Colombian Court Suspends Agreements for Passport Production, but Delivery Continues
Two agreements to develop the passport model promoted during the government of Gustavo Petro were provisionally suspended by the Administrative Court of Cundinamarca. However, it ordered that appointments, the receipt of applications and the delivery of passports continue without interruptions.
The suspension affects interadministrative agreements 001 of 2025 and CI-005 of 2026, used to structure the operation with the National Printing Office of Colombia and the Portuguese public company Casa da Moeda.
But the precautionary measure, the Court clarified, is preventive, temporary and reversible. It does not constitute an advance ruling on the legality of the agreements or a declaration regarding their validity, matters that must be resolved later within the corresponding proceedings.
Therefore, people will be able to attend their appointments, submit the required documentation and receive their passports. The order requires guaranteeing the continuous, regular and uninterrupted provision of the service. In addition, the ruling does not authorize the closure of offices or the general cancellation of procedures requested by citizens.
Foreign Minister sends a message of calm
Amid the expectations generated by the decision of the Superior Court of Cundinamarca, Foreign Minister Omar Bula said that passport production is guaranteed and asked Colombians not to request the documents hastily.
“We want to send a message of calm. Passport production will not be interrupted. Citizens should remain calm. The priority is that continuity so that citizens are not affected,” Bula said.
He also asked citizens who are outside the country not to urgently go to consulates to request a passport out of fear of being left without the document. “This is not the case and we are going to guarantee it in a transparent manner. There will be additional measures that we will announce in the coming hours,” Bula said.
The Superior Court of Cundinamarca also ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its Revolving Fund, the National Printing Office and the other competent entities to immediately adopt the measures required to maintain operations while the suspension remains in force, which may be administrative, budgetary, contractual, operational, technological and logistical.
The purpose is to ensure that judicial oversight of the model does not transfer its effects to users or interrupt the processing of applications currently underway.
In addition, the entities involved must submit within 20 business days a joint, complete and detailed report on the actual status of implementation of the new passport issuance model. That report must identify the activities carried out in the development of the 2025 agreement and its derived contracts, and specify the phases implemented, the commitments materialized and the updated schedule planned for the pending stages of the system.
The court’s ruling was issued within a popular action filed by citizen Nicolas Dupont Bernal against the Revolving Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Printing Office, entities linked to the implementation of the agreements under challenge.
Dupont Bernal argued that collective rights related to administrative morality, the defense of public assets, security and trust in state management, and citizens’ efficient and timely access to public services could be at stake.