Colombia Student Visa for UK Citizens
How UK citizens get the Colombia student visa: visa-free entry, FCDO apostilles, the acceptance letter and a Spanish program that fits the visa.
British travellers arrive for the coffee region or the Medellín climate and stay for the Spanish. If your passport is the one thing you have sorted, here is the rest: entry rules, FCDO apostilles and the student visa that turns months into progress.
Entering Colombia on a UK passport
London connects to Bogotá with direct flights, and Medellín or Pereira are a short hop from there. Airlines often ask for proof of onward travel at check-in, so keep a return or exit ticket at hand.
Six months goes faster than you think
A tourist permit suits a season, not a project. Spanish that survives a taxi conversation takes several months with a schedule behind it. The type V student visa ties your stay to a registered program at a licensed school, so the tourist calendar stops dictating your plans. It also gives your weeks a shape: a fixed timetable, groups of five students at most, a class hour of 55 minutes and attendance recorded at every session, which is the study load the visa presumes.
| Question | For UK citizens |
|---|---|
| Visa to enter as a tourist? | No: entry permit on arrival, normally 90 days, extendable to 180 per calendar year |
| Apostilles | Yes for documents that need authentication, issued by the FCDO Legalisation Office before you leave the UK |
| The key document | An acceptance letter (carta de aceptación) issued directly by our licensed school |
| The program behind it | 40 hours of classes per month, about 10 hours a week, from 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 |
Paperwork with a London postcode
Your application is filed online with the Colombian authorities, around the acceptance letter plus your passport, recent bank statements, photos and apostilled documents where required. The FCDO service is ordered online and works by post, so allow for the round trip before you book flights. Documents not in Spanish need an official translation, and a clean PDF scan of each paper saves time at upload.
A licensed school, not a letter shop
Mister Fox Spanish School holds an ETDH licence (Resolution 6784 of 2022) and our Spanish program, A1 to C1, is registered by Resolution 005093 of 2024 with the Secretaría de Educación de Pereira and listed in SIET. Reserve your Visa Program with a 15% deposit and the carta de aceptación comes from us directly. We guide you through the process and answer your questions about the file, while the decision stays with the Colombian authorities. Your first package gets −10% off on selected plans, applied automatically.
Start in the UK, continue in the Andes
Colombia sits five to six hours behind the UK depending on the season, so a morning class in Medellín falls in a London afternoon. Many British students begin online, with the teachers they will later meet on campus, and take the level test on our site to land in the right group. When the visa arrives they continue at our Pereira campus or at Laureles or Belén in Medellín.
This page is not legal advice: check current rules with official Colombian sources, or hand the application to our optional lawyer service (400 USD).
UK citizens ask us
Do British citizens need a visa for Colombia?
Not for a short stay: UK passport holders receive an entry permit at the airport on arrival, normally 90 days, extendable to 180 within the same calendar year. The extension is a separate request to Migración Colombia, made before the first permit ends. For a longer stay built around study, the type V student visa applies.
Where do UK documents get apostilled for a Colombian visa?
At the FCDO Legalisation Office, before you leave the UK. The service is ordered online and runs by post, which is far easier to arrange from home than from Colombia. Only the documents the file asks to be authenticated need it, so check the list before sending your whole drawer.
How do I get an acceptance letter from a Colombian school while in the UK?
Online, start to finish: we issue it as soon as your Visa Program is reserved, as a PDF with a verification QR code for your application, so nothing depends on a consulate appointment. The letter states the program, its dates and hours, and the school’s registration details.
Can I study online from the UK before my visa is decided?
Yes: live classes with the campus teachers, at hours that land in a UK afternoon or evening, with the same evaluations as on campus. You arrive with the basics done instead of starting from zero.
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.