Colombia: every long stay route with the current math on the Colombia country page.
Guide
Colombia Digital Nomad Visa: How to Apply Step by Step
How US passport holders apply for Colombia's Visitor (V) digital nomad visa. Covers the 3 times minimum wage income math, the online filing steps and fees, how the 90 day entry permit option and renewal work, and the 183 day tax residency line.
Published: 2026-10-16 · Last verified: 2026-10-16 · Numbers apply to US passport holders
Rules change. Confirm the current rules with the official sources linked below before you apply, pay a fee, or book travel around a date in this guide.
The short version
Colombia's digital nomad route is a Visitor (V) visa created by Article 46 of Resolution 5477 of 2022. It is valid for up to 2 years, and your authorized stay lasts as long as the visa does. You need remote income from outside Colombia of at least 3 times the monthly minimum wage (SMMLV). In 2026 that is COP 5,252,715 per month. You also need a health policy that covers your whole stay. You apply online with the Cancillería (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Reported government fees total USD 231, plus COP 294,000 for the foreigner ID card after you arrive. To compare this visa with every other long stay route, see the Colombia country page.
Who qualifies
- Nationality: the Cancillería offers this visa to holders of passports from countries exempt from short stay visas. US citizens are visa exempt, so a US passport qualifies.
- Type of work: the work must be done only remotely, through digital media, for companies or clients outside Colombia. You can be an employee or self-employed.
- Hard restriction: you cannot work for, or earn money from, a person or company domiciled in Colombia.
- Founders: entrepreneurs and startup founders in digital content or internet technology can also qualify, with a motivational letter.
- Family: family members can be added as beneficiaries of the main applicant.
The income math
The threshold is set in Colombian pesos and tied to the SMMLV. For 2026, Decreto 1469 de 2025 sets the SMMLV at COP 1,750,905. Three times that is COP 5,252,715 per month. Over 12 months that comes to COP 63,032,580 a year. You prove the income with bank statements for the last 3 months, so at the minimum level those statements need to show at least COP 15,758,145 in total across the three months.
Two points follow from how the rule is written. First, the USD equivalent moves with the exchange rate, so convert at the rate on the day you file, not at a figure you saw months ago. Second, the requirement follows the SMMLV in force, so when a new minimum wage takes effect, the peso threshold changes too. If you file early in a new year, recompute using that year's decree.
The income must come from remote work for a foreign employer, foreign clients, or a company abroad. Income from a Colombian source does not count and is not allowed on this visa.
Step by step
- Step 1, check eligibility. Make sure all your paid work comes from outside Colombia and that you can document it. If any client or employer is domiciled in Colombia, this visa is the wrong route.
- Step 2, gather documents. The core items are your US passport, bank statements for the last 3 months showing at least 3 SMMLV per month, and a health policy covering your whole stay in Colombia, including repatriation. Founders add a motivational letter. Beneficiaries need documents proving their relationship to you. Check the current document list on the Cancillería visa page before you file.
- Step 3, file online. Applications go through the Cancillería's online visa platform. The official starting point is the Cancillería's visa information page, linked in the sources below.
- Step 4, pay the study fee. The reported study fee is USD 54. The decision clock starts once your file is complete and this fee is paid. The visa authority then has up to 30 calendar days to decide (Resolution 5477 of 2022, Article 13).
- Step 5, pay the issuance fee if approved. The reported issuance fee is USD 177, which brings government visa fees to USD 231 for the main applicant.
- Step 6, register after arrival. Get your Cédula de Extranjería (foreigner ID card) from Migración Colombia within 15 calendar days of arriving. The 2026 fee is COP 294,000.
The 90 day option and how renewal works
Some sources call this a "90 day renewable" stay. That mixes up two different statuses. The digital nomad visa itself runs for up to 2 years. The 90 day figure belongs to the visa free entry permit, which a remote worker can sometimes use instead.
Visa renewal: Resolution 5477 has no extension for the digital nomad visa. When it expires, you file a new application, and you must meet the income and other requirements again at the SMMLV in force at that time.
Entry permit option: at arrival, US citizens get a 90 day entry permit stamped in their passport. Before those 90 days run out, you can extend once with a Permiso Temporal de Permanencia (PTP), filed online through the Formulario Único de Trámites. The 2026 fee is COP 150,000. The cap is 180 calendar days of stay in the same calendar year: 90 days on the permit plus up to 90 on the extension. Visa exempt nationals, including US citizens, can work remotely on entry permits as long as no Colombian source pays them. To stay past 180 days in a calendar year, you need a visa.
Tax residency: the 183 day line
Colombian tax residence depends on how many days you are present, not on which visa you hold. Under Article 10 of the Tax Code (Estatuto Tributario), you become a tax resident once you have been in Colombia, continuously or not, for more than 183 calendar days within any 365 consecutive days. Entry and exit days both count. Tax residents are taxed on worldwide income.
On a visa valid for up to 2 years, crossing this line is easy. Example: arrive March 1 and stay without leaving. March 1 is day 1. Day 184, the first day over 183, falls on August 31.
The entry permit route has its own trap. The 180 day cap applies per calendar year, but the tax test uses any rolling 365 day window. Example: stay from July 5 to December 31. Counting both ends, that is exactly 180 days, so you are still under the line. If you come back on January 2 under the new year's permit allowance, January 5 is your 184th day inside a window of less than 365 days. At that point you are a tax resident. Count days across January 1, not just within each calendar year.
What this visa does not do
- It does not lead to permanent residency. Under Article 90 of Resolution 5477, time on a Visitor (V) visa does not count toward the Resident (R) visa. Only time on a Migrant (M) visa counts.
- It does not count toward citizenship. The naturalization clock starts only when an R visa is issued (Ley 2332 de 2023).
- It does not allow Colombian employment. If you want to stay long term, switch to an M category such as pensioner, investor, business owner, or spouse of a Colombian national. These are compared on the Colombia country page.
Before you apply
Requirements, document lists, and fees can change without notice, and the income threshold changes whenever a new SMMLV takes effect. Before you file, check the current digital nomad requirements and fees on the Cancillería visa page and in the cost simulator on its online platform. Recompute 3 times the SMMLV in force on your filing date. If you plan to use the entry permit instead, confirm the PTP rules and fee with Migración Colombia. For tax residency questions, check with DIAN or a Colombian tax professional before your day count gets close to 183.
Country pages
Official sources
- Cancillería de Colombia, Necesito una visa (visa types, digital nomad requirements, validity and restrictions)
- Resolution 5477 of 2022, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SUIT official copy)
- Migración Colombia, Permiso Temporal de Permanencia (PTP) / prórroga
Facts in this guide last verified against the sources: 2026-10-16