Check Mig Colombia: Do You Need it? + How to Do it Free!

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The Check Mig Colombia immigration form is a digital version of the forms we used to complete when passing through immigration and customs lines.

Colombia’s Check Mig Form was first adopted in 2020, and quickly gained a reputation for being buggy, and the subject of lots of troubleshooting and complaining on social media.

Trust me, I know, we traveled in and out of Colombia several times in this period and had our own troubles with it.

5 years later, there’s still some confusion and even issues with the Check Mig Colombia Migration Form.

Below, I’m going to go over just what the Check Mig form is, if it’s still required, and, most importantly, where and how to complete your Check Mig Colombia form for free.

Finally, I’ll go through a step by step guide to the this digital Colombia migration form.

What is the Check Mig Colombia Form?

Remember those little cards flight attendants would pass out towards the end of an international flight?

You know the ones you were either sleeping and didn’t get or didn’t have a pen to fill out?

The Check Mig Colombian Immigration form is essentially a digital verson of that form.

Yes, it was adopted during the Covid pandemic and was surely a “touchless” version of that form for those times, but it stuck around long after travel restrictions and vaccine requirements ended, and there hasn’t been questions related to health on the form in several years.

So, it’s hear to stay as a virtual immigration form, and you don’t have to worry about asking your neighbor for a pen anymore, at least when traveling to Colombia.

Do You Still Need to Do the Check Mig to Enter Colombia?

The short answer is no, the Check Mig Colombian Immigration Form is no longer mandatory.

The long answer is it’s complicated.

This YouTube video from Migración Colombia dated January 2, 2025, clearly states that the Check Mig form is longer obligatory. It was reposted on Facebook on April 21, 2025.

However, I’m still seeing people ask about it in my Cartagena Travel Tips Facebook group as well as on other forums around the net.

It seems like Migración Colombia hasn’t done the best job communicating this to airlines, and some airlines still are sending email notifications to people that it is required, and some gate agents are still insisting on seeing it as a strict requirement.

While it seems this is more the exception than the rule, my advice is to just complete the Check Mig form.

It takes 10 minutes or less, is free, and will guarantee you don’t have any issues boarding your flight.

Is Check Mig Free to Use?

Yes!

The Check Mig Colombia immigration form is completely free to complete.

As that video linked above points out, there are a handful of websites and affiliated video tutorials that give the impression that you have to pay for it, and then in the fine print say it’s an unofficial site and they are basically a third party doing the free form for you.

I’ve even seen some comments from people in forums that they were directed to some of those third party sites that charge to complete the Check Mig form by their airline’s website or an email from their airline.

Look, there’s plenty of things worth paying to have done for you to save time and hassle.

For example, you might want to pay to have our partner travel agency plan your Colombia trip and excursions for you (check out their services here, by the way).

The Check Mig form is not one of those.

It takes 10 minutes or less to do.

You’ll have to give those services the same information you’ll need to just do it yourself, and the form is available in English, with a mostly good translation.

So, you’re doing just about all the same work anyway and they are just transcribing it in the form for you.

So, just do it yourself for free!

I should note here that there is a separate reciprocal entry fee for Canadian citizens entering Colombia, but you pay that when entering the country, not when you complete the Colombian immigration form.

You can read about the Canadian entry fee to Colombia here.

Where Can I Complete the Check Mig Form for Free?

Make sure you go to the official app and website here: https://apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co/pre-registro/en.

That is the English page, but you can change the language at the top if you like.

If you want to be extra sure you’re in the right place, like if you search in Google, make sure you are on a page that ends in .gov.co.

Be aware that at least one of the third party service’s website has a web address that makes it look very official using Check Mig and Colombia in it.

What Information Do I Need to Complete the Check Mig Form?

You’ll need the following information to complete the Check Mig Colombia form:

• Flight #
• Hotel Address
• Passport

When Should I Complete the Check Mig Form?

You should complete the Check Mig Form between 1 and 72 hours prior to your flight.

The form becomes available to complete 72 hours before your departure time, and you must have it complete at least 1 hour before your departure time.

Due to occasional down times, confusion, and the mistakes, I strongly suggest doing your Check Mig at least 24 hours prior to your flight.

You can just make it an extra step as part of checking in for your flight. You’re already going to have all your travel info and documents you need handy.

And, do keep in mind you’re encouraged to complete it when you leave Colombia too.

Below, I’m going to go through it step by step with screenshots and address some common issues and points of confusion I’ve seen.

To be perfectly honest, the form is pretty intuitive and the English translation is mostly very good.

So, if you just want to complete it on your own, head on over there.

However, if you do need some extra help with the Colombia Check Mig form read on or click back over here as you go.

Step By Step Guide to Completing the Check-Mig Form

Ok, let’s go through the Check Mig form step by step, complete with screenshots from the CheckMig App.

The platform was updated in late 2023, and it generally runs much smoother than the original one that was so maligned for being glitchy and buggy.

It does look a good bit different from the old form though, so if it looks different from what you’ve completed before, don’t worry!

Just make sure you are in fact on the official site and not one of the third party sites.

I should also probably give the full disclaimer that I am not a legal expert, lawyer, agent of the Colombian government, or immigration/visa expert.

There are a few ambiguous parts of the form, and I’m representing how I interpret it and would fill it out myself.

However, I cannot guarantee that is correct for your situation, so please don’t construe this as legal advice or any sort of official instruction from the Colombian immigration authorities.

Step 1: Enter the Form

When you go to the official Check Mig form here, you should see a page that looks like the image below.

You’ll see the option to “Do your Checkmig,” to say you are a frequent traveler, or to double check if you have completed your Check Mig form and download it for your records.

If you need to change the language, you can do so in the drop down menu at the top right of the screen.

Spanish, French, and English are available at the time of this writing.

To complete your Colombia Mig Check, you’re going to want to click where it says “Do Checkmig” under Do your Checkmig.

See, pretty intuitive!

Step 2: Entry or Exit?

You should get a screen that looks similar to the screenshot below that asks about your journey after clicking there.

You’ll need to select if you are entering Colombia or exiting Colombia (remember, you are encouraged to complete the Check-Mig Colombia for departure on your flight back home too!)

Then you’ll select your form of entry, which for the vast majority of you I assume will be Air.

Then, hit continue.

Pretty simple so far!

Step 3: Enter Your Travel Information

Next, you should get a screen that looks like the one below on your Check-Mig Colombia form titled Travel Information.

First, you’ll need to select if you’re coming on a commercial or private flight.

Then, you’ll select the city from a drop down list (pro tip, start typing the name and it will pop up) where you’ll be entering the country. For example, Cartagena!

Next, you’ll choose the date of your flight. You’ll notice it will only let you select dates within that 72 hour time frame.

Then next to that, you’ll fill in your flight number. Put only the number, not any letters or initials of the airline. Also, if you have multiple legs to your trip, be sure to choose the flight number of the flight that enters Colombia.

On our most recent trip in the summer of 2024, I got an error message that our flight didn’t exist. The flight number on our tickets started with a 0, as in 0123. It worked when I left off the 0 and just put in 123. So, if you get this error, try leaving off a starting or ending 0.

You’ll know you’ve got it correct because the spaces under the question “From which city the flight comes?,” the name of the airline, and the city box next to it should all fill in automatically, at least for commercial flights.

Finally, at the bottom of this screen, there’s a space to fill out your origin/destination country and city. I have always interpreted that to mean your original start point or final end point of travel.

So, in the example above, assuming I am flying out of Miami, I would put United States and Columbia, for my home town of Columbia, SC (yup, that’s right, I grew up in Columbia with a U and spent a decade living in Colombia with an O and I’d love for you to check out my South Carolina Explorer site too!)

You might encounter another issue here.

For the longest time on the old form, when selecting the country of origin, even on the Check-Mig form in English, United States didn’t appear and you’d have to select Estados Unidos (United States in Spanish). This was frequently a point of confusion for people.

The new iteration of the form fixes that and does list United States in the drop down list on the English form.

However, many of the cities still have their states names in Spanish. So, in my case, it says “Columbia, Carolina del Sur.” There are a few other little mistakes in translation such as St. Luis for St. Louis too.

Also, not all cities appear.

If your home city doesn’t appear, I would just choose the next closest major city, your home state alone if it appears (some do, some don’t), or just the option that says Estados Unidos, Estados Unidos, and don’t stress about it.

You should end up with something that looks like the following photo.

If all looks good, hit continue, and we are well on our way to completing this Check Mig form!

Step 4: Personal Information

Next, you’ll get a page asking for your personal information.

It should look like the image below.

Most of this is pretty self-explanatory and straight forward.

You may notice the first and second first name and first and second last name boxes.

In Colombia and most Latin American countries, people are given two first names (or a first and what we in the states think of as a middle name) and they use both their father’s and mother’s names as last names.

The second first name and second last name boxes are not required, so don’t stress about them if, like me, you don’t have a second last name.

Do make sure you put in your last name first as that first last name box is easy to confuse to be asking for your first name if you’re reading quickly/skimming the form as I tend to do.

Also, for some reason, passport isn’t translated and is in Spanish as “pasaporte.”

Also, be sure to enter your email correctly, so you can get the confirmation just in case you need it!

Then select your reason for travel from the drop down list (for most, probably tourism).

Hit the I’m not a robot, and continue on…

Step 5: Where You’ll Be Staying in Colombia

Next, you’ll get to the page that says “Hosting Information.”

It should look like the image below.

This is where you’ll need the information for where you’ll be staying upon arrival in Colombia.

If you’re filling out the form for departing Colombia, this page is automatically skipped.

Here, you’ll enter the city where you will be staying.

At the time of me doing this run through, the box for the address says, “Select your lodging city,” above it, but then the box itself says, “Enter your hosting address.”

So, you’ll want to list the address of the hotel, AirBnb, or wherever else you’ll be staying followed by the phone number in the box next to it.

Note that you do have to put something into the phone number box. If you do not have a phone number for where you’re staying, I’d just enter your own number and try not to stress about it.

If you will be staying in different hotels, or traveling through different cities in Colombia, just put the information for where you’ll be staying the night you arrive.

I would make sure you have the information on other places you plan to stay handy when you actually arrive as well since you could be asked though.

Step 6: Questionnaire

Next, you will be presented with a question or series of questions.

There used to be questions here about entering with a minor, if you had symptoms of Covid, and a few others if I recall correctly.

When running through it now, it only asked me if I had $10,000 USD in cash or not (I wish!). It’s possible your questions may vary though.

I also did not complete a full form for exiting the country, so it might ask about removing national heritage and archeological artifacts and things of that nature when you complete the Check Mig Form for departure from Colombia.

Interestingly enough, my answer choices were in Spanish even though for the most part the translation on this version of the Check-Mig is much better than the old version.

If your Spanish is a bit rusty, Si=yes and No=no.

Oh and also, all the next buttons also are in the Spanish continuar, for continue.

Step 7: Accept Terms and Conditions

Next, you’ll have to accept the terms and conditions.

The actual checked statement was also in Spanish for me: Accpetar terminos y condiciones=Accept terms and conditions.

Once you check it, the yellow box to click to continue should appear.

Step 8: Download Your Check-Mig (Important!)

Next, you’ll get a confirmation that your Check-Mig form has been submitted.

It will also tell you that you’ll get a copy sent to your email.

I did in fact get the copy within just a couple minutes.

However, this is one of the things that the form has become a bit notorious about, that people don’t get the email or it comes only after a long delay.

Hopefully, with the updated form, the emails will continue to be near instantaneous from now on like it was for me in this case.

However, I would still strongly suggest, you click that yellow box that lets you download the pdf copy of your Check-Mig.

Seriously, download it, then email it to yourself, and save the pdf and take a screenshot of it on your phone!

You don’t want to get left behind for a flight for something you’ve actually done but the system is erroneously saying you haven’t to the airline!

Better safe than sorry is always my mantra.

Optional: Check Your Check-Mig

If you did not download it then and there, you should be able to double check everything is good with your Check-Mig form for Colombia.

If you go back to the main site linked above, you should see a third option where it says to Check and Download where you can click a box that says Review Checkmig.

If you click that, you’ll get a page, where you’ll need to enter the following:

• Your Passport Information
• Birthdate
• Travel Date
• Flight Number

After doing so, you’ll get a confirmation if a record of your Check-Mig exists and be able to enter in an email to send a copy of it.

FAQs and Further Check-Mig Colombia Help

Here are a few common issues with the Check Mig form I’ve seen.

What should I do if the Check Mig App isn’t working?

This is the main reason why I’d try to do it at least 24 hours before your flight. That way if it’s not working, you can just try again an hour or two later. Most of the time, you’ll probably be fine that way.

If you’ve tried multiple times and it’s still not working, or you’re getting some kind of error, I’d try to screenshot that and be ready to explain it. Because the form has a bit of a reputation, and it’s not actually technically required anymore, it should be ok.

What should I do if I don’t get the email confirmation for the Check Mig Form?

Wait a bit.

In my personal experience, I’ve seen the email come through immediately, and I’ve also seen it come through an hour or so later.

I’ve also seen people report never getting it at all.

A good fail safe here is to try to remember to screen shot and download the confirmation when you actually complete it too, just in case the email is delayed or doesn’t come.

You can also check to see it and should be able to redownload it if you go back to the start page here: https://apps.migracioncolombia.gov.co/pre-registro/en at the bottom where it says Review Check Mig.

What should I put in the origin/destination country Check Mig form?

This is a really common question I see, and there is a bit of ambiguity with the box on the Check Mig for Origin/Destination country.

You’ll find this Origin/Destination country box on the page where you enter your flight info.

The first bit of ambiguity is if they want your origin or destination. You should put your origin when entering Colombia and your destination when leaving.

I’ve always understood this as the country and city where your trip begins (or ends when departing). So, the city your flight into Colombia arrives to should populate automatically when you enter your flight info.

However, if you’re taking a connecting flight from somewhere else first, you can put that as your origin (or destination).

Another point of confusion here is city names may not be translated properly or still be in Spanish. Your home city also might not be listed. In that case, I’d just put the closest bigger city, capital of your state/province, or just the origin of your flight into Colombia.

When does the Check-Mig form become available?

The Check-Mig form can be filled out 72 hours before your departure time.

When does the Check-Mig form close?

You must complete the form at least 1 hour before your departure time, or the application will no longer allow you do so.

What happens if I don’t complete the Check-Mig form for Colombia?

Since the form is no longer required, nothing should happen. I guess it might take you a few extra minutes to get through immigration.

However, since there is still some confusion about this from airlines, it’s possible, if unlikely, you may be denied boarding for your flight.

That’s why I just suggest doing it. Even when their wrong, airline agents have tough jobs, and getting into a friendly (or not so friendly) debate with them isn’t my idea of a fun time.

What should I do if I get an error filling out the Check-Mig?

If you get an error, try again.

If you still get an error, wait a couple hours and try yet again.

If you still get an error after that, keep trying every now and then up to a few hours before your flight.

If you’re still getting an error then, I’d take a screenshot to document it, and have some evidence to show you made every reasonable effort to complete the form. I have heard anecdotally that airlines have provided assistance to some people who had trouble completing it when checking in, but given the state of travel these days I also wouldn’t count on that.

What should I do if the system says I already have a record of a Check-Mig?

This is one of the things that came up sometimes before and hopefully has been worked out by the new system.

Occasionally, an error would occur while someone was filling out the form, then when they tried to redo it, the system would stop them from making another one. So they’d be left without the form complete and without being able to do it.

If you get an error in the middle of filling out the form, I’d suggest taking a screenshot.

Then, try again.

If it doesn’t let you complete it, try again later.

If you are still unable to complete it, at least you have some evidence you made a reasonable effort to do so.

Do I need to complete the Check-Mig for domestic flights inside Colombia?

No, the Check-Mig is only for entry to or exit from Colombia internationally.

For domestic flights, you’ll just need to show your ID (generally your passport for foreign visitors) and your tickets.

Did you complete your Check-Mig form sucessfully?

Now you have a complete step by step guide to completing the Check-Mig form.

I hope that this was useful if you needed some help with the Colombia Check-Mig form. More importantly, I hope it kept you from paying for something that you didn’t need to!

Most importantly of all though, I hope you have a wonderful time in Colombia!

Please do check out all the other content on the site to help you plan your trip.

Cheers and Happy Exploring!

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If you are in fact flying into or out of Cartagena, do check out my guide to the Cartagena airport. You might also want to double check the latest entry requirements for Colombia. If you happen to be flying into Bogotá, check out my picks for the best hotels near Bogotá’s airport or my complete guide to where to stay in Bogotá. And of course, there’s lots of content on other places in Colombia in the Other Destinations section of the site too!