Getting a UK or Canada visa from Colombia

Which route fits you

Canada: Express Entry. No job offer needed. You are scored on age, education, language and work history, and the highest scores are invited. Until 2 November 2026 a job offer adds no points. From 3 November 2026 an offer in a high-wage occupation adds 50 to 100 points, with no LMIA needed (what changes), so pay nobody who offers to sell you one: officers check that every offer is genuine.

Canada: category draws. IRCC's current categories are French-language proficiency, healthcare and social services, STEM, trades and education occupations (IRCC category-based selection). Candidates eligible for a category can be invited at lower scores than the general pool.

Canada: Provincial Nominee Program. A nomination adds 600 points to your Express Entry score, which all but secures an invitation. Each province sets its own streams and its own quota (IRCC: provincial nominees).

UK: Skilled Worker. A licensed employer sponsors you first. Then the salary rule: you must be paid whichever is higher, the general threshold or the going rate for your job. Care worker recruitment from overseas has closed since July 2025.

UK: Health and Care Worker. For qualified doctors, nurses, health professionals and adult social care professionals with a sponsor: lower fees and no health surcharge (gov.uk).

Study first. A Canadian study permit or a UK Student visa needs an offer from a licensed institution and proof of funds (IRCC, gov.uk). Neither is a work route by itself.

UK Ancestry does not apply. It is for Commonwealth citizens with a grandparent born in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man, and Colombia is not a Commonwealth member (member list).

→ Work out your Canadian points: about two minutes, before you spend anything.

What it costs from Colombia

Fees are set in Canadian dollars and pounds, and you pay in those currencies. We do not convert to pesos: the rate moves too fast for a printed figure to stay right. Check the day's rate on HMRC's monthly exchange rates or with your bank, and expect your bank's rate to be worse.

The health surcharge is what most people miss. Over three years it costs more than the visa itself, and it is paid upfront.

What is different for Colombia

You now need a visa to visit the UK. Statement of Changes HC 334 put Colombia on the UK's visa national list, with the visa requirement in force from 26 November 2024, and took it off the ETA list the next day. A visit or a transit through UK border control now needs a visa applied for before you travel (HC 334 explanatory memorandum). A Skilled Worker or Student application was always a visa application, so nothing changed there.

You need a visa to visit Canada too. Colombia is among Canada's visa-required countries and is not one of the countries whose citizens can swap the visa for an eTA (IRCC entry requirements). When a first work or study permit is approved, IRCC issues the visa with it.

Canada's police check goes through Omnitempus, and only once IRCC asks. The document is the Background Verification Certificate. IRCC sends a file number and a letter after you submit your application; you then contact Omnitempus, send a scan of your cédula and a signed consent form, and the certificate goes straight to the visa office. IRCC says not to apply before you have the file number (IRCC: police certificate, Colombia). For UK purposes, gov.uk's guidance says Colombian nationals can apply online for their certificate (gov.uk: countries A to F).

Spanish earns nothing, and you are not exempt from the English test. The UK exempts nationals of 18 majority-English-speaking countries and Colombia is not one of them, so a Skilled Worker application needs an approved test at level B2 or a degree that Ecctis confirms was taught in English (Appendix English Language). Canada scores only English and French, through CELPIP, IELTS General Training or PTE Core, or TEF Canada and TCF Canada; no test in Spanish counts (IRCC language tests).

No TB test. Colombia is not on the list of countries whose residents need a tuberculosis test for a UK visa of more than six months (gov.uk TB test list).

Your degree needs assessing for Canada, and biometrics are in three cities. Express Entry needs an educational credential assessment from an IRCC-designated organisation, less than five years old when you submit your profile and your application (IRCC ECA). Biometrics for Canada are given at the visa application centres in Bogotá, Cali or Medellín (IRCC: find a visa application centre).