Most US citizens do not need a visa for Colombia. They fill in a free form, Check-Mig, from 72 hours to 1 hour before a flight, and show a ticket out. Filipino citizens follow the same visa-exempt rule. Indian and Chinese citizens who live in the US may be let in without a visa if they hold a green card, or a US visa with 180 days left. The officer decides. The facts here come from Migración Colombia's replies of April to June 2026 and the foreign ministry's Resolution 5488, read on 13 October 2026.
What Check-Mig is and when to fill it in
Check-Mig is Migración Colombia's online pre-registration for people who fly in or out. The agency answers questions from the public in letters it posts on its portal. We read four of them.
Hours: Fill in Check-Mig from 72 hours before your flight until 1 hour before it, for arrival and for departure. It is not filled in for land entries or exits. The form link in the reply is apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co/pre-registro/es/DatosViaje (Migración Colombia reply No. 199211, dated 2 Jun 2026, read 13 Oct 2026)
Price: Check-Mig is free. If someone charges you to fill it in, tell the area coordinator at a migration control post, or use the agency's complaints form on its website (Migración Colombia replies No. 181368 of 20 May 2026 and No. 199211 of 2 Jun 2026)
Note: Check-Mig is not for passengers in transit who do not enter Colombia. If the form will not take your details, the migration officer types them in by hand at the desk (Migración Colombia reply No. 172669, dated 13 Apr 2026, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: You cannot edit the form after you send it. Read each field first. If the confirmation email does not arrive, you can check your registration at apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co/pre-registro, under "Consultar y descargar" (reply No. 199211, 2 Jun 2026)
The replies do not agree on whether Check-Mig is required. The reply of 13 April 2026 says "si bien no es obligatorio", which means "although it is not obligatory", and that it cuts your wait at the desk. The reply of 20 May 2026 calls it a "servicio gratuito en línea no obligatorio", a free online service that is not obligatory. The reply of 2 June 2026 lists it among the things to do on arrival. The replies of 7 May and 2 June 2026 list it among the documents to show when you leave. We could not settle this from the pages, so the safe answer is to fill it in. It is free, and you do it again before your flight home.
The fake site warning
The official replies never ask for payment. They say the form is free and tell you where to report a charge. They give the form's address as apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co and the portal as portal.migracioncolombia.gov.co. The reply of 13 April 2026 says to use that link and not other websites, which may charge fees or steal travelers' information. We did not test any copy site. So the test is simple. If a site asks you for money to fill in Check-Mig, it is not following what Migración says. Check the address in your browser before you type your passport number.
How long you can stay and what you show at the desk
Note: Documents at entry, from Migración's reply of 20 May 2026: a valid passport in good condition, a visa if your nationality needs one, a ticket out of Colombia by air, land, sea or river, a document for your reason for the trip if it is not tourism, a hotel booking or invitation letter, and Check-Mig. You must also show enough money for the stay. The ticket out is asked for when you do not need a visa or your visa has 6 months or less of validity (Migración Colombia reply No. 181368, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: Stay: the entry and stay permit, the PIP, is 90 days, can be extended by 90 more days, and cannot go over 180 days in a calendar year. Migración does not require a minimum passport validity for PIP holders, and recommends one anyway. Your passport must be valid when you leave (same reply, and reply No. 199211, 2 Jun 2026)
The replies speak of foreigners in general and do not name US citizens. The foreign ministry's list of visa-exempt states does name the United States, which is the link. Your officer decides how many days you get, so look at the stamp or the paper you are given. We did not enter Colombia for this page.
The US government's advisory
We tried to read the US State Department's Colombia travel advisory twice on 13 October 2026. The site blocked both requests, so we do not give a level. Read it on travel.state.gov before you book.
If you live in the US but are not a US citizen
Indian, Filipino and Chinese passport holders are the three largest groups of foreign nationals in the US. The foreign ministry's Resolution 5488 of 2022 treats them in two ways. Philippine citizens are visa exempt. Indian and Chinese citizens are on a conditional list where a US document is the condition.
Note: Philippines: listed among the states exempt from a visa for short stays that do not pay money in Colombia. A short stay means under 90 days, extendable up to 180 days in cases the rules set (Resolution 5488 of 2022, article 3 A as changed by Resolution 12189 of 2026, and its paragraph, Cancillería compiled version, read 13 Oct 2026)
Note: India and China: listed under conditional exemption. Nationals "podrán ser autorizados" to enter without a visa and stay temporarily if they hold a valid residence permit in the United States or a Schengen state, or a US or Schengen visa with at least 180 days of validity on the day they enter Colombia (Resolution 5488 of 2022, article 3 C, as changed by Resolution 3717 of 2023, Cancillería compiled version, read 13 Oct 2026)
| Passport | Visa-free for a short stay? | With a US visa | With a US green card | With neither |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | Only on the condition | May be authorized if the visa has at least 180 days left on entry day | May be authorized with valid US residence | A Colombian visa is needed. How to apply is not confirmed |
| Philippines | Yes, no US document needed | Not needed | Not needed | Not needed |
| China | Only on the condition | May be authorized if the visa has at least 180 days left on entry day | May be authorized with valid US residence | A Colombian visa is needed. How to apply is not confirmed |
The wording is "may be authorized", so the officer at the border decides. The 180 days is written for the visa. The text sets no minimum for the residence permit, beyond "valid". It does not say whether the US visa must allow multiple entries, which US visa types count, how a green card is shown at the border, or whether the stay is 90 days or shorter. Your airline may ask for the same proof when you check in. Ask a Colombian consulate before you book.
What is checked here and what is not
Checked on 13 October 2026: four replies from Migración Colombia dated 13 April, 7 May, 20 May and 2 June 2026, as posted on its portal, and the foreign ministry's Resolution 5488 of 22 July 2022 with its compiled notes on the Cancillería site, including the changes made by Resolution 3717 of 2023 and Resolution 12189 of 2026.
Not confirmed: the US State Department's Colombia advisory (blocked, so no level or date), Migración's own Check-Mig and requirements pages, which we did not open, whether Check-Mig is mandatory, which copy sites exist, how many days a US citizen is given in practice, how Indian and Chinese citizens apply for a Colombian visa, what documents an officer asks of a visa holder, and the rules for stays over 180 days. We did not use news reports or forum posts.
