The first weeks in Colombia: the cédula within 15 days, the rest follows from it
In your first weeks in Colombia everything revolves around one deadline: within 15 calendar days of arrival you apply for the cédula de extranjería. With that card you then arrange your tax number, your bank, your health insurance and school. Alongside, clocks are running for your household goods, your driving licence and your tax residence.
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The first weeks in Colombia have one hard deadline: within 15 calendar days of arrival you apply to Migración Colombia for the cédula de extranjería, the identity card for foreigners. That deadline applies to everyone from age 7 with a visa of more than three months. Much of what comes after goes through that cédula or through the digital contraseña you receive at the appointment.
| What | Deadline | More |
|---|---|---|
| Check-MIG, reporting your trip in advance | up to 72 hours before arrival, not compulsory | registration and numbers |
| Form 530 at customs | on arrival, if you bring more than 10,000 dollars in cash or a pet | banking and payments |
| Pet to the ICA desk | immediately on arrival, with a certificate at most 10 days old | pet to Colombia |
| Applying for the cédula de extranjería | within 15 calendar days of arrival | registration and numbers |
| Collecting the cédula | 10 working days after payment | |
| Declaring household goods | only after your arrival; shipment in at the latest 4 months after you | household goods to Colombia |
| Recognition of school years | decision within 15 working days | school in Colombia |
| Dutch driving licence | only for visitors, at most 6 months | car and driving licence |
| Tax resident of Colombia | after more than 183 days within 365 | AOW, pension and tax |
| Voluntary AOW insurance | within a year of no longer being insured | SVB |
What do you do at the airport?
With Check-MIG you submit your trip to Migración Colombia up to 72 hours in advance; it is free and speeds up the interview at the border. If you bring more than 10,000 dollars in cash, or a dog or cat, you fill in DIAN form 530 and have it ready on arrival. With your pet you go to the ICA desk before you leave the airport.
What do you arrange in the first two weeks?
The cédula, first online with the Formulario Único de Trámites, then at an appointment at a Migración Colombia office. In 2026 you pay 294,000 pesos for it, by debit or credit card. You immediately get a digital contraseña; you collect the card itself ten working days later.
The 15 days count from the day you enter the country, and they are calendar days. Look for the appointment in your first week, even if you are still at a temporary address.
Children under 7 get no cédula, but are registered. Go with them to the office, with their birth certificate.
And after that?
With the cédula or the contraseña you register with the DIAN for the RUT, if you need a tax number. With your cédula as proof of identity you open a bank account, and designate one savings account for the exemption from the 4x1000; see banking and payments.
For healthcare: if you work, your employer enrols you with an EPS. If you are self-employed, you do it yourself. If you hold the M Pensionado visa, your own policy remains your cover; see healthcare in Colombia.
A longer-term rental contract is best signed once you know the neighbourhood; the rules are in renting in Colombia and, if you want to buy, in buying a house in Colombia.
Which other clocks are running?
Household goods. Your shipment may arrive no earlier than a month before you and no later than four months after you. You only declare it once you are there yourself.
Driving licence. Your Dutch licence works for visitors. Anyone coming to live gets a Colombian licence with exams.
Tax. After more than 183 days in Colombia within a period of 365 days you are a tax resident. The days of arrival and departure count.
Your visa. An M visa lapses if you are outside Colombia for more than 180 days in a row. Plan a long visit to the Netherlands around that.
AOW build-up. If you have not yet reached AOW age, you have a year after you stop being insured to take out voluntary insurance with the SVB; see AOW on emigration.
The order of all these steps, with the deadlines monitored, is in the route to Colombia. Which visa you have and what it requires is in the residence routes. Working after arrival is covered in working in Colombia.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.9: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Colombia or go straight to step 2.9 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Migración Colombia — the cédula de extranjería, within 15 calendar days of arrival — migracioncolombia.gov.co
- Migración Colombia — Check-MIG, submitting your travel details in advance — migracioncolombia.gov.co
- DIAN — form 530 on arrival, for cash above 10,000 dollars and for pets — dian.gov.co
- Decreto 1165 de 2019, article 282 — household goods between one month before and four months after arrival (DIAN) — normograma.dian.gov.co
- Estatuto Tributario, article 10 — tax resident after more than 183 days (DIAN) — normograma.dian.gov.co
- Cancillería — the M visa lapses after more than 180 days of continuous absence — cancilleria.gov.co
- SVB — voluntary AOW insurance, to be requested within a year — svb.nl
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