What should you know about the Colombia WHV?

What should you know about the Colombia WHV?
The Colombia Working Holiday Visa (Working Holiday Visa Program) was formalized in June 2015, it is the 11th program of its kind concluded between France and a foreign country.

What is the Colombia WHV?

The Working Holiday Program (WHP) is an agreement between two countries which offers their young nationals the opportunity to discover for a year or two the tourist and cultural attractions of the other nation. In this context, they can work temporarily on site in order to finance their stay.

To date, the number of countries which have concluded a PVT agreement with France is 11. In alphabetical order, these are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand and Russia.

The latest agreement is the Colombia PVT, which was signed on June 25, 2015 in Bogotá between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. Unlike the Brazil WHV, which is slow to materialize, this new agreement entered into force on December 1, 2015. But for the moment, there is no information on the quota of young French people who can benefit from it for the year 2016.

This WHV Colombia visa offers the opportunity to travel through this beautiful country and discover all its attractions. The warm welcome from Colombians will allow you to quickly improve your level in Spanish, which is the third most spoken language in the world. Such a trip is also a great opportunity to discover another culture and to open up to others.

How to get a Colombia WHV?

Documents to provide

The Colombia WHV is aimed at people of French nationality aged 18 to 30 at the time of filing and who have never traveled to Colombia as part of a WHV. In addition, the candidate must have no criminal record, a requirement that may be requested by the Colombian authorities, and that he certifies his good health by providing a medical certificate.

To benefit from this program, you must also have taken out insurance that covers medical costs as well as repatriation and disability.

Although, as the name suggests, the WHV allows a professional activity on site, you must have a certain amount of money to be able to support yourself during the first months. This minimum amount has yet to be determined jointly by the Colombian and French authorities.

If you are impatient to go to Colombia as part of this working holiday program, you can already prepare a certain number of documents so that your file is admissible, in particular the letter of engagement or "Carta de Compromise" whose model is to be collected at the Colombian Embassy and which you must complete in Spanish. You must attach to this form the identification pages of your French passport (valid) as well as a photocopy of your return plane ticket.

If you do not yet have a return ticket, it is possible to replace it with proof of substance in the amount of approximately € 2,000. Finally, it is imperative to obtain proof from your bank certifying that you have had an amount of € 1,300 in your account for more than a quarter. In the absence of this proof, you can ask a third party to handwrite a charge and confirm that they are vouching for you.

Steps to take

Once you have gathered all the documents for your file, you must complete an online visa application. The Colombian Embassy will then send you a confirmation email including a "solicitud number". This number must be kept as it will be essential for the rest of the procedures. Then scan all your documents and send them by email to the embassy.

The second step is to request an appointment with the Colombian consular representation. You can do this by replying directly to the email you received from the Embassy or by sending an email to: visas@consulatcolombie.com. In addition to the request for an interview, do not forget to mention your information such as your name, first name, your passport number, the type of visa desired (namely the TP-16) and the famous “Solicitud number”. Normally, it takes a week for the Colombian Embassy to give you a date for an appointment.