Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on 20 August 2026 that Israel and Colombia will exempt each other's citizens from visa requirements from 1 September 2026. The arrangement is reciprocal: Colombian passport holders will no longer need to obtain a visa from an Israeli consulate before travelling to Israel, and Israeli passport holders will no longer need one to enter Colombia. It reverses a pair of measures introduced during 2025, when the two countries imposed visa requirements on each other as diplomatic relations broke down over the war in Gaza. The announcement followed talks between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and his Colombian counterpart, Omar Bula Escobar.
Background
Until 2025, Colombians could travel to Israel without a consular visa, and Israelis were on Colombia's list of visa-exempt nationalities. That ended after Colombia, under then-president Gustavo Petro, severed diplomatic relations with Israel over its conduct of the war in Gaza. During 2025 Israel withdrew Colombians' visa-free access and required them to obtain a B-2 visitor visa from a consulate for stays of up to 90 days. Colombia's foreign ministry responded on the principle of reciprocity, issuing a resolution that removed Israel from its own visa-exempt list, so Israelis travelling to Colombia needed a visitor visa. The reversal now under way is part of a much broader realignment: Colombia's presidency changed hands on 7 August 2026 when Abelardo de la Espriella took office, Sa'ar attended the inauguration, and Israeli media reported that on 10 August Colombia recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Israeli reports say the two governments also agreed to appoint ambassadors immediately, having both withdrawn their envoys in 2024, and that Colombia intends to move its embassy to Jerusalem.
What exactly changed
The single operative fact for travellers is the date. From 1 September 2026, the advance consular visa step disappears in both directions, and entry reverts to being decided at the border on presentation of a passport, as it was before 2025. The exemption does not apply retroactively, so a trip taken before 1 September still runs under the current rules and still needs the visa that those rules require. The announcement covers the visa requirement itself; it does not restate permitted stay lengths, entry conditions or the rules for anything beyond ordinary short visits, and neither government has published a consolidated set of conditions alongside it. Work, study and residence are separate matters in both countries and are not addressed by a visa exemption of this kind.
Before and after
- Until 31 August 2026: Colombians need a B-2 visitor visa from an Israeli consulate; Israelis need a visitor visa for Colombia.
- From 1 September 2026: neither nationality needs a visa in advance for travel to the other country.
- Not retroactive: travel before 1 September is governed by the current requirements.
- Unchanged: a visa exemption covers short visits only. Work, study and residence still require the appropriate permission.
Who it affects
The clearest beneficiaries are people who had a trip made awkward by the consular step: Colombians with family in Israel, Israelis with family or business in Colombia, and anyone in either country who had been postponing a visit rather than book consular appointments and wait. For a Colombian planning a September trip, the practical effect is that an appointment that might have taken weeks is simply no longer needed. There is also a group for whom the timing cuts the other way. Anyone already holding a visa issued under the old rules, or with a consular appointment booked for late August, should not assume their plans are disrupted; a visa that exists remains a visa, and travelling after 1 September without one is expected to be the simpler route. Colombians and Israelis living in third countries are covered by the same nationality-based rule, since these exemptions attach to the passport rather than to where the traveller currently lives.
What this means in practice
If your trip falls before 1 September, apply under the current rules and do not wait for the change, because the exemption does not cover earlier travel. If it falls on or after 1 September, check the destination government's official entry page shortly before you fly rather than relying on news coverage, since the announcement came from Israel's foreign ministry and the corresponding Colombian instrument had not been published when this was written. Airlines check documents at the gate against their own systems, and those systems update when the official lists update, not when an agreement is announced. Carry a passport with comfortable validity and be ready to show a return ticket and proof of accommodation, which are ordinary border questions in both countries and are unaffected by a visa exemption. Our Colombia country guide at /country-guides/colombia and our Israel country guide at /country-guides/israel set out the wider entry and residence framework for each.
When it takes effect
The mutual visa exemption applies from 1 September 2026, announced by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 20 August 2026. It does not apply to travel before that date.
What is not yet confirmed
This rests on an announcement by Israel’s foreign ministry, reported consistently by Israeli and Colombian media, rather than on a published legal instrument from both sides. As of 21 August, Colombia’s Cancillería had not issued the resolution that would formally return Israel to its visa-exempt list, and neither government had published detailed conditions such as maximum stay per visit or any cap over a rolling period. Reports also differ on exactly when Israel first imposed the requirement during 2025. Treat the 1 September date as announced rather than as legally in force, and confirm with the relevant consulate or official entry portal before booking non-refundable travel.
Key Takeaway
From 1 September 2026 Colombians and Israelis should no longer need a visa in advance to visit each other’s countries. Travel before that date still needs one, and the Colombian side of the paperwork was not yet published when this was written.