In recent months, the Colombian government It has continued to implement various incentives with the purpose of providing support to the most vulnerable families in the country. These benefits are designed to provide support to households who have suffered economic difficulties due to the pandemic and the crisis that has affected the country. He Department of Social Prosperity (DPS) is in charge of distributing these incentives and the steps to verify if you meet the necessary requirements to access any of these programs are detailed below. We invite you to review all the particularities in the following sections.
Undoubtedly, the Solidarity Income has been the most important subsidy, since it reached a total of 8 million households in Colombia. However, President Gustavo Petro has reported that this program will no longer be financed and that a 500,000-peso bond will be delivered instead, which will be granted until the end of 2022. In addition to this, there are other financial supports available, such as Families in Action, VAT Refund, Youth in Action, Colombia Mayor, among others.
How do you know if you are eligible for a government program?
Among the subsidies offered by the Department of Social Prosperity to alleviate the burden of the most needy families, are the following:
Bonus 500 thousand pesos
- Access the website solidary income.prosperidadsocial.gov.co.
- Click on the “REGISTER” button located in the upper right corner of the page.
- Access the Digital Citizen Authentication service and log in with your ID number if you are already registered. If you are not, click on “REGISTER HERE”. Select “REGISTRATION WITH IDENTITY DOCUMENT” in “TYPE OF ACCESS” and follow the registration process.
- Once registered, return to the program page and log in by following steps 1, 2 and 3.
- Upon entering the system, a window will appear with the information of the registered user. Check the data and close the window.
- Click on the button “CHECK TURNS AND BENEFICIARIES”. Finally, a window will appear with information related to your home, such as whether you are a beneficiary or the status of the home.
Families in Action
- Enter the website solidary income.prosperidadsocial.gov.co.
- If you already have an account, sign in with your personal identification number. If you do not have an account, register using the Digital Authentication button on the ID.
- Once inside the system, a window will appear with your registered user data. Review this information carefully and close the corresponding window.
- Then, press the CHECK TURNS AND BENEFICIARIES button. A window will be displayed with relevant details about your household, such as your status and whether you are a beneficiary of the program, among others.
Youth in Action
- Be between the ages of 14 and 28.
- Be a bachelor of secondary vocational education (grade 11).
- Not have a college degree.
- Be identified as belonging to one of the targeting phases of the program that certify their situation of vulnerability or poverty, such as Family Welfare census lists, indigenous census lists or current registration in the Sisbén.
- To register as a beneficiary, the young person must meet these requirements, including their age and educational level, and complete the registration process on the official website. jovenes.prosperidadsocial.gov.co/registro/.
Greater Colombia
The following are the criteria that must be met to be eligible to receive the benefits of the Colombia Mayor program:
- Be a Colombian citizen.
- Have resided in the country for the last ten years.
- Have a minimum age of 54 years for women and 59 years for men, which is three years less than the age required for the old-age pension.
- Not having enough income or income to survive.
VAT refund
It is essential to be registered in the Sisbén to be able to access the VAT Refund program, since this helps the Government to recognize those families that are in an unfavorable economic situation.
If you want to verify if you are one of the beneficiaries of the program, you can do so through the option “check here if you are a beneficiary” on the website, providing your identification number. Likewise, if you need more details in this regard, you can contact the telephone number 01-8000-95-1100, available throughout the country.
It is important to highlight that updating your data in Sisbén IV is essential to obtain all the necessary information on whether you meet the requirements to receive the VAT Refund, before being able to enter the website.