Aiming to make it easier for the delegates of the Conference of the Parties 10 to the Basel Convention, and other guests, the Colombian Government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Coordination of Visas and Immigration, has taken the necessary measures to guarantee their entry to the country, particularly to those people from countries that need a visa to enter the country.

In this sense, the plan is to supply a Courtesy Visa to foreign citizens that need a visa to come to Colombia and who are able to prove their status of delegates, or guests at the Conference of the Parties 10 to the Basel Convention. The Visa may be acquired at any Colombian Consulate, whether the foreigner is at his country of origin or not.

Foreign citizens who do not need tourist or visitor’s visa will enter the country in compliance with the normal procedures of the Colombian migratory control authority, the DAS, which records their migratory movements under the modality of the so called Entry and Permanence Permit as Temporary Visitors which is stamped on their respective passports at the moment of entering the country.

The following chart provides the list of countries exempt from the Tourist or Visitor’s Visa to enter the country, either by nationality or diplomatic passport.

People with a common, diplomatic or official passport from the following countries do NOT need a Visa to enter Colombia

People with ordinary, diplomatic or official passports from countries not listed in the previous table do need a visa to enter Colombia. In such cases, foreign citizens must apply for a visa according to the requirements established, in the nearest Colombian Consulate.

Requirements to Apply for the Courtesy Visa

• Duly completed Visa application form.
• Valid passport with blank pages.
• Two recent pictures, frontal, colour, light background, 3X3 cms.
• Information of the round-trip ticket to Colombia.
• Invitation Letter to the “Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (COP 10)”. Foreign citizens will receive this letter in an attached file through the accreditation e-mail once you have finished the inscription process.

Further information on Embassies and Consulates is also available on the web site of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at: www.cancilleria.gov.co (Click on the Banner Directorio Embajadas, Consulados y Misiones Permanentes on your left, as shown below)

Procedure for exceptional cases

Only for exceptional cases of foreign citizens accredited as official delegates, participants or guests to the Conference of the Parties 10 to the Basel Convention, who, in need of a visa but for certain circumstances are unable to apply for it in any Colombian Consulate, the Colombian Government will guarantee their entry to the country by following an ad hoc procedure that will facilitates the Visas’ issue at the event’s venue in Cartagena, during the 48 hours following their entrance to the country.

In such cases, the Visas and Immigration Office from the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will request the respective airlines to allow boarding without visa for foreign citizens who submit the accreditation letter sent by the authority in charge for this purpose on behalf of the event’s organization in Cartagena.

For this exceptional procedure it is recommended to send a notification e-mail to diana.cifuentes@cancilleria.gov.co after receiving the aforementioned accreditation letter, copy of the passport information page, the detailed itinerary with the full names of the airlines and cities, and the e-mail and fax number of the airlines. Likewise, consults regarding the specific issue of visas may be requested to that e-mail.

IMPORTANT: The Colombian Government is not responsible for the procedures and validity of transit visas required by the event’s participants to move to and from our country.