Updated 2025 Guide to Successfully Apply for the Colombian Spouse Visa (M-type Visa)
- Juliana Rey, Attorney
- Oct 5
- 11 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Learn how to successfully apply for the Colombian Spouse Visa (M-type) in 2025. Step-by-step guide, legal tips & expert help from Colombian Visa Agency.
What is the Colombian Spouse Visa (M-type visa)?
The Colombian Spouse Visa is an M-type (migrant) visa intended for foreign nationals who have married a Colombian citizen at any time, whether within Colombia or abroad, provided they maintain conjugal cohabitation at the time of applying for this visa.
✅ This visa allows the holder to work in Colombia and also permits applying for a beneficiary visa for the principal visa holder's child (under 25 years of age, or over this age with a proven disability).
This Colombian M-type visa can be granted for up to 3 years, though it could also be granted for a shorter period, depending on the discretionary criteria of the Colombian visa authority in each case.
Unlike the M-type visa for a permanent partner of a Colombian national —which requires demonstrating that the de facto marital union was formalized at least one year before applying— the marriage visa can be requested at any time once the marriage has been formalized.
This means that if you have recently married a Colombian citizen and possess the Colombian civil registration of this marriage, you could apply for your Spouse Visa immediately.
A significant benefit of the Colombian marriage visa is that it allows for the accumulation of time towards applying for a Colombian Resident Visa, once the principal holder has held this type of visa for a minimum of 3 consecutive years, and provided this time has been duly accumulated, as will be explained later.
Another wonderful benefit of the Colombian marriage visa —and more specifically, of the Colombian Resident Visa acquired by accumulating the required time— is that it grants the holder the possibility of aspiring to obtain Colombian nationality.
Thus, in accordance with Law 2332 of 2023, once the Colombian Resident Visa has been obtained through time accumulation under a Colombian Spouse Visa, and if the Resident Visa holder (spouse of the Colombian national) demonstrates that they have maintained domicile in Colombia for two (2) continuous years, they will be eligible to submit a naturalization application to the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is an application to acquire Colombian nationality.
Can I Apply if I Married Outside Colombia?
Yes, but you must register your marriage in Colombia through a notary or Colombian consulate.
How long Does The Application Process Take?
The process can take up to 30 calendar days, depending on the review and any additional documents requested.
Am I Allowed to Work in Colombia With the Spouse Visa?
Yes, this visa permits you to work legally in Colombia.
Ten Key Points for Successfully Applying for a Colombian Spouse Visa
If you are planning to apply for a Colombian marriage visa and wish to know key information about this process that will increase your chances of obtaining this visa on your first application, avoiding the most common mistakes applicants make, then pay close attention to the following 10 vital points:
You must obtain your colombian marriage certificate, regardless of whether you were married in colombia or abroad
If you married a Colombian citizen outside Colombia, you must personally register your marriage certificate at a notary in Colombia or at a Colombian consulate, if you are in your country of origin or legal residence. This way, you can obtain the Colombian marriage certificate, which is the required document to apply for a Colombian Spouse Visa.
To register your foreign marriage certificate, you must present an authenticated copy of this document, issued no more than 90 calendar days prior, to a notary in Colombia or a Colombian consulate.
This document must have:
An apostille
Its official translation into Spanish, if written in a different language
Translation by a Colombian official translator
At Colombia Visa Agency, we also manage the official translation of your documents with our excellent allied official translator, quickly and at a very reasonable rate.
Now, if you married a Colombian citizen in Colombia, you must obtain your Colombian marriage certificate from the respective notary where your marriage was registered. This certificate must be an authenticated copy and its issuance date must not be more than 90 days prior to applying for the Spouse Visa.
Remain in the territory from which you applied for the colombian spouse visa until you receive a definitive answer to your application
If you are applying for the Spouse Visa while in Colombia, ensure you can remain in the country legally for at least 30 calendar days, as this is the maximum time a Colombian visa application process could take.
🚫 Avoid leaving the country during the review process of your Colombian visa application —meaning before you have received a definitive answer— otherwise, your application could be deemed inadmissible (and you will have to re-submit your application), or a new certificate of migratory movements could be required by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On the other hand, if you are applying for the Colombian Spouse Visa from your country of origin or legal residence, it is advisable not to leave that territory to travel to Colombia while your visa application is still pending; otherwise, it could also be deemed inadmissible in this case, and you would then have to submit a new visa application, which you can do at any time.
It is best to obtain your apostilled criminal record certificate from your country of origin or legal residence before applying for the visa
It is highly advisable that before applying for your Colombian Spouse Visa, you first obtain a recent criminal record certificate issued by your country of origin and/or the country where you have lived for the last 3 years.
This certificate must have an issuance date less than 90 calendar days prior to applying for the visa, and it also requires an apostille from the country where it was issued to be valid before the Colombian visa authority.
Additionally, it must be officially translated into Spanish if its content is in another language.
⚠️Although this certificate is not a pre-established requirement in Resolution No. 5477 of 2022 for applying for the Colombian Spouse Visa, it is highly probable that it will be requested as an additional document by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the review process of the Spouse Visa application.
Therefore, it is recommended to have this document from the outset, or failing that, to begin managing its obtainment sufficiently in advance of applying for the Colombian visa, so that when it is required by the Colombian visa authority during the process, it can be provided promptly.
If you are a US citizen, you must obtain the certificate issued by the FBI with an apostille issued in Washington D.C.
Please note that if you are in Colombia, obtaining this document with its corresponding apostille could take 30 to 36 business days.
Grant special power of attorney to whomever you wish, if you cannot personally claim your migratory movement certificate from migración colombia
¿Can I grant power of attorney for someone to collect my migratory movement certificate?
Yes, you can grant special power of attorney to whomever you wish, in case you cannot personally claim your migratory movement certificate from migración colombia.
The migratory movement certificates of the applicant and their Colombian spouse are documents that record their entries and exits from and to Colombia.
These certificates must be submitted with the Spouse Visa application, and it is advisable that their issuance date is no more than 30 days prior to applying for this Colombian visa.
The request for these certificates and the payment for their issuance are made online through Migración Colombia; however, these documents must be personally claimed by the applicants at the corresponding Migración Colombia office.
If you cannot claim it personally, you may grant special power of attorney to the person you wish to claim it on your behalf.
This power must be clear and express, and your signature must be notarized before any notary in Colombia, or at a Colombian Consulate if the visa applicant and/or their Colombian spouse are outside Colombia.
If the special power of attorney granted to claim the migratory movement certificate was signed and notarized at a Colombian Consulate, the person claiming it will only need to print a digital copy of this document to present it to Migración Colombia.
But, if the special power of attorney was granted at a notary in Colombia, then the person who personally claims the migratory movement certificate must present the original notarized document.
Please note that once Migración Colombia informs you that your migratory movement certificate is ready for delivery, you will have up to 60 calendar days to claim it personally or through an attorney.
After this time, you will have to request a new certificate and make a new payment for this process.
Formalities of the spouse visa application letter and the special power of attorney granted by the colombian spouse
To apply for a Colombian Spouse Visa, among the documents that must be submitted with the application are the visa application letter and the special power of attorney through which the Colombian spouse authorizes their foreign spouse to apply for this type of Colombian visa.
Both documents, the visa application letter and the special power of attorney, must contain the notarized signature of the Colombian spouse.
Or, if the Colombian spouse is outside the country, they must go to a Colombian Consulate near their place of residence to request the recognition and authentication of their signatures on both documents.
💡Regarding the special power of attorney granted by the Colombian spouse to their foreign spouse to apply for the Colombian Spouse Visa, it is advisable that this document also contains the foreign spouse's signature, although this signature does not require notarization as the Colombian spouse's signature does.
Ensure you maintain regular immigration status in colombia at the time of applying for the colombian spouse visa and during the application process
The Colombian Spouse Visa can be applied for while the foreign national is in Colombia or from their country of origin or legal residence.
If the visa is applied for while the applicant is in Colombian territory, they must demonstrate that their stay in the country is regular, either through:
Permit for Permanent Stay (PIP)
Valid visa
Ensure that at the time of applying for the Colombian visa, your Permit for Permanent Stay, also known as a tourist permit or incorrectly called by some as a "tourist visa"; or its extension, has a validity of at least thirty (30) calendar days, which is the total time a Colombian visa application and approval process can take.
⚠️However, it is most advisable to apply for your Colombian visa more than 30 calendar days before the expiration of your Permit for Permanent Stay or its extension, in case for any reason you have to restart the process due to the inadmissibility of the first application.
If your Permit for Permanent Stay in Colombia (PIP) or its extension is about to expire; and if your visa application is still under review or if this process is awaiting additional documentation from you to continue; then you have the option to request a "salvoconducto" (safe conduct pass) from any Migración Colombia office, in order to obtain an extraordinary permit to remain in the country for a maximum of 30 additional calendar days after the expiration of your permit or its extension.
This is so you can remain in Colombia legally for more days while your visa application is definitively resolved by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
However, please note that the granting of a “salvoconducto” by the Colombian immigration authority is discretionary in each case, meaning that the request can be granted or denied to the foreign applicant.
Hence the importance of seeking appropriate advice when requesting a safe conduct pass, if you do not have full knowledge of this procedure and its requirements.
Now, if the foreign spouse is applying for the Colombian marriage visa outside the country, in a country that is not their country of origin, then they must demonstrate their regular stay in that territory or their resident status in it, depending on whether their nationality is exempt from short-stay visas in Colombia or not.
Vital information for the content of the spouse visa application letter
The Colombian Spouse Visa application letter, which the Colombian spouse must submit to the Colombian visa authority with their notarized signature, must clearly and expressly state that the conjugal bond and cohabitation between the visa applicant and their Colombian spouse currently persist.
Only in some cases, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs might request proof of current cohabitation between the spouses and/or require the Colombian spouse for a virtual or in-person interview during the visa application review process.
Submit required additional documentation during the visa application review process in a timely manner
If, during the review process of the Colombian Spouse Visa application, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is the Colombian visa authority, requests additional information and/or documentation from you, please note that:
You initially have 10 calendar days from the moment you receive the additional request from the Ministry to satisfy these requirements.
In case you cannot provide the required additional documentation within the initial 10 calendar days, you may do so within 30 calendar days following the date you paid for the visa application review, as your application was successfully registered on that date, and the 30 calendar days that a Colombian visa application process can maximally take begin to count from that same date.
⚠️Failure to timely satisfy the additional requirement by the applicant, i.e., within 30 calendar days following the payment for the visa application review; the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will proceed to declare said application as abandoned.
In this case, the Colombian visa applicant must restart the process, meaning they must submit a new visa application and make a new payment for its review.
If you aspire to apply for a colombian resident visa by accumulating time under spouse visas, then obtain your new spouse visa before your current visa expires
How can I accumulate time to apply for Colombian residency?
If you are applying for a Colombian Spouse Visa for the second or third time, and your intention is to duly accumulate time as a holder of this visa to aspire to a Colombian Resident Visa later; then you must apply for your new Spouse Visa sufficiently in advance, so that you can obtain it while your previous visa is still valid.
This is how time is duly accumulated as a holder of a Colombian M-type visa, in order to apply for a Colombian Resident Visa once the minimum required time is met.
In the case of principal holders of M-type spouse visas, they must demonstrate that they have held this visa category for at least 3 continuous years to be able to apply for the Colombian Resident Visa.
Given the above, it is suggested that you apply for your second Colombian Spouse Visa at least 60 days before the expiration of your current Colombian marriage visa, so that you have more than enough time to obtain the new visa while the current one is still valid, thereby accumulating the time you need to be eligible for a Colombian Resident Visa, once you have held this type of visa for at least 3 consecutive years.
⚠️Please remember that after the expiration of your Colombian visa, whether it is a Spouse Visa or another category, you may remain in the country legally for an additional 30 calendar days; and during this period, you could also apply for a new Colombian visa.
However, remember that in this case, if you obtain a new Spouse Visa, the validity period of this new visa will not be added to the time during which the previous Spouse Visa was valid, for the purpose of duly accumulating the minimum required time (3 years) to apply for a Colombian Resident Visa.
💡Finally, remember that once your Colombian spouse visa is approved, you have 15 calendar days from the issuance of your electronic visa to request a Colombian foreigner ID card (cédula de extranjería) from Migración Colombia—or to request a new one, if you’ve held one previously.
Save time, energy, and money, and let an expert handle your colombian spouse visa application
A great piece of advice for effectively applying for a Colombian Spouse Visa with high chances of success on your first application is not to venture into this journey without the appropriate assistance of an expert on the subject.
💡In reality, applying for a Colombian visa is not just about gathering certain documents and filling out an online form; it's much more than that:
Verifying the suitability and validity of each requested document
Determining the appropriate or necessary time to apply for the visa
Knowing in detail the legal norm governing this procedure to effectively minimize the risks of inadmissibility of the visa application
Ensuring proper management of additional requirements during the application review process, etc.
Colombia Visa Agency can be your best ally to obtain your Colombian marriage visa without inconvenience and minimizing all risk of inadmissibility of your application from the outset.
Ready to begin your Colombian Spouse Visa process with confidence?Let Attorney Juliana Rey and the team at Colombian Visa Agency help you every step of the way.
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