Last checked 13 Nov 2026Written for US citizensSome rules are still being checked
In brief
Remote workers can get a digital nomad visa with about $1,591 a month of income, but it never leads to permanent residence. Retirees with a pension of the same amount get a visa that does, after 5 years.
Residency income fromAbout $1,591 a month
Visa-free (US)Up to 90 days
CitizenshipAbout 10 years for a retiree
Tax on foreign incomeYes, after 183 days in any 12 months
Digital nomad visa
(Visa V Nómadas digitales)
Who it's for: Remote workers and freelancers working only for companies outside Colombia, or starting a digital or tech venture.
Money needed
About $1,591 a month of income, shown in your last 3 months of bank statements
How long it lasts
Up to 2 years; whether you can renew it is Not established yet
Leads to
Nothing: time on it doesn't count toward permanent residence or citizenship
Apply from
Online, from a consulate abroad or from inside Colombia if your stay is legal
Processing time
Up to 30 days once your file is complete; real waits Not yet verified
What you need
Passport: valid at least 6 months, plus the online form and a photo
Employer letter: in English or Spanish, stating your role and pay; your contract if you have one
Bank statements: the last 3 months; no apostille needed if in English and legible
Health insurance: covering illness, accident, hospital stays and repatriation in Colombia
Other foreign papers: apostille plus official Spanish translation, issued within 3 months
Fees: visa $194; foreigner ID card about $89. Other costs Not yet verified
ID card: if staying over 3 months, register within 15 days of arriving or of the visa
Good to know
No local work: you can't work for, or be paid by, anyone in Colombia.
Not a tax break: after 183 days in a year you're a tax resident; before that, work done here is still taxed.
No minimum stayNot yet verified; family members can join you, but can't work.
Checked against the lawRules read in the visa regulation and the 2026 fee schedule.
Still being checkedWhether the income test is a monthly minimum, renewal, and the full cost.
Sources (9)
Legal basis and exact figures
Still being checked: whether 'ingresos mínimos equivalentes a tres (3) smlmv durante los últimos 3 meses' is a monthly floor (not confirmed with Cancillería); renewal or a second nomad visa; non-resident tax filing and deductions; Res 9316 de 2024 (art 118 ID-card rules) not read and the 2025–2026 amendment audit of Res 5477 incomplete; total cost (apostille, translation, insurance).
Money: 3 SMMLV (art 46 req 4; art 32(4)). 2026 SMMLV COP 1,750,905 (Decreto 0159 de 2026, transitional), so COP 5,252,715, about $1,590.81 at TRM 3,301.91 (13 Nov 2026).
Law: Res 5477 de 2022 arts 8–13 (online filing, study fee within 10 days, decision within 30 days), 20–24 (3-month document freshness, apostille, 6-month passport), 23 (no intent to settle), 29 par (in-country bar applies only to visa-required nationalities), 46, 90 (V not in the table of visas that build time to R), 93 (beneficiaries), 118. No quota.
Fees 2026: visa study $56 + issuance $138 = $194 (Res 3969 de 2026 art 4), stamp tax excluded; cédula de extranjería COP 294,000 (Res 0599 de 2026), about $89.04.
Tax: no digital-nomad regime (DIAN Concepto 9079 de 2023); residence after more than 183 days in any 365 (ET art 10); before that, pay for work done in Colombia is Colombian-source (ET art 24 num 5), taxed at 35% (ET art 247). Citizenship clock runs only from an R visa (Ley 2332 de 2023 art 9).
Who it's for: Retirees with a lifelong monthly pension from a government or a private pension fund.
Money needed
A lifelong pension of about $1,591 a month; savings or investment income don't count
How long it lasts
Up to 3 years; then you apply for a new one
Leads to
Permanent residence after 5 years on pension visas
Apply from
Online, from a consulate abroad or from inside Colombia if your stay is legal
Processing time
Up to 30 days once your file is complete; real waits Not yet verified
What you need
Passport: valid at least 6 months, plus the online form and a photo
Pension certificate: from the payer, apostilled and translated, or issued by its consulate
Criminal record check: from every country you lived in over the last 3 years
Medical certificate: of physical and mental fitness
Health insurance: covering you in Colombia for your stay
Fees: visa $260; foreigner ID card about $89. Other costs Not yet verified
ID card: register within 15 days of arriving or of the visa
Good to know
No work: this visa doesn't allow work in Colombia.
Don't stay away long: more than 180 days in a row abroad cancels the visa.
Renew on time: each new visa must be granted before the old one expires, or the time stops counting.
Checked against the lawRules read in the visa regulation and the 2026 fee schedule.
Still being checkedWhether a US Social Security or private pension letter is accepted, and how a US pension is taxed.
Sources (8)
Legal basis and exact figures
Still being checked: whether a US Social Security award letter or a private US pension or annuity statement counts as a 'pensión vitalicia' certificate, and who must issue or apostille it; tax on a US pension for a resident (ET art 206 par 3, Ley 100 requirement); total cost (apostille, translation, medical certificate, insurance); Res 9316 de 2024 not read.
Money: lifelong monthly pension of at least 3 SMMLV (art 77 req 1): COP 5,252,715 a month in 2026, about $1,590.81. Savings don't substitute; V Rentista (art 56, 10 SMMLV) is a visitor visa with no residence credit.
Law: Res 5477 de 2022 arts 8–13, 20–24, 64–66 (up to 3 years), 65 (lost after more than 180 continuous days abroad in each 365 from issue), 77 (no work; no Colombian social security except under agreements), 90 (5 years to R; par 2 continuity, a salvoconducto doesn't keep it; par 3 not automatic), 93, 118.
Fees 2026: study $56 + issuance $204 = $260 (Res 3969 de 2026 art 4), stamp tax excluded; cédula COP 294,000, about $89.04.
Tax: resident after more than 183 days in any 365 (ET arts 9–10). Pensions, including foreign ones, are exempt up to 1,000 UVT a month (ET art 206 num 5, par 3) if Ley 100 de 1993 requirements are met; how that applies to a US pension is unresolved. No US–Colombia totalization agreement. Citizenship clock only from R (Ley 2332 art 9).
Who it's for: People who have held qualifying migrant visas without a break, for example 5 years on the pension visa.
Money needed
No fixed amount: explain in a letter how you support yourself
How long it lasts
Permanent; you transfer it to a new visa every 5 years
Leads to
Citizenship: the 5-year clock starts when this visa is issued
Apply from
Online, from inside Colombia if your stay is legal, or a consulate abroad
Processing time
Up to 30 days once your file is complete; real waits Not yet verified
What you need
Your earlier visas: copies of every one, each granted before the last expired
Travel record: a certificate of your entries and exits from the immigration office
Letter: how you support yourself, and that your earlier visa's conditions still hold
Foreigner ID card: a copy, for the background check
Fees: visa $239; the 5-yearly transfer $112. Other costs Not yet verified
Good to know
Work: an open work permit, except for pensioners; whether that covers ex-pension-visa holders Not yet verified
Don't stay away long: two years in a row abroad cancels it.
Not automatic: meeting the time doesn't guarantee approval, and time while your application is pending doesn't count.
Checked against the lawRules read in the visa regulation and the 2026 fee schedule.
Still being checkedWork rights after a pension visa, the 5-yearly transfer rules and gaps between visas.
Sources (6)
Legal basis and exact figures
Still being checked: work rights for an R holder who came from M Pensionado (art 87, 'salvo en el caso de los pensionados'); traspaso rules amended by Res 9316 de 2024 (not read); continuity in practice (gap days, consular processing time) beyond art 90 par 2.
Who: art 90 table (as amended by Res 10434 de 2023): 5 years for M Pensionado, M Trabajador, M Profesional independiente, M Socio o Propietario, M Inversionista and others; 3 for M Cónyuge; 2 for Mercosur, Andean and parent categories. V visas aren't listed.
Law: Res 5477 de 2022 arts 85–88 (traspaso every 5 years, art 86; lost after two consecutive years abroad, art 88), 87 (open work permit), 8 par 3 (pending time doesn't add), 90 req 3 (income letter), 93, 118.
Fees 2026: R study $56 + issuance $183 = $239; traspaso $56 + $56 = $112 (Res 3969 de 2026 art 4), stamp tax excluded; cédula COP 294,000 (Res 0599 de 2026).
Citizenship and tax: naturalisation domicile is counted from the R issue date (Ley 2332 de 2023 art 9). Status doesn't decide tax residence; the 183-day test does (ET arts 9–10).
Status chips:Checked against the law means we read the official legal text. Not yet verified and Not established yet mean it isn't confirmed at the official source yet. Still being checked marks open questions; each route's Sources list names them.
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