Venezuelan Expats in Colombia 2026: Visa M, Health Insurance & Apostille Guide | CoVisas Colombia

Country Overview

Why Venezuelans Move to Colombia

Colombia hosts the world's largest Venezuelan migrant population — estimated at over 2.8 million people as of 2024 (Migración Colombia / UNHCR). The movement is driven by Venezuela's prolonged economic and political crisis: hyperinflation, scarcity of medicines and food, and collapse of public services. Colombia and Venezuela share a 2,219 km border and are deeply intertwined culturally, historically, and commercially. Colombia's Estatuto Temporal de Protección (ETPV) has been a landmark regularization mechanism, though Venezuelans seeking long-term legal residence with full working rights pursue the standard Visa M pathway.

Beyond economic migration, Venezuela has a significant professional and entrepreneurial class that has relocated to Colombia seeking stability. Medellín and Bogotá have notable Venezuelan professional communities in tech, media, gastronomy, and finance.

Embassy in Colombia 🇨🇴

Visa M: Long-Term Legal Residence

All categories require: valid Venezuelan passport, an authorized health plan covering the 7 required areas, apostilled criminal record from SAREN (issued within 90 days), and income documentation. Since Spanish is the official language of both countries, no translation is required for Venezuelan documents submitted in Spanish. Application fee: USD 255 + USD 232 issuance if approved.

Health Insurance: 7 Required Coverages

Venezuela operates the IVSS (Instituto Venezolano de los Seguros Sociales), which theoretically provides health coverage to registered workers and their families. In practice, the IVSS health network has faced severe resource constraints for years — equipment shortages, medicine unavailability, and staff departures. Supplementary private insurance companies such as Seguros Caracas, Seguros La Previsora, and Banesco Seguros historically operated in Venezuela, though their coverage is limited to Venezuelan territory.

No Venezuelan public or private health insurance product has coverage in Colombia. Colombian immigration regulations require a health plan authorized in Colombia.

Tax Considerations

There is no double-taxation treaty (DTT) between Venezuela and Colombia. SENIAT administers Venezuelan income tax. Venezuela taxes residents on worldwide income; non-residents pay tax only on Venezuelan-source income via withholding. A Venezuelan who establishes fiscal residence in Colombia and has no ongoing Venezuelan-source income effectively exits the Venezuelan tax net, but should obtain formal confirmation of non-resident status if significant Venezuelan assets remain (real estate rental, dividends from Venezuelan companies). No exit tax mechanism is established in Venezuelan law analogous to those in other jurisdictions.

Document Legalization

Venezuela acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention, with the Convention entering into force in 1999. The competent authority for apostilles is SAREN (Servicio Autónomo de Registros y Notarías). Criminal background certificates (Antecedentes Penales) are issued by the CICPC and then apostilled through SAREN. Since Venezuela and Colombia are both Spanish-speaking countries, no translation is required for any document submitted in Spanish to Colombian immigration authorities.

1. Obtain Antecedentes Penales from CICPC (Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y Criminalísticas) — available in person at CICPC offices or via authorized channels. Must be issued within 90 days of Visa M application.
2. Apostille via SAREN — Submit the criminal record certificate to a SAREN office for apostille. Processing times vary by region and current SAREN operational status.
3. No translation required — Venezuelan documents in Spanish are accepted directly by Cancillería Colombia.