Background Check for M Retirement Visa

Dear Karen,

If you skate through this time, consider finding out

if you can get those old infractions expunged ..

so they don't crop up as a problem next time around.

cccmedia

#karensonthemove@expatcafe

Thanks. I looked into it and it involes several in-person appearances. Not easy. I wish I had done it years ago.

I thought the authorities wanted a police report for the place you lived the last five years. I guess you were in the same place for those 25 years. 

By the way, what report do you have to provide? One from the FBI or one from the state?

I lived in another state for the last five years, and my record is clean there. Is it possible to use a police report from that state instead of the FBI report?

@karencds If you were in Colombia more than 3 years you can get a Colomian police check.

They only need to go back 3 or 5 years

Unfortuately you need to talk to FBI or police department in the states or whoever does the background check to see how far back they go with the checks and see if they can.limit it.

Worse case is to talk to a lawyer and get the misdeamor struck from.your record.

Good luck.

This sure sucks doing this every year doesnt it.

Karen

With a more complicated Visa system, these types of questions are the reason you should maybe use an agent.

They supposedly do hundreds of these types of visa since October and would probably tell you the minimum.requirenents to get by based on previous experience.

Unfortunately there is no guarantee as the Canciilleria is full of incoompetent.bone heads

Karen,

I don't understand why you have to to apply for a renewal your visa M.

I just have my visa M (Pensionado) in may, and it is avalaible until may 2026 ???

@rvmax you are extremely lucky you got it for that long if this is really the case. I think 3 years is the max you can get with the Penionada "V" visa.

You probaly got a competent agent at the Colombian Cancillería

Some of us are not so lucky

I have had an "M" Rentista visa for 11 years, Once they gave it to me for 3 years.

The last 2 times they gave it to me for just one year.

This time they are asking really STUPID questions and waiting for the last minute to make a decison. Today is the 30 day limit they are suppose to have to review my case.

You think that after 5 visas and over 10 years in the country it would be a "no brainer" wouldn´t you?

I am not eligible for a Pensionada visa, because, to make a long story short, I have too much income for a Pensionada Visa in Canada , and thus have to go for a Rentista visa that has higher income requirement, and has a lot more restrictions, espescially after the new resolution in October last year.

Pretty ironic, a person bringing way more income into the country and being zero burden on the social sytem has such a hassle getting a Visa after all these years isnt it?

I have been told over and over by various lawyers and visa agents, it doesnt matter who handles your case,which lawyer or Visa agent, or even if you do it your self, the Cancellieria are independant, there is "zero" direct personal communication between the applicant and them and it all depends which agent in the Cancilleria you get

and they can reject it , give you 1, 2 or 3 years at their discretion.

However, maybe ,there is a very slight chance you used someone who has some "pull" at the Cancilleria. Do you mind giving their name and contact information for future use? I have contacted at least half the most well known Lawyers/Agents in Medellin at this point.

Also a couple things. There is no "M" visa anymore. It is a "V" visa.

Also , if you got your Visa in May, per the new resolution, you have to provide a police report., either in Colombia, if you have been here more than 5 years, or in whatever country you lived in in the last five years.

Would be very surprised that you did not need to provide it having your visa in May. Did you live in Colombia for more than 5 years before getting your visa in May? In that case, your agent would have gotten the police report online for you. It is actually very easy to do yourself with your cedula.

I have been told (by someone who should know) that if I have been a resident of Colombia for at least 2 years, the background check can be done here in Colombia where I reside

@nico peligro

Also a couple things. There is no "M" visa anymore. It is a "V" visa.

I found that statement implausible, since "V" stands for visitor, but I have to admit I can't disprove it since the Canciller page where they talk about visas seems to be offline.

https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/en/proce … s/visa/abc

Also, since you are in home stretch of your process for a visa, I have to assume you know.

@Mr. Barley As far as pensionada visa you are right it is still " M"

I have had Rentista visa and it was an" M" visa but is now a "V" just like digital nomad

They realy screwed me up with these visa changes. Took away a lot of the rights and benefits of a Rentista visa even though you need 3 times the income to qualify.

To make a long story short, I cant qualify for a pensionada visa because my income in Canada is too high to qualify for a full government pensión that will guarantee me the 3 salarios mínimo income, so I am not qualified for a pensionada visa

I have actually been here almost 11 years had 4 or 5 visas,

They have been making it harder and harder every year, particularily in my case being a Canadian, and with a Rentista visa.

Canadian in that they do not have the apostile process and documentation requiered from Canada has to be legalized, and this process has exploded from a one day task 10 years ago to requiring almost 2 months and a minimum of $500 USD , just for this  part now.

The Rentista visa has become worse  because they seem to almost always be giving me pathetic one year visas recently and the change last October got rid of many rights and benefits of the Rentista visa.

I think they are actually going to reject my visa this time after all these years here and multipke previous visas for some stupid reason like I only paid my EPS directly for the last 3 months and previously was on my wifes plan, or I dont have specific insurance to bury me if I die.

This even though I have expensive private medicina prepagada to cover all my medical expenses and even have repatriation insurance to Canada if I choose.

They wait around weeks doing nothing  and then  ask stupid questions about documents already sent weeks ago, go, past their 30 day window stated in  tge web site, and then demand you provide some stupid document in 3 hours.

You are supposed to wait around months at their Beck and call putting your life on hold.

@nico peligro

Canadian in that they do not have the apostile process and documentation requiered from Canada has to be legalized, and this process has exploded from a one day task 10 years ago to requiring almost 2 months and a minimum of $500 USD , just for this  part now.

I assume you heard that "Canada ratified the Apostille Convention on May 16, 2023, with an effective date of January 11, 2024." 

I think they are actually going to reject my visa this time after all these years here and multipke previous visas for some stupid reason like I only paid my EPS directly for the last 3 months and previously was on my wifes plan, or I dont have specific insurance to bury me if I die.

Sura claims to offer a specific policy "Seguro de Asistencia Funeraria Nacional con Repatriación", although eligibility ends at 69.  In Ecuador, many expats pre-pay for cremation services, and maybe have a will prepared for them by an attorney.  Something like that ought to be an acceptable alternative for the Colombian government, imo.

Makes me wonder what the Colombian government does with the cadavers of tourists who can enter without travel insurance.  I am sure they expect payment from family members who want to reclaim the body. If they don't receive payment, I would expect them to throw the body in a communal grave.   

@nico peligro

Sorry you didn't get your rentista visa (V) for failing to make the appropriate EPS payments. 

In any case, i want to share you a link to the tax research service Gerencia. 

https://www.gerencie.com/liquidacion-de … cket_saves

If the link is moderated, Google "Seguridad social en los rentistas de capital "

P.S.

You are still welcome to post on this forum as Nico Peligro. No need to engage in any troll behavior using multiple accounts on this forum. No one is taking any satisfaction in your situation, and I appreciate you sharing your personal experience with the visa process, even if your interpretation of the events are incorrect.

     @nico peligro

per mini salude statuate.

Let's see this mini statute. If your visa facilitator told you this, then they need to update their article from 2020, and they shouldn't have any problem citing the specific "mini" law supposedly passed.

The tax reform 2277 de 2022 mentioned below was approved by President Petro.

Per tax research service Actualice:

"El artículo 89 de la Ley 2277 de 2022 (reforma tributaria) estableció nuevas fórmulas para el cálculo del IBC de los trabajadores independientes resumidas de la siguiente manera:

Para los trabajadores independientes por cuenta propia y los que celebran contratos diferentes a los de prestación de servicios, la cotización será sobre el 40 % del valor mensual de los ingresos causados para quienes estén obligados a llevar contabilidad, o los efectivamente percibidos para los que no tienen dicha obligación, sin incluir el valor del IVA."

Posters, please translate or summarize in English

any long passages in Spanish/Spanish legalese

so that members have an idea of what

was stated officially and what the point of

the members' post may be.

If 50 percent or more of your post is in

español, untranslated, consider explaining

more for readers of an Anglophone forum

such as this forum.

Colombian statutes and their application

are challenging enough without overdoing

the Spanish-legalese complications.

cccmedia,

designated expert for the Colombia forum

Posters, please translate or transliterate
any long passages in Spanish/Spanish legalese
so that members have an idea of what
was stated officially and what the point of
the members' post may be.
If 50 percent or more of your post is in
español, untranslated, consider explaining
more for readers of an Anglophone forum
such as this forum.

Colombian statutes and their application
are challenging enough without overdoing
the Spanish-legalese complications.

cccmedia,
designated expert for the Colombia forum
-@cccmedia

Peligro and his cohorts on another forum think he is subject to 12.5% on his rentista income (rents, dividends, interest etc).  Historically, expats have been classified as "independientes" and have been told by their visa facilitators that they can apply that 12.5% rate against 40% of their income including pension income.  I see nothing authoritative that indicates that approach has changed, although I don't claim to be an expert on the topic.

@nico peligro

confirmed with locals that you are requured to pay 12.5% on your incomevto EPS

You asked them the wrong question! They pay 12.5% for health on their IBC which is net of 40%!

Look at the Youtube video titled "IBC de trabajadores independientes: claves para evitar errores y sanciones en 2023" on the channel Actualícese Video.

Specifically, look at the slides at 7:39 and the slide at 33:48.   

The video presentation does not address pensions. It does include rentistas.  Based on Vikingo's link to this article, It seems to me people who have both investment income and pensions will have different rates to apply for calculating EPS.