Colombian nationality is typically obtained by birth in Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, birth abroad when at least one parent was born in Colombia, or by naturalization, after five years of permanent residence and meeting specific requirements. It is defined in the 96th article of the Constitution of Colombia and the 1st Act of 2002.

Nationality by birth

Everyone born in Colombia acquires Colombian nationality, as long as at least one parent is either a Colombian citizen or resident in Colombia.

A child born outside Colombia who has at least one Colombian parent can be registered as a Colombian national by birth, either upon returning to Colombia (for residents) or at a consulate abroad (for non-residents).

Nationality by naturalization

A person who has lived in Colombia as a permanent resident for five years may apply for naturalization at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Colombia)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also known as the Chancellery, is the national executive ministry of the Government of Colombia responsible for the foreign relations of Colombia through its diplomatic missions abroad by formulating foreign policy relevant to the matters of the State, it is...

. There are exceptions to the usual residence requirements in some cases, including:

• one year of residence for citizens of a Latin America
  Latin America
  Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages  – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
  
  n or a Caribbean
  Caribbean
  The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
  
   country;
• two years of residence for citizens of Spain
  Spain
  Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
  
  ;
• two years of residence for a person married to a Colombian citizen or who has Colombian children.

Dual nationality

Colombian nationality law acknowledges that a Colombian by birth or by naturalization

Naturalization

Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....

 can also possess another nationality

Multiple citizenship

Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements...

.

Colombians who acquired Colombian nationality by birth cannot be deprived of it under any circumstances, so acquiring another nationality does not in itself result in the loss of Colombian nationality. A person who renounced their Colombian nationality may recover it later.

Colombian citizenship

As in most other Latin American countries, Colombia law differentiates between nationality and citizenship

Citizenship

Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...

. Nationality is the attribute of the person in international law that describes his/her relationship to the State, whereas citizenship is given to those nationals (i.e. those that hold the Colombian nationality) that have certain rights and responsibilities before the State. The 98th article of the Colombian constitution establishes that Colombian citizens are those nationals that are 18 years of age or older.