How to Setup Colombian Company and get Colombia Business Owner (Socio Propietario), or colombia business visa for workers of Foreign Companies.

There are basically 4 types of visas related to businesses in Colombia; 1) Business Visa - This is designed for workers of foreign companies which are traveling to Colombia to engage in meetings, do consulting work,etc. These persons are legally not working in Colombia as they are receivign paychecks from the foreign corporation 2) Colombia Business Associate / Business Owner Visa: This visa is designed to help foreigners who are starting new businesses in Colombia, or who may be purchasing a business in Colombia. 3) Colombia Work Visa is available to people who will live in Colombia and work directly for a Colombian corporation. Persons applying for this visa must proove they have a professional credentials, or a degree in a related field to get approved with the least hassle. 4) Colombia Investors Visa for those business men or investors you are capable of investing at least 100,000 USD via a registered foreign investment. This investment must be made via the purchase of shares in said corporation under the name of the foreigner making the investment and applying for the visa. (click here for more on Colombia Investors Visa).

We are going to cover the subject of how to Setup Colombian Company as well as the requirements to obtain a visa as a Colombia Business Owner, or someone working for a foreign business entity. The visa is officially named as Partner or Owner of a Commercial Establishment or Corporation, (AKA Colombia Business Visa or in Spanish Visa de Socio o Propietario de Establecimiento o Comercio). Below you will find some of the additional requirements and services associated with various legal document processes obtaining a visa and setting up a corporation.

Business Owners or Associate Visa (Socio Propietario Visa):
To meet the condition for the business owners visa you must purchase shares in a corporation or own a company outright that shows your investment to be equal to or greater than 100 minimum salaries so you can Setup Colombian Company. For the year 2012 that is 57 million pesos or more per person. This option has a lower condition than an investor visa, but it is another form of investing in Colombia. Additional Services offered by our company can set up Sole Proprietor, SAS, or SA business for foreigners and Colombians. The duration of this visa varies but is one year to start off.

DO YOU WANT TO SETUP COLOMBIAN BUSINESS:
If you are creating a Sole Proprietor business (Persona Natural is a basic business entity parallel to DBA in the United States) you can do this on a tourist visa, and you do not need a cedula (Colombian ID Card). However, if you are setting up a SAS corporation you have to have a legal representative who is Colombian or a foreigner that has a CURRENT CEDULA EXTRANJERIA (current residency visa). This which should be someone of confidence that you know or trust. The legal representative can be anyone, this person's name will be on the business license, while the foreigner holds a private notarized document that clearly shows the foreign investor maintains controls of shares in said corporation. Once the visa and foreign id card are obtained the business owner may put his or her name on the business license as the legal representative. With a SAS o SA corporation the legal representative is the one who has way in to the corporate bank account, so it is best to be very cautious with who you select if you take this way to Setup Colombian Company.

Please note that a Sole Propietor business entity or Persona Natural can be upgraded to a SAS later on down the road if you wish to take that route starting off.