Is Colombia becoming less friendly towads expats!!

That couple will now be legally obligated to

reside in Colombia no more than 180 days

out of every 365 .. and even that 180 will require

a successful application for extension of

a 90-day tourist permit.

Purchasing real estate before applying for a

visa has long been a risky way to proceed

because the purchase of property is fraught

and re-selling is usually protracted.

As a rule, rent -- don't buy property in Colombia.

Colombia is a better choice for snowbirding

than year-round living, given the many

anecdotal reports of visa application impediments

and the potential scrutiny by La DIAN of anyone

who stays in-country 184 or more days of 365.

Unless, of course, you have money to burn!

cccmedia

@cccmedia And even the 90 day tourist stamp is not guaranteed.

elp

@HutchX2020 I wonder what is the driving force behind all this. On one hand the laws were passed prior to Petro; but, on the other hand I wonder if the policies are  derived from Petro.

elp

@HutchX2020 This is an interesting story. I have been looking for a budget-friendly property to buy (in which to LIVE, not an investment or for Visa purposes), just to avoid the expensive "AirBnB & Apartment Search" dance that I always have to do when I come to Colombia. I need some stability even if I do have to be out of the country 6 months out of the year.

However I am yet to find a decent condo within my budget in a city I like, nor have I found a trustworthy "team" that will make sure I don't get defrauded.

Oye, vey...

@Lpdiver

All I can tell you is before Petro visas were alot easier to achieve, now visas that took up to 30 days, are taking up to 3 months and more people are forced to leave and comeback as tourists and start the process all over again as newbies, or apply from their home countries. I believe they don't want what happenned to Costa Rica and Panama to happen to Colombia and rightly so!!

But Pensioners, Investors and all expats will have a hard time getting resident visas in the future, Easy was a thing of the past. Even spousal visas are being delayed with crazy requests. I have a couple of american friends married to Colombianas like me but were forced to leave and comeback as tourists because their visa expired and salvaconductos you are only allowed 2 thru no fault of their own they applied 2 months before their visa expired and still waiting with their application being withdrawn, then crazy requests then letting time go by with no answers and losing their accumulated time in Colombia. So in resume they don't want to give out resident visas they just want tourists to spend their money here and leave.

All I can tell you is before Petro visas were alot easier to achieve, now visas that took up to 30 days, are taking up to 3 months and more people are forced to leave and comeback as tourists and start the process all over again as newbies, or apply from their home countries. I believe they don't want what happenned to Costa Rica and Panama to happen to Colombia and rightly so!!
-@HutchX2020

.

.

.

What happened in Costa Rica and Panama?

@Lpdiver supposedly want to replace petroleum and coal extracción with tourism

JA JA JA..this is really going to help the situation

I dont think there is any reasoning

I think they added the new regs, fired a bunch.of people and put a bunch of lazy incomperent grouchy Petro supporters in and there is nothing but confusión, frustración and ill feelings in the cancilleria and they dont really care one way or another and try to interpret the rules the.worst way possible with no leeway

@cccmedia Costa Rica and Panama are expensive AF

@cccmedia

Locals were outpriced by gringos and forced out of their own country the only ones living well there are gringos the Ticos very few same in Panama there are signs in different areas saying gringo go home and np gentrification popping up alot of places

@HutchX2020 colombia has 8 times the population of those countries.

I think it is just a case of laziness and incompetence..there is no "plan"

Remember Hanlons Razor:

"Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity"

@nico peligro

This new goverment is terrible everything got more complicated, since I have Portuguese citizenship I am thinking of spending 6 months in Portugal don't really wanna deal with the aggravation of it all.

@HutchX2020

I agree the new government is terrible, but the Colombian government also runs at a much slower pace than that of the governments we come from. 

So, it's more likely these new rules were put in place prior to this current administration.  Perhaps the implementation or interpretation of the new rules were, 'enhanced', with the new admin.

I think.the present  Canadian Federal government can compete quite well with the level of ineptness  , incomptence and laziness of any third world country...

Hello everyone,

Please let us not turn this thread into a political thread. Topics related to politics are not welcome on our forums.

I invite members to change the course of this thread ...

Thank you in advance

Bhavna

Vee haff vays to nake you talk..

About subjects other than poltics..

You talk about visas and taxes in Colombia  it ends up being about politics..because politicians make the rules..but it is the common bureaucrats that implement them

It is important to have open discusiones to let future expats thinking about moving to the country know the pitfalls to prevent them from.making life altering mistakes.

As far as visa rules, the only thing that is certain is the new changes were made by the previous regime.

Everything else is speculation.

However, the common bureaucrats in the cancilleria, for whatever reason, are interpreting and implementing them in the worst posssible way.

@mtbe "'enhanced'

Like collecting the wealth tax ha ha ha ha , i havent seen it happen with the expats here yet. I am sure its on their radar but getting digitized and coperation is a whole nother thing.

Many things are unenhanced here so palms can be greased, if they enforce the letterof the law than they lose the vig

@nico peligro although a previous regime enacted the new rules, the current regime is interpreting and enforcing the laws. As has been stated before, the law and reality sometimes differ greatly in Colombia.

Those interpretations can vary widely from location to location. Case in point, you don't want to be making any visa applications at the Colombian embassy in Houston.

lpd

" you don't want to be making any visa applications at the Colombian embassy in Houston."

Can you explain?

My buddy was denied in Medellin after many years then filed in Texas and was approved

@lunamick Well, everybody has a different experience. Personally I have found the Houston Embassy very unhelpful and actually almost hostile. My wife a native Colombian agrees with this. For my application they requested that I supply the missing information/documents and admonished me to NOT resubmit documents that had already been submitted. However, they didn't say what document was at issue and calls to the Consulate resulted in the reply that everything is online and to go to the website. In addition they requested documents that are not listed on line. A Colombian lawyer in Medellin echoed my sentiments and indicated that I should file anywhere other than Houston if possible.

Now when I applied for my marriage visa at the Houston Consulate years ago they were very helpful and friendly.

lpd

You like here it depends on who you talk to, luck of the draw

The London Consulate is the worst. They are rejecting everything!

If you are looking for a place to retire or live as a digital nomad or whatever, try Argentina.

Just as cheap as Colombia on the" blue" dollar and a lot higher quality of life in my opinión  and good healthcare system.

Also México is stilll very expat friendly, although to find an  economic location to settle in you need to do some hunting

If you have a long term Colombiana sweatheart ((wife)you have been living with for years, just keep trying , from inside or outside the country. Family unification is a basic Human Right, and there is a UN charter on the issue  which Colombia has signed. You may have to.pay a high priced lawyer to " speed up" the process.

if you are single  looking to."play the field" romantically, just come to Colombia as a tourist.

whatever you do, dont waste your time  effort and future on some Colombiana you met online, and just visited a few times, espescially a single mother.

Colombia, in fact,all.of Latín América is choc- a,-block full.of desperate single women, espescially single moms.

@cccmedia

Isn't the story that they got the R visa after their initial purchase (under the old law), but when they came to transfer their old R to an R covered under the new law they couldn't? (As the minimum threshold had changed).

    @cccmedia
Isn't the story that they got the R visa after their initial purchase (under the old law), but when they came to transfer their old R to an R covered under the new law they couldn't? (As the minimum threshold had changed).
   

    -@Zooldrool

.

.

.

Doesn't ring  a bell.

cccmedia

@HutchX2020 nm, saw you responded elsewhere so deleted comment.

Anyway, maybe we should get back on the topic.

This is worse thsn discussing politics

Relationships are complicated. In the age of divorce many women have kids. You fall in love with someone. They have kids. The relationship will be harder. That is a factor to consider when making a serious commitment. Are you willing to give it your best?  Unless

you are a model of perfection, your partner will have to take into consideration your flaws and defects, things that might be hard for them to deal with. They have to decide if you are still worth it. Don’t offer yourself to someone with kids if you feel they are a burden. They’re already here! No pregnancy, sleepless nights, hospital bill. No diapers unless they are infants. From how you feel you will bring only unhappiness to a woman with children.

Avoid them. There are men out there who love the idea of acquiring an entire family to care about. Let them get there first.

    All I can tell you is before Petro visas were alot easier to achieve, now visas that took up to 30 days, are taking up to 3 months and more people are forced to leave and comeback as tourists and start the process all over again as newbies, or apply from their home countries. I believe they don't want what happenned to Costa Rica and Panama to happen to Colombia and rightly so!!
-@HutchX2020
.
.
.
What happened in Costa Rica and Panama?
   

    -@cccmedia

La verdad es que se han vuelto muy inseguros en los últimos años, da miedo ir por allá.

Marta57, please use only English.

Hello everyone,

Please note that I have put aside some posts from this topic.

We should leave any animosity out for the forum.

Furthermore these posts were off-topic.

Regards

Bhavna

Having worked my way through the visa process with a lot of help from fellow forum members on another forum. I was able to work through a marriage visa without the assistance of an attorney or "immigration specialist". The online system is very esoteric and subject to some losses in "translation". Having "learned how to navigate they system I have found the Houston Consulate to actually be accommodating and helpful.

lpd