Colombian emergency passport and free pasaporte exento from the US

Colombia has two documents for urgent travel that are requested at a consulate. The pasaporte exento is a free, single-page document the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues “a través de las Misiones Diplomáticas y Consulados de Colombia”; it is valid to return to Colombia and lasts up to 30 days, and Cancillería provides it for deportees, expelled and repatriated people, stowaways, and people in vulnerability or force majeure. The emergency passport (pasaporte de emergencia) is a different, paid document: USD $129.00 abroad per Cancillería’s fee table (checked October 3, 2026). And for people facing deportation, the Consulate of Colombia in Miami notes that it can issue a travel document if ICE requires one, but that “actualmente ICE en caso de orden de deportación están retornando a los colombianos con fotocopia del pasaporte colombiano o cédula de ciudadanía colombiana.”

Versión en español

Quick comparison

Pasaporte exentoEmergency passport
Cost abroad“No tiene costo” (no cost; Cancillería)USD $129.00 (Cancillería, rest of the world; Newark from April 6, 2026)
Format“Consta de una (1) hoja” (one page)8 pages (New York Consulate)
Validity“Hasta de treinta (30) días” from issuance (up to 30 days)7 months (New York Consulate)
Purpose“Será válido para regresar a Colombia” (valid to return to Colombia)Situations where “vida, salud e integridad” (life, health and integrity) must be safeguarded (New York Consulate)
Issued byThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through diplomatic missions and consulates (Cancillería)The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (New York Consulate)

The pasaporte exento

Cancillería’s passport requirements page says: “Este documento es expedido por el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores a través de las Misiones Diplomáticas y Consulados de Colombia acreditados en el exterior a los colombianos que lo requieran. Será válido para regresar a Colombia.” It adds that it can be arranged by the Colombian authority “a través de un Estado amigo o autoridad competente,” and by those with legal instruments signed with Colombia for that purpose.

Situations in which Cancillería can issue it:

  • Deported (deportados)
  • Expelled (expulsados)
  • Repatriated (repatriados)
  • Stowaways (polizones)
  • When a competent authority has ordered the cancellation of a Colombian’s current passport
  • A state of vulnerability or defenselessness
  • Other situations: force majeure, unforeseeable events or extraordinary situations at the issuing authority’s discretion

Cost: “No tiene costo.” In Cancillería’s fee table for abroad, the pasaporte exento is shown as “N/A.”

Format and validity: “Consta de una (1) hoja y la vigencia será hasta de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la fecha de su expedición” (one page, valid for up to 30 days from issuance).

Requirements: the Cancillería page we read publishes no document list for the pasaporte exento. The consulate indicates what to present in each case.

The emergency passport

Cancillería’s “En el Exterior” fee table lists the Pasaporte de Emergencia at USD $129.00 (rest of the world) and EUR €90.00 (Europe and Cuba), checked October 3, 2026. The Newark Consulate publishes the $129 among its “NUEVAS TARIFAS DE PASAPORTES A PARTIR DEL 6 DE ABRIL DE 2026” (new passport fees from April 6, 2026).

The New York Consulate’s passport page adds two facts: the emergency passport has 8 pages and 7 months of validity, and the ministry issues it “a situaciones donde sea necesario salvaguardar derechos inalienables de la persona como vida, salud e integridad, fundamentados en extrema necesidad, fuerza mayor o caso fortuito” (where a person’s life, health and integrity must be safeguarded, based on extreme necessity, force majeure or unforeseeable events). It also states that “ningún ciudadano colombiano podrá ser titular de más de un pasaporte colombiano vigente, excepto cuando al solicitante se le autorice una libreta de pasaporte de emergencia” (no Colombian may hold more than one valid passport except when an emergency passport is authorized).

Requirements: the Cancillería pages we read publish the emergency passport fee but no separate requirements list. Confirm with your consulate.

About the New York page: it still lists Resolución 6888 of 2021 among its rules, while Cancillería’s passport pages cite Resolución 10927 of August 4, 2026, which repeals Resolución 6888. The 8-page and 7-month figures above are that consulate’s statements; Cancillería’s own pages we read do not repeat them.

For a regular passport without urgency, see Colombian passport renewal; for children, Colombian passport for a minor.

Deportation or voluntary departure: what the Miami consulate says

The document “Recomendaciones a la diáspora: colombianos en el sur de la Florida en temas migratorios,” published by the Consulate of Colombia in Miami (undated), says verbatim in its section on voluntary departure or a deportation order (“En caso de acogerse a una salida voluntaria o tenga una orden de deportación”):

“el CONSULADO DE COLOMBIA EN MIAMI puede expedirle un travel document (documento de viaje) para su retorno a Colombia, si este es requerido por las autoridades migratorias - ICE, sin embargo, actualmente ICE en caso de orden de deportación están retornando a los colombianos con fotocopia del pasaporte colombiano o cédula de ciudadanía colombiana.”

Our translation: the Consulate of Colombia in Miami can issue a travel document for your return to Colombia if immigration authorities (ICE) require it; however, ICE is currently returning Colombians with deportation orders using a photocopy of their Colombian passport or cédula de ciudadanía.

That is what this consulate publishes; other consulates may give their own guidance. The same document recommends: “Si usted está en peligro de ser deportado le recomendamos que trámite el registro civil de nacimiento colombiano a sus hijos nacidos en los Estados Unidos” (if you are at risk of deportation, we recommend registering your US-born children’s Colombian birth registration). For that procedure, see register a US-born child at the Colombian consulate.

The same Miami consulate document recommends getting advice from an immigration attorney and warns: “No firme ningún documento relacionado con su salida del país sin antes consultar con su abogado” (do not sign any document related to leaving the country without first consulting your lawyer). See find pro bono legal help.

Not to be confused with the “Documento de Viaje”

Cancillería has a procedure called Documento de Viaje that is not for Colombians: its page describes it as a booklet for stateless people, asylees and refugees recognized in Colombia, and for foreigners in Colombia without diplomatic or consular representation from their country. Cancillería clarifies that issuing it “no implica acreditación, titularidad ni reconocimiento de la nacionalidad colombiana.”

Nor is it the same as the Sisbén fee-exempt passport: Cancillería says that procedure can be done “únicamente” (only) “en territorio colombiano” (in Colombian territory).

Your US immigration status

The pasaporte exento and the emergency passport depend on Colombian nationality, and Cancillería describes them with no reference to the person’s immigration status in the country where they are. This page gives no guidance on US immigration proceedings; for that, talk to a lawyer.

Official sources

Last verified: 2026-10-03. General procedural information for educational purposes. Requirements and fees are set by Colombia’s Cancillería and each consulate, and can change. Verify directly with your Colombian consulate. Not legal advice.