The Complete Visa Guide

Probably not, if you're just visiting. Citizens of the US, UK, Canada, the EU, Australia, and most of Latin America can enter Colombia visa-free as a tourist and stay up to 90 days per entry, capped at 180 days per calendar year. That's enough for most people scouting Medellín for the first time.

You do need a visa if any of these apply:

• You want to stay longer than 180 days in a calendar year
• You want to work for a Colombian employer or run a registered Colombian business
• You want to sign a long-term lease in your own name or enroll in the public health system (EPS)
• You want a path to residency or citizenship

If you're a remote worker for a foreign company, you can usually do 6 months a year on a tourist stamp without a visa. Past that, the digital nomad visa or M-Rentista are the typical next steps.

A tourist stamp lets you exist in Colombia. A visa lets you live here. The single biggest unlock is the cédula de extranjería, your Colombian foreigner ID, which you get within ~15 days of your visa being approved. Almost every "why is this so hard as a tourist?" friction disappears once you have one.

What a visa + cédula actually unlocks:

• Open a Colombian bank account. Bancolombia, Davivienda, Nu, etc. all require a cédula. That means a local debit card, paying rent and utilities directly, and no more 3% foreign-card fees on every coffee.
• Sign a real long-term lease in your own name. This is the big one. Local unfurnished rent in Poblado / Laureles is typically 2–3× cheaper per month than the equivalent furnished Airbnb or expat-listing apartment. A US$2,200/mo Airbnb is often the same unit a local would pay US$800 for.
• Stay as long as you want. No more 90-day stamp math, no border runs, no 180-day annual cap.
• Build a path to permanence. Most M visas count toward the R (Resident) visa after ~5 years, and the R is the on-ramp to Colombian citizenship.

Visa-free visitors get a PIP-5 stamp on arrival, good for up to 90 days per entry, with a hard cap of 180 days total per calendar year.

If you want to stay past your first 90 days, you have two options:

• Extend at Migración Colombia for another 90 days, online or at the Belén office. You stay in the country the whole time.
• Do a border run to Panama, Ecuador, or anywhere outside Colombia, then re-enter. You get a fresh 90-day stamp on arrival. Border runs still work, they just don't get you past the 180-day annual cap, which is tracked digitally.

Either way, the 180-day-per-calendar-year ceiling is firm. Once you've used all 180, you have to leave Colombia until January 1st or get on a visa.

Overstay carries a fine of roughly 1-7 monthly minimum wages (~$1.5M-$10M COP) plus a possible ban on re-entry.

Colombia groups every visa into one of three letters. The letter sets how long you can stay and what you can build toward.

• V (Visitor), short-to-medium term, up to 2 years. For tourists with a purpose, digital nomads, students on short programs, medical patients, business visitors. Time on a V visa does not count toward residency.
• M (Migrant), up to 3 years. Work, study, spouse, parent of a Colombian, retiree (pensionado), investor. Time on an M visa does count toward the R visa.
• R (Resident), permanent-style residency, valid 5 years, renewable indefinitely. You usually qualify after 2-5 years on an M visa.

Any visa valid for more than 3 months lets you get a cédula de extranjería and open a Colombian bank account.

Launched in late 2022, the V-Nómadas Digitales visa lets remote workers and remote-business owners live in Colombia while working for foreign clients or companies. It's technically valid for up to 2 years, but in practice most are granted for 1 year.

Requirements:

• Proof of remote employment or remote-business ownership outside Colombia
• Income of at least 3x the Colombian minimum wage (~$4.2M COP/month, ~$1,000 USD)
• Valid international health insurance covering Colombia
• Motivation letter explaining your remote work

It's a V visa, so time on it does not count toward the R (resident) visa.

The M visa is issued for up to 3 years, lets you register with EPS (health), and counts toward the R (resident) visa.

The most common M sub-categories for expats:

• M-Spouse / Partner, married to or in a registered union with a Colombian
• M-Parent of Colombian, you have a Colombian child
• M-Worker, sponsored by a Colombian employer
• M-Investor, real estate or company investment above a threshold
• M-Pensionado, retiree with verified pension income
• V-Rentista, passive income above ~10x minimum wage
• M-Student, enrolled in a Colombian institution

The fastest path to long-term residency is family. Three main sub-categories under the M visa:

• M-Spouse, married to a Colombian. Marriage can be civil or registered abroad and then transcribed in Colombia.
• M-Permanent Partner (Unión Marital de Hecho), 2+ years cohabitating with a Colombian, registered at a notary. Same rights as marriage for visa purposes.
• M-Parent of Colombian, you have a Colombian child (born in Colombia or registered through a Colombian parent).

All three are valid up to 3 years and qualify you for the R visa after just 2 years, the shortest path of any M category.

The M-Pensionado is the most popular long-term visa for retirees. It requires a verifiable lifetime pension of at least 3x the Colombian monthly minimum wage (~$4.2M COP, roughly $1,000 USD/month).

Government pensions, US Social Security, military pensions, and private pensions all count, as long as they're guaranteed for life. Investment income alone does not, for that you want M-Rentista.

The visa is good for up to 3 years. After 5 continuous years on M-Pensionado you can apply for the R (resident) visa.

The V-Rentista is for people with reliable, recurring passive income that isn't a lifetime pension: dividends, rental income, royalties, interest, distributions from a foreign business you don't actively run.

Income threshold is 10x the Colombian minimum wage (~$14M COP, roughly $3,300 USD/month), documented for at least the prior 12 months and projected to continue.

Valid for up to 2 years, though in practice it is often approved for 1 year or 1 year 6 months. It's a V visa, so time on it does not count toward the R visa.

The M-Investor visa is issued to foreigners who put significant capital into a Colombian asset. The two common routes are real estate and company investment.

• Real estate: buy property worth at least 350x the Colombian monthly minimum wage (~$500M COP, roughly $120,000 USD). Must be in your name and registered.
• Company: invest at least 100x minimum wage (~$140M COP, ~$33,000 USD) into a Colombian company you own or co-own.

The visa is valid up to 3 years and you must keep the investment for the duration. After 5 years on M-Investor you qualify for the R visa. A much larger investment (~650x min wage) qualifies you for the direct R-Investor.

The M-Worker visa is sponsored by a Colombian employer (or a foreign company with a registered Colombian branch). The employer signs a labor contract and provides documentation.

Required from the employer side:

• Company chamber of commerce certificate
• Signed labor contract with salary, position, and duration
• Proof the company is current on taxes and parafiscales

Salary must usually be at least 10x the minimum wage for foreign-qualified positions. Valid up to 3 years, tied to the employer, if you leave the job, you have to switch visa or leave the country.

The M-Student visa is for foreigners enrolled in a recognized Colombian educational program: university, language school accredited by the Ministry of Education, technical institute, or a research program.

Requirements:

• Acceptance letter from the institution
• Proof of tuition payment
• Proof of financial means to support yourself (typically ~1x minimum wage/month)
• Health insurance valid in Colombia

Valid for the duration of the program, up to 3 years. Time counts toward the R visa, but you have to maintain enrollment, drop out and the visa is canceled.

The R visa is Colombia's closest thing to permanent residency. It's valid for 5 years, renewable indefinitely, and lets you work in any field, study, and live without further immigration paperwork.

Typical paths to qualify:

• 2 years on an M-Spouse or M-Parent-of-Colombian visa
• 5 years on most other M visas (worker, investor, pensionado)
• Direct R-Investor for very large investments (~650x minimum wage in a Colombian company)

You must not be outside Colombia for more than 2 continuous years or you lose R status. After 5 years on the R visa you can apply for Colombian citizenship (3 years if married to a Colombian or from an Ibero-American country).