Border control at Colombia airports: what happens to travellers and their data

Arriving: the steps at the border

Foreign nationals show a valid passport or another accepted document, such as a CAN or Mercosur national identity card. They need a visa if their nationality or activity requires one, an exit ticket and proof of funds. The data taken at entry falls into four groups: biographic data, visa data, route data and lodging data ³.

Check-MIG is a free online pre-registration. Migración Colombia says it is not mandatory. Travellers can file it up to 72 hours before travel and up to one hour before. The form asks for the airline, flight number, purpose of travel, place of stay and state of health. The traveller gets an email confirmation to show at the control point. A record cannot be edited after it is sent, so a mistake means a new record ^1,3.

On leaving, a foreign national must show the same travel document used to enter and must be within the permitted stay ³. Colombian nationals cannot be refused entry. Under Law 2332 of 2023, dual nationals must enter and leave as Colombians ³.

Entry permission: tourist permits and visas

Resolution 3167 of 2019 of Migración Colombia sets entry permits. A tourism permit lasts up to 90 calendar days. Migración Colombia tracks each foreign national's days so that permits do not exceed 180 calendar days in a calendar year ⁵.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a list of nationalities that need a Colombian tourist visa. The May 2026 list cites Resolutions 5488 of 2022 and 3717 of 2023. It shows no visa needed for nationals of the US, Japan, Germany and Argentina. It shows a visa needed for nationals of China, India, Kenya and Nigeria. Nationals of China and India are exempt if they hold a US or Schengen visa valid for more than 180 days at entry ⁶.

Any paid activity needs a visa, whatever the nationality. Permanent residents of Chile, Peru or Mexico, the other Pacific Alliance states, can be allowed short unpaid stays without a Colombian visa ³.

Biometrics and Biomig gates

Biomig is a free service based on iris recognition. Migración Colombia says enrolment takes under 30 seconds, the scan is contactless at more than 25cm, and the data is used only to authenticate users in the designated lanes. The service is open to Colombians aged 12 and over and to foreign residents with a valid cédula de extranjería ².

Foreign adults can use Biomig only to leave Colombia, and they do not need to enrol for that ². Gates are at El Dorado in Bogotá, José María Córdova in Rionegro, Rafael Núñez in Cartagena, Alfonso Bonilla Aragón in Palmira, Ernesto Cortissoz in Barranquilla and Matecaña in Pereira, plus the Rumichaca land post. Biomig does not stamp passports ².

Biomig VIP uses smart gates that check face and fingerprint. It is open to Colombians aged 18 and over and foreign residents with a valid visa. It costs 421,000 Colombian pesos for two years under Resolution 0559 of 2026 ².

Resolution 3167 says the biometrics used can be fingerprint, face or iris. It links Biomig to the passenger information system so that judicial and administrative records can be checked in advance ⁵. The Medellín city government said in August 2026 that it was working with Migración Colombia and the airport company Airplan to promote Biomig ⁸.

Passenger data: APIS

Resolution 3167 of 2019 took effect on 1 December 2019 and replaced the 2015 rules that first set up the Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) ⁵. All aircraft operators must send API for flights entering or leaving Colombia. That includes scheduled, charter and private flights. Data goes in the UN/EDIFACT PAXLST format through a service provider chosen by Migración Colombia ⁵.

Scheduled operators send data three times: 12 hours before departure, 2 hours before, and when the flight closes. Other operators send once, between 12 and 2 hours before departure. Late, missing or wrong data can lead to administrative action under Decree 1067 of 2015 ⁵.

Migración Colombia can share APIS data with other security bodies under agreements, subject to fundamental rights ⁵.

Watch lists and checks

Resolution 3167 asks airlines to check names, document numbers, dates of birth and nationalities with care. It says these fields allow matching against authorities' systems and lists ⁵.

If a Biomig gate cannot confirm identity, or finds a court order or exit ban, it raises an alert and an officer takes over ². Migración Colombia's privacy notice lists fraud and identity theft prevention and requests from judicial authorities among the purposes of its data use ⁴.

Your data: the law and how to ask for records

Law 1581 of 2012 is Colombia's data protection law. It treats biometric data as sensitive ⁷. Migración Colombia's privacy notice says giving biometric data for Biomig is voluntary. A traveller can choose a staffed counter with no loss of service ⁴.

The notice says that continued use of Biomig after the notice counts as consent to the processing of personal and biometric data ⁴. It does not state a retention period.

Data subjects can ask what data is held, correct it, revoke consent and ask for deletion where no legal duty prevents it. Requests go to [email protected] ⁴. Under the law, a query must be answered within 10 business days, extendable by 5. A claim for correction or deletion must be settled within 15 business days, extendable by 8 ⁷.

The Superintendence of Industry and Commerce supervises data protection through a delegated unit. A person can complain to it only after using the query or claim process with the data holder ⁷.

Who runs the systems

Migración Colombia was created by Decree 4062 of 2011. It is a civil security body attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and acts as the migration control authority ⁵. It runs Check-MIG, Biomig and APIS ^1,25. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes the visa list ⁶.