- Colombia and Israel will drop visa requirements for their respective citizens starting September first, twenty twenty-six.
- The agreement follows a major foreign-policy reset under Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella.
- Colombia has officially recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, mirroring the United States’ position.
Colombia and Israel announced on August 20, 2026, that they will drop visa requirements for each other's citizens, with the change taking effect on September 1, 2026. The announcement followed discussions between Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar and Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar. Travel opens both ways.
Under the arrangement, Colombian citizens will be able to enter Israel for tourism and short-term business without a visa. Israeli citizens will regain visa-free access to Colombia for tourism, business, and academic purposes. The old B-2 tourist visa process falls away for that traffic. That is the headline change.
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The decision reverses the tighter rules put in place in 2025. It also tracks President Abelardo de la Espriella’s foreign-policy reset after his inauguration on August 7, 2026. That break with Gustavo Petro began in May 2024. It moved quickly.
Colombia now stands as only the second country in the world, after the United States, to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Gideon Sa'ar tied the visa move to that broader shift and praised it as historic. He said it mirrored the U.S. position. The symbolism runs deep.
On August 10, 2026, the Colombian Foreign Ministry said it recognized Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights and the state's right to defend itself against external threats. It framed that stance against continuing regional instability in the Middle East. Diplomacy moved fast.
Embassies, ambassadors and Jerusalem move together
The wider roadmap was set in July 2026. It calls for reopening embassies in Bogota and Jerusalem. Two posts moved at once.
The same package names Tania Gilinski for Colombia and Vivian Aisen for Israel. It calls for the immediate appointment of ambassadors. Both capitals are getting new diplomatic faces.
The roadmap also includes the planned relocation of the Colombian Embassy to Jerusalem. That step pulls the embassy file into the center of the reset. Jerusalem sits at the center.
It also includes Colombia's formal withdrawal from the genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. That legal move sits alongside the travel change and the embassy plans. The legal front changed too.
Israeli authorities said the ETA-IL portal for Colombians will be updated to reflect eligibility by the September 1 start date. Travelers will see the new rules there. The portal is being updated.
