CRBA Colombia, U.S. Passport, & SSN Guide for Your Child

Getting the documents is a big step. Before booking an international trip, check which passports your child needs and who will travel with them. The guidance below was reviewed against official sources on October 24, 2026; it is separate from my Barranquilla appointment story.

Travel details: Exit permission · Repeated trips · Exit restrictions · Overseas documents · Printed/digital copies · Corrections and fees

Which passport does a U.S.–Colombian child use?

For flights between Colombia and the U.S., plan to carry both valid passport books. Use the Colombian passport for Colombia’s entry and exit controls and the U.S. passport for U.S. entry and departure. The State Department’s Colombia guidance recommends traveling with both. Its dual-nationality guidance confirms that the U.S. passport requirement includes children. A CRBA or passport card does not replace the book for international flights.

If your child’s Colombian documents are missing or expired, check with Migración Colombia before traveling. Its dual-national minor FAQ describes an exit exception using valid documents of the other nationality when all remaining requirements are met. That does not remove the child’s Colombian status or any required exit permission.

When does Colombia require an exit permission?

For a Colombian child under 18, including a dual national, Migración Colombia’s exit instructions generally require permission from each parent who is not traveling:

• Both parents traveling: the absent-parent permission normally does not apply; bring the child’s travel documents and a legible copy or image of their registro civil.
• One parent traveling: obtain the other parent’s authenticated permission unless a documented exception applies.
• Traveling alone or with another adult: permission is generally needed from both parents, subject to the applicable exceptions.

The permission needs the destination, purpose, departure and return dates, and the accompanying person’s details. In Colombia, authenticate it before a notary. For a parent abroad:

• At a Colombian consulate: Cancillería’s exit-permission checklist specifically requires a valid passport from a foreign parent, plus a copy of the child’s birth record and the travel details. Follow the consulate’s appointment and signing instructions.
• Before a foreign notary: where no nearby Colombian consulate is available, Migración describes a permission completed in Spanish, signed before a notary, apostilled and presented in original. For a permission issued on paper, arrange delivery of the original; an emailed scan does not replace it. If the document comes from a non-Apostille-Convention country, confirm the applicable legalization route with the consulate and Migración before arranging it.

Use the official page’s forms and instructions for your situation. The overseas authentication guidance below explains where apostilles come from and how translations are handled.

Passport consent is a different document: the DS-3053 used for a U.S. passport does not replace Colombia’s exit permission.

Does custody remove the need for permission?

Custody (custodia) is different from parental authority (patria potestad). ICBF explains that custody alone does not remove the other parent’s consent requirement. Under Article 110, consent is not required from a parent whose patria potestad has been suspended or removed. Bring the final, enforceable court decision; do not assume a foreign order is automatically recognized in Colombia.

A separate exception applies when a child has habitually lived abroad for at least one year and is returning to that residence with the custodial parent. Article 110 requires a consular residence certificate or consular registration, plus custody evidence. Cancillería’s certificate instructions specify custody issued or recognized by Colombian authorities. ICBF also lists an authentic copy of the birth record. Traveling with the other parent or another adult requires the custodial parent’s permission and the applicable supporting documents; living abroad by itself is not enough.

Can an escritura pública cover repeated trips?

Yes: a general or permanent authorization by escritura pública is a way to give consent for repeated travel. It is not an exemption from consent. ICBF explains that you can request a constancia de vigencia from the issuing notary, rather than make a new deed for every trip. This confirms the authorization remains in force.

Check the paperwork before each departure. Migración’s main instructions give an initial three-month period, then require a validity certificate no more than one month old. Its detailed FAQ instead says 30 business days and identifies the issuing notary or Colombian consulate as the source of the note. Because those windows differ, confirm the required recency and document format with the issuer and Migración before relying on the deed.

How do you arrange the escritura?

Start with a notary in Colombia or a Colombian consulate abroad and ask specifically for a permiso permanente de salida de menor por escritura pública. Cancillería lists this as a consular service. Request that office’s checklist, draft requirements and signing arrangements before making the trip.

Have the authorizing parent’s identity document, the child’s Colombian registro civil and the intended companion’s identification ready. Some offices ask you to send a minuta (draft text) for review before assigning a signing appointment; Berna’s official instructions show that process. Follow your own office’s requirements for originals, copies and how recently documents must have been issued. Check that the final wording covers the intended travel and companions, then obtain the deed copy and validity evidence needed for departure.

What should you budget for?

In Colombia: the SNR’s 2026 tariff notice lists COP 90,600 for acts without a monetary value, before IVA, notarial paper and copies. This is a tariff reference, not a confirmed total for your permission. Ask the notary to confirm the applicable charge and provide an itemized amount, including any separate copy or vigencia costs.

At a Colombian consulate: fees follow a different schedule. For the U.S. and other locations in the “rest of the world” category, Resolution 03969 of 2026, Articles 6–7, lists USD 184 for protocolization, USD 18 for a copy and USD 34 for a certification. These are separate fee components, not an all-inclusive quote. Confirm additional notarial charges, payment method and any local-currency conversion with your consulate. Euro-zone and Cuba rates differ. Budget for later validity certificates too.

Can permanent permission be revoked?

Yes. ICBF says an indefinite permission can be revoked by escritura pública at the same notary. Ask that office for the revocation requirements and fees; if a consulate issued the original, contact it for the applicable procedure. “Permanent” does not mean irrevocable.

Follow up on the notification separately. The official pages reviewed here do not establish an automatic notary-to-Migración notification process. Ask the issuing office what it has recorded or communicated, and ask Migración what it needs to record your request. Keep the revocation document and any filing references available. These are practical follow-up steps; the sources do not provide a universal notification deadline or guarantee an immediate migration alert.

How do you request an impedimento de salida?

For a parent-requested restriction concerning a Colombian child or a foreign child resident in Colombia, Migración’s filing FAQ and ICBF’s guidance describe these steps:

1. Prepare a signed letter. Explain the reasons for the request and include your contact and location details.
2. Attach the supporting identity documents. Include the child’s registro civil and both sides of the requesting parent’s Colombian cédula, or the parent’s identification document if foreign. If you have revoked an escritura, ask Migración how to submit that supporting document too.
3. File with Migración. The listed routes are a Centro Facilitador de Servicios Migratorios, a migration control post with extranjería functions, or the online PQRS channel. Use the official Centro de Consulta Ciudadana for online filing.
4. Keep the radicado and follow up. Migración’s PQRSDF instructions explain the receipt and “Mis Casos” tracking. Ask for confirmation of the action taken; a submission receipt alone does not confirm that a restriction is active.

What if the situation is urgent?

If a child may be taken out of Colombia imminently: contact Migración directly through a Centro Facilitador or migration control post, explain the urgency and have the signed request and supporting documents ready. Migración’s published Directiva 11 of 2012, section 6.3, instructs urgent handling and immediate database entry for parental or administrative restrictions received at those offices. This older instruction concerns recording a restriction; it does not establish an instant online service or a deadline for lifting one. Confirm current handling with the office and ask for confirmation of the action taken.

If the child needs immediate protection, ICBF’s free national Línea 141 operates 24 hours a day for protection, emergencies and guidance in Colombia. Contacting that line is a protection step; continue the required Migración filing and follow-up.

If the child needs urgent medical travel abroad: ICBF lists this among the situations in which the Defensor de Familia can grant permission de plano. Contact ICBF about that procedure and disclose any existing restriction. The published guidance does not say that a medical need automatically clears an impedimento.

How can an impedimento de salida be lifted?

First establish who requested or ordered it. The route depends on the type of restriction:

• A parent’s personal restriction: Migración’s FAQ says the parent who requested it can lift it. The document guidance below applies to a parent’s lifting request. Its FAQ also says a later valid permission from that same parent takes precedence over their earlier impedimento when the other exit requirements are met; their later registered impedimento takes precedence over an earlier permission.
• A judicial restriction: obtain the appropriate decision from the competent judicial authority. Migración directs questions about judicial impedimentos and precautionary measures to the Policía Nacional, which communicates the official record to Migración. Migración cannot independently change or certify that judicial information.
• An administrative child-protection measure: contact the authority responsible for the case. Article 103 of the Childhood Code allows the competent administrative authority to modify protection measures when the circumstances that led to them have demonstrably changed. A parent’s new permission does not itself replace that decision.

What documents support a parent’s lifting request?

A November 2024 Medellín court decision (paragraph 44) reproduces the parent-request checklist from a 2019 interagency agreement:

• Include your child’s full name and identification, an explicit request to lift the impedimento, and your telephone number and address.
• Attach the requesting parent’s cédula and the child’s registro civil to establish parentage.
• In Colombia, present the request personally before Migración Colombia or have it authenticated by a notary.
• Abroad, present it personally before a Colombian consulate, or use a local notary with the apostille or legalization that applies.

This is a documented checklist for a parent’s request, not a universal bundle for judicial or child-protection measures. Confirm the current submission route and accepted document formats with Migración. The cited checklist predates this guide’s review; it does not establish a document-expiry period or require a newly issued registro civil.

If you are a foreign parent: Migración’s initial impedimento-filing FAQ accepts the foreign parent’s identification document but does not specify which types. The dated lifting checklist above says “cédula” without explaining the foreign-parent alternative. Ask Migración which ID and copy format it accepts for your lifting request. The valid-passport rule for signing an exit permission at a consulate is specific to that service; it does not establish that a passport or cédula de extranjería is automatically sufficient for every lifting request.

How long does lifting a restriction take?

The official sources reviewed do not give a guaranteed time for removing the restriction from the record or clearing travel. Colombia’s general petition-response period is 15 business days, unless a special legal period applies. Law 1755 of 2015 (Articles 14, 17 and 21) provides different periods for some request types and rules for incomplete requests, transfers to the competent authority and exceptional extensions. A response deadline is not a promise that the lifting request will be approved or the record cleared within that period.

Keep your filing reference and supporting permission or authority decision. Ask which deadline applies and what has been communicated and recorded, and confirm the outcome before relying on it for travel. A filing receipt or an upcoming flight alone does not establish clearance.

How do overseas authentication and translation work?

If you use the Colombian-consulate route, follow that office’s signing and document-delivery instructions. For documents authenticated by a foreign notary, check the country of origin.

Apostille route: the competent authority in the country that issued the document supplies the apostille when the Hague Apostille Convention applies. Colombian Cancillería does not issue that foreign apostille. Its Circular 112 of 2021 confirms that a properly apostilled foreign document does not also need certification or legalization by Colombian Cancillería. Any required translation and the receiving office’s substantive requirements still apply.

Legalization route: for foreign documents from countries outside that Convention, Resolution 1959 of 2020, Article 9, sets out this sequence:

1. Complete legalization with the competent authority in the document’s country of origin, following that country’s requirements.
2. Take the legalized document to the Colombian consulate accredited there to authenticate the legalizing authority’s signature.
3. Complete Colombian legalization online through Cancillería, unless the consulate already arranged that step with the preceding service. Ask what was completed before making a duplicate request.

If Colombia has no office in that country, ask the Colombian consulate with jurisdiction for the applicable route. Articles 10–11 also provide for a país amigo chain through a third country or the consulate responsible for the territory; an ordinary notary stamp alone does not complete these chains.

What counts as an official Spanish translation?

For a translation prepared in Colombia, use a traductor oficial. Article 33 of Law 962 of 2005 says the document issued by an authorized university confirming that the person passed the official translator/interpreter exam constitutes their licence to practise. Licences issued before that law took effect also remain valid.

Ask for the translator’s qualification document and check it with the issuing institution if needed. Universidad de Antioquia’s verification page lists the name, examination record number and year for translators it certified. Absence from that university’s list alone does not invalidate a different institution’s qualification or an older licence.

Cancillería does not maintain an official translator list or certify competence. Its circular says the translator must demonstrate accreditation when the receiving national authority requires it; that is not a blanket instruction to attach a credential copy to every submission.

For documents being used in Colombia, Cancillería’s “Traducciones Oficiales” instructions distinguish:

• Official translation prepared in Colombia: the translation itself does not need apostille or legalization for use in Colombia.
• Translation issued abroad: it must be apostilled or legalized in its country of origin for use in Colombia.

The source document still needs any authentication required for it. Cancillería recommends authenticating it before translation. These rules do not mean every supporting document must be translated: confirm the language and format required for the particular filing. Migración’s foreign-notary exit-permission instructions above specifically call for the permission in Spanish and in original.

Which document format should you request?

The delivery format depends on the document and how it was issued:

• Verifiable Colombian consular permission: Berlin’s official consular instructions explain that the issued permission can be sent electronically to the person in Colombia, who prints it to present to Migración at departure. Frankfurt’s instructions say to provide the consulate-issued Código de Verificación at departure so Migración can check the permission in its systems. Keep a complete, readable printout and the verification code together. New Delhi’s consular guidance also links to Cancillería’s document-verification portal for checking consular notarized documents. That lookup does not replace the printed permission or Migración’s departure checks. Follow your issuing consulate’s instructions.
• Paper permission signed before a foreign notary: Migración’s instructions require the Spanish-language, apostilled permission in original. Arrange delivery of that original; a scan of a paper original is not the same document.
• Birth record used as supporting evidence at departure: Migración’s child-travel FAQ accepts a legible original, copy, photocopy or digital birth record. This does not replace the child’s passport or extend digital acceptance to every other supporting document.
• Colombian apostille or legalization certificate: Resolution 1959, Article 13, provides for electronic verification online or by QR code together with the source document. Keep the issued electronic file and verification details. Electronic authentication does not by itself remove a separate requirement to present the source document in original.

Missing codes, corrections and reissue fees

Cancillería’s document lookup needs the verification code and issue date. Check both against the permission. If details are missing, unreadable or wrong, or retrieval fails, ask the issuing consulate to check the record and explain the next step. Have the document and error message ready; CIAC can provide further orientation.

Correction or replacement: Cancillería’s July 2024 consular staff guide (pages 22–26) provides for replacement of an already authorized application without another application payment when a processing error was not the citizen’s responsibility. Ask the consulate whether that applies; it does not make every requested change free.

If a new paid permission is needed: the 2026 tariff, Article 9, lists USD 13 outside the euro zone/Cuba and EUR 9 in those locations. Miami’s 2026 instructions specify USD 13 per authorizing signature. Confirm the applicable charge, exemption, local currency and payment method with your consulate. This is separate from the escritura pública fees above.

Use the final authorized version: the staff guide says a consular system reprint creates a new verification code that replaces the old one. That is different from printing another copy of the same issued PDF. Ask for the latest authorized document and code; a version marked Borrador is still a draft. The guide does not promise a correction turnaround time. A support request does not replace the permission or establish departure clearance.

For a translation or a lifting-request document, confirm the receiving office’s accepted delivery format and whether it needs the translator’s accreditation attached. The sources reviewed do not establish universal email-only acceptance or one translation layout for every case.

For a Cancillería apostille or legalization upload, Resolution 1959, Article 7, requires a clear, legible, complete PDF, no more than 11 MB, without alterations or unrelated extra documents. Circular 112 adds that documents in a legalization chain should be scanned completely, including the consular label. Its partial-scanning exception does not cover child exit permissions. Additional material belongs in the same PDF only when the source document identifies it as an annex or translation.

Those are requirements for that authentication process. They do not establish the upload limit for Migración’s PQRS service or replace the original travel document required for the foreign-notary permission route.

What changes if the other parent is registered in REDAM?

Law 2097, Article 6(6) removes the consent requirement for the parent registered in REDAM, Colombia’s register of delinquent support debtors. Missed support payments alone are not the same as formal registration. This exception concerns that parent’s consent; the child still needs the other applicable travel documents.

Bring a current certificate showing that parent’s REDAM registration, to be retained at migration control. Migración’s main instructions request the original; its detailed FAQ also accepts legible copies. Confirm the format beforehand and check the validity shown on the certificate. The FAQ says an expired certificate must be replaced, or the parent’s permission obtained.

If there is a disagreement over consent and no applicable exemption, ICBF directs families to a family judge. When a parent’s whereabouts are unknown, they are unable to give consent or the child lacks a legal representative, a permission procedure through ICBF’s Defensor de Familia may be needed; these are not automatic waivers. For a deceased parent, a single-parent birth record or another special situation, use the case-specific Migración FAQs. Also check your airline’s and any transit country’s requirements.