Banco de la República Formulario 4: How Foreign Investment Registration Works in Colombia

The most expensive mistake I see in foreign property purchases is not a bad price. It is a purchase wire booked like a personal remittance. Months later the owner wants to send sale proceeds home, or file for a visa, and discovers there is no investment record to show. This guide explains what people mean when they search for "Formulario 4" and what actually happens at the bank today.

Quick answer: "Formulario 4" is the old name for the foreign-investment exchange declaration. Today, when you bring foreign currency into Colombia as an investment, you give a bank's FX desk the minimum investment data, and the bank transmits a declaración de cambio por inversiones internacionales to Banco de la República's exchange information system (SIC). That declaration is the registration.

Formulario 4 versus what banks use now

Banco de la República (BanRep) published an instructivo for Formulario 4 under Circular DCIN-83 of 19 July 2013. That paper sheet is why the name stuck. Under the current DCIP-83 rules, intermediaries may use their own physical or digital format as long as it contains the minimum data BanRep requires. So there is no single official "Form 4" to download and fill in yourself, and you should be wary of anyone selling you one.

Since the 26 February 2025 amendment to DCIP-83, the intermediary must, on request, give you the declaration once BanRep has confirmed it as integrated into the SIC. Ask for it by name.

What is actually being registered

When an investment is made in foreign currency, the declaración de cambio that channels the funds through the exchange market doubles as the registration of that investment. The registration date is the date the intermediary buys or sells the foreign currency. If a compensation account is used instead, it is the day the funds enter or leave that account.

What does registration give you? Once the investment is made under the regime and the declaration is filed, the investor may reinvest profits, capitalize remittable sums, remit proven net profits in freely convertible currency, and remit proceeds from a sale in Colombia, a liquidation or a capital reduction. That is the practical value: it keeps the door open for money to leave legally later.

What it does not give you is equally important. Registration does not clean or legalize the origin of the money. It is not a title opinion, and it is not a visa grant.

Who touches the wire

Foreign-capital investments must be channeled through the exchange market, and the operation type decides this, not the amount. Channeling goes through an intermediario del mercado cambiario (IMC). Commercial banks qualify only if they belong to the authorized class and are inscribed at BanRep, so confirm that with the bank. I am not ranking banks or quoting spreads here; ask each desk for its current terms.

The investor, an apoderado (attorney-in-fact), or the receiving company's legal representative supplies the data, and the IMC transmits it. Operators are instructed to transmit investment declarations within two business days after the customer provides the data. Treat that as a transmission deadline, not a promise that your extract appears the same day; ask the bank to confirm BanRep's acceptance.

The rule on an apoderado comes from Chapter 7 of DCIP-83, which says foreign-capital investors must name one in Colombia. Whether a personal property purchase needs a power of attorney before you sign the declaration is something to confirm with the bank or your lawyer.

The USD 10,000 myth

USD 10,000 is the traveler cash and money-instrument declaration limit at the border, handled by customs (Formulario 530 above that amount). It is not the trigger for investment registration. There is no general rule that only wires above USD 10,000 are registered. For ordinary transfers, see our guide to converting USD to COP. For how ordinary SWIFT wires and DIAN exchange-control reporting differ from this investment registration, read the bank wire and DIAN compliance guide.

Personal transfers and apps

A transfer booked as a family remittance, a services payment or another non-investment concept does not by itself create the investment registration. I am not calling any app illegal; the point is that a transfer not booked as the investment declaration does not generate this record. Also, never send the purchase price to a personal account, and never pay a third party to "file Formulario 4" outside an inscribed IMC or the SIC. That is outside this procedure.

Property purchase versus company capital

Colombian real estate acquired by a nonresident, directly, through a fiduciary or by real-estate securitization, counts as foreign direct investment when the title is not registered on the national securities registry (RNVE). On the 2013 paper form, real-estate acquisitions left the company-identification boxes blank. Today, make the bank show you the destination it will use, inmuebles versus empresa, before it books the trade.

Funds you later send for construction or improvements on property already registered as foreign investment are also channeled with an investment declaration. BanRep reports real-estate registrations to the UIAF monthly; that report is BanRep's, not yours to file. For title searches, notary steps and closing costs, which I will not recalculate here, use the foreign buyer's legal and financial guide. Once the money path is clear, you can browse housing listings.

For a company, the numeral family matters. Per BanRep's DCIP-83 Annex 1:

• 4035: direct foreign capital into companies and assigned branch capital outside hydrocarbons and mining.
• 4036: share-placement premium.
• 4040: supplementary investment to assigned capital; it is not a house-purchase code.
• 4560: outbound transfer for liquidation, sale or reduction of direct foreign investment, including price gains.

These are labels so you can read what the bank shows you, not codes to type yourself. The intermediary confirms the numeral on the live form. If you are setting up an SAS, the SAS business bank account guide covers the account side.

The 2013 form as a glossary

Read the old instructivo as history, dated 19 July 2013. It is useful vocabulary because banks still echo it:

• Operation types: inicial, devolución, cambio de formulario and modificación.
• Direction of the money: ingreso or egreso.
• The IMC's tax ID, the trade date, and the currency with its USD value.
• Company boxes (10 to 16), left blank for real estate.

Your bank's current format replaces those boxes. Do not expect them to match.

When no foreign currency was channeled

Sometimes an investment arrives without an exchange transaction, for example an in-kind contribution or a capitalization. Then the route is the SIC electronic Declaración de registro de inversiones internacionales, found under Inversiones Internacionales. "Inmuebles" is one of the destinations on that form. Cancellation and substitution have their own electronic forms. The old Forms 11, 11A and 12 were retired.

Getting money out later

When you sell, liquidate or reduce capital, the outbound transfer is its own channeled operation. Registration is what ties you to the right to remit those sums in freely convertible currency, and the intermediary should confirm the outbound numeral (documented as 4560 for direct investment) on its form. Withholding tax and notary closing sit outside this article; start with the buyer guide above and confirm with an accountant.

The visa file

Our older guide on the real estate investor visa (M-10) uses a label you will still see around; the current public name on Cancillería's page, as accessed on 5 October 2026, is Visa M Inversionista. Its tests are expressed in SMLMV (monthly minimum wages) on the application date:

• Real estate: a certificado de tradición y libertad showing title solely in the foreigner's name, a minimum value of 350 SMLMV, and SIC extracts showing the investment registered in that person's name.
• Other direct foreign investment: SIC extracts showing investment above 650 SMLMV.
• Also required: bank statements for the three months before applying, health coverage in Colombia, notice if the investment changes, and proof on renewal that it was kept.

The visa lasts up to three years, and five years as holder count toward a resident visa. BanRep says the SIC extract (Inversiones internacionales, Consultas, Extracto) is the document you give the Foreign Ministry and that it issues no separate letter. Thresholds change, so check the page the day you file.

Document checklist

1. The IMC's trade confirmation showing the date.
2. The declaración BanRep has accepted, requested from the bank.
3. The SIC extract downloaded from BanRep.
4. The escritura and certificado de tradición y libertad, for property.
5. Written confirmation on whether an apoderado was needed.

Honest downside: this process is slower and more bureaucratic than a simple transfer, and different desks explain it differently. Pushing for the accepted declaración in writing is worth the friction.

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ Is Formulario 4 still a paper form in 2026?

No, banks no longer treat the 2013 sheet as the official form. They collect the minimum investment data and transmit a declaración de cambio, and since February 2025 they must give you a copy on request once BanRep has confirmed it (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ Do I only register a wire above USD 10,000?

No. USD 10,000 is the customs cash limit for travelers, not the investment-registration test. Foreign-capital investment is channeled because of the type of operation, whatever the amount (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ If the seller is paid from a personal or app transfer, is the property registered at BanRep?

Not unless that transfer was booked as the investment declaración through an intermediary or a compensation account. A payment booked as a remittance or services payment does not create the registration by itself (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ What does registration let me do later?

It is what the regime ties to reinvesting profits and remitting proven profits and sale, liquidation or capital-reduction proceeds in convertible currency. It does not clean the origin of the money or guarantee any outcome (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ What should the bank show me before booking a house purchase?

The destination, meaning inmuebles versus company capital, and the numeral it will transmit. Do not enter a code yourself, and note that 4040 is not a house-purchase code. Ask for both in writing before the trade is booked (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ What does Cancillería want for Visa M Inversionista?

A SIC extract in your name and, for property, a certificado de tradición y libertad solely in your name at 350 SMLMV or more on the application date; other investment must exceed 650 SMLMV. Health coverage and bank statements are also required (verify with the official source, as accessed).

❓ Does BanRep send a letter proving the investment?

No. BanRep tells applicants to download the SIC extract and does not issue a separate certification letter. Registration also does not prove the money is clean, and BanRep, not you, sends the monthly real-estate report to the UIAF (verify with the official source, as accessed).