Moving to Colombia from the US, Canada or the UK

For remote workers, retirees and people living on investment income. Colombia's digital nomad, pensioner and rentista visas, why every figure is a multiple of the minimum wage, and which visas lead to residence.

Colombia suits remote workers who want a low-cost base in the Americas, retirees with a modest pension, and people living on investment income. It has a visa for each of them. The same rules apply to US, Canadian and UK citizens.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cancillería) issues visas. Colombia sorts them into three types: Visitor (V), Migrant (M) and Resident (R). The type matters more than the name. Time on most M visas counts toward the R visa, which is permanent residence. Time on V visas does not.

Why every figure is a number of minimum wages

Colombia sets its money tests as multiples of the legal monthly minimum wage, the SMMLV. For 2026 it is COP 1,750,905, set by Decreto 1469 de 2025. The amounts below are our calculation from that figure.

The decree went through a court challenge. The Consejo de Estado suspended it in February 2026, then lifted the suspension in July 2026. The decree stays in force until the court rules on the merits. The minimum wage also changes every January. Check the figure on the day you apply.

The main ways in

Digital nomad visa (V). This fits remote employees, freelancers and founders who work only for companies outside Colombia. You need bank statements showing income of at least 3 minimum wages over the last three months. That is COP 5,252,715 a month in 2026. You also need a letter in Spanish or English from your employer or clients that states how you are paid, and full health insurance valid in Colombia. Your passport must be from a country that does not need a visa for short stays. US, Canadian and UK passports are on that list. The visa lasts up to two years. Family members can come as your beneficiaries. You cannot work for Colombian employers or clients.

Pensioner visa (M). This fits retirees with a lifetime pension of at least 3 minimum wages a month, the same COP 5,252,715. The pension can come from a government or a private pension fund. You need an apostilled and translated certificate of the pension, or one issued by the consulate of the country that pays it. The visa lasts up to three years. It does not allow work. It also does not let you join Colombia’s social security health system unless a treaty allows it, so plan for private health cover.

Rentista visa (V). This fits people with regular income from investments, rents or similar sources who do not yet have a pension. The bar is high: at least 10 minimum wages a month, or COP 17,509,050. The visa lasts up to two years and does not allow work. Your spouse or permanent partner and children up to 25 can come as beneficiaries.

Investor visa (M). This fits people who buy Colombian property worth at least 350 minimum wages (COP 612,816,750) in their own name, or who make foreign direct investment above 650 minimum wages (COP 1,138,088,250). Either way, the money must be registered as foreign investment with the Banco de la República. You keep the investment for as long as you hold the visa.

Colombia also has an independent professional visa for people in a regulated profession, a work visa for people with a Colombian job, and a spouse visa for partners of Colombian citizens. See every route below.

Which visas lead to permanent residence

This is the biggest difference between the routes.

• M visas build time. The pensioner and investor visas count toward the Resident (R) visa after five years as the holder. Cancillería says meeting the time does not make the R visa automatic.
• V visas do not. Time on the digital nomad or rentista visa does not count toward the R visa. If you want to stay for good, plan a switch to an M visa.
• Citizenship comes later. Ley 2332 de 2023 asks for five years of continuous domicile, counted from the date your R visa was issued. It is two years if you are married to, or the permanent partner of, a Colombian, or have Colombian children.

Money, tax and cost of living

Visa fees are set in US dollars by Resolución 3969 de 2026. Every visa has a USD 56 study fee. Issuing a V visa costs USD 138 more, and an M visa USD 204 more. Stamp tax is extra. Apostilles, translations and health insurance add to the total. The visa cost calculator adds it up for the digital nomad visa.

Tax residence comes quickly. Under Article 10 of the Estatuto Tributario, you are a Colombian tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Colombia in any 365-day period. Colombian tax residents are taxed on income from inside and outside Colombia. This applies to digital nomads too. Talk to a tax adviser who knows both countries before you pass 183 days.

US citizens also stay subject to US tax on worldwide income wherever they live. Canadians and Britons generally stop being tax resident at home only if they cut their residence ties there.

For a sense of what your money buys, see the cost of living in Colombia or try the cost of living calculator.

Your first steps

1. Visit first if you like. US, Canadian and UK citizens can enter without a visa. Cancillería says these stays are up to 90 days, which can be extended to 180 days in a calendar year.
2. Pick your visa by where you want to end up. If permanent residence matters, look at the M visas first.
3. Order documents early. The pensioner and rentista visas ask for a criminal record certificate from every country you lived in for the last three years, apostilled and translated into Spanish.
4. Apply online. Applications go through Cancillería’s online visa platform. Cancillería does not publish processing times, so leave a margin.
5. Keep your visa current. A new visa granted before the old one expires keeps your time continuous for the R visa. Cancillería says a safe-conduct (salvoconducto) does not count as continuity.

What catches people out

• The figures move every January. A new minimum wage changes every threshold. Use the one in force on your application date.
• Remote work means foreign work. The digital nomad visa does not cover Colombian clients.
• Investors must register the money. A property bought without registering the foreign investment with the Banco de la República does not count.
• The rentista visa is not a residence path. It is a V visa, even though its income bar is the highest of the three.

This is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Confirm each requirement with Cancillería before you apply.