Acquiring Colombian Marriage Visa

[Hiker]

[This message has been edited by Hiker]

Yesterday morning I drove to Houston, to the Colombian Consulate and applied for a marriage visa.  I left Houston one hour and a half later with the visa.  The girl was surprised with the organization and completeness of the packet of documents I took.  She said that was usually not the case.  She told me that mine should not take long to process and asked if I would like to just wait.  I went to a Mexican restaurant to eat.  When I returned it was waiting for me.

Guys let me tell you that getting the Visa allowing you to get married in Colombia is very easy.  I was very concerned that it was going to be like learning Chinese algebra.  The best source of information for this entire process is Gary Bala’s website.  With the information found directly on his website and the links he has to other sites you will know everything you need to know.   I am a little curious why he gives such good info away when he makes his living doing this for people.  I would think that the more difficult this is for the individual the more business he would have.

What I included in my packet of documents.

1) Two copies of the Colombian Visa Form completely filled out and signed.  On each of these forms I had glued a passport photo in the area provided.  (You can get this form online and you can also complete it online then print it out.  All you need is Acrobat Reader version 4 or later (free).  You can't save it to your disk with the free version of Acrobat, so if you do not have a printer available wait until you do have before completing the form.)

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

http://www.colhouston.org/forms/fillvisaapp.pdf

2) An additional passport photo that is used by the Consulate in making the Marriage Visa.  (This means you need a total of three photos).

3) A letter requesting the Marriage Visa.  In this letter I included the date we were getting married and the name of the place.  I included all my personal information such as address, phone,  and social security number.   I also included all her personal information including her Colombian id number.  I had this letter notarized.  I then acquired an Apostle from the Secretary of State’s office.  (On Gary Bala’s website you can find a link to a listing of addresses and phone numbers for this office in every state.)  An Apostle is nothing more than a certificate stating that the notary who notarized your document is a valid notary.

4) A Spanish translation of number 3.  A good friend at work translated this for me.  He has no special certifications for doing translations.  I signed the document and had it notarized. This must also be notarized and contain an apostle.

5) A certificate of police records search.  This is very easy to get.  Just go to your records department and tell them you need a document for a visa showing that you have no criminal record.  They will notarize it there.

6) A Spanish translation of number 5.  Here I did not have a place to sign it.  So the notary needs something to notarize.  I had the guy who translated it for me include a place at the bottom saying in Spanish “Translated By” and his name.  Then he signed it in front to the notary, who then notarized it.  I also acquired ab apostle for this document.

7) A photo copy of my girlfriend’s Colombian ID card.  This must be notarized by a Colombian notary before she sends it to you.

A letter written by my girlfriend requesting that I be given this visa.  The letter should contain a general time frame when you plan to get married.  This letter must be notarized by a Colombian notary.

9)  Two copies of my passport.  These do not need to be notarized or anything special.  They should not be color photocopies.  Just plain photocopies.  I had a difficult time photocopying mine and making it readable.  I scanned mine and made it a jpeg and then I made the jpeg into grayscale format and then printed it.  Not necessary though.

10) Your valid passport with a minimum of 3 blank pages.

I packaged all this together and included a simple cover letter showing the documents I have in my packet.  The following is the cover letter I used.    
=============
 
My Name
My Address

Home Phone: nnn-nnn-nnnn
Work Phone: nnn-nnn-nnnn

Dear Sirs,

I am applying for a marriage visa allowing me to get married in Colombia.  Following the instructions on your Internet web site I have enclosed the following information.

1) A notarized letter, with an apostle, written by me requesting the visa.
2) A notarized Spanish translation, with an apostle, of the letter in item 1.
3) A notarized letter written by my fiancé in Colombia requesting that I be granted the visa.
4) A notarized copy of her Colombian citizenship ID card.
5) A notarized Certificate of Record Search by the Lewisville, Texas Police Department.  This document also has an apostle.
6) A notarized Spanish translation, with an apostle, of the document in item 5.
7) Two completed copies of the visa application form.
Two plain copies of my passport.
9) Current passport.
10)  Passport photos
 

Thank you very much,

My Name

[jumgimbo]

... in response to Acquiring Colombian Marriage Visa, posted by Hiker on Mar 1, 2003

What kind of apostles did you provide for the documents signed by your friend?  Were they simply affidavits stating that the person made a translation or what?  I know the state can validate the notary, but what about the other apostles you need?  I'm kind of unclear on this process.  Your posting is very helpful, though.

Thanks!

[Hiker]

... in response to Re: Acquiring Colombian Marriage Visa, posted by jumgimbo on Mar 1, 2003

[This message has been edited by Hiker]

The apostle has nothing to do with a document.  The notary notarized the document in that they saw the person sign it, so I guess basically they are notarizing the signature.  The apostle is a document from the state that says "Yes, This notary is a true and valid notary for this state".

Of course any documents you request from the Office of Vital Records in your state will not have been notarized but you can still obtain an apostle for the document.

If you have 4 documents notarized by the same notary, you still need 4 apostles.  

The level of difficulty in acquiring the apostle depends on the state you are dealing with.

I had to deal with two states.  Texas is more expensive but a breeze.  In Texas you do not send the documents to the Secretary of States office.  You simply send them a letter containing the names of the Notarys you need an apostle for.  You must also include the date their license expires.  You must include 10 dollars per apostle.  They turn the request around in 2 days.  In Tennessee you are dealing with people who got their jobs through a government program called, "Hire the Mentally Challenged" or some other program.  In the great state of Tennessee the price is only 2 dollars per apostle, but you must mail the original notarized document with your check and request.  Then they will return it saying that you must also have a letter from the County Clerk of the county the Notary resides in, stating that is really the Notary's signature.  Then you return the original notarized documents along with your request for apostles.  Then they return them again and say now you need to return all the documents to the County Clerk again and have the seal (state, county, I don't know) applied to the letter they wrote affirming the signature.

I was lucky in that for the Marriage Visa I only had to deal with Texas.  In Tennessee I need my two avidavits of singlehood notarized for the actual wedding in Cali.  This requires someone, who has known you for 10 years, making a sworn statement that you are single and available to marry.  Unfortunatly I have only been in Texas for 6 years.  

Also in Tennessee I called the county clerks office to obtain a court certified copy of my divorce decree.  But since this is technically not a Notary doing it the Secretary of States office will not provide an apostle for it.  They did provide one for the Certificate of Divorce that I obtained via the Office of Vital records.  I mailed that to Cali and my girlfriend took it to the Notary there and he said that was all he needed.  I was very concerned about this since all references on the internet state "Divorce Decree" not "Divorce Certificate".

[lswote]

... in response to Re: Apostle, posted by Hiker on Mar 1, 2003

Every notary is different, even in the same city, but for the notary that married me in Bogota, I was able to subtitute for the letters from someone who has known me for 10 years because I only have one friend that I have keep in contact for 10 years.  I was able to submit marriage record searchs from the state I was born in, the state I got divorced in, and the state I currently live in showing that I had never had a marriage, or in the case of Texas, remarriage in the state.

[Hiker]

... in response to Re: Re: Apostle, posted by lswote on Mar 4, 2003

To show just how right you are about them all being different, I just found out tonight that the notary, who is marrying us in Cali, does not want the avidavits of singlehood.  He said because I am divorced he needs only the divorce certificate.  He said the avidavit is only valid for a person who has never been married.