Looking for the best (legal) way to stay in Colombia for another 6 months? If you’ve used up your 180-day tourist visa, getting a Colombian student visa is probably the easiest/ cheapest/ best way.
With this post, I hope to save you some time. Because I researched and spoke to a lot of people about Colombian student visa options – everyone told me LCN Idiomas was the best option in terms of ease and cost. So if you fancy studying Spanish, here is a step-by-step guide to getting your visa:
Step 1 – Make an appointment with LCN
Drop them a message on WhatsApp to arrange the initial consultation. The number I messaged is below:
Step 2 – Go to the LCN offices for the consultation
The office is Uni Centro Comercial in Laureles. To get there, go to the 4th Floor. The best way is from the elevators in the food court.
At the offices, I was talked through the process. The way she spoke to me It was clear they get many foreigners after the Colombian student visa. She said I might be level B2 but if I want to start from level B1 I could i.e. pay for another 3 months to stay in Colombia.
She did also say there’s a 10 hours per week minimum attendance quota. Which is a lot. One guy who studied with LCN twice told me he only attended 3 classes and he had no problems. So I guess it’s a formality.
Here are the prices they gave me:
A1 (3-months) = 1357.000 COP / 358 USD
A2 (3-months) = 1357.000 COP / 358 USD
B1 (3-months) = 1587.000 COP / 418 USD
B2 (3-months) = 1587.000 COP / 418 USD
They had a summer offer through June/July on so I ended up paying 3176.550 (837 USD) for levels B1/B2. In other words, a 6-month Colombian student visa.
Step 3 – Take the online grading exam
I was keen to go ahead, so the next step was getting graded. The lady who did my consultation set up a time with someone to do an hour of online grading exercise; reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
She told me my grade at the end of the session.
Step 4 – Make Payment
After getting graded, the consultation lady messaged me to confirm the grade I wanted to start at and make payment.
I decided to start from B1 so I’d get the Colombian student visa for 6 months. The next day, I went back to the offices to make the payment by card.
Step 4 – Wait for the certificate of acceptance
The certificate saying you’re a student at LCN is what you’re paying for basically. When everything is confirmed, you’ll be sent the PDF via email. You’ll need this for the actual visa application that you do by yourself.
Step 5 – Fill in your Colombian student visa application
LCN will send you the document you need for the visa application and the link where you’ll start the visa application.
This part is self-explanatory, but I did spend an hour trying to find the correct visa category….
FYI it’s this:
Tipo de Visa= V – INTERCAMBIO ACADÉMICO , ESTUDIOS EN ARTE U OFICIOS Y POSTGRADOS
Step 6 – Attach the required documents for the visa
This is where I fucked up twice and got emails telling me I did it wrong. So, luckily for you (if anyone is lucky enough to find this post), I made a checklist.
Checklist:
1. Recibo de pago de matricula del curso // Tuition payment receipt for the course.
2. Carta de solicitud indicando quién sufragará sus gastos y porqué escogió Colombia para realizar su curso // Request letter indicating who will pay for your expenses and why you chose Colombia to take your course.
Here is what a typical request letter includes
(I basically copied/ amended what was on there and whacked it in google translate)
3. Extractos bancarios de los ultimos 6 meses del responsible. // Bank statements of the last 6 months of the person in charge.
FYI: I had to download 6 PDFs from my bank and then make them into 1 PDF document so it would attach. I didn’t translate them and got approved.
4. Certificado laboral o de ingresos en caso de que ud sea responsable de sus gastos. // Labor or income certificate in case you are responsible for your expenses.
I stated in my request letter who I was working for and that the contract wouldn’t load in the system. Evidently, that was enough.
5. Copia del ultimo sello de entrada al país // Copy of the last stamp of entry to the country.
It’s best to get a scan of your passport photo, stamp, and salvo conducto/ visa extension and make them into a single PDF.
6. Attach photo que sea reciente en formato JPG, fondo blanco, a color, peso máximo a 300 KB, tamaño 3×4 cms.
Use this website to do the resize
This part is as straightforward as you want to make it. For me, it was a ballache. My recommendation? Get it right first time and save yourself some stress.
Once done, you’ll need to pay 50,000 COP / 13 USD to send off the application.
Step 7 – Make final payment
Once you get approved, you’ll need to make another payment of 184.305 COP / 48 USD.
From start to finish the process took me exactly 1 month (that did include 2 fuck ups that pushed the application back a few weeks).
Step 8 – Get started with the online lessons
Reply to LCN with your Colombian student visa attached and you’ll be able to start soon after.
Step 9 – Get your Cédula de Extranjería
When you get the email with your electronic visa, you’ll need to get your physical Cédula within 15 days.
“Please note that once you have issued your visa, you will have fifteen (15) calendar days to go to the Special Administrative Unit Migración Colombia and register it. If you are outside the country, the days will be counted from your entry to Colombia.”
This means another trip to the migration office in Belén. First, you need to book an appointment online. You’ll then get a confirmation email with a link to an online form [el FUT] you need to fill out.
“Recuerde diligenciar el Formulario Único de Tramites-FUT”
Once filled out, you’ll be given a special number. Bring this document, your passport, and your electronic visa to your appointment. When they’ve processed everything, taken your photo and fingerprint, they’ll tell you to come back in 10 days to collect the physical copy.
En fin.
It’s a ballache. The price we pay for an extra 6 months in Colombia. If you have any more questions, feel free to drop me an email or comment. And if you want to know how to extend your Colombian tourist visa I wrote a step-by-step guide for that as well.
Suerte!
Nick
