The Ministry of Foreign Affairs grants a courtesy type V visa for foreign artistic, technical, and production personnel entering the country for the purpose of developing foreign audiovisual projects. This visa must be requested as long as the foreign personnel entering the country does NOT meet the following characteristics:
- The nationality of the foreign members must require a visa to enter Colombia. To corroborate this, find here resolution 5488 of July 22nd, 2022 and the list of restricted nationalities.
- The stay in Colombia exceeds 90 days (extendable up to 180 days).
If this is not your case, you do not need to apply for a visa to enter Colombia, you must travel with a letter of invitation from the production services company or whoever takes its place, show it at Migración Colombia and a copy of the resolution in order to be granted a POA (Permission for Other Activities) stamp. This stamp will be valid for 90 days.
If your stay exceeds this time, about 15 days prior to expiration, you must request an extension for another 90 days. We invite you to read the instructions, where you will find more details on how to enter Colombia.
IF YOUR STAY EXCEEDS 180 DAYS, YOU MUST APPLY FOR A COURTESY TYPE V VISA.
To apply for this visa, you must first process the document that certifies that your production is a foreign project, as follows:
- If your project is a cinematographic work (feature film or short film) you must request the Authorization to shoot in national territory, issued by the Ministry of Culture, by sending these documents to the following e-mail addresses:
idacosta@mincultura.gov.co and griano@mincultura.gov.co - If your project is an audiovisual format other than a cinematographic work (series, music videos, video games, among others), you must request the Certification of foreign audiovisual work, issued by the Colombian Film Commission, following the instructions in the link.
Once you have this document, you may apply for the courtesy type V Visa.
If you wish to apply directly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, free of charge and autonomously, follow the instructions below and register in this link.
You can also apply for visas through the Colombian Film Commission, accessing the following benefits:
- Review of all your documents
- Interlocution with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Application management
- Fast processing
Review the costs and steps to apply for a courtesy type V Visa with the Proimágenes Colombia’s Film Commission.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
- Keep in mind that if the foreign personnel is hired by a Colombian company, it is not eligible for the courtesy type V visa application.
- Your visa will be issued for the time you have requested. However, you should be aware that if the visa is valid for more than 90 days, you must apply for a foreigner’s identification card in Colombia.
- Please note that the type V visa allows multiple entries into the country.
- If you require a longer stay than initially requested, it is possible to apply for a new courtesy type V Visa as long as the previous one has not expired. The application must be made 15 working days prior to the expiration of the visa. This process can be performed in the country.
- If you have two nationalities, you must enter the country with the passport to which you were granted the courtesy type V Visa. Failure to do so may result in penalties and fines.
- If your visa expires and you have not left the country, a process with Migración Colombia will be generated that will result in fines and restrictions to enter Colombia again.
- If you are a Colombian national, and your passport is valid, you must enter the country with your Colombian passport and do not require a visa.
If you have any questions about these procedures you can send an email to alejandracastillo@proimagenescolombia.com.
ANNEXES:
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT VISA PROCESSING WITH THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PROCESSING OF VISAS WITH THE COLOMBIAN FILM COMMISSION
