Bogotá is where Colombia's ministries, courts and corporate registries live — and where most foreigners meet the legal system for the first time. A visa, a company, an apartment, a dispute: tell us what you're facing, and we connect you with a bilingual lawyer in Bogotá who handles exactly that. No hidden fees, and an answer within one business day.
The capital concentrates Colombia's institutions — and the legal moments that come with them. These are the ones where an English-speaking lawyer makes the biggest difference.
Visa applications and renewals, cédula de extranjería, and procedures before Migración Colombia — whose national headquarters sits here in Bogotá. If you want to read up on the visa categories first, our sister site ColombiaVisa.co has full guides in English.
Ask about visas
Forming a Colombian SAS, shareholder agreements, commercial contracts, and dealings with the Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá. Most foreign companies entering Colombia start here — step-by-step formation guides live on our sister site ColombiaLLC.co.
Ask about companies
Title studies, promesa de compraventa, closing at the notaría and registering your foreign investment so you can move money out again later. Before you sign for that apartment in Chapinero or Usaquén, let a lawyer read what you're signing.
Ask about property
Contract breaches, landlord–tenant conflicts, consumer claims and civil suits — argued by someone who can stand up for you in Spanish, in the country's busiest court system, and report back to you in English.
Ask about disputesColombian authorities only accept foreign documents that are apostilled and officially translated — and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which apostilles Colombian documents for use abroad, is in Bogotá. We help you get the chain right the first time.
Spend enough of the year in Colombia and you may become a tax resident. RUT registration, DIAN filings and knowing where you stand — before it's decided for you.
Deeds, authentications, marriages and POAs all run through the notaría system. We make sure you arrive with the right documents — or handle it remotely on your behalf.
Write to us through the form or WhatsApp — in English. Two or three sentences are enough to start.
We identify the legal area, the urgency, and which documents you'll want to have ready.
We introduce you to a bilingual lawyer in Bogotá who handles exactly this type of matter.
You agree on fees directly with the lawyer and move forward, informed in plain English at every step.
We handle matters across Bogotá and its business corridors, with in-person or virtual meetings — whichever suits you.
The Colombian legal system runs entirely in Spanish — every contract, deed, court filing and notarial act. A bilingual lawyer means you understand what you're signing before you sign it, and misunderstandings in legal Spanish are exactly the kind of mistake that gets expensive. You'll still sign documents in Spanish; the difference is that someone has explained them to you first.
Because the institutions are here. Migración Colombia's headquarters, the ministries, the superintendencias that regulate companies and industries, the high courts and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — which handles apostilles of Colombian documents — all sit in the capital. Even matters that start elsewhere often need a filing, a certificate or a hearing in Bogotá, which is why having counsel here matters even if you don't live here.
Yes — foreigners have the same property rights as Colombians, and you don't need residency to buy. The two things that matter are a proper title study (the certificado de tradición y libertad reveals the real owner, mortgages, liens and lawsuits) and correctly registering your foreign investment when you bring money in, which is what lets you legally take proceeds out of the country later.
If your company will carry out permanent business activities in Colombia, it generally needs a local presence — most commonly a Colombian SAS subsidiary, sometimes a branch office. A SAS allows 100% foreign ownership and is the vehicle most foreign founders choose. Which structure fits, and what counts as "permanent activity," depends on what you'll actually do here — that's a conversation worth having before you sign your first Colombian contract. Our sister site ColombiaLLC.co covers formation step by step.
Generally, spending more than 183 days in Colombia within any 365-day period makes you a tax resident — which means Colombia can tax your worldwide income, not just what you earn here. The rule counts days across a rolling window, not the calendar year, and it catches people by surprise. If you're spending serious time here, get advice before you cross the line, not after.
Usually, yes. With an apostilled power of attorney, a lawyer in Bogotá can act on your behalf — buy or sell property, form a company, file paperwork, represent you at the notaría — without you setting foot in Colombia. Getting the POA drafted, apostilled and translated correctly is the key step, and it's one we help with often.
Claro que sí. Somos parte de la red ColombiaLegal y atendemos en español e inglés. Visite nuestro sitio hermano AbogadoBogota.co para leer todo en español, o escríbanos en el idioma que le quede más cómodo.
Write to us today, and by tomorrow you'll know your options — and who you should be talking to.
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