Half your first month is legally spoken for: the cédula deadline lands on day 15, and nothing else opens until that card is in hand.
Overview
The first month in Colombia is dominated by a single statutory clock: 15 calendar days from entry (or from in-country visa issuance) to register the visa and request the cédula de extranjería at a Migración Colombia service centre — mandatory for every visa over three months, with fines from roughly half to seven monthly minimum wages for missing it. Because Migración appointment slots in Bogotá, Medellín and other large cities can run a week or more out, booking belongs in week one, not week two. The card (or even the trámite receipt, for some institutions) then unlocks the second fortnight: the RUT tax registration with the DIAN, a Colombian bank account, affiliation to the health system (EPS) — which employers must arrange together with pension and ARL from the contract start — and, for regulated professionals, the convalidación and professional-council steps that lawful practice requires. Sequencing is everything; almost nothing here can be parallelised. Verified against migracioncolombia.gov.co, cancilleria.gov.co, dian.gov.co guidance and Resolución 5477/2022 as of June 2026.
Week 1 — Entry and the Cédula Clock
- At the border: Enter on the e-visa; check the stamp/registration matches your visa category. Your entry date starts the 15-calendar-day cédula clock (Article 118, Resolución 5477).
- Day 1–2 — book Migración: Reserve the cédula de extranjería appointment online with Migración Colombia immediately; big-city Centros Facilitadores fill up. Needed: passport, e-visa PDF, and the fee (check the current rate on migracioncolombia.gov.co).
- Attend and give biometrics: The appointment itself is quick; keep the trámite receipt — some banks and employers accept it while the card is in production.
- Get connected: A local SIM (passport accepted) matters because every agency — Cancillería, Migración, DIAN, banks — notifies by email/SMS and uses Colombian phone verification.
- Beneficiaries too: Spouse and children (from age 7) on beneficiary visas have their own 15-day cédula obligations — book everyone together.
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
What absolutely must happen in my first 15 days in Colombia?
Registering your visa and requesting the cédula de extranjería at Migración Colombia — the law gives holders of any visa over three months exactly 15 calendar days from entry (or from in-country visa issuance). Book the appointment in your first day or two, because slots at the Centros Facilitadores in Bogotá and Medellín routinely run out a week or more ahead, and the deadline doesn't pause for full calendars. Bring passport, the e-visa PDF and the fee. Fines for missing the window run from about half to seven monthly minimum wages, and the infraction sits on the record the R-visa decision later scrutinises.
In what order should I do the cédula, RUT, bank account and EPS?
Strictly in that order — each step gates the next. The cédula is the identity document the others demand. With it, register the RUT at the DIAN (free, appointment online), which most banks want alongside the cédula and proof of funds. The bank account then gives you PSE, the transfer rail for paying government fees. Health affiliation comes last or in parallel: employers must enrol you in EPS, pension and ARL from the contract start; independents affiliate directly. Trying to parallelise usually fails — banks reject passport-only applications inconsistently, and the DIAN wants the cédula. Plan two to four weeks for the full chain.
I'm employed by a Colombian company — what does my employer handle and what is on me?
Your employer handles social security: enrolment in EPS (health), pension fund and ARL (occupational risk) from day one of the contract, plus the labour-law obligations that came with the M Trabajador visa — including the commitment to cover return travel costs at contract end. On you: the 15-day cédula, the RUT, opening the account your salary lands in, and — if your profession is regulated — driving the Mineducación convalidación and professional-council licence, which the visa rules expect to be in place when you seek your second or subsequent work visa. Also remember Article 119: changes of role or employer must be reported to Migración Colombia within 15 days.
How do I get healthcare cover in the first month before EPS kicks in?
Through the health policy your visa category required: digital nomads, rentistas and pensioners must already hold a policy covering accident, illness, maternity, hospitalisation, repatriation and more for the entire authorised stay, and it remains your operative cover until SGSSS affiliation is effective. Employees are enrolled in an EPS by their employer from the contract start, with cover activating shortly after registration. Independents affiliate to an EPS as independent contributors on declared income. Don't cancel the private policy the day you land — EPS activation has lead time, and a coverage gap is both a practical risk and a poor look for a discretionary system that values compliance.
Can I travel in and out of Colombia during my first months?
Yes — the cédula obligation doesn't restrict travel once registration is done, but two rules deserve respect. First, an M visa terminates automatically after more than 180 continuous days outside Colombia within any 365-day period from issuance, destroying accumulated time toward residence. Second, check the current status of Check-Mig, Migración Colombia's pre-travel registration tool, before each international flight — its mandatory/recommended status has shifted over time. Carry the cédula (or trámite receipt) plus passport with the e-visa when crossing; border officers verify the visa electronically, but the physical documents speed the interview.
What should regulated professionals start immediately rather than 'once settled'?
The recognition chain, because it is the longest-running process you face. Mineducación convalidación of a foreign degree takes 60 days (accredited programmes), 120 days (administrative precedent) or up to 180 days (full academic evaluation), and the professional-council step — COPNIA matrícula or temporary permit for engineers, ReTHUS registration via the relevant college for health professions — comes after it. The M Trabajador rules let the first visa pass while the licence is in train, but require the permit or licence to be presented for second and subsequent visas, so a slow start risks an unrenewable visa. File the convalidación online in week three or four at the latest.