Colombia Student Visa for Swiss Citizens
How Swiss citizens get the Colombia student visa: visa-free entry, cantonal apostilles, the acceptance letter and classes you can start from home.
Most Swiss students arrive with two or three languages, so Spanish is one more rather than a first. What Colombia adds is daily practice at a cost of living that makes months of study realistic. Here is how the student visa works with a Swiss passport, from cantonal apostilles to the letter we issue.
One more language, with a plan
If your base is French or Italian, the first levels go fast, because much of the vocabulary is already yours. If it is German, the grammar habits you already have make B1 stick. Our CEFR program, A1 to C1, gives that a structure: a placement test puts you at your real level, each level ends with an evaluation, and each evaluation passed earns a certificate. Groups stay at five students at most, so a fast learner gets corrected rather than carried along.
| Question | For Swiss citizens |
|---|---|
| Visa to enter as a tourist? | No: entry permit on arrival, normally 90 days, extendable to 180 per calendar year |
| Apostilles | Yes where required, from the chancellery of the issuing canton, before you leave |
| The key document | The acceptance letter, issued by our licensed school as a PDF with a verification QR code |
| The program behind it | CEFR A1 to C1: 40 h/month, 1 to 15 months, in Pereira, Medellín or online |
| What it costs | From $ 1.760.000 per month, plus government fees set by the authorities |
Documents from Switzerland
The application is filed online with the Colombian authorities. Around the acceptance letter you add a valid passport, recent bank statements in your name, photos to specification, proof of health cover and apostilled documents where required. Everything that depends on Switzerland gets done before you leave: an apostille requested from Colombia means courier fees and weeks of waiting, and a bank statement pulled too early reads as stale by filing day. Plan an official translation for anything not in Spanish.
The acceptance letter comes from the school
We are a licensed ETDH institution (Resolution 6784 of 2022); our Spanish program is registered by Resolution 005093 of 2024 with the Secretaría de Educación Municipal de Pereira and listed in SIET, the Ministry of Education registry. Reserve a Visa Program with a 15% deposit and we issue your carta de aceptación directly; the deposit counts toward your program, so it is a down payment rather than an extra fee. From there we guide you through the process: what the rest of the file should contain and in what order to request each paper. Your first package gets −10% off on selected plans, applied automatically.
Start from Switzerland
Colombia runs six to seven hours behind Switzerland depending on the season, so our morning classes land in your late afternoon. Medellín sits near 1,500 meters and Pereira around 1,400, with spring temperatures all year and mountains on every horizon, so Swiss students tend to feel at home, only warmer.
Immigration rules change and cases differ, and this page is not legal advice: check current rules with official Colombian sources, or hand the application to our optional lawyer service (400 USD).
Swiss citizens ask us
Do Swiss citizens need a visa to enter Colombia?
Not for a short stay: you receive an entry permit on arrival, normally 90 days, extendable to 180 within the calendar year. A longer stay built around study needs the type V student visa.
Where do Swiss documents get apostilles?
At the chancellery of the canton that issued the document, before you leave Switzerland. Each canton has its own office and processing time, so start early, and note that a federal document goes through the Federal Chancellery in Bern instead.
How do I receive the acceptance letter in Switzerland?
Online, from home: once the deposit is paid we send the carta de aceptación by email, and the PDF goes straight into your online visa application. Its verification QR code lets whoever reads it confirm that a licensed school issued it.
Can I start classes before moving?
Yes. Our online classes are live with the same teachers as on campus, so nothing is lost in the move. From Switzerland that means a class in your late afternoon, and arriving with a level already done changes your first month here.
From choosing a program to a decision, step by step.
A plan for every goal and every schedule
Group classes from $ 420.000 $ 378.000 a week, flexible private packages valid for 6 months and live online at the same price.
Your Spanish starts today (and your first class is free)
Your first package gets −10% off on selected plans, applied automatically. See you in Medellín, Pereira or online.