The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has broad discretional powers to approve the issuance or renewal of visas and, when denied, applicants do not have the opportunity to appeal the decision. It is important to minimize the risk of denial since a new petition may only be presented after a six-month wait if a visa request is denied.

The requirements to obtain visas change periodically and should be verified prior to submitting the application.

The visa process must be performed either online with the visas office in Bogotá or at the Colombian Consulate. If the foreign individual is abroad, it is mandatory to request a visa at the nearest consulate. The process takes between 30-60 days.

Noncompliance with immigration regulations can result in fines for the foreign national and the company and, in some cases, may result in the foreign national being deported or expelled from Colombia.

As of October 2018, all public sector entities and private companies that hire foreign nationals in Colombia (either as employees or contractors) must report this act to the Ministry of Labor through the Single Registry of Foreign Workers in Colombia ("RUTEC") platform. RUTEC is an electronic platform that aims to quantify and identify employment-related immigration to Colombia.

Starting from the day that the foreign national is hired, they must be registered with RUTEC for a period of up to 120 days.

Employers and contracting entities should update the reports in RUTEC when any of these events occur:

• Termination of employment or services agreement
• Whenever there is a change in the economic activity to be performed
• When a foreign employee or contractor permanently changes their domicile

Employers and contracting entities have 30 days from the date of these events to update reports in RUTEC.

Reports in RUTEC are valid throughout the term of the employment or services agreement.

Employers and contracting entities must create reports every time a foreign employee or foreign contractor is hired, regardless of whether the individual was previously reported by other entities.

Employers (entities, institutions or individuals) and companies admitting foreign visitors must inform the UAEMC of the hiring, termination of employment, or the engaging and termination of activities of any foreign nationals within 15 calendar days of such event.

These notices should be given to the UAEMC electronically via the SIRE (Information System for the Reporting of Foreign Nationals) platform. The SIRE registration aims to facilitate the reporting and registry obligations for companies that hire foreign citizens. To successfully register foreign citizens on the SIRE platform, companies must register on the electronic platform here.

Furthermore, foreign nationals must notify the UAEMC of any change of residence or domicile within 15 days of such event.