Those who visit Colombia are enchanted by its places, its food, its culture, its people… and even see the possibility of prospering in the country and becoming active members of society.
However, in view of the current immigration situation in the country, we thought it was pertinent to talk about how to acquire Colombian nationality, in case the person wishes to be Colombian and contribute to the development of the country.
How is Colombian nationality acquired?
According to the Political Constitution of Colombia of 1991, in Article 96 of the
article 96
are Colombian nationals:
- By birth:
- Those born in Colombia, with one of two conditions: that the father or mother was born in Colombia or has Colombian nationality; or, being the child of a foreigner, one of the two was domiciled in Colombia at the time of birth.
- Children of a Colombian father, who, although born abroad, will later be domiciled in Colombian territory.
- By adoption:
- Foreigners who request and obtain a letter of naturalization, in accordance with the parameters established by law.
- Latin Americans and Caribbeans by birth, domiciled in Colombia, who, with government authorization and in accordance with the law, request to be registered as Colombians before the municipality where they settle.
- Members of indigenous peoples who share border territories.
Requirements to apply for Colombian nationality
Before initiating a process to apply for Colombian nationality, the person must have a valid resident visa and comply with a request for domicile in Colombia, such period will vary according to the nationality of the person as follows:
- For Latin American and Caribbean citizens, you must be domiciled for a period of 1 continuous year from the date of issuance of the visa.
- For Spaniards, it must be domiciled for a period of 2 continuous years from the date of issuance of the visa.
- For foreigners who are not Latin American, Caribbean or Spanish, they must be domiciled for a period of 5 years from the date of issuance of the visa.
However, this period may be reduced to 2 years if the applicant is married or has a de facto marital union with a Colombian person or has a Colombian son or daughter.
Note that persons of the same sex can appeal to this reduction of time since in Colombia both the de facto marital union and marriage between persons of the same sex are contemplated.
If any of these three cases are met, you may submit the application and the necessary documentation to the Ministry of Public Relations to begin the process.
Documentation required to acquire Colombian nationality
When you meet the requirement of domicile in Colombia, and you want to initiate a process, you must present the following documentation, it is important to mention that the following information is taken from the official website of the
Chancellery
It is important to mention that the following information is taken from the official page of the Chancellery, so they are the legal documents that are requested to carry out the process:
- Memorial addressed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, requesting Colombian nationality, with its respective motivation, which must indicate:
- Name, alien registration number, occupation, country of origin and current nationality of the petitioner.
- City of domicile and address of your residence in Colombia, landline telephone, cell phone number and e-mail address.
- Manifestation of the applicant in which he/she states his/her will to be notified by electronic means, if he/she so desires. For this purpose, in the virtual procedure, there is the option to indicate the interest of electronic notification.
- Express authorization to request confidential, tax or other relevant information from the competent authorities.
- Reasons on which your request is based.
- Statement of your last domicile before residing in the country.
- If the interested party has minor children under his parental authority, he may request that the nationality be extended to them, for which he must submit evidence of the marital status of the children to whom the nationality is to be extended. The request must be made jointly by the parents or the person exercising parental authority. In the event that the parental authority is exercised only by the applicant, this circumstance must be proven.
- If the applicant has not defined his military situation in his country of origin, he must make a written commitment note in which he states that he will define his military situation in Colombia, in case he is granted the nationality.
- The application must be signed by the applicant.
- Simple copy of the valid foreigner’s identity card.
- Simple copy of the valid Resident Visa.
- One (1) current document type photo of face, front view, white background. Size 4×5 cm in jpg format.
- A simple copy of the biographical data page of the valid passport.
- In case the passport does not include the required information, a suitable document issued by a competent authority of your country of origin, proving the date and place of birth, will be requested. Such document must be legalized by the Colombian consul, or apostilled by the competent authority of the petitioner’s country of origin, as appropriate. The aforementioned document must be translated into Spanish if it was originally issued in another language and if the translation was done abroad, it must be apostilled or legalized as appropriate.
- Proof of profession or trade with a labor certificate from the company where he/she works, no longer than six (6) months.
- If the applicant is an independent professional, he/she must provide a copy of the tax registration form (RUT).
- In case of being a partner or owner of a commercial establishment, a certificate from the Chamber of Commerce issued no more than six (6) months ago, stating the corporate purpose of such entity and its tax identification number (NIT), must be provided.
- In the event that the applicant is economically dependent on another person, he/she must submit a statement attesting to such dependency, signed by the family member, spouse or permanent companion. Likewise, the documents listed in numbers 7, 8 and 9, corresponding to the person responsible for the applicant, must be attached.
- Basic knowledge of the Political Constitution of Colombia, Colombian history, geography of Colombia and Spanish. The examinations must be submitted to the respective Governor’s Office of the place of domicile, upon request of this Ministry, in accordance with the provisions of Law 43 of 1993, as amended by Law 962 of 2005.
If you think that the process of acquiring Colombian nationality is very complicated, in Servicio Legal we can help you, we are experts in immigration law and we will help you in each of the steps and requirements necessary to apply for a Colombian nationality. If you would like our help in your process, do not hesitate to contact us through our website
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