Money Transfer to ColombiaGoing about doing a money transfer to Colombia is surprisingly difficult because of the strict regulations and policies implemented by the banks and government. Surprisingly, it has become more difficult after I got my Cedula Extranjeria (a resident card), because of the strict policies with Banco de Republica for taxation reasons. In all honesty, it's a complete mess and the system and bureaucracy is illogical and corrupt. There, I said it. Try to find the “official” information and good luck. It changes from person to person and your well-meaning intentions of doing everything by the book can backfire in a serious way. This is the same story you hear from countless foreigners living here. Limit of tax free transferIf you hold a resident or work visa, the maximum money transfer to Colombia that you can make, without having to declare to the Banco de Republica, which you do not want to do unless you really know what you're doing, is presently US$ 7000 per month. Ask at any bank and most of the cashiers will insist that you're wrong and that the amount is only US$ 5000. It recently (2010) changed and I'm certain of this.Purchasing Real Estate & CarsIf you are a non-resident, you may or may not be able to make direct transfers to the dealership or real estate agent. In my experience, they no longer want this and that means opening a bank account.Opening a bank account in ColombiaIn order to open a bank account in Colombia, you need to aqcuire the Cedula Extranjeria from the DAS which in itself can be complicated. My wife and I spent 4-5 months applying before coming to Colombia to find out that we were issued an incorrect type of visa that no longer exists. It took another 4 months to fix the problem and no one really knew what what going on.If you do acquire the Cedula Extranjeri, you need to prove the origin of your income of balance abroad which entails notarized bank statements, translations and so on. If you get that far and get an account, you can in theory go ahead with a money transfer to Colombia but make sure that you fill out the papers in your bank that allow for the procedure automatically and even then, they do make mistakes. The transfer can take from a few days to 2 weeks or more. It's inconsistent. Bancolombia is not good for customer service and make mistakes but it is the biggest bank in the country, so it's probably the best bet. An alternative: wire money to a Colombian friendThis takes trust and you should keep the amount below US$ 5000. If you do trust someone, you can wire them money and they can give you the cash. This is actually not that complicated.Another alternative: buy with a credit cardMy card has been copied doing this so be careful. That said, if you don't keep too much on your account and use your credit card at the larger, more reputable institutions, this is a fairly easy way to go. You can't buy a car like this - I tried..."Easy" alternative: take money out of an ATMOK, it's a hassle but undetected and avoids a lot of time and headache. The limit, depending on the bank on how much cash you can take out per transaction, is usually COP 300.000 ( US$ 167) and at times, COP 400.000 (US$ 222).My experience is that Banco de Bogota ATMs always take my debit and credit cards, whereas Bancolombia, that has far more ATMs around the county, rarely, if ever, works. These are my honest experiences with money transfer to Colombia. Not very good I'm afraid but it's part of the bureaucratic way of things down here. At least the money still goes pretty far!
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