Recently, in our blog Attention: U.S. Embassy in Colombia suspends Benefits Verification, we shared with all our expat community the news that the issuance of the benefits letter from Colombia by the American Embassy was suspended. This has a great negative impact mainly for those Americans who already have a type M Retirement visa and need to renew it from Colombia, as well as for those who are in the country as tourists and wish to apply for the visa to have a long-term legal stay in the country.
But don’t worry. At expatgroup.co, we have the solution thanks to our new service of US Benefits Letter Apostilled from Colombia; read on for all the relevant information.
Remember that in addition to helping you with the apostille of the benefits letter, we offer you our specialized service of type M Retirement visa, to save time and money while increasing the chances of success in obtaining your legal permanence in Colombia.
Visa M-Type Retirement Service
The Colombian Retirement visa is granted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a maximum period of 3 years, and it's intended for retired persons receiving a retirement income.
What is the US Benefits Letter?
The US Benefits Letter is the document that certifies the amount of money that a U.S. citizen receives each month as a life pension, either for retirement or disability, from a public or private entity.
Why is the US Benefits Letter important?
The benefits letter is the main document to apply for the M-type Retirement visa. If this document is not issued and legalized correctly, the visa application will be rejected by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
How must the Benefits letter be issued and legalized to be accepted by the Colombian government?
Initially, the document could be obtained directly through the American Embassy in Colombia, and the information contained therein was duly updated, validated, and delivered in Spanish. This document was 100% accepted by the Colombian government for visa purposes during the last few years.
However, currently due to the suspension of this service by the American Embassy, the letter of benefits requires the following strict process to be accepted in the Colombian visa application:
1. Issuance of the updated benefits/pension certificate (ideally maximum 1 month of issuance).
Benefit letter certificate
2. Authentication of the signature on the document by a Notary Public in the United States
Authentication of the signature
FAQs about US Benefits Letter Apostilled from Colombia
An apostille is a certification that authenticates the origin of a public document, such as a US Benefits Letter, for use in another country that is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention.
You may need an apostille for your US Benefits Letter if you are required to present it in Colombia for legal, immigration, or other official purposes to verify its authenticity.
To get your US Benefits Letter apostilled, you must first obtain a certified copy of the letter from the Social Security Administration. Then, you send the certified copy to the appropriate US Department of State or a designated authority in the state where the letter was issued for the apostille certification. At expatgroup.co we can help you to get the US Benefits Letter with apostille.
Yes, you can get an apostille for your US Benefits Letter while in Colombia by following the same steps or through our US Benefit Apostille service.
If your US Benefits Letter needs to be presented in Spanish or any other language, you may need to get it translated by a certified translator after obtaining the apostille.
How can expatgroup.co help me my US Benefits Letter Apostilled?
We know that the apostille process is often time-consuming, complex, and costly. So, to make our customers' lives easier, now at expatgroup.co we introduce our new service: US Benefits Letter Apostilled from Colombia.
US apostille service
- Authentication with US Notary
- Apostille certification (Digital)
- Translation not included
- Note: If the document requires official translation into Spanish, there will be an additional charge of 25 USD for each page.
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Hi, this benefit letter Apostille they do also for the other documents (is it needed for the other documents): Health insurance, statement of being in good health, no criminal record certificate? Can a regukar net income from renting ápartments in the ownership of the applicant suffice? How much income? Proven by the official income tax statement from this activity? I am German. Maybe you are specialised on the USA.
Hi, Thomas. The Colombian government generally requires that documents issued abroad comply with the entire legalization chain, i.e. that they are updated, translated, and apostilled. At expatgrouup.co, we have such a service, but only for documents issued in the United States. If you have more questions, I invite you to consult with one of our experts. https://expatgroup.co/english/book-an-appointment/
here we go again! I am in need of a «benefits letter» from social security to be presented to Colombia Immigration services. First of all I have not been able to reach the offices of social security. What do I request from them to deliver on-line? I have been give a time frame of two months to do this. How can you help – since the embassy will no longer do this.