Canadian Tourists Will Have to Pay a Fee to Enter Colombia Starting November 14

Starting on November 14, Canadian tourists will have to pay a new fee when they enter Colombia by air, land, or sea.

The sum for Canadians to enter the country is 256,000 Colombian pesos, and the payment will occur when travelers are going through the migration process at their port of entry. Travelers can pay in pesos or the current equivalent in Canadian dollars (which is currently 86.67 CAD).

According to Migration Colombia, the authority that manages entry into the country, the fee is being imposed in line with the international norm of “reciprocity,” in which nations enact fees for foreign visitors that mirror the ones facing their own citizens when they travel to the respective nation.

Specifically, this reciprocity fee is related to the costs Colombians incur from biometric data requirements for Colombians entering Canada.

While most Canadian tourists will have to pay the fee, there are four specific exceptions outlined by the government:

1. Canadians under 14 years of age and those over 79 years of age.
2. Crew members of international means of transport.
3. Canadian travelers whose destination of entry and stay is the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia, and Santa Catalina.
4. Canadians holding a valid Colombian visa, as well as diplomatic and consular agents, official personnel and their beneficiaries (as long as they identify themselves with a document that accredits them as such).

Migration Colombia also noted in a statement that anyone who refuses to pay the fee may be prohibited from entering Colombia and ordered to return to the their point of embarcation.