Moving to Canada from Colombia: Visas, Study, Work and PR Routes

Colombians often start as students or workers, and many build a path to permanent residence through French and Quebec.

Colombia is not an International Experience Canada (IEC) partner.

Colombia is on IRCC's list of visa-required countries (entry requirements page updated July 31, 2026). You need a visitor visa, officially a temporary resident visa (TRV), to travel to Canada, and you can't use an eTA instead. The visa costs CAD $100 plus CAD $85 for biometrics, as of September 2026.

If IRCC approves a study permit or work permit for you, it issues the visa at the same time, so you don't file a separate visa application.

Where to give biometrics. Most applicants aged 14 to 79 give fingerprints and a photo at a visa application center (VAC). IRCC lists VACs in Colombia in Bogotá, Cali, and Medellín. If you live in another country, you can use any VAC. See our biometrics guide.

Processing times depend on the country you apply from and change every week. Check the processing times tool before you plan a move date.

Colombian engineers, IT workers, health professionals, and other graduates can use Express Entry if they reach at least CLB 7 in English or French. Many Colombians take a French test too, because it can add up to 50 CRS points and opens French category draws.

Express Entry covers three programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. From abroad, most people use FSW: at least 1 year of continuous skilled work (TEER 0 to 3) in the last 10 years, CLB 7 in English or French, an educational credential assessment for foreign degrees, 67 points on the FSW grid, and settlement funds (CAD $15,263 for one person in IRCC's current proof of funds table). Candidates are ranked by the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and job offers stopped adding CRS points on March 25, 2025. Check your score with the CRS calculator.

2026 categories and how they fit:

Between July and mid-September 2026, French draws invited 5,000 candidates each with cutoffs of 382 to 420, a health care draw cut off at 475, and CEC draws at 516 to 523. There were no STEM, education, or trades draws in that period. See 2026 Express Entry categories and the draw tracker.

Many Colombians settle in Quebec or use French to qualify elsewhere:

• Quebec selects its own immigrants. Its main worker program, the PSTQ, invites candidates from the Arrima portal, and most programs need oral French at level 7 (French requirements). The PEQ reopened on July 2, 2026 for people who already studied or worked in Quebec; its first intake closes October 31, 2026.
• Francophone Mobility is an LMIA-exempt work permit for French speakers with NCLC 5 in speaking and listening and a job offer anywhere outside Quebec.
• Francophone Community Immigration Pilot offers permanent residence to French speakers (NCLC 5) with a job offer in one of six communities in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia.
• Express Entry French category draws need NCLC 7 in all four skills and had the largest invitation rounds of 2026.

Colombia sends many students to Canada, from language courses to college programs. Courses of 6 months or less can be taken as a visitor but don't give work rights or lead to a PGWP.

Study permits in 2026. Canada caps new study permit applications: in 2026 IRCC accepts about 309,670 applications that need a provincial or territorial attestation letter (PAL/TAL). Most college and bachelor's students need one; master's and doctoral students at public institutions don't. You must show tuition plus living funds (CAD $23,448 for one person outside Quebec, for applications from September 1, 2026). See the study permit page and the 2026 cap. The fast-track Student Direct Stream that many applicants from this country used ended on November 8, 2024, so everyone now applies through the regular process.

After graduating, a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) needs CLB 7 for university graduates or CLB 5 for college graduates, and non-degree programs must be in an eligible field. Canadian study and work can add CRS points and lead to the Canadian Experience Class.

Work permits. Most foreign workers need a job offer and a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from the employer; see LMIA work permits. Low-wage LMIAs are refused in 26 of 41 metro areas for July 10 to October 8, 2026 (details). Tech employers can use the Global Talent Stream, and multinationals can use an intra-company transfer. The Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement also allows some LMIA-exempt work permits, for example for certain professionals and intra-company transferees; your employer or a licensed representative can confirm whether your job qualifies.

Working holiday: Colombia is not an International Experience Canada (IEC) partner country, so Colombian citizens can't get an IEC working holiday permit.

If your spouse or partner is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, they can sponsor you through spousal sponsorship, which is open in 2026 and usually has no minimum income rule. Parents can also sponsor dependent children. The Parents and Grandparents Program stopped taking new interest to sponsor forms on July 15, 2026, but the Super Visa still lets parents and grandparents visit for long periods.

Family-based humanitarian program. Canada created a humanitarian program for Colombians, Haitians, and Venezuelans in Latin America or the Caribbean who have extended family in Canada. It no longer accepts new applications; IRCC is processing those already received.

If you are in the United States. Since March 25, 2023, the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement applies along the whole land border, including between official crossings. Most people who cross from the US can't make a refugee claim in Canada, with limited exceptions (for example, some people with close family in Canada). Talk to a lawyer or a licensed consultant (RCIC) before acting. See asylum in Canada.

Language tests. IRCC accepts five tests for permanent residence: IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General, and PTE Core for English, and TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French. IELTS Academic and PTE Academic don't count for Express Entry. Results are valid for 2 years. In Colombia, IELTS General Training and PTE Core are available in major cities. CELPIP-General is offered in only a few countries outside Canada, so check celpip.ca. TEF Canada and TCF Canada are offered at approved French-language centers. Convert your scores with the CLB converter and read the language tests guide.

Credential assessment. If you studied outside Canada, you need an educational credential assessment (ECA) from an IRCC-designated organization, such as World Education Services (WES), for FSW eligibility and CRS points. Doctors use the Medical Council of Canada and pharmacists use the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada. An ECA is valid for 5 years.

Police certificate. IRCC asks for a police certificate from each country where you spent 6 months or more in a row since age 18, usually after you apply for permanent residence. Colombia works differently: you don't collect the certificate yourself. After IRCC sends you a letter asking for it, you contact Omnitempus, the service IRCC uses, with your file number, a scan of your ID card, and a signed consent form. Omnitempus sends the Background Verification Certificate directly to IRCC. Full details: IRCC's police certificate instructions for Colombia. See our police certificates guide.

You will also need an immigration medical exam with an IRCC panel physician when IRCC asks for it.

Colombian Canadians live mainly in Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec, the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta, and Metro Vancouver in British Columbia. Spanish-language churches, media, and community groups are active in these cities, and many Colombians in Quebec take free French classes offered by the province.