UK government revokes visa free access for Colombians

The UK has decided to once more request visas for Colombian nationals at short notice. Find out what’s going on and how it could affect you

The UK government abruptly decided yesterday to revoke visa-free entry to Colombian nationals, plunging many into chaos ahead of the festive season. Although there is a short grace period, this will affect the plans of many travellers.

The UK government places the blame for the situation on abuse of the system, with Ambassador George Hodgson saying it was sad but necessary for all countries, including the UK, to protect their borders. Colombia’s ambassador to the UK Roy Barreras agreed, saying “A minority of compatriots, as we have warned for months, abused the easiness of travelling without visas.”

He pulled no punches, going on to say “They have let the majority down with this irregular practice of claiming asylum with fake documents that have shot up with thousands of claims.” Many Colombians are furious at this minority that have caused this situation, but others pin the blame on the UK.

President Gustavo Petro went that way, threatening to impose retaliatory requirements for Boxing Day unless the UK reconsiders. There remains a significant sore feeling at the way people are treated outside of the country and decisions like the UK’s do nothing to improve the country’s reputation. The timing of the notice hardly helps, either.

It is extraordinary, with the holiday season seeing many people travel to visit family, many of whom will do so in between Christmas and New Year. There is now likely to be a sudden scramble for applications, with those on prebooked flights arriving after the deadline all needing visas.

How fast can you get the UK visa?

With the estimated processing time for a visa given as 3 weeks, there will be many in the country facing unnecessary stress. Add to those three weeks the time needed to obtain and officially translate documents, make appointments for the biometrics and possibly travel to another city and you can see it’s a big ask for anyone to get the visa within the given window.

Luckily, you can speed the process up by paying for speedy resolution. That comes at the bargain price of £500 on top of the £115 for the visa itself. Or to put it another way, not far off the price of an air ticket between Colombia and Europe. The visa offices in Cali and Medellín are open once fortnightly and weekly, respectively, with only Bogotá open five days a week.

Barreras said that those with pre-existing tickets will not be affected, but that’s a bit misleading. According to the country’s Foreign Office, those who have bought and paid for tickets prior to today (November 26th) will still be able to enter visa-free only up until 3pm on Christmas Eve (24th Dec).

After that date, visas will be required for all Colombian nationals, regardless of purchase date of tickets. That’s going to affect a great deal of people travelling for the Colombian January holidays and/or New Year’s festivities.

Why has the UK visa for Colombians come back?

The number of asylum applications from Colombia has been higher than from other Latin American countries, which seems to be the main driver for the action. In November 2022, Colombia was among a range of countries granted a visa waiver, but after two years that’s abruptly come to an end.

In a wider context, the flailing new UK government led by Kier Starmer is under a great deal of pressure over migration, especially asylum claimants. Put simply, the country is going to an insular Little Britain model as much as possible, with Brexit largely a result of similar concerns. They want a simple way to stop arrivals in the country and get an easy political win. They are paying little heed to how that happens.

That means searching for ways to bring asylum claims down – fraudulent or not. It should be said that Barreras himself noted the increase in Colombian claims, saying “from six in 2021, we’ve had 943 in 2024. The growth is absurd.”

This closed border mentality is mirrored in most of mainland Europe, the United States and Australia, with the latter two countries still requiring visas for Colombian tourists to enter. Mexico has made waves in recent years with heightened conditions for entry for Colombian nationals, although no visa is formally required, and many have been turned back at the gates.

A Colombian passport still allows visa free access to 85 countries, including the enormous Schengen block and Russia, interestingly. Within Latin America, things are generally seamless, with few requirements for Colombians to enter in most countries.

It remains to be seen whether the UK’s action will be the first step towards stricter controls in general for Colombians, or whether this is a one off. With anti-migrant feeling commonplace in richer countries and isolationist policies proving popular at the ballot box, the jury is out.

What does this mean for you?