Dummy Ticket for Colombia Visa (2026): What the Visa Rules Ask For

Colombia asks about your flights twice. When you apply for the visa, the rules want a reservation showing how you will enter and leave. When you land, the immigration officer can ask for your exit ticket. This guide deals with the first moment: the visitor visa for tourism, applied for online through Colombia's foreign ministry (Cancillería), and the exact wording of the resolution that governs it. For what happens at the airport, including Check-Mig and the exit-ticket rule, we have a separate Colombia onward ticket guide, and we will not repeat it here.

Colombia visa key facts for 2026

Do Indian citizens need a Colombian visa?

Most do. Cancillería's entry guidance lists India among eight nationalities with a conditional exemption, alongside Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. These travellers can enter without a visitor visa only if they show, on arrival, a permanent residence permit or a visa valid for more than six months issued by the United States or any Schengen country. Otherwise they must obtain a visa.^[2]

The same document adds another route: foreigners who prove permanent residence in a Pacific Alliance country (Chile, Mexico, Peru) or an Andean Community country (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru) are also exempt from the visitor visa.^[2]

Notice the difference from Peru's exemption, which also accepts UK, Canadian and Australian visas. Colombia accepts only US and Schengen visas, and the six-month test is "more than", not "at least". If you hold a UK visa only, you apply. If your Schengen visa ends exactly six months after landing, apply to be safe.

If you are exempt, nothing in this guide's visa section applies to you. Skip to our onward ticket guide for Colombia, which covers the arrival side.

What does Resolution 5477 say about flights for a tourist visa?

Article 34 sets the V Turismo visa "exclusivamente para actividades de ocio, turismo o interés cultural", meaning leisure, tourism or cultural interest only. Its specific requirements are three:^[1]

1. the requirements of Article 31 of the same resolution;
2. a health policy covering accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalisation, death or repatriation in Colombia for the planned stay;
3. "Presentar reservación de tiquetes para el ingreso y la salida del país."

Item 3 is the line that matters. "Reservación" means reservation. Colombia's own rule asks for a booking of the flights in and out, not for a purchased fare. A verifiable reservation in your name, with a PNR (booking reference) the airline can find, fits that wording directly.

The article then adds a paragraph (parágrafo) that switches to the arrival stage: on entry, the migration authority "exigirá al extranjero demostrar que está en posesión del correspondiente tiquete de salida". That is a ticket, not a reservation, and it is checked by a different agency at a different moment.^[1] How that check works, and where a reservation might fall short at the airport, is explained in our Colombia onward ticket guide.

Reservation for the visa, ticket for the border: how do they differ?

For most visa holders, this sorts itself out. Once your e-visa arrives, you buy the actual flights you plan to take. By the time you land, you hold a real ticket out, and the border question is easy.

How do you apply for a Colombian tourist visa online?

Everything happens on Cancillería's online visa form. You create the application, upload scans, pay, and receive the visa by email.^[6] The official ABC page sets out the timings:^[3]

• Pay the study fee within 10 calendar days of creating the application.
• Expect a decision within up to 30 calendar days. It may take longer if other bodies must be consulted.
• If approved, pay the issuance (expedition) fee within 10 calendar days.
• The electronic visa is sent to your registered email within 10 calendar days of that payment.
• Photos go in as JPG files of at most 300 kb. Documents other than the passport must be issued no more than three months before you apply.

On fees, Cancillería's English tourist visa page lists a study fee of USD 50 and a visa cost that varies by nationality.^[4] The current amount for your passport is in the ministry's costs table.^[5] Check it on the day you apply rather than relying on any figure you read elsewhere, including here.

What else goes into a V Turismo application?

The general requirements in Article 24 apply to all visas: the online form, a recent colour photo on a white background, and a passport valid for more than six months with blank pages and in good condition.^[1] On top of that, Article 34 pulls in the requirements of Article 31, which concern your economic means, and adds the health policy and the flight reservation.

Put simply, the visa officer wants to see four things: who you are, that you can pay for the trip, that you are insured, and when you arrive and leave. The flight reservation is the evidence for the last point, and it anchors the dates on everything else. If your insurance policy starts on 3 February, your reservation lands on 3 February and your hotel begins that night, the file reads cleanly.

Two practical notes. Keep each scan clear and complete, because the ABC page asks for documents that are legible and whole. And watch the three-month age limit on supporting papers: a bank statement printed in July is too old for an application filed in November.^[3]

When should you book the reservation for an online application?

On the day you upload, or a day before. A reservation we issue stays valid for up to 2 weeks, and the airline sets the exact period. Since the decision can take up to 30 days, the booking may lapse before you hear back. That is normal for a file reviewed on paper.

The reservation's job is to prove the trip you described when you filed. If the officer asks for more documents or an interview, get a new reservation on the same dates before you reply. Do not edit an older PDF to change anything.

Here is an example. Say you want to fly on 15 January. You gather your bank statements and insurance quote in mid-November, book the reservation on 24 November, and submit on 25 November. You pay the study fee the same week. In mid-December you get the approval, pay the issuance fee, and receive the e-visa a few days later. Now you buy the real flights for 15 January, which is the ticket you will show the airline and the border officer.

Which slips most often weaken a Colombian visa upload?

None of these come from statistics; they come from reading the rules closely and from what tends to go wrong with online files in general. Each one is easy to avoid.

• Stale papers. The ABC page caps supporting documents at three months old. An old salary certificate or bank letter can sink an otherwise tidy file.
• Insurance that does not cover the trip. Article 34 wants cover for the whole planned stay. If the policy ends a day before your return flight, the gap is visible.
• Only an outbound flight. The rule says entry and exit. A one-way reservation leaves half of item 3 unanswered.
• The wrong purpose. V Turismo is for leisure, tourism or culture only. If your trip involves meetings, events or work, read the other visitor categories before you choose, and describe your trip accurately.
• Names that differ from the passport. A missing middle name on the reservation or the insurance invites a query. Copy the passport's machine-readable spelling.
• Unclear scans. Cancillería asks for documents scanned clearly and completely. Cropped corners or phone photos at an angle are a common, avoidable problem.

Which routes and transit points affect a Colombia trip?

From India, Bogotá is reached with at least one connection. The hub you choose can add its own paperwork.

• United States: a plane change there still needs US visa paperwork for most Indian travellers. If you already hold a US visa valid more than six months, you may not need the Colombian visa at all. Our transit visa guide covers the C-1.
• Europe: check airport transit rules for your passport at your chosen hub. A Schengen visa holder may also qualify for Colombia's exemption.
• Lima: Peru has required a transit visa since 1 February 2025 from foreigners transiting its territory who are not already visa-exempt for Peru.^[7] See our Peru visa guide.

Whatever routing you put on the reservation, it should be one you can fly with the visas you hold. Airlines check this at check-in using IATA Timatic.^[8] Our layovers guide covers connections on separate bookings.

Your Colombian visa application, step by step

1. Check the exemption. A US or Schengen visa valid more than six months on arrival, or permanent residence there, Pacific Alliance or Andean Community residence, means no visitor visa.
2. Pick your dates within 90 days for a first stay.
3. Buy health cover for Colombia that matches those dates.
4. Book the flight reservation for entry and exit, names exactly as in your passport. Verify it on the airline's "Manage booking" page with our PNR verification guide.
5. Add accommodation on the same dates; we offer hotel reservations too.
6. Scan and upload on the Cancillería form, then pay the study fee within 10 days.
7. After approval, pay the issuance fee within 10 days, wait for the e-visa, then buy your real tickets.

A reservation for Colombia's "reservación de tiquetes"

Our reservation shows your name, the flights into and out of Colombia, and a live booking reference held by the airline, which you can verify on its website. It is not a purchased ticket and cannot be used to fly.

Pricing is per passenger, one way or return, with multi-city routes priced per pair of legs. Payments in India go through Razorpay by UPI, card or netbanking, and delivery by email takes about 10 minutes. Check an order on track your order, see every currency on the pricing page, learn more on flight reservation for visa, or visit our home page.

Colombia visa and flight reservations: frequently asked questions

Planning more of the continent? Read our Peru, Chile and Argentina visa guides, the requirements by country list, the general onward ticket page, and our Schengen visa guide if Europe comes first.

Sources

All sources last checked: October 2026.

1. Cancillería de Colombia, normograma, Resolución 5477 de 2022: Articles 24, 31 and 34.
2. Cancillería de Colombia, Información de ingreso a Colombia y visa de cortesía (PDF): conditional exemption for Indian nationals.
3. Cancillería de Colombia, ABC de solicitud de visa para Colombia: timings, payments, document format.
4. Cancillería de Colombia, Tourist visa (English page): study fee.
5. Cancillería de Colombia, Visa costs.
6. Cancillería de Colombia, Online visa application form.
7. Embassy of Peru in India, Consular Section, Visa requirements for foreign nationals: transit visa.
8. IATA, Timatic.