By staying in Colombia for 180 or fewer days out of 365, you avoid the worldwide income tax on Colombia tax residents.  However, if you have minimal income until your SS kicks in, that may not be a consideration.  After three years or whenever you get SS, you could reconsider your civil and visa status.

The undesirable tax state of "tax resident" is based on the number of days out of any 365 that a foreigner remains in La República, not based on your visa status.

cccmedia

I don't think a Type V wouldn't really fit. It's my understanding it will limit my stay to 180 days each year. I plan on living full time in Colombia. Her kids are grown and so are mine, so now it's time to build on own lives living together full time. Thanks for you reply!

Thank you for the link to the article. It just confirms what I thought. I think we'll invest some time in seeking out an "agreeable" notary and go from there. Thank you!

bobomatic wrote:

I don't think a Type V wouldn't really fit. It's my understanding it will limit my stay to 180 days each year. I plan on living full time in Colombia. Her kids are grown and so are mine, so now it's time to build on own lives living together full time. Thanks for you reply!

Based on Expat postings on another forum, I didn't believe that the new Type V visa limits an Expat to 180 days a year in Colombia.

But evidently, you are correct, Robert.

I just found a recent posting at the FAR International website stating just that -- 180 days is the maximum total days permitted each year (for two years) in La República.

Good job, Robert.    Good luck obtaining a visa.

cccmedia

OsageArcher wrote:

You can get married in Dallas, it doesn't have to be in Colombia.

Here in Spanish is the account of a colombiana whose husband is French, that deals with what you're looking for with the new type M visa.  She confirms your suspicion that the process can be inconsistent, and her opinion is that it's better to get your information and do as much of the process as you can outside of the government:

http://miviajar.com/2018/03/07/visa-de- … atrimonio/

Are you saying if we did a civil union in Dallas, that this would be accepted by Colombia and no further paperwork is needed other than maybe the apostilled marriage certificate? If so, I'm going to check into that. It may be a lot simpler and might be an advantage when we return to the US for family visits.

Yes, that's why I suggested marriage in Dallas.  It may indeed be that the apostilled marriage certificate is all you need.

I married my colombiana wife of almost 18 years now in a civil ceremony in the US.  But we have never had to prove marriage in Colombia, neither of us are residents there now and I do not seek citizenship or an M visa - so I'm not really sure but it's certainly worth checking out.

bobomatic wrote:

It's my understanding (to) qualify for a type M, we would have to marry or certify a civil union, both of us preferring the civil union.

The above-cited understanding about requirement(s) for an M visa apparently is not correct.

A likely reason for confusion is that the M does not stand for Marriage or Matrimonio, but for Migrant (Migrante).

Confusion is also possible because one of the potential routes to the Migrant Visa is the spousal visa, a subcategory.  The spousal visa does require a marriage or civil-union certificate.

An Expat can obtain the M Visa, typically for a three-year term, by these other routes not requiring marriage or civil union:  investment, new-business formation or certified pension.

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The source of information used in crafting this post is the visa-changes analysis done by www.medellinliving.com ....

  -- cccmedia