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Pathway

Colombian Citizenship by Birth in Colombia

Colombia Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

If you were born in Colombia, your parents' citizenship or legal residence at the time may give you Colombian citizenship by birth.

Where you were born
Colombia
Parent requirement
A Colombian parent or a foreign parent who met the legal residence rules at your birth
Who checks the records
Colombia's civil registry, Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil

Summary

Being born in Colombia may make you Colombian, depending on your parents' citizenship or immigration status when you were born. The usual rule is that at least one parent was Colombian, or a foreign parent had met Colombia's legal residence requirement.

There are also special protections for some children who would otherwise have no nationality and for certain families covered by temporary migration measures. Registraduría, Colombia's civil registry, checks the evidence and confirms the record used to prove citizenship.

Check citizenship after a birth in Colombia
  1. Gather the birth and parent records Start with the complete Colombian birth record and proof of the parents' status at the time.
  2. Check which rule applies A Colombian parent, a foreign parent's qualifying residence, or a special protection may provide the basis.
  3. Confirm the citizenship record Registraduría checks the evidence and any required nationality entry.

The ordinary three-year residence test concerns a foreign parent's visa history, not the child's time in Colombia.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

If a parent was Colombian

You need proof that you were born in Colombia and that at least one parent was a Colombian citizen at the time. Gather that parent's Colombian birth record, citizenship card, passport, or other accepted evidence.

Your parent's birthplace alone does not prove citizenship. This matters particularly if they were also born in Colombia to foreign parents.

If both parents were foreign

At least one parent must normally have met the legal requirement for making Colombia their settled home, known as domicile, when you were born.

Under the current law, this ordinarily means three continuous years holding a visa that allowed the parent to settle in Colombia. A visitor visa, entry stamp, seasonal stay, or simply having lived there does not meet that test.

Check the visa category and dates carefully. Older births and visa histories need to be assessed under the rules that applied at the relevant time. The three years concern the parent's visa history; they are not a requirement for the child to live in Colombia for three years.

Special protections

Two alternatives may apply:

These exceptions need to be checked against your family's circumstances. A belief that a child has no nationality, or possession of any temporary permission, is not enough on its own.

What This Route Allows

Once citizenship is properly recorded, you can obtain Colombian identity documents and apply for a passport. The law identifies the birth record as nationality proof for children under 14, the identity card (tarjeta de identidad) from 14 to under 18, and the citizenship card (cédula de ciudadanía) for adults.

Citizenship lets you live and work in Colombia without a visa and exercise the rights that apply to your age and circumstances. You do not lose the right to live there because of the travel limits that apply to visa holders.

Colombia allows dual nationality. Check the rules of any other country where you hold citizenship too.

What This Route Is Not

Colombia does not automatically grant citizenship to every child born there. Parents who were only visiting, staying seasonally, or living there without valid status do not meet the ordinary residence test.

A hospital record or birth certificate may prove a birth without proving Colombian nationality. Where both parents were foreign, check whether the civil record is valid as evidence of citizenship.

This process recognizes citizenship by birth. It is different from applying for citizenship through years of residence as a foreign national. Disputed parentage, incorrect records, uncertain historical status, or a statelessness claim may need a separate correction or decision first.

Next Steps

  1. Obtain the complete Colombian civil birth record. Check its nationality entry, corrections, and references to any earlier record.
  2. If a parent was Colombian, gather proof of that citizenship and the parent-child relationship.
  3. If both parents were foreign, collect their visas, foreigner identity cards, passport pages, and official travel records from the relevant period.
  4. If relying on a special migration measure or statelessness protection, obtain the official evidence required for that exception.
  5. Ask Registraduría which registration or correction process applies. A Colombian consulate can help with civil-registration and identity services if you live abroad.
  6. Once the record is accepted as proof of citizenship, apply for the appropriate identity document and passport.

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Other routes in Colombia.

Sources