Chile vs Colombia for Digital Nomads in 2026: Visas, Taxes and Real Costs

ANDES · EXPAT GUIDE

One of these countries has a legal route for someone employed abroad and working from a flat. The other does not, whatever the guides say.

Chile vs Colombia looks like a close call until you read the immigration rules. Only one of the two has a visa built for remote work.

Colombia created the V Nomadas Digitales category in 2022. It is valid for up to two years.

Chile has nothing equivalent. Its remote workers use general residence categories that were designed for other people.

What Colombia Actually Requires

The income test is specific. You must show bank statements for the last three months with income of at least three times the monthly legal minimum wage.

That wage is 1,750,905 pesos in 2026, so the bar is 5,252,715 pesos a month, about US$1,710. Over a year that is roughly US$20,500.

There is a complication behind that figure. The Council of State suspended the decree that set the 2026 wage in February.

A transitional decree then re-fixed it at the same amount. It stands only until the case is decided.

The suspension was upheld in April and the case has not been decided. The income bar could therefore move before the year ends.

The visa forbids earning from anyone domiciled in Colombia. That covers Colombian companies and Colombian individuals alike.

It is open only to nationals of countries exempt from Colombia’s short-stay visa. Americans, Britons, Canadians, Australians and most of the European Union qualify.

The Paperwork Colombia Wants

Health cover is mandatory and the resolution names seven risks. The policy must cover accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalisation, death and repatriation.

It must be valid in Colombia for the whole stay. Ordinary travel insurance that excludes maternity or repatriation will not pass.

Applications go through the foreign ministry’s online system. Fees are US$56 to study the application and US$138 to issue the visa, a total of US$194.

Spanish nationals pay nothing at either stage. Those fees changed on 31 March 2026, so older figures circulating online are wrong.

After arrival you must register for a foreigner’s identity card. The deadline is fifteen calendar days from entry, or from issuance if the visa was granted inside the country.

Why Chile Does Not Fit

Chile’s migration law provides fifteen temporary residence subcategories. Two get suggested for remote workers and neither works properly.

The remunerated activities category requires an employer operating in Chile, or a services contract with a Chilean party signed before a notary. Working remotely for a foreign employer is not what it covers.

The retired and rentier category contemplates pension income or steady returns from property or financial assets. Active income from remote work or a foreign business is not on its list.

There is a second obstacle. Applications must be filed from outside Chile.

Changing status inside the country is limited to people who already hold temporary residence, official residents and their dependants. A tourist who arrives in 2026 cannot switch.

Chile also publishes no minimum income for these routes. The standard is whether you can meet basic needs, assessed case by case.

Fees depend on nationality. Temporary residence costs US$205 for Americans, US$265 for Canadians, US$225 for Australians, US$85 for Germans and nothing for Spaniards.

The Tax Reversal

On immigration Colombia wins easily. On tax the order flips.

A foreigner who settles in Chile pays tax only on Chilean-source income for the first three years. The tax authority can extend that in qualified cases.

Chilean tax residence itself begins after more than 183 days in any rolling twelve-month period. The exemption runs from entry regardless.

Colombia has no equivalent. Cross 183 days in any 365-day period and you declare worldwide income and worldwide assets.

Colombian rates run from zero to 39 percent. The zero band ends at about 57 million pesos a year, some US$18,600.

A nomad earning the visa minimum is therefore just inside the taxable range. Non-residents pay a flat 35 percent on Colombian-source income only.

Rent, and a Common Assumption That Is Wrong

Most people assume Colombia is the cheaper base. On central rents the crowd-sourced figures say otherwise.

A one-bedroom in central Medellín came out at about US$1,078 a month in September. The Santiago equivalent was around US$580 in August.

Move out of the centre and both fall sharply, to roughly US$670 in Medellín and US$400 in Santiago. The Medellín central sample is heavily furnished short-let stock priced for foreigners.

These are crowd-sourced numbers, not official statistics. Treat them as a direction of travel.

What Changed This Year

Colombia’s emergency tax package from December 2025 was struck down by the Constitutional Court in April. Any guide still quoting its wealth tax or import thresholds is out of date.

A new tax bill filed in July would add a 41 percent top bracket. It has not passed.

Chile’s new government has tightened enforcement and ended broad regularisation programmes. It has not created a nomad visa and has not proposed one.

On Chile vs Colombia the honest summary is this. Colombia has a lawful route and a tax bill; Chile has a tax break and no route that fits.

More: Latin America news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Chile have a digital nomad visa in 2026?

No. Chile has no such category. Remote workers use general temporary residence subcategories that were designed for employees of Chilean firms or for pensioners and rentiers.

What income does Colombia require?

Three times the monthly legal minimum wage, so 5,252,715 pesos a month in 2026, about US$1,710, evidenced by three months of bank statements.

Can I work for a Colombian company on the nomad visa?

No. The visa bars paid work for any person or company domiciled in Colombia. All income must come from abroad.

Chile vs Colombia: which is better on tax?

Chile. A new resident pays tax only on Chilean-source income for three years. Colombia taxes worldwide income and assets once you pass 183 days.

How much do the visas cost?

Colombia charges US$56 to study the application and US$138 to issue it. Chile charges by nationality, from nothing for Spaniards to US$265 for Canadians.

Sources: Cancilleria de Colombia, Migracion Colombia, Servicio Nacional de Migraciones, SII Chile, Consejo de Estado, Numbeo.