Family & Spouse Visas in Colombia
Sponsoring a partner, children, or parents
Marriage to or a registered permanent union with a Colombian national, and parenthood of a Colombian child, both give access to M visa categories. These are among the fastest routes on the ladder: they can lead to a resident visa after roughly two years rather than five, and they shorten the naturalisation requirement as well.
| Spouse route | M visa as spouse or permanent partner of a Colombian national source |
| Parent route | M visa as parent of a Colombian national child |
| Time to resident visa | Commonly around two years on the M visa in these categories |
| Naturalisation | Commonly two years of resident status for spouses and parents of Colombians source |
Marriage and the unión marital de hecho
Colombian law recognises both marriage and the unión marital de hecho, a permanent domestic partnership declared before a notary or established by a court. Both are accepted as the basis for a family M visa, and the declared union is used frequently by couples who have not married.
The evidence expected is documentary rather than interview-based: the Colombian civil registry entry for the marriage or the notarial declaration of the union, together with the Colombian partner's identity document and, in practice, evidence that the relationship is genuine and continuing.
Beneficiaries on another person's visa
- A spouse or permanent partner and dependent children can generally be included as beneficiaries of a principal M visa holder.
- Beneficiary status normally follows the principal visa: if the principal loses status, the beneficiaries do too.
- Beneficiaries are often restricted from working unless the principal category expressly allows it, so a working spouse frequently needs a visa in their own right.
- Each beneficiary registers separately with Migración Colombia and receives their own cédula de extranjería.
Why the family route is the fast one
For most migrant categories the resident visa comes after roughly five continuous years on the M visa. For the spouse or permanent partner of a Colombian, and for the parent of a Colombian child, the published requirement is shorter — commonly around two years.
The advantage compounds at naturalisation, where the ordinary requirement of around five years of resident status is reduced to roughly two for those married to Colombians or with Colombian children.
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Official sources
Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.