The R visa transfer deadline

The rule and where it comes from

Resolución 5477 de 2022 reorganized Colombia's visa regime and introduced a transition regime for holders of R visas granted under the previous rules. Those visas remained valid but had to be "transferred" (traspaso) into the new system. The original deadline was 21 October 2024. On 27 September 2024 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued Resolución 9316 de 2024, extending it to 31 October 2026. There has been no further extension announced as of 30 Aug 2026, and the ministry has spent 2026 reminding people rather than hinting at another one.

Who must do this

• Anyone holding a Resident (R) visa issued before 21 October 2022, regardless of whether the visa card says "indefinite".
• Holders of older residence categories (RE and similar) granted under prior resolutions.
• Separately, anyone whose passport has changed since the visa was issued needs the visa reissued against the new passport, which is the same procedure.

Not affected: visas issued on or after 21 October 2022, which are already electronic, and short-term V visas, which Resolución 9316 exempted from registration.

What you gather

• Certificado de movimientos migratorios

  Issued by Migración Colombia, showing your entries and exits. Request it online and collect it in person at the office you select; choose the longest available window. Its purpose is to demonstrate you have not been absent for more than two continuous years, which would have cancelled the R automatically.

• Copy of the existing visa

  If it was issued before 2000 and you no longer have a copy, Resolución 9316 lets you attach a sworn statement explaining why, plus the migratory movements certificate and a copy of your last cédula de extranjería.

• Valid passport

  Renew first if it is close to expiry; the new visa is tied to the passport it is issued against.

• Online application and fee

  Filed on the Cancillería visa platform. Adjudication has typically run around a month; expect longer as the deadline approaches.

• New cédula de extranjería

  Once the electronic R issues, Migración Colombia reissues the ID. The five-year visa and five-year cédula then renew together.

Why not to wait

The ministry has said publicly it expects a surge of late applications. Migración appointment availability for the movements certificate and the new cédula tightens when everyone needs one at once. Filing in the last month means competing with everyone who also filed in the last month, on a government platform that is not built for peaks. If you are reading this in September or October 2026, start today.

What happens if you miss it

The transition regime says the old visa's validity can be terminated. In practice that means loss of legal residence, a cédula that no longer corresponds to a valid visa, and a route back that goes through a fresh visa application rather than a transfer. For someone who has lived here for a decade, that is a bad trade for an afternoon of paperwork.

Not a resident yet?

This page is about people who already hold an old R. If you are here because you are thinking about getting residency through property, the routes are 350 SMMLV on an M visa or 650 SMMLV directly to R, and the calculator on the homepage puts your budget on the line.

Source: Resolución 5477 de 2022 (art. 123, transition regime) and Resolución 9316 de 2024, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores; Cancillería press bulletin of 3 October 2024.

Figures verified 30 Aug 2026. SMMLV 2026 COP 1,750,905 (Decreto 1469 de 2025 (29 Dec 2025), re-fixed transitorily by Decreto 0159 de 2026 (19 Feb 2026) after a provisional suspension by the Consejo de Estado). USD figures recompute from the live Banco de la República TRM when the page loads; if the live rate is unavailable the build rate of 3,202.79 is used.