The situation
Employers now have until March 8, 2019 to register their foreign workers on the Ministry of Labor’s online system called Sistema Único de Registro de Trabajadores Extranjeros en Colombia (RUTEC), introduced in October 2018.
A closer look
- Registration details. Employers must register their current foreign employees hired on or after October 9, 2018 within 120 calendar days of the signing of the work contract.
- Updates required. Employers must also update the system when an employee’s job title or salary changes and at the end of the employee’s assignment, within 30 days of the event.
Impact
Companies employing foreign nationals should contact their immigration provider as soon as possible with assistance with the registration process.
Failure to register a foreign employee may result in employer fines ranging from 1 to 5,000 times the Colombian minimum monthly salary (which is currently COP 781,242, approximately USD 245).
Background
The RUTEC system allows the Ministry of Labor to ensure that all foreign nationals working in Colombia comply with the country’s labor laws. The system is in addition to the SIRE registration system, which is meant to ensure foreign nationals under a work visa comply with immigration laws. Registration on both systems is required for every foreign employee hired by a local company.
Since RUTEC is a relatively new system, there have been technical issues that have delayed companies’ registrations in some cases.
Looking ahead
The introduction of an online foreign worker registration system signals the increased involvement of other government agencies in the immigration process, as the Ministry of Labor was never involved in Colombian immigration processes before this system. Fragomen will report on relevant developments.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
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