Expat Community > Colombia

soystar1
Joined 2012
Posts: 504

Pension renewal

11 years ago

Here it goes:

It is time again to renew my pension visa. Here are some things I have learned as I await to have my pension visa approved.

I took the bus from Armenia to Bogota. Don't be confused when arriving in Bogota as you will have North and South bus terminals. Get off on the north terminal. They have taxis lined up and you will tell the station employee where you are going and they will print out a traveling form to let the driver know where you are going and save you some money. My cost was about 12k pesos one way.

The doors to the cancilleria to obtain your new pension visa open up at 7 a.m. A line usually starts forming about two hours before that.

Mistake one. I did not bring cash to submit my new application for my pension visa. I had to go look for an ATM close by.

Mistake two. Thinking that my apostille letter would be accepted as it has English, Spanish and French on every cell of the letter it was denied for not being translated into Spanish. The employee stated, I do not know what it states, please have it translated by one of the approved translators on our site. Right!

Word of caution, I was informed that the same person who translates your document must be the same one who translates any other document. I am checking with the Cancilleria to see if this is correct or some made up rule.

However, let's regress a bit. The office is in a modern building on the third floor. Upon arriving, you show your passport and will be given a number to review your new pension visa application. They will tell you that this not a renewal but a new application. Although a majority of us, have already been approved the year before.

Upon receiving your number and your passport back you will be handed a receipt to pay 90k pesos a few feet to your right. Upon paying the fee by cash only you will wait, and wait and wait. Please keep in mind that the office closes promptly at noon for those who are chronically late all of the time. For those of us who are in waiting room, you will sit there and a the screen on the wall will light up with your number.

At this time, you will turn over your new Visa application, photos, passport, award and apostille letter. As I mentioned before ,they must be all translated by an approved translator from their website.

My application was returned to me within 10 minutes stating that I must translate my Apostille letter entirely into Spanish by an approved translator.

Overall, the process is very brief and simple. However, my assumption for one particular document has delayed by new pension visa for another year by a few days. I travel again to Bogota to resubmit my translated apostille letter by the same person who did my award letter.

As for Armenia, there are no approved translators working here, so my document was forwarded over to a translator in Bogota.

I hope this helps some of you save some steps so that your new application is not denied similar to mine this this past week.

By the way, your award letter must be notarized before it is translated.

The waiting room has a working bathroom, Wi-Fi (non working) and the building has two working elevators.

Cheers!

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