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Colombia residence visa photo requirements

The 30 × 40 mm photo rules set by Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería) for the Colombia residence visa, with the official wording and sources.

Based on 6 official sources · last checked Official sources Page history

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Quick answer

What size is the Colombia residence visa photo?

Settling in Colombia involves two photos. For the migrant (M) or resident (R) visa, you upload a 3 x 4 cm scale colour JPG on a white background, at most 300 KB, with your head centred, eyes open and ears visible. For the cédula de extranjería that follows, you bring nothing: Migración Colombia captures your photograph and fingerprints at its service centre (CFSM).

Foreigners who plan to live in Colombia need a migrant (M) visa, valid for up to three years, or a resident (R) visa for permanent settlement. Both are granted by Cancillería's Visa and Immigration Authority under Resolution 5477 of 2022. M visas cover cases such as spouses or permanent partners of Colombians, workers, pensioners, investors and Mercosur or Andean nationals. An R visa usually follows years of M visas; the time required ranges from two to five years depending on the category.

The visa is requested online, and the photo goes in as a digital file with the form. Once it is granted, the identity card comes from a different body. Migración Colombia issues the cédula de extranjería to visa holders aged over seven whose visa runs for more than three months, and it takes its own photograph for the card.

So there is only one photo for you to prepare: the visa upload. The card photo is taken by Migración Colombia at your appointment.

Colombia residence visa photo size and specifications

The requirements as published by Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería):[1]

Print sizeVisa upload: 3 x 4 cm (30 x 40 mm) scale, digital; cédula de extranjería: none, taken at the CFSM
Digital sizeVisa upload: no pixel size set; must be sharp, with good resolution
BackgroundVisa upload: white; blue is allowed for white hair, no hair or a light religious habit
ColourVisa upload: in colour
Photo ageVisa upload: recent, no period stated
File sizeVisa upload: 300 KB maximum under Resolution 5477 of 2022
File formatVisa upload: JPG
Pixels when printed354 × 472 px at 300 dpi · 709 × 945 px at 600 dpi (calculated)
30 mm40 mm
30 × 40 mm photo drawn to scale. Background: visa upload: white.

Key requirements

  • Every application carries a photo

    Article 24 of Resolution 5477 of 2022 lists the photo among the general requirements of every visa application. That covers the principal holder and each beneficiary the holder applies for, such as a spouse, a permanent partner or dependent children up to 25.

  • White behind you

    Use white behind your head. Cancillería makes an exception, allowing blue, only for applicants who have no hair or white hair and for religious in a light-coloured habit.

  • Full head in the middle of the frame

    Your head must appear complete and centred, turned square to the lens, with both eyes open and ears in view. Keep a neutral expression.

  • Head and face uncovered

    Hair and accessories must leave your head and face uncovered. The image may show only your face, with no other pictures or people in it, and it must be sharp, well resolved and free of glare.

  • Within 300 KB as a JPG

    The resolution caps the photo at 300 KB, and Cancillería asks for JPG format, while the other documents are uploaded as PDFs.

  • Card photo taken by Migración Colombia

    For the cédula de extranjería, complete the online FUT form with one PDF of your passport and visa, book an appointment at a CFSM and bring your original passport. The centre takes your fingerprints and photograph there.

  • Deadlines for the card

    Apply for the cédula within 15 calendar days of entering Colombia, or of the visa being issued if you were already in the country. Errors on the card must be reported within 30 calendar days of receiving it.

Do's and don'ts

Do

  • Photograph yourself against a white wall in even light.
  • Keep the visa photo file at or below 300 KB.
  • Show your whole head, centred, with ears in view.
  • Apply for the cédula de extranjería within 15 calendar days.
  • Bring your original, valid passport to the CFSM appointment.
  • Take a child aged 7 to 17 to the CFSM with a parent or legal representative.

Don't

  • Do not let hair, a hat or accessories cover your head or face.
  • Do not use a blue background unless an exception applies to you.
  • Do not submit a dark, overexposed or blurred visa photo.
  • Do not expect to hand in a photo for the cédula de extranjería: the CFSM takes it.
  • Do not offer cash to Migración Colombia staff; they may not accept it.

Sample photos

How a Colombia residence visa photo should look, and the mistakes that most often get photos rejected. Each example is drawn to this document's 30 × 40 mm and background colour.

Correct
Open-mouth smile
Head tilted
Too close: head too big
Too far: head too small
Busy background
Shadows on face or background
Glare on glasses

Illustrations, not real photos. The official rules above always take priority; some documents do not allow glasses at all.

Glasses

Neither Cancillería's visa rules nor Migración Colombia's cédula page mention glasses by name. For the visa upload, the rules that matter are that accessories must not cover the face and that the photo must be free of glare, so reflective lenses are a risk. Cancillería's guide uses a person in glasses, seen in profile, as one of its wrong examples.

For the cédula de extranjería, staff at the CFSM take the photo, and Migración Colombia publishes no glasses rule for it.

Headwear and religious dress

For the M or R visa photo, Article 24 of Resolution 5477 of 2022 requires that neither hair nor accessories cover the head or face. The guide's only provision linked to religion is the blue background allowed for religious wearing a light-coloured habit.

Migración Colombia publishes no separate headwear rule for the cédula de extranjería photo, which is taken at its own centres.

Babies and children

Children who hold or benefit from a visa valid for more than three months are treated by age. Under 7, they only complete a visa registration with Migración Colombia, which is free and involves no biometric capture and no card. From 7 to 17 the cédula de extranjería is compulsory, applied for within 15 calendar days, and the child attends with a parent or legal representative who can prove the relationship.

When a child turns 7, they return to a CFSM to register for their new age group and then apply for the cédula. At 18 a new cédula de extranjería must be requested within 15 calendar days of the birthday. The child's visa application itself still needs a photo, under the same rules as for adults.

Neither step of settling in Colombia uses a printed photo. The visa photo is a digital JPG uploaded with the online application, and the cédula de extranjería photo is captured by Migración Colombia during your CFSM appointment. When the appointment ends you receive a digital contraseña, a temporary document with a QR code that is valid immediately, while the physical card is printed.

A duplicate cédula de extranjería is requested online without a photo upload, provided your current card is valid and you know its exact number.

Where to submit the photo

The visa is requested through Cancillería's online visa form. From abroad, pick the consulate nearest your country of residence; from inside Colombia, with regular status, pick the Bogotá office. Holders of an R visa, principal or beneficiary, must request a transfer (traspaso) of the visa every five years on the same platform.

For the cédula de extranjería, complete Migración Colombia's Formulario Único de Trámites (FUT) online with one PDF of your passport and visa, book a slot at the nearest Centro Facilitador de Servicios Migratorios, and attend with your original passport, the visa and the FUT reference number. You pay at the centre by card or bank slip, and collect the card there about ten working days after payment.

How to get your Colombia residence visa photo

  1. Check the official requirements. Read the official specification for the Colombia residence visa: 30 × 40 mm print, visa upload: white background. Check the rules on pose, expression, glasses and headwear below.
  2. Take the photo. Follow the key requirements: every application carries a photo; white behind you; full head in the middle of the frame; head and face uncovered.
  3. Prepare a print or digital file. Neither step of settling in Colombia uses a printed photo. The visa photo is a digital JPG uploaded with the online application, and the cédula de extranjería photo is captured by Migración Colombia during your CFSM appointment.
  4. Submit the photo with your application. The visa is requested through Cancillería's online visa form. From abroad, pick the consulate nearest your country of residence; from inside Colombia, with regular status, pick the Bogotá office.

Make this photo online

Colombia residence visa photo FAQ

One digital photo uploaded with the online form: 3 x 4 cm scale, colour, white background, sharp, with your whole head centred, both eyes open, ears visible and nothing covering your head or face. It goes in as a JPG of no more than 300 KB.

No. Migración Colombia takes your fingerprints and photograph at the Centro Facilitador de Servicios Migratorios during your appointment. The online FUT form asks only for one PDF showing your passport and visa.

Yes. Article 24 of Resolution 5477 of 2022 sets the general requirements for every visa application, so M and R visas share the photo rules of visitor visas. What differs are the specific documents for each category.

Only from age 7. Children under 7 complete a free visa registration without biometrics or a card. From 7 to 17 the card is compulsory, and the child attends the CFSM with a parent or legal representative; the photo is taken there.

Within 15 calendar days of entering Colombia with the visa, or of the visa being issued if you received it inside the country. It applies to visa holders over 7 whose visa is valid for more than three months.

Only if you have white hair or no hair, or wear a light-coloured religious habit. Everyone else uses white, and Cancillería's guide marks a blue background as incorrect in ordinary cases.

Yes, through the duplicate procedure, which is handled online when your card is still valid and you know its exact number; no photo upload is involved. You pay online and collect the card at the CFSM you selected, about ten working days after payment.

Related photo specifications

Other Colombia documents

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Also 30 × 40 mm

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Official sources

  1. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería). Tipos de Visa (Migrante M y Residente R) cancilleria.gov.co. Checked 1 November 2026.
  2. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería). ABC de Visa: requisitos generales cancilleria.gov.co. Checked 1 November 2026.
  3. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería). Resolución 5477 de 2022 (visas) cancilleria.gov.co. Checked 1 November 2026.
  4. Cancillería, GIT de Visas e Inmigración. Infografía: fotografía para visas cancilleria.gov.co. Checked 1 November 2026.
  5. Migración Colombia. Cédula de Extranjería migracioncolombia.gov.co. Checked 1 November 2026.
  6. Migración Colombia. Registro de extranjeros visados migracioncolombia.gov.co. Checked 1 November 2026.

Requirements can change, so always confirm with Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería) before you apply. WorldPhotoSpecs is independent and not affiliated with any government.

Cite this page

"Colombia residence visa photo". WorldPhotoSpecs. Last updated 4 November 2026. https://worldphotospecs.org/colombia/residence-visa-photo

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