Colombia · Visitor Visa (Type V)
Work remotely from Colombia for up to two years
The digital nomad route sits inside Colombia's Visitor Visa (Type V). It wants about $1,700 a month in foreign income, it runs up to two years, and it never counts a single day toward residency.
Colombia built this one for people who get paid from somewhere else. Show three months of foreign income, a health policy and letter from whoever pays you, and you'll get a stay measured in years instead of tourist stamps.
Start here
You might not need this visa at all
Resolution 5477, the rule that created the nomad visa, also says something the guides skip over. If your passport is on Colombia's visa-exempt list, and an American one is, you can fly in, take the entry permit they stamp at the airport and do your remote work legally, so long as no Colombian company is paying you.
That covers a lot of people. The visa is for the ones it doesn't cover.
- 90 days on arrival, extendable once at a Migracion Colombia office to 180 days total per calendar year
- Remote work for foreign clients or a foreign employer is allowed on that permit
- The visa is what you want if you need more than six months a year, a Colombian ID card, a local bank account, or your family on the same paperwork
Four numbers to check before you start
$1,700
Monthly foreign income you have to prove
COP 5,252,715, three times Colombia's 2026 minimum wage
2 years
The longest one of these visas runs
None of it counts toward residency or citizenship
$235
Government fees for one adult
Study fee near $55, then about $180 once they approve it
30 days
The Cancilleria's decision window
Tidy files are often answered in two weeks
The file
Inside the file you upload
Three months of bank statements, each one over the line
The income test is monthly, not average. Three statements at $2,000, $900 and $2,300 fails, because the middle one sits under the bar.
A letter from whoever pays you
An employer or client letter on company letterhead, saying the work is remote, what you're paid, and that the company is registered outside Colombia. Freelancers add contracts and the deposits that match them. For this visa category, the letter can be in Spanish or English.
A health policy with repatriation in it
Colombia asks for all-risk health cover in national territory for accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalization, death and repatriation, for the whole length of the visa. Colombian visa agencies say plain travel insurance is getting bounced in 2026, and that officers read the policy wording closely.
A background check and a short letter about your plan
An apostilled criminal record check, which for Americans means the FBI identity history summary, plus a one-page letter on what you do and why you want to do it from Colombia. Then a 3x4 photo on a white background, and a passport with six months left on it.
The income bar costs more dollars than last year's guides say
Call it $1,700 a month, using the dollar's mid-September 2026 value of roughly 3,100 pesos. The rule itself is written in pesos, at COP 5,252,715, and the peso has gained about 20 percent within a year. Guides still printing $1,200 or $1,400 did their arithmetic when a dollar bought 3,750. Check the rate the week you submit, because a stronger peso means the same rule asks for more of your money.
Stay rules
How long you can really be in the country
The 180-day rule that isn't one
Search this visa and you'll be told you can only be in Colombia 180 days a year. Read Article 46 of Resolution 5477 - that cap isn't there. Its neighbors have one. The tourist and business visas say max 180 days in each 365 in plain language, but the nomad article says only up to two years. The 180-day line inside Article 46 belongs to its final paragraph, which is about people entering with no visa at all. Two Colombian immigration firms, expatgroup.co and Affirma Legal, say the same thing in print. Plenty of visa sites still publish the cap; if your plan depends on it, get it in writing from the Cancilleria.
What can actually end it early
Leave for more than six straight months and the visa is generally canceled. Take paid work from a Colombian company or client and you've broken the one restriction the article does spell out. Once the visa is issued for more than three months, you have 15 days from arrival to register with Migracion Colombia and get your cedula de extranjeria, the ID that makes banks and landlords take you seriously.
Visitor Visa (Type V)
For short-to-medium term stays (up to 2 years). Does not count toward residency. Includes Digital Nomad Visa for eligible countries (minimum income requirement). Tourist Visa not required for US citizens (90 days visa-free, extendable to 180 days/year). Student Visa available for those enrolled in recognized institutions, with possible part-time work for graduate students.
- Processing time
- ~15 days
- Timeline
- Up to 2 years
- Difficulty
- Easy
Money
Day 183 changes your tax life
Your visa doesn't decide what you owe Colombia. Your calendar does. Cross day 183 in the country within any 365-day stretch, arrival and departure days included, and DIAN counts you as a tax resident and taxes income from everywhere, on a scale reaching 39 percent. Weekend hops across a border don't reset anything.
So a two-year visa used straight through means Colombian tax residency, on purpose or by accident. There's no tax treaty between Colombia and the United States, which is why Americans here lean on the foreign tax credit rather than treaty relief, and keep filing with the IRS either way. If you cross the line you'll want a RUT, an annual Colombian return, and a local contador, which runs about $260 to $800 a year for an expat file. Talk to one before day 183, not after.
Support
Help, if you want it
You can file this yourself on the Cancilleria portal. People who pay for help usually do it for one of three reasons: the insurance wording, the apostilles, or a freelance income picture that needs explaining.
MOOD Travel Abroad Services
Colombia Relocation & Visa Services
MOOD Travel Abroad runs relocation tours and visa help in Colombia, with a focus on Black travelers and the Afro-diaspora. Useful when you want to test a city before you commit to two years in it.
ExpatInsure
Global Health Insurance
Expatsi's international health insurance partner. Files get sent back over policy wording more than anything else on this visa, so have someone read yours against Colombia's list before you upload it.
Suzanne Severance
Solo Nomad Coach
Suzanne Severance coaches solo nomads and has built her own life out of small places around the world. Worth an hour if you're moving alone and want a second opinion on the plan.
Lingoda
Language Learning
Lingoda teaches live online classes on your schedule. Colombia scores 20 out of 100 on English proficiency in our data, and outside a few neighborhoods your Spanish is the difference between coping and enjoying it.
What Americans ask before they file
What health insurance does Colombia accept for this visa?
An all-risk health policy valid in Colombian territory covering accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalization, death and repatriation for the full length of the visa. Colombian visa agencies report plain travel insurance being rejected in 2026, so read the policy wording against that list, or have someone who files these regularly read it for you.
Do I have to pay Colombian tax on my remote income?
Only if you become a tax resident, and that starts at day 183 in the country within any 365-day stretch, whether or not those days run back to back. Cross it and Colombia taxes your worldwide income at rates up to 39 percent, and you'll need a RUT and an annual return. Colombia and the United States have no tax treaty, so Americans usually rely on the foreign tax credit. See a cross-border accountant before you hit the number.
Can my spouse and kids come on this visa?
Yes. The nomad visa allows beneficiaries, normally a spouse or permanent partner and dependent children, with proof of the relationship for each one. Budget the study and issuance fees again per person, plus their own insurance policies, and expect the officer to look at whether your income supports the whole household.
How long does the Colombia digital nomad visa take?
The Cancilleria has 30 calendar days to decide once you've paid the study fee, and tidy files are often answered inside two weeks. Then the e-visa is issued within about 10 business days of paying the second fee. If you file from inside Colombia, remember your tourist permit keeps running down while you wait.
Does the digital nomad visa lead to residency in Colombia?
No. It's a Visitor (Type V) visa, and V time never accrues toward the Resident (R) visa or citizenship. Only Migrant (M) visas build that clock. If Colombia is the long game, plan to switch into an M route, through a pension, an investment, a Colombian company or marriage, and start counting from there.
How much income do I need for Colombia's digital nomad visa?
About $1,700 a month, with the dollar buying roughly 3,100 pesos in September 2026. Colombia writes the rule as three times its minimum wage, or COP 5,252,715 a month in 2026. You prove it with three months of bank statements and every month has to clear the bar on its own. The Cancilleria converts your currency on the day it studies your file, so apply with room to spare.
Can I just work remotely from Colombia on a tourist stamp?
For up to 180 days a calendar year, yes. Resolution 5477 lets visa-exempt nationals, Americans included, enter with no visa and do remote work for foreign companies, as long as no Colombian business is paying them. You get 90 days on arrival and can extend once to 180. Past that, or if you want a Colombian ID card and a local bank account, you need the visa.
Is Colombia the right base for your work?
Answer a few questions and see how Colombia scores against 100 other countries on cost, climate, safety and the visa you'd actually qualify for.
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