There are several visa agencies and law firms in Medellín and other cities in Colombia that offer visa services – helping foreigners obtain Colombian visas. We provide a guide to the visa agencies and law firms offering visa services in Medellín and Colombia that is updated for 2022.

We include a total of 15 visa agencies and law firms in Colombia offering Colombian visa services in this article.

Is a Lawyer Required for Visa Services in Colombia?

In Colombia, a lawyer is not really needed for most visa services. The application forms are relatively straightforward and the process and documents required are pretty well-defined.

Lawyers are typically only needed in more complex immigration cases in Colombia. And lawyers are not really needed for most visas that are relatively straightforward like student, retirement, marriage or resident visas.

So, several visa agencies in Colombia exist that specialize in providing visa services at lower costs than the law firms in Colombia.

The Colombia Visa Process

Colombia offers many different categories of visas, which enable you to stay in Colombia for a year or more. We previously provided a guide to Colombian visas.

You can apply for a Colombian visa online. In addition, you can obtain Colombian visas at Colombian consulates around the world. In the U.S., Colombia has consulates located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Orlando, Newark, New York, San Francisco and Washington DC.

After receiving the online visa approval, if doing this in Colombia, you previously needed to travel to Bogotá to get the visa in your passport but this is no longer required to to the coronavirus pandemic. 

I successfully obtained three Colombian visas that I applied for my own in the past that were good for a total of five years. But the biggest challenge with doing a Colombian visa yourself is not benefiting from the experiences of a visa agency, which has processed hundreds of visas and knows exactly what is needed for each type of visa.

So, for my latest visa received in 2018, a Colombia resident visa, I used a visa agency. And I found the experience painless and now highly recommend using a visa service over doing a Colombia visa application yourself. The bottom line is with a visa agency you are less likely to run into problems.

Visa Agencies and Law Firms Offering Visa Services in Medellín

You can find visa agencies in several cities in Colombia. For example, there are at least nine visa agencies in Medellín and at least four law firms offering visa services in Medellín.

Visa Agencies in Medellín

Inside the Expatgroup.co office in El Poblado

Inside the Expatgroup.co office in El Poblado

1. Expatgroup.co

Expatgroup.co is a visa agency in Medellín with an office located in El Poblado. This visa agency’s goal is to provide a portfolio of services tailored to foreigners who want to settle, invest, work, study and/or do business in Colombia.

Expatgroup.co’s visa services are competitively priced and their website provides more functionality than the other visa agencies. The functionality includes chat, Spanish and English language and the ability to get online quotes for visa services.

Expatgroup.co's office is in the Davivienda office building in El Poblado

Expatgroup.co’s office is in the Davivienda office building in El Poblado

Website: https://expatgroup.co/english/visasincolombia/

Address: Carrera 43A # 1Sur-188, Davivienda Business Office Tower, office #508

InterCol's office in Belén near the Migracion office

InterCol’s office in Belén near the Migracion office

2. InterCol Trámites Internacionales

InterCol is a visa agency in Medellín with two offices in Medellín. One is located near to the Unicentro mall and the other is located near the Migracion office in Belén.  Intercol started operations in 2000.

Website: http://inter-col.com/

Addresses: Calle 34 # 66B-63 in Belén near Unicentro mall, Calle 19 # 80-168 in Belén near the Migraction Colombia office.

3. Visas y Trámites Internacionales

Visas y Trámites Internacionales is a visa agency in Medellín with its primary office in El Poblado but reportedly also has offices in Miami and Bogotá.

Visas y Trámites is owned and managed by James Lindzey, who is an American expat living in Colombia since 2005.

Website: http://www.colombiavisas.com/

Gesticol's office in Belén near the Migracion office

Gesticol’s office in Belén near the Migracion office

4. Gesticol

Gesticol is a visa agency in Medellín with over 15 years of experience. And Gesticol as its office in Belén near the Migracion Colombia office.

Gesticol specializes in advisory services for Colombian visas offering visa services targeting foreign citizens entering Colombia.

Website: https://www.gesticol.com/sitio/

Address: Calle 19 # 80B-19, Belén near the Migracion Colombia office

Extranjería & Migración's office in Belén near the Migracion office

Extranjería & Migración’s office in Belén near the Migracion office

5. Extranjería & Migración en Colombia

Extranjería & Migración is a visa agency in Medellín with its office in Belén near the Migracion Colombia office.

This visa agency is the only company providing visa services in Colombia that doesn’t have its own website. Extranjería & Migración only has a Facebook page.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/extranjeria.migracion/

Address: Carrera 80B # 17-152, Belén near the Migracion Colombia office.

6. Autoarchy

Autoarchy is a visa agency in Medellín that was started by Roger Schmidt from Switzerland. This agency offers Colombian visa services, American visa services as well as legal advice.

Website: http://autarchy.co/en/our-services/

Address: Calle 32EE # 76-115, first floor office #3

7. Gustave Traducciones 

Gustave Traducciones is a company that provides official translation and interpretation services, voice over, and text editing in different languages. Also, they offer preparation for the following tests: TOEIC, MET, TOEFL, IELTS, DELF, TCFQ, TCF, DALF, DELE. 

Additionally, they provide advice to apply for an American visas and Colombian visa for foreign citizens. And they offer services for the apostille and legalization of documents.

Furthermore, they offer personalized classes in French, English and Spanish at home and/or in virtual mode. 

Website: https://www.gustavetraducciones.com/en_US/

Address: Calle 7D # 43C – 134, Medellín

Phone: +57 300 327 6146

8. Ben Relocation Consulting

Ben Relocation Consulting provides relocation, consulting and support services including visa services. This company isn’t strictly a visa agency. It’s more a relocation assistance company that also provides visa services to clients.

In addition to visa services, Ben Relocation Consulting supports the relocation process via several services including:

  1. Assistance during arrival.
  2. Looking for a temporary and/or permanent home.
  3. Assistance in selecting educational options.
  4. Consulting on setting up public and private utilities.
  5. Help in establishing banking services.

Website: http://benrelocation.com/en/

Law Firms in Medellín Offering Visa Services

1. Cuadro Legal

Cuadro Legal provides legal advice in many areas including commercial, labor and tax law.

This law firm’s practice areas include commercial law, intellectual property, consumer’s rights, labor law, immigration law, family law, real estate and urban planning law and mining and energy law.

Website: https://cuadrolegal.com/

Address: Carrera 43A, # 1-85, El Poblado

2. Gutierrez Group

Gutierrez Group is a boutique firm that provides legal advisory, investment, business and general consulting to foreigners that live or invest in Colombia.

The company provides legal advice through JDG Law advisors as well as other services including forestry investments, mortgage lending, taxi lending and real estate.

Website: https://gutierrezgroup.com.co/

Address: Calle 7Sur # 42-70, office #209, El Poblado

3. Colombia Legal Partners

This law firm’s practice areas include real estate, immigration law and doing business in Colombia.

Website: http://colombialegalpartners.com/

Address: Calle 10, # 42-28, second floor, El Poblado

Visa Agencies and Law Firms Offering Visa Services in Other Cities in Colombia

Some other cities in Colombia have visa agencies and law firms offering visa services:

What Visa Services are Offered?

Each of the visa agencies and law firms in Colombia generally offer similar Colombia visa packages that typically include:

  • Virtual or in-person meeting with agency or law firm to discuss your visa application.
  • Provide a list of documents required for your visa.
  • Initial review of documents for your visa.
  • Provide templates for some required documents.
  • Review your visa application to ensure maximum probability of approval.
  • Apply for your visa online.
  • Visa stamping service – once the visa is approved, send your passport to Bogotá to get the visa stamped in your passport and return the passport to you. But this visa stamping is no longer required due to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Visa registration and cedula application – assist with documents and schedule appointment with Migracion.

In addition, visa agencies provide additional services including translations and helping to get documents notarized and apostilled.

What are the Capabilities of the Visa Agencies and Law Firms

Each of the visa agencies and law firms offering visa services in Medellín and Colombia have different capabilities for their websites and also their internal systems and communications abilities

The following table summarizes the capabilities of each of the visa agencies and law firms for their visa services. All the visa agencies and law firms have phone, email and WhatsApp communications. But the capabilities of websites and other communications capabilities vary.

Capabilities of the Visa Agencies and Law Firms, January 2022

Capabilities of the Visa Agencies and Law Firms, January 2022

Current Pricing for Visa Services in Colombia

There is a wide range of pricing for visa services by the visa agencies and law firms in Colombia. In general, the visa agencies have lower prices than the law firms as seen in the following figure based on our survey in January 2021:

Visa service prices based on Medellin Guru survey (lowest priced visa), January 2022

Visa service prices based on Medellin Guru survey (lowest priced visa), January 2022

We surveyed visa service prices in January 2022 using quotes from agencies and law firms. And we found a wide range of prices for visa services from $160 to $2,000 USD. The mythology we used in our survey was to get quotes using a “secret shopper” method. So, they didn’t know it was Medellin Guru.

Note that some agencies and law firms charge a different price depending on the type of visa. In this case we used the lowest priced visa in our chart above. For example, Expatgroup.co, the visa agency we partnered with, charges:

  • $160 for a student visa
  • $190 for a retirement visa
  • $190 for a work visa
  • $250 for an investment visa

To compare apples to apples we compared prices for the same type of visa services including an in-person meeting. We found the law firms have the highest prices for visa services with some law firms even charging $1,000 to $2,000 for visa services.

Other Colombia Visa Fees

It is also important to understand that the fee paid to visa agencies for visa services is not the total cost of a Colombian visa. There are also fees paid to the Colombian Minsterio de Relacions Exteriores for the government visa application and government study fees, translation fees, notary fees, apostille fees, document fees and delivery charges. Fees for a visa typically include:

  • Visa service fee which is the fee paid to a visa agency or law firm for visa services. This can range from about $160 to $2,000 depending on the company used.
  • The government visa application fees vary depending on the type of visa. This is paid after your visa is approved.
  • The government study fee is paid as part of the original application and is usually $52 for most visas.
  • Translations are required for documentation needed for a visa that is in a language other than Spanish and you should uses a translator certified by the Colombian government.
  • Notary fees are required for most visa applications. And notarizations are certifications by an official notary that verifies the identity of a person signing a document.
  • Apostilles are used to validate documents from other countries to be used in Colombia.
  • Delivery services may be needed for your visa application to deliver documents needed for your visa application.
Example visa fees for a Colombian visa to demonstrate cost components - not the actual costs which can vary depending on type of visa and agency.

Example visa fees for a Colombian visa to demonstrate cost components – not the actual costs which can vary depending on type of visa and agency.

Also, there is a charge of 196,000 pesos for a cedula that is required after you receive your visa. We have a separate guide to obtaining a cedula.

How Long Does it Take to Get a Colombian Visa and Cedula?

The time required to receive a Colombian visa varies. The following are some approximate times for the different steps in the visa process when using a visa agency:

  1. Gather all the required documents including notarizations, apostilles and translations (if needed) – one day to four weeks.
  2. Submit the online visa application – most visa agencies do this within 24 hours after receiving all the required documents.
  3. Receive visa approval from the Colombian government – this can take one week or longer if an interview or other documents are required. This is now taking up to two weeks.
  4. Send passport to Bogotá for visa stamping – visa agencies typically do this in four to five business days (but this is no longer needed due to the pandemic).
  5. Register visa and apply for cedula – this should be done within 15 days of step number 3 and you need your passport with the visa from step 4.
  6. Receive cedula – this typically take 5 to 10 calendar days.

We have another article with the time processing for Colombian visas. 

Medellin Guru’s Comprehensive Visa and Passport Series

So, on the Medellin Guru site, we have a comprehensive series of visa articles that are kept up-to-date and should answer most visa questions. These articles include:

We have looked in detail at the seven most popular Colombian visas used by foreigners:

  1. Retirement visa
  2. Marriage visa
  3. Investment visa
  4. Resident visa
  5. Work visa
  6. Student visa
  7. Visitor visa

Also, we have looked in detail at three additional Colombian visas, which are less popular for foreigners:

In addition, we have a guide to Colombia tourist visas and how to extend a tourist visa. Also, we have a guide to renewing U.S. passports in Colombia and a guide to obtaining a Colombian passport.

Furthermore, we provide information about travel insurance that meets the insurance requirement for Colombian visas. And we have a guide to how apply for a cedula extranjeria in Colombia and a guide to using notaries in Medellín and Colombia. Finally, Medellin Guru has partnered with a visa agency to offer Colombia visa services.

All of our Colombia visa articles were updated in early 2021 to ensure they are up-to-date and are being updated again in 2022. In addition, all visa articles on this website will be kept up-to-date as new details are disclosed.

Using a Visa Agency

If you are in Colombia and not located in Bogotá and you don’t want to travel, you can use a visa agency to obtain a Colombian visa. A visa agency can handle the online application and ensure you have the documents needed for the visa.

Full disclosure: Medellin Guru has partnered with expatgroup.co, which we believe offers very competitive Colombia visa services. Features of this service include:

  • Online chat – get visa questions answered fast.
  • Online quotes – get immediate visa quotes.
  • Courier your passport to Bogotá to get the visa in your passport.
  • Office in El Poblado in Medellín.
  • Competitive price compared to other visa services.

The Medellin Guru visa service partnership was launched in March 2019. And in 35 months, 544 visas have been successfully received by clients.

Also, our visa service renewed 61 American passports in Bogotá using our passport renewal service and provided visa stamping service to 10 clients (getting the visa in a customer’s passport who applied for a visa himself before the pandemic). In addition, 28 clients extended tourist visas using our tourist visa extension service.

So, in total we had 644 clients of the Medellin Guru visa service in 35 months.

In addition, many more visas are in process – short, medium or longer term, depending on client needs.

Use the Medellin Guru Visa Service

We reviewed all the Colombia visa agency services in Medellín in the above article. And in this review we found one agency that offers a more efficient visa service with more features and more comprehensive communications including online chat, WhatsApp, Skype, email and phone plus a low price and a convenient office in El Poblado.

Our visa partnership is an affiliate relationship (like the Amazon affiliate program). If you use our visa partner, Medellin Guru receives a small commission and you support the website. This is at no additional cost to you. The price remains the same, whether you use a button or affiliate link on this website or not.

Furthermore, the visa agency we partnered with offers visa services anywhere in Colombia. So, if you are located in another city in Colombia you can use this service.

Using a Visa Agencies to Obtain a Colombian Visa

Using a Visa Agencies to Obtain a Colombian Visa

The Bottom Line: Visa Agencies: A Guide to Visa Agencies in Medellín and Colombia

If you are in Colombia you can use a visa agency or law firm to obtain a Colombian visa. A visa agency or law firm can handle the online visa application. And the visa agency or law firm will courier your passport to Bogotá to get the visa in your passport.

There is a wide range of prices for visa services. And in some cases, it can be difficult to find out the prices for visa services from visa agencies or law firms unless you become a client. But in general visa agencies have lower fees for visa services than law firms based on our survey of pricing in January 2021.

In addition, we highly recommend using a visa service over doing a Colombia visa application yourself. The bottom line is with a visa agency or law firm you are less likely to run into problems. We found that over half of visa applications in Colombia do not have sufficient documentation when originally submitted. So, the Foreign Ministry asks for additional documentation making the process take more time.

Using a visa agency will help ensure your visa application has all the required documents.

The visa agency we partnered with has helped 626 Medellin Guru readers successfully obtain Colombian visas and U.S. passport renewals.

Use the Medellin Guru Visa Service

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Editors note: updated on March 13, 2019 to add approximate times for the steps in the visa process based on reader questions.

Editors note: updated on May 15, 2019 to add the Autoarchy visa agency in Medellín and update the capabilities table in the article.

Editors note: updated on May 19, 2019 to add the My Visa agency in Bogotá.

Editors note: updated on June 20, 2019 to add the Gustave Traducciones agency in Medellín.

Editors note: updated on November 29, 2019 to remove the Visas Americanas agency that only does U.S. visas.

Editors note: updated on January 1, 2020 with updated visa services prices from a December 2019 survey of prices for visa services from visa agencies and law firms in Colombia.

Editors note: updated on October 13, 2020 to add statistics for the first 19 months of the Medellin Guru visa service partnership.

Editors note: updated on February 1, 2021 with updated information for 2021 including results of a new pricing survey for visa services from visa agencies and law firms.

Editors note: updated on December 11, 2021 to add statistics for the first 33 months of the Medellin Guru visa service partnership.

Editors note: updated on February 23, 2022 to add statistics for the first 35 months of the Medellin Guru visa service partnership.

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