How long can I stay in Colombia, and when do I need a visa?

This is a practical overview, not legal advice. What binds you is whatever the Colombian foreign ministry and Migración Colombia publish on the day you apply. Rules change by decree and the money thresholds are recalculated every January against the minimum wage, so check the date on every number you read, including these.

Tourist: 90 days, 180 after the extension

Citizens of most Western countries need no visa for tourism. You get an entry permit at the airport, usually for 90 days. It is not automatic: the officer may grant less and may ask for a return ticket and proof of funds for the stay. Your passport must be valid for at least six more months.

Those 90 days can be extended by another 90. The extension is called Permiso Temporal de Permanencia, PTP for short, and you apply online with Migración Colombia or in person at one of their offices. It has to be done before the original permit expires, not after.

• The ceiling is 180 days of tourism per calendar year, not per year from arrival.
• The limit resets on 1 January, not twelve months after your first entry.
• There is no second extension on tourist status.
• Leaving and coming back does not reset anything. Days add up across the year.

Overstaying means a fine from Migración Colombia and a note that comes up when

you apply for anything later. It is not a criminal matter, but it follows your

name around for a while.

Three visa families: V, M, R

The Colombian system has three letters and dozens of subcategories under them. What separates them is not how long they last, but where they lead.

V, visitante. A visit with a stated purpose: digital nomad, study, medical treatment, technical work, business meetings. Valid for up to two years and does not count toward permanent residency. Two years on a nomad visa buys you no part of the road to residency.

M, migrante. A stay with a tie to the country: employment with a Colombian employer, pension, marriage or partnership with a Colombian, investment, owning a business. Valid for up to three years and does count toward residency.

R, residente. The end of that road. Usually after five years on M visas, sooner for spouses of Colombian citizens and for larger investors.

Digital nomad: the usual route for remote work

The V Nómadas Digitales visa was created by decree in 2022 for people working for a foreign employer or foreign clients while sitting in Colombia.

What you have to prove:

• Foreign income of at least three times the Colombian minimum wage. For

2026 that works out at 5,252,715 pesos a month, roughly 1,400 dollars, usually evidenced with six months of statements.

• That the work really is remote: an employment contract, a letter from the

employer, or contracts with clients.

• Health insurance that names Colombia explicitly and covers the whole

visa period. This is where applications fail most often: the ministry reads the policy wording and wants to see Colombia in it by name.

• A passport valid for at least six months and a clean criminal record.

It runs up to two years, the application is online through the ministry portal, and you can apply from inside Colombia while on a tourist stamp. Working for a Colombian employer or earning from a Colombian source is not allowed on this visa.

When the money comes from somewhere other than work

For passive income, meaning rent, dividends, interest and annuities, there is the rentista visa. Research current to 2026 puts the requirement at ten times the minimum wage, around 17,509,050 pesos a month. That is a far higher bar than the nomad visa and worth confirming before you start collecting documents.

Anyone drawing a state pension looks at the pensionado visa in the M family. It asks for three times the minimum wage from the pension, the same figure as the nomad visa, but unlike it, this one counts toward residency.

Paperwork after you land

The visa alone is not enough. Anyone holding a visa valid for more than three months has fifteen calendar days to register with Migración Colombia and collect a cédula de extranjería, the foreigner ID card. The clock starts on entry, or on issue if you are already in the country.

The cédula is not a formality. Without it a normal bank account is hard to open, a lease is hard to sign, and you cannot enrol in the health system. The nomad visa does not come with one, which is its main practical limitation.

Two numbers people mix up

180 days is the tourist ceiling per calendar year. It is an immigration rule and Migración Colombia enforces it.

183 days is the line past which you become a Colombian tax resident. It is counted over any rolling twelve month period, not by the calendar, and it means Colombia taxes your worldwide income, not only what you earned here.

Two different rules from two different authorities. You can cross either one without crossing the other.

What it costs

A visa application has two payments: a study fee when you file, and a visa fee once it is approved. For the nomad visa, 2026 figures quoted are around 44 euros for the study and about 150 euros for the visa itself. The price list changes and differs by visa type, so check the official schedule before you file, not an article, this one included.

Extending a tourist stay is free of charge for EU citizens according to the sources available.

Where to check

Two authorities bind you and nothing else does:

• The Colombian foreign ministry decides visas and runs the application

portal.

• Migración Colombia handles entry, tourist extensions, registration and

the cédula.