To qualify for the Colombia Student Visa you need to have enrolled in a qualified educational institution in Colombia with a class intensity of at least 10 hours per week.

All universities require you to have a Student Visa if you are enrolling on a course for 3 months or longer.

Citizens of several countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States do not need a visa to enter Colombia as a tourist for up to 90 days. A Colombian “tourist” visa isn’t a formal visa. It’s just a stamp in your passport. Furthermore, a “tourist” visa can be extended by 90 days at any Migración Colombia office in the country. If you are studying at a non accredited school for a period shorter than 180 days, you can do so under a normal Tourist Permit (PIP-5) and don't need to apply for a visa.

You can apply for a Colombia student visa at a Colombian consulate or online.

If you are applying online, you will need the following:

• Photocopy of the first page of your valid passport with your personal data.
• Photocopy of the page of your passport with the last stamp of entry to or departure from Colombia.
• If you’ve had a previous Colombian visa, a photocopy of this visa.
• Photocopy of university registration form signed by a school official.
• Certification or document from the school, stating that the class timetable is a minimum of ten (10) hours per week.
• Photocopy of “certificate of existence and legal representation” from the university.
• Authorization of the parents and designation of the person responsible for the student during his/her stay in Colombia, authenticated by a Colombian notary or consul in the case of minors.
• A letter (in Spanish) from the person with economic responsibility for the student guaranteeing the expenses of the student and documents showing economic solvency. If you are a student, the letter should say you will be financially responsible for yourself while in Colombia. To show “economic solvency” you could use a bank “certificate” showing the average balance over the past six months is greater than 10 times the legal minimum wage in Colombia or 7,812,420 pesos ($2,605 at an exchange rate of 3,000 pesos to the USD) in 2018. And this certificate should be notarized and translated. Or you can provide six months of bank statements with no need for translation. Also, credit card statements that show a sufficient available balance can be used.
• Passport style face photo with a white background, sized at 3 cm width X 4 cm height, the maximum size of 300 kb jpg file for online application.

If your consulate does not allow you to apply online, then take the documents mentioned above to the consulate at the time of your appointment and complete the process they indicate.​ If you apply in-person, the agent will ask you questions, fill out the online application for you, scan all your documents and return them to you as well as take your photo with a digital camera.

Once you receive your electronic visa, you must go to a Colombian consulate to get it stamped on your passport.

After you have successfully received your Colombia Student Visa you will have a maximum of 15 days to register your visa with Migración Colombia to get a Cedula de Extranjeria (Colombian ID for foreigners). This must be done in-person.

Your visa application may be rejected if you are not able to show proof of the required funds, or if you provide incorrect or incomplete documents.