Chile vs Colombia for Digital Nomads — Colombia’s US$1,670-a-Month Income Test
Rio Times · Guides
Key Facts
—Only one of them has a nomad visa Colombia has a purpose-built digital nomad visa (Visa V). Chile does not have one at all, whatever other guides tell you.
—Colombia’s income test You must show three times the Colombian minimum wage: COP 5,252,715 a month, about US$1,670, in bank statements for each of the three months before you apply.
—Colombia’s timing and cost Roughly two to six weeks for a decision, about US$240 in government fees, and the visa lasts up to two years.
—Chile’s route The ordinary temporary residence permit. There is no category written for remote workers, the rules assume a Chilean employer or contractor, and SERMIG publishes no processing time. Expect months, not weeks.
—Apply to Chile from abroad Once you are inside Chile on a tourist stamp you generally cannot switch to residency. You would have to leave and start again.
—The tax difference that matters Both countries make you a tax resident after 183 days. But new arrivals in Chile pay Chilean tax only on Chilean income for their first three years in the country. An extension is possible but discretionary.
Colombia is faster to enter and cheaper to live in. Chile is slower and pricier, but new arrivals pay no Chilean tax on foreign income for three years, and can stretch that to six.
Everything else in this comparison follows from those two sentences – including the fact that only one of the two countries actually has a digital nomad visa.
The single biggest thing to get right
Chile does not have a digital nomad visa. There is no such category, under any name.
Plenty of blogs and visa-agency sites say otherwise, and some will sell you an application for one, but the Servicio Nacional de Migraciones (SERMIG), Chile’s immigration service, publishes the full list of temporary residence subcategories and remote work is not among them.
What remote workers in Chile fall back on is the ordinary temporary residence permit (Residencia Temporal), under the subcategory for lawful paid activities. Be warned: as written, that subcategory is built around a Chilean employer or contractor. SERMIG’s own document list asks for the contractor’s Chilean tax registration, which a client abroad cannot produce. There is no published route for someone whose only client is outside Chile, and anyone selling you one is going beyond what the rules actually say. Take proper advice before you commit.
Colombia does have one: the Visa V for digital nomads, created for exactly this situation and administered by the foreign ministry, the Cancillería.
Colombia: what you need and what it costs
The income test is the part people trip over. You must show earnings of at least three times the Colombian minimum monthly wage. The 2026 minimum wage is COP 1,750,905, so the threshold is COP 5,252,715 a month – about US$1,670 at the official rate of 3,144 pesos to the dollar on 1 August 2026.
Two details matter. The figure is per month, evidenced by bank statements for each of the three months before you apply – the months are not averaged, so one weak month can sink the application. And the rate moves: at 3,600 pesos to the dollar the same threshold would be about US$1,460, which is why you will find different dollar figures in older guides. Check the peso figure, not the dollar one.
You will also need a contract with a company or client outside Colombia showing the work is remote, and health insurance valid in Colombia covering accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalisation, death and repatriation for the whole stay. Your passport must be from a country that does not need a short-stay visa for Colombia.
Government fees are about US$56 to study the application and about US$183 to issue the visa, so roughly US$240, plus COP 294,000 – about US$94 – for the cédula de extranjería, the foreigner ID card you register for after arrival. A decision usually takes two to six weeks. The visa runs for up to two years. There is no automatic renewal – each term needs a fresh application and a fresh decision – and, importantly, time on this visa does not count towards permanent residency in Colombia.
Chile: slower, stricter, and you must apply before you fly
This is the rule that strands people. Under Chile’s migration law, someone already in the country on a tourist stamp generally cannot convert to residency. The exceptions are narrow – a family bond with a Chilean or a permanent resident, dependants, humanitarian cases, or a case the Interior Ministry approves individually. If you fly to Santiago first and apply later, the likely answer is that you must leave the country and start again from abroad.
Apply through SERMIG’s online portal for Residencia Temporal under lawful paid activities, with your foreign service contract, proof of funds, criminal record certificate and health cover. SERMIG does not publish a processing time, and applicants routinely report waits running to several months.
Assume it will be slow and that you cannot plan around a date. That alone is a strong argument for Colombia if you need to move soon.
Tax: the number nobody puts in the headline
Both countries use the same trigger. Spend more than 183 days in Colombia within any 365-day window and you become a Colombian tax resident, and DIAN, Colombia’s tax office, taxes you on your worldwide income. Spend more than 183 days in Chile within any twelve months and you become a Chilean tax resident.
Here is where they diverge, and it is worth real money. A foreigner who settles in Chile is taxed only on Chilean-source income for the first three years, counted from the day they enter the country. Foreign salary, foreign clients and foreign investments stay outside the Chilean net for that period. The three years can be extended, but only at the discretion of a regional director of the SII, Chile’s tax office, and only in cases it judges to merit it. There is no longer limit written into the law and no automatic right to an extension – plan on three years and treat anything more as a bonus.
Colombia has no equivalent grace period. Cross 183 days and your worldwide income comes into scope. One useful detail: if your 365-day window straddles two Colombian tax years, you only count as resident from the second of them, so arriving mid-year buys you time.
So the honest comparison is: Colombia is cheaper and quicker to get into, Chile is more expensive and slower but can be far cheaper to be taxed in. Which one wins depends entirely on how much you earn and how long you intend to stay.
Money, day to day
Chile is the pricier country, but not evenly. Eating out is where Santiago really separates: restaurant meals run 50 to 75% more than in Bogotá or Medellín, and groceries about 20% more.
Rent is much closer than people expect, and central Medellín now costs more than central Santiago. Public transport is actually cheaper in Santiago.
What Colombia clearly has is a much larger community of other remote workers, which matters more than people expect when you are new and know nobody.
Two currency notes. On 1 August 2026 the official Colombian rate (the TRM) was 3,144 pesos to the dollar, and a dollar bought about 930 Chilean pesos. The Colombian peso strengthened around 9% during July alone. Both currencies move, so treat any dollar figure in any guide, including this one, as a snapshot with a date attached rather than a fixed price.
Chile is more predictable on the administrative side. On corruption and contract enforcement it scores at or above Spain, Portugal and Italy in the main international indices, while Colombia sits far lower.
Colombia is faster and more flexible, and correspondingly more variable.
Five mistakes that cost people money
1. Booking a long stay before the visa is settled. Especially in Chile, where you must apply from outside the country and wait months.
2. Using a dollar figure for Colombia’s income test. The rule is in pesos. Work from COP 5,252,715 and convert on the day.
3. Averaging your three months of bank statements. Each month has to clear the bar on its own.
4. Drifting past 183 days without noticing. Count the days from the day you arrive. The bill arrives much later, when it is expensive to undo.
5. Wiring a deposit before you have seen the place. See the flat, meet the landlord, and pay through an agency or an escrow arrangement.
How to decide in five minutes
Pick Colombia if you need to be somewhere within a couple of months, you clear the income test comfortably, you want lower rent and you want other remote workers around you.
Pick Chile if your foreign income is large enough that three years outside the Chilean tax net is worth more to you than the higher cost of living. For someone with large foreign income, those three years can be worth more than every other line in this comparison.
If you are unsure, the practical move is to visit both as a tourist first, then apply from home for whichever one you want to stay in.
More: Chile news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Chile have a digital nomad visa?
No. Chile has no digital nomad visa.
Remote workers apply for the ordinary temporary residence permit under the category for lawful paid activities, using a service contract with a client outside Chile. SERMIG publishes no processing time and applicants report waits of several months.
You must also apply from outside the country.
How much do you need to earn for Colombia’s digital nomad visa?
Three times the Colombian minimum monthly wage. In 2026 that is COP 5,252,715 a month, about US$1,670, and you must show it in bank statements for each of the three months before you apply.
Which is cheaper for a digital nomad, Chile or Colombia?
Colombia, on day-to-day costs: rent, food and transport are all lower than in Santiago. But Chile taxes new residents only on Chilean income for their first three years in the country, so someone with large foreign income may pay considerably less tax there.
Sources: Cancillería de Colombia – Visa V for digital nomads, Servicio Nacional de Migraciones, Chile – temporary residence, Rio Times – Colombia digital nomad visa guide
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Rules change; confirm the current requirements with the relevant authority or a licensed adviser before you act. Figures current as of 1 August 2026.
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