Cédula de Extranjería: Who Needs It, How to Get It, What It Costs (2026)

The cédula de extranjería (CE) is the ID card Migración Colombia issues to foreigners. It identifies you in Colombia and shows that your immigration status is regular.¹

• Foreigners aged 7 and over who hold, as main holder or dependent, a visa valid for more than 3 months.¹
• Exempt regardless of visa length: holders of V visas for Tourism, Business, Crew and Events, plus the courtesy V visas for visiting diplomats and international agreements. They don't register as foreigners and don't get a CE.³
• Digital nomad visa holders are not on that exempt list. If your nomad visa is valid for more than 3 months, plan to get a CE.
• Children 0–6: only the visa is registered; no CE is issued. Ages 7–17: a CE is mandatory, and a parent or legal guardian must attend. At 18: apply for a new CE within 15 calendar days of the 18th birthday.¹
• Visa-exempt visitors on a 90/180-day entry permit do not get a CE.

Apply within 15 calendar days of entering Colombia with your visa, or of the visa being issued if you got it inside Colombia.¹ The US State Department also warns that visas valid for over 3 months must be registered within 15 days of arrival "or face fines."⁴

1. Fill in the online FUT (Formulario Único de Trámites). Attach one PDF with images of your valid passport and visa.
2. Book an appointment at a Centro Facilitador de Servicios Migratorios (CFSM) through Migración's online scheduling system.
3. Attend in person with your original passport, your valid visa and the FUT reference number. Your fingerprints and photo are taken.
4. Pay at the appointment by debit or credit card, or with a bank deposit slip issued at the CFSM. Migración staff never accept cash.
5. Get a digital "contraseña" with a QR code at the end of the appointment, valid immediately while the card is printed.
6. Collect the card at the same CFSM after about 10 business days from payment.

Source: Migración Colombia, Cédula de Extranjería.

COP 294,000 is about US$93 at the Oct 19, 2026 TRM of COP 3,174.67 per US$⁵.

• Validity: a Migración Colombia citizen-response letter says the CE is valid for as long as your visa⁶. See the box below.
• Errors on the card: request a correction within 30 calendar days of receiving it. After that you must apply and pay for a new card.¹
• Banks may not accept the contraseña. Bancolombia, for example, states that the cédula de extranjería contraseña "is not valid for any procedure" and cannot be used to open an account.⁷ Expect to wait for the physical card. See banking as a foreigner.
• No intermediaries required. Migración Colombia says none of its procedures require intermediaries, and that any charge outside official channels may be fraud.⁸