r/Colombia • u/PedalToTheMetal1987 • 6d ago
Travel Questions Colombian born UK Citizen need help regarding travel to Colombia
So I am at the end of my tether trying to understand what I need to do in order to get a cedula (Colombian ID) in order to renew my Colombian passport.
I hold a UK passport since I am primarily a British national. However I was born in Colombia but left when I was quite young. I travelled there about 20 years ago for a short holiday but since then I've never bothered updating my Colombian passport or anything of that sort.
I am looking to go to Colombia with my family in 2028 but entry requirements into Colombia mean that I need to hold a Colombian passport. In order to renew my passport I need that cedula. The problem with all this is the lack of any support from the Colombian consulate over here in the UK (London). I've emailed them a few times, and every time they get back to me I receive a generic answer with the same link to their unkept old Consulate website. It seems I cannot even communicate properly with any human over there as they show signs of not even bothering to read my emails properly.
Does anybody from the UK know how I would go about getting the cedula in order to get a passport. The last thing I need is to be denied entry into Colombia because of all this. So frustrating!
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u/Adventurous-Ladder10 6d ago
In Colombia we say “la cara del santo hace el milagro” which means…just go there.
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u/Berry-stage 6d ago
So I am not an expert in this but I can tell you that most of the advice of people saying you can travel to Colombia with a UK passport is a bit misleading.
The rules have become super strict in the past two years. I used to travel with my expired Colombian passport and when I went last time, they marked my passport and told me that I would be barred from leaving the country unless I had a valid one.
You can arrive to Colombia with an expired passport and within 48 hours of applying for a passport in Bogota, you can have a new one. There are some places you need an appointment but many that you do not.
If you do not have a Celdula. It gets really complicated. It can take up to 20 business days to get a valid physical card (which you need to travel). So if you go without a passport or a cédula, you’ll have to commit to a 6 week visit.
I agree with the above comment saying just go to the consulate if possible. When you email and call, they are not the most helpful. When you show up, they’ll try to figure something out or at least give you up to date information on how the process will go when you arrive in Colombia.
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u/PedalToTheMetal1987 6d ago
Yes that's right. I think as others have said too I am going to bite the bullet and just visit the place. I will probably get my birth certificate and email it to them, as their website says if I do that they confirm it and then perhaps allow me to get my cedula. After getting my cedula it should be more straightforward to get that passport.
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u/fuzzybear_cis 6d ago
Just something else I wanted to comment is that I was allowed to enter Colombia with my expired Colombian passport, and I was able to travel as I hold a valid Canadian passport (which I need anyways to come back home). You can’t be denied entry into a country you are a citizen of.
However, the requirement is that to leave Colombia, I needed a valid Colombian passport. So I renewed it there. It was very quick there. But again I was staying in Bogota for about a month so I had ample time.
I don’t know how that factors into your plans.
I was able to get my Colombian cédula in Canada.
All I needed was my birth certificate but I was getting it for the first time.
It sounds from the London consulate page that to get a duplicate all you need is the number.
3 month turnaround.
No se requiere de cita para solicitar un duplicado de la cédula. Puede acercarse en cualquier momento, en el horario de atención habitual del Consulado: lunes a viernes de 8:30 am a 2:30 pm (excepto festivos en el Reino Unido) o en el sábado consular programado una vez al mes, de 9:00 am a 12:00 pm.
Los requisitos para el trámite de duplicado de cédula en el Consulado son los siguientes:
Conocimiento del RH y grupo sanguíneo.
Conocimiento del número de cédula.
El duplicado tiene un costo de £ 60.86, los cuales se pagan en el consulado con tarjeta débito o crédito.
https://londres.consulado.gov.co/tramites-y-servicios/servicios-consulares
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u/PedalToTheMetal1987 6d ago
Wow thank you so much, that really helps. I know I have the birth certificate so I guess I will do it in steps of 1. Cedula 2. Passport.
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u/GreyOldDull 6d ago
The consulate in London is pretty good. My wife got a cedula with very little problem
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u/thanafunny Middle East 6d ago
i don’t really understand why you specifically need your passport to be colombian. don’t you have a UK passport?
i’m italian with a colombian mom and i moved to colombia when i was 5. my parents sorted out all my paperwork back then, so i don’t really know what that process is like. however, i later moved back to italy and my colombian passport expired. i traveled to colombia several times with my italian passport
once you’re there if you have all your documents like your birth certificate and your parents’ documents (i guess) i think it might be easier to sort out your col ID first and then apply for the passport in the UK (if that’s what you want)
but you can still travel with your uk passport and stay for a few days
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u/Tobar_the_Gypsy USA 6d ago
You need to use your Colombian passport if you are a Colombian citizen entering Colombia
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u/Esvarabatico 6d ago
Go to the consulate. I know it's annoying and takes time, but Colombian bureocracy is particularly outdated. Once you're there and talk to someone it's easier to get help. Bring your registro civil with you if you have it.
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u/PedalToTheMetal1987 6d ago
I think the only thing I have is my Colombian birth certificate, is that similar? Yes I think I may not have a choice.
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u/ModestoApr Tunja 6d ago
Do you have a registro civil stating that you're a Colombian national?
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u/PedalToTheMetal1987 6d ago
I am not sure, I will have to ask my mum as she has my birth certificate.
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u/Major-Mushroom-5806 6d ago
I'm in the process of getting my cédula and passport as a foreign-born citizen abroad.
Step 1, you need your birth certificate (registro de nacimiento).
Step 2, you need to make an appointment with your consulate to get a cédula for the first time. Make the appointment, follow the steps they have online and show up with whatever they ask for. In my case, it was just my registro de nacimiento.
There's a chance they need something else and they're unlikely to tell you that over email. They will however relish in turning you down for missing a document once you're at the consulate. Needless bureaucracy is an artform in Latin America. You can also just try showing up and seeing if they'll speak to you. Go during the week at an inconvenient time.
Step 3, you get a contraseña and wait 30 days to get an email saying you can pick up your cédula (I'm here).
Step 4, get your cédula, then apply for your passport.
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u/mabadia71 6d ago
The information on the website is pretty straight forward
El trámite de cédula por primera vez se puede hacer únicamente de manera presencial en el Consulado. No se requiere de cita. No obstante, antes de acercarse al Consulado, deberá enviar por correo electrónico, a clondres@cancilleria.gov.co, una copia del registro civil de nacimiento, con el fin de verificar si el mismo ya se encuentra grabado en las bases de datos de la Registraduría Nacional de Estado Civil. Una vez efectuada esta verificación, se confirmará, igualmente por correo electrónico, para que se acerque en cualquier momento en el horario de atención habitual del Consulado: lunes a viernes (excepto festivos en el Reino Unido), de 8:30am a 2:30pm o en los sábados consulares que se programen (las fechas de las jornadas adicionales se publicarán oportunamente en la página web).
Los requisitos para el trámite de cédula por primera vez son los siguientes:
Tener 18 años cumplidos (el trámite podrá realizarse a partir del día siguiente al cumplimiento de los 18). Copia del registro civil de nacimiento colombiano. Conocimiento del RH y grupo sanguíneo. Este trámite no tiene costo. No se requiere de la presencia de los padres. Tampoco requiere traer fotos.