Colombia Apostille for Visa Documents: Which, Where and in What Order (2026)

Every document issued outside Colombia that you file with a visa application, unless the resolution makes an exception: usually criminal records, pension certificates and proof of a union declared abroad. Article 21 of Resolución 5477 of 2022 says that, unless the resolution makes an exception, "todo documento creado o emitido en el exterior, deberá contar con apostilla o legalización … y traducción oficial al castellano cuando no se encuentre en este idioma" (every document created or issued abroad must carry an apostille or legalization, and an official Spanish translation when it isn't in Spanish). (Res. 5477/2022, art. 21, checked Oct 21, 2026)

The documents this usually catches, by visa:

• Criminal record certificate from every country you lived in during the last 3 years. Required for the retirement (M Pensionado) visa and several other visa types in the same resolution, "con las formalidades de apostilla o legalización y traducción establecidas en el Artículo 21".¹
• Pension certificate for the M Pensionado visa, "debidamente apostillada y traducida", unless the pensioner's own country's consulate issues it. (same source, art. 77)
• Proof of a de facto union declared abroad for the partner visa, if you apply at a consulate. Cancillería accepts the foreign document, apostilled or legalized and translated¹. The spouse visa asks for a Colombian marriage registration instead ("registro civil de matrimonio colombiano", art. 67), so a marriage held abroad must first be registered in Colombia: at a Colombian consulate if you live abroad, or at a notary or Registraduría office in Colombia, using the foreign marriage record apostilled or legalized and translated²³.
• University degree for the M worker visa in a non-regulated profession: "copia del título profesional apostillado o legalizado y traducido", or work and experience certificates instead¹.
• Any other document issued abroad that your visa's Cancillería page lists. Check your own visa's list before you order anything.

No, if they're in Spanish or another official language of the Organization of American States (OAS), and the visa office can read every part of them. The parágrafo of article 21 lets "certificaciones o extractos bancarios" go without apostille, legalization or official translation in that case. English is an OAS official language.¹

Yes. Colombia accepts apostilles from other Convention countries, and you get them in the country that issued the document. Colombia adopted the 1961 Convention by Ley 455 of 1998⁴, and it has been in force for Colombia since Jan 30, 2001⁵. Cancillería's FAQ says that if the document comes from a Hague Convention country, "debe presentar el documento apostillado desde el país que emitió el documento" (you must present it apostilled by the country that issued it). Cancillería's own online apostille is for Colombian public documents that will be used abroad. (Cancillería, apostilla y legalización: preguntas frecuentes, checked Oct 21, 2026)

If the issuing country isn't in the Convention, Cancillería describes a legalization chain instead:

1. Legalize the document with the authority that country designates.
2. Take it to the Colombian consulate in that country, which validates the signature.
3. Submit it to Cancillería's online legalization service, which checks the consul's signature and the chain.

(same source)

Through the US Department of State, not your state. The FBI Identity History Summary is a federal document. The State Department says the FBI authenticates all fingerprint results by "placing the FBI watermark and the signature of a division official on the results", and that you can then send the record to its Office of Authentications for an apostille. (travel.state.gov, Criminal Records Checks, checked Oct 21, 2026) How to request your Identity History Summary: FBI, Identity History Summary FAQs.

The State Department's Office of Authentications issues the apostille. Its page, as read on Oct 21, 2026:

• File Form DS-4194 and list Colombia as the country where you'll use the document.
• The fee is US$20 per document, and it isn't refundable.
• By mail: processed within five weeks of the day the package reaches the Washington, D.C. office (not the Sterling, VA mail facility).
• Walk-in in Washington, D.C.: processed in seven business days, Monday to Thursday drop-off.

⁶⁷ (State Department pages last updated Feb 26, 2026 and Aug 11, 2025; read Oct 21, 2026.)

A local or state police record is different. The State Department says to contact your state Secretary of State's office to authenticate state-issued documents. (travel.state.gov, Criminal Records Checks, last updated Aug 11, 2025)

Three months from the date the document was issued, counted back from the day you register the visa application. Article 20 says supporting documents other than passports must have "fecha de expedición no mayor a tres (3) meses antes del registro de la solicitud".¹

The apostille itself doesn't expire, Cancillería says, though any authority can ask for a new one.⁴ The 3-month limit applies to the document's issue date. With five weeks for a mailed US apostille, plan the FBI request close to your application date.

After. Cancillería recommends that the original document "se encuentre apostillado o legalizado antes de ser traducido" (be apostilled or legalized before it's translated). That way the translation covers the apostille too. (Cancillería, Traducciones oficiales, checked Oct 21, 2026)

Where the translation is done also matters:

• Done in Colombia by an official translator: since Dec 1, 2020 it doesn't need its own apostille, because the official translator's signature is already valid in Colombia. The original document still needs its apostille from the issuing country.
• Done abroad: the translation itself must be apostilled or legalized in that country.

(same source)

If you need to use a Colombian public document abroad, such as a marriage registered in Colombia, Cancillería apostilles it online, with no appointment or intermediary. As of Oct 21, 2026:

1. Check that the document shows the name, position, entity, date and handwritten signature of a public official whose signature is registered with Cancillería.

2. Scan it to a legible PDF of 11 MB or less (one apostille per document; up to 10 documents per multiple request).

3. Upload it at tramites.cancilleria.gov.co and pick the document type.

4. Wait for the review by email, up to 3 business days.

5. Pay COP 37,800 for an apostille or COP 26,200 for a legalization within 30 calendar days of approval. Once paid, there's no correction or refund.

6. Download the apostille from Cancillería's site with its code and issue date, or get it by email.

Cancillería's online apostille is Colombia's e-apostille: you upload a PDF and receive the apostille electronically.

(Cancillería, Pasos para hacer su trámite, checked Oct 21, 2026)

Private documents first need the signer's signature recognized by a Colombian notary.⁸