Student Visa Colombia 2025: Learn Spanish & Live Long-Term (10 Hours/Week Guide)

So you've burned through your 180 days of tourist time in Colombia, and the thought of leaving feels like breaking up with someone you're absolutely not done with. You're not ready to commit to a digital nomad visa, buying property sounds terrifyingly permanent, and marrying that person you met in Parque Lleras last week is probably premature.

Enter the student visa—Colombia's most chill long-term stay option that nobody talks about enough.

Full transparency: We haven't done this visa ourselves, but we've heard from enough people in the expat circles of Medellín, Bogotá, and Cartagena to know it's basically the open secret of long-term Colombia living. Less stressful than you'd think, way more affordable than you'd expect, and honestly? Learning Spanish while living here is the whole point anyway.

The Basic Deal: Spanish School = Long-Term Stay

Here's the setup: Enroll in at least 10 hours per week of Spanish classes at a registered institution, and Colombia will give you a student visa for the duration of your course. We're not talking about casual Duolingo sessions or those $5 USD classes you find on Facebook—this needs to be legit, government-approved language schools.

The beauty? You're not pretending to study while actually just surfing in Santa Marta. You genuinely get to combine immersing yourself in Colombian culture with actually understanding what people are saying when they're talking at lightspeed about their weekend plans.

Why Everyone's Quietly Doing This

Unlike the digital nomad visa (prove your income! show your contracts! write a business plan in Spanish!), the student visa is refreshingly straightforward. You're not jumping through bureaucratic hoops or explaining your freelance career to an immigration officer who's never heard of Upwork.

What makes it appealing:

• Flexibility: Most schools let you choose morning or evening classes, so you can still work remotely, explore, or sleep until noon if that's your vibe.
• Duration: Enroll for 3 months, 6 months, a year—whatever matches how long you want to stay.
• Legitimacy: You're here legally, stress-free, with zero panic about overstaying or doing shady border runs.
• Real progress: After a few months of 10+ hours weekly plus living in Spanish-speaking environments, you'll actually be able to trash-talk with locals at the tienda.

The Reality Check: What This Actually Looks Like

Let's get practical. Ten hours per week sounds like nothing until you realize it's more structured than you've been in years. We're talking showing up, doing homework, practicing conjugations you swore you'd never need (spoiler: you need them).

But here's the thing—most people say it's totally manageable. Think of it like a part-time commitment that comes with a legal stamp in your passport and the ability to finally understand Colombian memes.

Costs vary wildly, but budget somewhere between $200-500 USD per month for decent schools. The fancy ones in Poblado or Zona T will charge more; smaller schools in neighborhoods like Laureles or Chapinero are way cheaper. The visa application itself runs around $250-400 USD depending on duration.

You'll also need:

• Proof of enrollment from your school
• Proof you can financially support yourself (bank statements showing a few grand)
• Health insurance that covers Colombia
• Criminal background check from your home country (apostilled, because bureaucracy)
• All the usual passport stuff

Where to Actually Learn Spanish (And Not Hate It)

This isn't a comprehensive list, but these are schools we've heard good things about from people actually doing this:

Medellín: Centro Catalina, Toucan Spanish School, EAFIT Language Center (more formal, university-affiliated)

Bogotá: International House Bogotá, Nueva Lengua, Alianza Colombo-Francesa

Cartagena: Centro Catalina Cartagena, Babel Language School

Pro tip: Most schools will handle the visa paperwork for you as part of their enrollment. They've done this a million times and know exactly what immigration wants to see. Let them do the heavy lifting.

The Unspoken Perks Nobody Mentions

Sure, you're technically there to study. But the student visa gives you something more valuable than verb conjugations—it gives you time.

Time to finally take that ceramics class in Bogotá. Time to get to know your neighborhood beyond the tourist spots. Time to become a regular somewhere (the dream). Time to date without the looming "I have to leave in three weeks" conversation killer.

You're not a tourist anymore. You're not quite a local. You're in that sweet in-between zone where you can actually build a life here, even if it's temporary.

The Honest Downsides (Because There Always Are Some)

Commitment required: You can't just ghost your classes. Schools report attendance, and immigration doesn't love students who never show up. Show up, or risk visa troubles.

It's still school: If you hated sitting in classrooms, surprise—you're sitting in classrooms again. Though most language schools are way more chill than actual university.

Not a work visa: Technically, you can't legally work in Colombia on a student visa. Remote work for non-Colombian companies exists in a gray zone that most people navigate just fine, but officially? You're here to study, not to hustle.

Should You Actually Do This?

If you're the kind of person who's already Googling "cheapest countries near Colombia" to do border runs, or you're genuinely interested in becoming fluent in Spanish, this visa is basically perfect.

It's not for people who want zero obligations or maximum flexibility. But if you can handle showing up to class twice a week (or however your 10 hours break down), it's probably the most stress-free way to extend your Colombian adventure into something longer-term.

We've met people who started with three months "just to see" and ended up staying two years. We've also met people who did one semester, got conversational Spanish, and left satisfied. Both are valid approaches.

Your Next Move

The student visa isn't sexy. It doesn't have the digital nomad cache or the property investment flex. But it works, it's popular for a reason, and honestly? If you're going to be in Colombia anyway, you might as well leave speaking the language.

Find a school you vibe with, shoot them an email about enrollment and visa support, and see what happens. Worst case, you learn Spanish and leave after a few months. Best case, you buy yourself a year (or more) in one of the most underrated countries in South America—and actually understand what people are saying at the next party in Parque 93.

Just don't be that student who never shows up. Immigration notices, and your classmates will judge you.

Ready to commit? Start researching schools now. The visa process takes 4-8 weeks typically, so plan accordingly. And remember—Colombian bureaucracy moves at Colombian speed, which is to say: bring patience, coffee, and maybe a good book for waiting rooms.

Photo by RDNE Stock project