Colombia’s visa requirements fall into a simple structure: a 90-day tourist stamp on arrival for citizens of visa-exempt countries, and three formal visa categories — Visitor (V), Migrant (M), and Resident (R) — for anyone planning to stay longer, work, invest, retire, or build a life in the country. Which one you need depends on how long you intend to stay and what you plan to do while you are there. Applications go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cancillería), while entry, exit, and enforcement are handled by Migración Colombia.
Visiting on a Tourist Stamp
Citizens of the United States, Canada, most EU countries, and dozens of other visa-exempt nationalities receive a tourist entry stamp at the airport or land border, valid for up to 90 days.1U.S. Department of State. Colombia Travel Advisory There is no electronic travel authorization to file in advance. If you want more time, you can request a 90-day extension through Migración Colombia’s online portal before the initial stamp expires, bringing the total possible tourist stay to 180 days per calendar year.
Start the extension request at least 10 days before your first 90 days run out. You will need a copy of your passport’s main page, a copy of your entry stamp, and proof of an outbound flight dated within the extended period. Processing usually takes three to five business days. Applying late costs you the extension option and triggers a fine.
Travelers from countries not on the visa-exempt list have to apply for a tourist Visitor (V) visa through the Cancillería before arriving. The Cancillería’s website publishes the current list of exempt and non-exempt nationalities.
The Three Visa Categories
Resolution 5477 of 2022 reorganized Colombia’s visa system into three categories, each covering a different level of permanence.2Cancillería. Classes or Categories of Visas in Colombia Picking the wrong category is one of the most common application mistakes, and a substantive denial triggers a six-month waiting period before you can reapply.
Visitor (V) Visa
The Visitor visa covers temporary stays without any intent to settle permanently: tourism where a visa is required, business meetings, short-term academic programs, medical treatment, journalism, transit, and audiovisual or digital production. Each subcategory has its own duration limit, and none of them lead directly to permanent residency. A V visa generally restricts you to the specific activity listed on it.
The digital nomad visa sits inside the Visitor category. It lets remote workers employed by or contracting with companies outside Colombia live in the country for up to two years, but it does not allow paid work for any Colombian company. Applicants must show a stable monthly income of at least three times the Colombian minimum wage, roughly COP 5,252,715 (about USD 1,440) at 2026 rates. If you plan to take on local clients or Colombian employment, this is not the right visa.
Migrant (M) Visa
The Migrant visa is for people building a more permanent connection to Colombia through family, work, retirement, or investment. Several M subcategories can lead to Resident status after a set number of consecutive years. Common pathways include:
- Spouses and permanent partners of Colombian citizens, including recognized civil unions (unión marital de hecho). You will need an apostilled and translated marriage certificate or equivalent document.
- Retirees receiving a pension of at least three times the Colombian minimum monthly wage — around COP 5,252,715 (approximately USD 1,440) in 2026.3Cancillería. Special Temporary Pensioner’s Visa
- Real estate investors who purchase property valued at 350 times the current monthly minimum wage or more, which works out to roughly COP 612.8 million (about USD 168,000) in 2026.
- Workers sponsored by a specific Colombian employer for a specific role. Changing jobs or positions requires notifying immigration authorities, and a new visa may be needed.
An M work visa is not open labor market access. You can only perform the activity authorized on the visa for the company named on it. Switching employers without updating your status puts you in violation.
Resident (R) Visa
The Resident visa is the long-term goal for most expatriates. You can qualify by holding certain M visas for the required consecutive years, by being the parent of a Colombian national, or by making a direct foreign investment of at least 650 times the monthly minimum wage — roughly COP 1.14 billion (around USD 312,000) at 2026 rates.2Cancillería. Classes or Categories of Visas in Colombia
R visa holders must transfer (renew) the visa every five years, filing at least one month before the expiration date on their current visa label. The R visa gives you broader freedom on employment and residence than the M or V, and it is the gateway to naturalization: the citizenship clock starts running from the date your R visa is issued.
Beneficiary Visas for Family
If you hold a valid Colombian visa, your spouse or permanent partner, your children, and your economically dependent parents can apply for a beneficiary visa under the M category.4Cancillería. Qualified Resident’s Visa The primary visa holder submits a written statement accepting financial responsibility for the beneficiary’s stay and departure, including health coverage, and demonstrates the financial capacity to support them through six months of bank statements or an employment certification. Civil registration documents proving the family relationship must be apostilled and translated. For beneficiaries of some visa types, permitted activities may be limited to homemaking or studying.
Documents You Will Need
Every visa application draws from the same core set of documents. Incomplete submissions are marked “inadmitted” rather than reviewed on the merits, so getting the paperwork right the first time matters.
- A passport in good condition with at least two blank pages. Colombia technically only requires validity on the date of entry, but immigration authorities recommend six months of remaining validity beyond your planned departure.5Cancillería. Tourist Visa
- Two recent 3×4 cm color photos on a white background, facing the camera.
- A criminal background check from your country of origin or residence covering the last three years, issued within the previous three months, apostilled under the Hague Convention, and translated into Spanish by a certified translator.
- Bank statements from the previous six months showing consistent income or sufficient savings. Thresholds vary by subcategory.
- Health insurance covering emergencies, hospitalization, and repatriation of remains for the entire intended stay, naming the applicant explicitly.
Any document not in Spanish must be translated by a certified translator, and foreign documents must be apostilled or legalized. For U.S. citizens, the FBI Identity History Summary is the standard background check, and apostilles have to come from the U.S. Department of State’s Federal Authentications Office in Washington, D.C. — state-level apostilles are almost never accepted. Mail-in requests currently take six to eight weeks or longer; professional expediters can reduce that to about two weeks.
How to Apply
All visa applications go through the Cancillería’s online portal. You upload documents as PDF scans, and the combined size of all attachments cannot exceed 5 MB for the entire application package.6Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. Cancillería de Colombia – Request Visa Compress your scans before uploading. Oversized files are the most common reason applications stall at submission.
After you submit, you pay a non-refundable study fee of USD 50.5Cancillería. Tourist Visa The Cancillería then has up to 30 calendar days to review the application.7Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia. Entry to Colombia and Courtesy Visa Information Officials may request additional documents or call you in for a virtual or in-person interview. If approved, the electronic visa arrives by email with a QR code for verification. You then pay a second fee for the visa itself, which varies by visa type.
Inadmitted vs. Denied
Colombia distinguishes sharply between two outcomes short of approval. An “inadmitted” decision means the paperwork was incomplete or contained errors. There is no penalty; you can fix the problems and resubmit right away, even the next day. A “denied” decision means the Cancillería reviewed the substance of your application and rejected it, and that triggers a six-month waiting period before you can reapply for the same visa type. If you were in Colombia at the time, you may need to leave. Rushing an incomplete application costs you days; submitting a complete but weak one can cost you half a year.
After Approval: Registration and the Cédula de Extranjería
The electronic visa is not the finish line. Within 15 calendar days of entering Colombia, or of receiving the visa if you are already in the country, you must register with Migración Colombia at one of their offices. That appointment collects your biometric data and starts the application for the Cédula de Extranjería, the primary identification document for opening a bank account, signing a lease, and most other daily needs. There is a fee in Colombian pesos for the card.
Missing the 15-day window is an administrative violation, and Migración Colombia can impose fines. Offices in smaller cities generally have shorter wait times than Bogotá or Medellín.
Keeping Your Visa Valid
Holding a visa is not the same as being free to use Colombia as an occasional base. Both the M and R categories carry physical presence requirements.
Migrant (M) visa holders risk cancellation after more than six consecutive months outside Colombia. That clock runs continuously; a brief layover does not reset it unless you formally re-enter through immigration control. Resident (R) visa holders have more room but face automatic cancellation after more than two consecutive years outside the country. For anyone pursuing naturalization the standard is tighter still: any absence of one year or more interrupts the continuous residency period used to calculate citizenship eligibility.8Cancillería. Nationality
Overstays and Penalties
Colombia treats overstays seriously. Deportation is the primary sanction, though immigration authorities can convert the penalty to a fine in some circumstances.1U.S. Department of State. Colombia Travel Advisory Moderate immigration violations can bring fines of 8 to 40 times the monthly minimum wage — roughly COP 14 million to COP 70 million (about USD 3,800 to USD 19,200) at 2026 rates. Unpaid fines can prevent you from leaving the country, and overstays can weigh heavily against future visa applications.
From Resident Visa to Citizenship
Naturalization opens up after you have held a Resident (R) visa for the required period. That period depends on your nationality and family ties:8Cancillería. Nationality
- Latin American or Caribbean citizens by birth: one year of continuous residence.
- Spanish citizens by birth: two years.
- All other nationalities: five years, reduced to two if you are married to a Colombian citizen, are the permanent partner of a Colombian citizen, or have Colombian children.
The residency clock starts on the date the R visa was issued, not from your first entry to Colombia or from time held on an M visa. Any absence of one year or more resets the count. Colombia allows dual citizenship, so naturalization does not require you to renounce your original nationality.