Colombia Visa and Entry Requirements

Colombia sets and enforces its own entry rules, and this page does not publish an answer for United States passport holders, because the source cached for this cluster was written for a different nationality and its allowance does not transfer. Ask the Colombian consulate responsible for where you live, and ask close to your travel date rather than months out.

What follows is what the cited sources record about the mechanics, which apply more widely than any one nationality's visa position.

The ninety days, and the word that matters in it

The cited source records a stay of up to 90 days without a visa for business or tourism, at the discretion of the Colombian immigration officer on arrival. That last clause is not decoration. The officer decides, and the deciding is done at the desk.

The practical consequence is the one people are caught by: you must be able to show an onward or return ticket valid within the 90 day period. Not a plan, not a screenshot of a search. A ticket. Airlines frequently check this before boarding, so the problem usually appears at your departure airport rather than in Colombia.

Your passport should be valid and undamaged. If you hold a Colombian visa with more than 90 days of validity, it must be registered with Migracion Colombia. Dual nationals holding a Colombian passport are required to enter and leave on it, with the Colombian identity card.

⚠ Yellow fever: the two sources do not agree, so both are here

This is the part of Colombian entry that is most often stated confidently and wrongly, in both directions, and the honest position is that the two sources this cluster cites say different things.

The FCDO records that to enter Colombia you must have a certificate proving yellow fever vaccination if you are arriving from certain countries with a transmission risk, and that you may also be asked to show it if you are traveling to areas within Colombia considered high risk. It adds: carry your vaccination certificate at all times.

The CDC records the country entry requirement more broadly, as vaccination for all arriving travelers aged one year and over. It says in the same block that country entry requirements are subject to change and should be confirmed with the embassies or consulates on your itinerary before departure.

So: confirm your own position with the Colombian consulate responsible for where you live. If you are vaccinated, carry the certificate, because the cost of having it and not needing it is nothing and the cost of the reverse is your trip. And note that the vaccine needs lead time, so this is a conversation to have several weeks before departure rather than a decision at the airport.

What the vaccine is separately recommended for

The recommendation and the entry requirement are different questions, and conflating them is the commonest error here.

The CDC recommends the vaccine for travelers aged nine months and over, except for travel limited to the cities of Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena or Medellin, and except for travel limited to areas above 2,300 meters, the archipelago department of San Andres and Providencia, or the city of Bogota. The same source also carries a notice of an increased number of yellow fever cases reported in Colombia. Take the recommendation to your own clinician; this page publishes no medication and no dose.

San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina

The islands have their own requirement that catches people out because it is bought at the last possible moment. If you are traveling to San Andres, Providencia or Santa Catalina you must buy a tourist card at the boarding gate, on the day of the flight. You do not need one if you are staying less than 24 hours.

Customs, and money at the border

There are strict rules about goods you can take into or out of Colombia, and you must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty. Fresh food, plant material and animal products are the usual problem. Departure tax is normally included in the airline ticket, but confirm it with your carrier.

If you are carrying a substantial amount of cash, check the declaration threshold before you fly rather than at the desk. The money guide covers how to handle payment once you are in the country.

Before you book

• Confirm the visa position for your own nationality with the Colombian consulate.
• Book a return or onward ticket inside 90 days, and keep it retrievable offline.
• Ask your clinic about yellow fever early, and carry the certificate if you are vaccinated.
• Read the safety guide before you fix an itinerary, since the restricted-region list shapes where you can sensibly go.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Colombia entry requirements: ninety days without a visa for tourism at the discretion of the immigration officer, the requirement to show an onward or return ticket valid within that period, the yellow fever certificate required when arriving from countries with a transmission risk, the tourist card bought at the boarding gate for San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, and the rule that dual nationals enter and leave on the Colombian passport. Accessed 17 September 2026.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Colombia traveler health: malaria transmission in all areas below 1,700 m with no transmission in the cities of Bogota, Cartagena or Medellin; the yellow fever vaccine recommended for travelers aged nine months and over except for travel limited to Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena or Medellin, above 2,300 m, the archipelago of San Andres and Providencia, or Bogota; and the country entry requirement recorded as vaccination for all arriving travelers aged one year and over, subject to change. Accessed 17 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Colombia health: the emergency ambulance number 123, the eight week lead time for vaccine advice, altitude sickness as a risk in parts of Colombia including Bogota and areas of Cundinamarca, Boyaca, Narino and Antioquia, tap water as safe to drink only in Bogota, and private facilities as good while public ones and those in smaller cities are generally ill equipped. Accessed 17 September 2026.