New Here, and I Have Questions!!

rf2023 Active member

Member since 07 August 2023

rf2023Active member08 August 2023 06:42:55

"@rf2023 So, any you aware of many if any unprovoked denials? All you say is true; but, it kind of falls under the same umbrella as the tax issues brought up so often here. All that being said, One should always have a plan A, plan B, etc, AND a defined exit plan for smooth and not so smooth exits. The degree you dive down that rabbit hole depends on you required comfort level. Few things in life are guaranteed. I once embarked on a cruise and during the first night exiting the port a note was slipped under the door ( after sailing) informing that the destinations have been changed. Get over it and just enjoy the ride.
elp
-@Lpdiver"

@Lpdiver

I think that most foreigners receive the 90 day permiso when they enter and also receive the 90 day extension if they ask for it. However, often the extension, if granted, will be less than 90 days based on the return ticket out of Colombia which has to be presented with the applicaiton for the extension.

My concern is that all over the internet in websites and in videos by influencers, these permissions are expressed as automatic and absolute when they certainly are not. When people post about these things as if they are automatically granted, newcomers to Colombia could end up operating on wrong information and could be sorely surprised when they don't get the result they had hoped for, or planned for, or spent their money for.

Better to understand and preach loudly and fully the truth of the matter, that all discretion is in the hands of the individual migration agents, and the only discretion they do not have is to give an initial permission more than 90 days or an extension permission more than 90 days.

rf2023 Active member

Member since 07 August 2023

rf2023Active member08 August 2023 06:55:53

#42

Edit: (the edit function is not working for me, it does nothing.)

At the link below, the name of the process to extend your permission to stay beyond your passport stamp permission date is the "Prórroga de Permanencia"

https://apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co/r … gistro.jsf

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

Member since 13 March 2014

cccmediaEcuador/Colombia Expert08 August 2023 07:02:36

#43

10285

I think that most foreigners receive the 90 day permiso when they enter and also receive the 90 day extension if they ask for it. However, often the extension, if granted, will be less than 90 days based on the return ticket out of Colombia which has to be presented with the applicaiton for the extension.
-@rf2023

I like the freedom to decide on travel plans

within a week of travel, so I have researched

workarounds.

There are sites such as onwardticket.com

(this is not a recommendation and I am not

compensated for mentioning the site) that

offer 'temporary' tickets for a small fee,

possibly between 9 and 15 USD.

Such a company might hold a reservation

for up to ten days, potentially long enough

to get una extensión de permiso

before the reservation auto-cancels.

Another hack is to buy a bus ticket from a

border city into another country, preferably

an inexpensive ticket.

Note that a return ticket is typically not

necessary regardless of whether one

is traveling by air or by ground. An

onward ticket to another country is

sufficient even if it is not used or is

canceled before the travel date.

cccmedia

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

Member since 13 March 2014

cccmediaEcuador/Colombia Expert08 August 2023 07:10:16

#44

10285

Edit: (the edit function is not working for me, it does nothing.)
At the link below, the name of the process to extend your permission to stay beyond your passport stamp permission date is the "Prórroga de Permanencia"

https://apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co/r … gistro.jsf
-@rf2023

Thank you, rf2023, for providing the above link.

---

The failure of the edit function could be due to...

(a) Your edit window has closed, possibly one hour

after posting the original message, or

(b) Your computer is not interfacing with the

Expat.com edit function software, possibly because

it is an older computer. I had such a problem last

year until I replaced my laptop for unrelated reasons.

The edit function returned immediately when I

started using the new laptop.

cccmedia, member, Expat.com Experts Team

rf2023 Active member

Member since 07 August 2023

rf2023Active member08 August 2023 07:15:00

#45

Note that a return ticket is typically not
necessary regardless of whether one
is traveling by air or by ground. An
onward ticket to another country is
sufficient even if it is not used or is
canceled before the travel date.

cccmedia
-@cccmedia

I agree, and 'onward ticket' is better language than 'return ticket' and can be by bus, air travel or boat.

I've often wondered what to put in the extension application if the foreigner plans to leave Colombia by foot. Certainly it cannot be illegal to leave Colombia by foot, but how to present that? Or by private vehicle?

I have used onward travel before, when flying into Colombia on a one-way ticket and no specific date planned to leave Colombia. I found the service useful. It is however possible to make such reservations directly if you know how to do it, to skip their fee. I myself don't know how to do it directly, it relates to finding certain kinds of reservations with a liberal cancellation policy. They have it down to a science.

rf2023 Active member

Member since 07 August 2023

rf2023Active member08 August 2023 07:19:45

#46

Thank you, rf2023, for providing the above link.

The failure of the edit function could be due to...

(a) Your edit window has closed, possibly one hour
after posting the original message, or

(b) Your computer is not interfacing with the
Expat.com edit function software, possibly because
it is an older computer. I had such a problem last
year until I replaced my laptop for unrelated reasons.
The edit function returned immediately when I
started using the new laptop.

cccmedia, member, Expat.com Experts Team
-@cccmedia

You're welcome, I hope somebody can benefit from the link, information and discussion.

I'm not outside of my edit time window of one hour when I try to make an edit. Most of my edit attempts are within a few minutes after a post.

I have not yet tried updating all browsers and trying with different browsers. Maybe I'll try that tomorrow or whenever I post next. Thank you for the info about the edit function.

nico peligro Serial expat

Member since 18 September 2020

nico peligroSerial expat08 August 2023 16:33:34

#47

879

@rf2023 They can even deny you access to your home country, as we saw during the COVID debacle

Or freeze your bank accounts

Anything is possible, but lets look at probability and statistics, and not worst case scenarios

Colombia can become like North Korea overnight...

This Visa debacle happening now is extremely frustrating..but I doubt that would happen

I have been to 52 different countries and enetred and left a thousand times and have never been denied access at the migration desk, so I am not worried about it.

If I was denied the 90 day extension (unlikely), I would just leave for a few days and come back

cccmedia Ecuador/Colombia Expert

Member since 13 March 2014

cccmediaEcuador/Colombia Expert08 August 2023 20:12:46

#48

10285

At the Rumichaca border, pre-pandemic,

I was allowed to cross the bridge into Ecuador

on foot .. and return within an hour.

There was no problem obtaining a fresh

permiso for 90 days in Colombia. YMMV.

cccmedia

rf2023 Active member

Member since 07 August 2023

rf2023Active member09 August 2023 19:43:10

#49

@rf2023 They can even deny you access to your home country, as we saw during the COVID debacle
Or freeze your bank accounts
Anything is possible, but lets look at probability and statistics, and not worst case scenarios
-@nico peligro

Hi nico peligro, from the point of statistics, you are absolutely right, most non-visa holders from the approved countries can enter and stay in Colombia for 180 days. My only objection is the false ideas given out by video gurus and website agents when they say "you get 90 days when you come in, and you can extend another 90 days if you want, so you can stay in Colombia for 180 days total" without explaining any of the caveats and exceptions. Those influencers/agents are essentially giving out wrong information, and newbies could get hurt if they rely on that wrong information.

rf2023 Active member

Member since 07 August 2023

rf2023Active member09 August 2023 19:45:28

#50

At the Rumichaca border, pre-pandemic,
I was allowed to cross the bridge into Ecuador
on foot .. and return within an hour.
There was no problem obtaining a fresh
permiso for 90 days for Colombia. YMMV.
cccmedia
-@cccmedia

Absolutely, but in the extension application, they ask for proof of forward travel. It would be fun to submit the "I promise to leave, trust me." letter in that applicaiton!