How to Get Residency in Colombia in 2026: Income Tests, Fees and the Path to an R Visa

GUIDES · COLOMBIA

Residency in Colombia is a ladder, not a single visa. This guide sets out each rung in 2026, with the income tests, fees and waiting times in pesos and US dollars.

For an American or European, Colombia offers one of the clearer residency paths in Latin America, with online applications and published fees. The trade-off is that every income test is tied to the peso minimum wage, so the dollar bar moves every year.

How residency in Colombia works: V, M and R visas

Colombia sorts every visa into three types under Resolution 5477 of 2022, the Foreign Ministry’s visa rulebook. Later resolutions in 2023 and 2024 amended parts of it.

Visitor (V) visas cover temporary stays, including digital nomads and people living on passive income. Migrant (M) visas are for people settling in, such as retirees, investors, workers and spouses of Colombians.

The Resident (R) visa is permanent residence. Most foreigners reach it by holding M visas for a set number of years, which the rules call accumulated time.

The key point for planning is simple. Only M visas count towards an R visa. Time spent on a nomad or rentista visa, however long, does not.

As of 20 September 2026, all applications go through the Cancillería online portal. Visa holders then register with Migración Colombia, the immigration agency, and obtain a foreign resident ID card.

The 2026 numbers: income and investment tests in SMMLV and US$

Colombia sets its thresholds in SMMLV, the legal monthly minimum wage. For 2026 that wage is 1,750,905 pesos (about US$530), a rise of about 23 percent on the 2025 figure of 1,423,500 pesos (about US$431). After a court suspended the original December 2025 decree, the government kept the same figure in Decree 0159 of 19 February 2026.

Conversions in this guide use about 3,300 pesos per US dollar, the market rate in September 2026. Because the test is set in pesos, a stronger peso raises the bar in dollars.

Pensioners: M Pensionado

You need a lifelong pension of at least three SMMLV, or 5,252,715 pesos (about US$1,591) a month. The pension certificate must be apostilled and translated, or issued by the consulate of the country that pays it.

You also need a police certificate from every country where you lived in the last three years, a medical certificate and health cover valid in Colombia. The visa lasts up to three years and does not allow work.

Investors: M Inversionista

The property route requires a home registered solely in your name worth at least 350 SMMLV, or 612,816,750 pesos (about US$185,653). The purchase money must be registered as foreign investment with the central bank, Banco de la República.

The business route requires registered foreign direct investment above 650 SMMLV, or 1,138,088,250 pesos (about US$344,785). Either way you must keep the investment for the life of the visa, which runs up to three years.

Remote workers: V visas

The digital nomad visa needs bank statements showing three SMMLV, 5,252,715 pesos (about US$1,591), in each of the last three months. It is open only to citizens of countries that can visit Colombia without a visa.

The nomad visa lasts up to two years and bars work for Colombian employers. The rentista visa, for regular passive income, needs ten SMMLV, or 17,509,050 pesos (about US$5,304) a month, and also lasts up to two years.

Family: M Cónyuge and related visas

Marriage to a Colombian qualifies for an M spouse visa of up to three years with an open work permit.

How long until an R visa: the accumulated-time table

Article 90, amended in 2023, sets how long you must hold an M visa before applying for an R visa. The wait depends entirely on your category.

Two years apply to parents of Colombian children and to M visas under the Mercosur and Andean agreements. Three years apply to spouses of Colombians.

Five years apply to permanent partners of Colombians, pensioners, investors, workers, business owners, independent professionals and refugees. Most retirees and investors from abroad fall into this group.

To apply, you submit copies of all previous visas, a migration movements certificate from Migración Colombia and a letter explaining how you support yourself. The certificate costs 89,000 pesos (about US$27) in 2026.

The R visa then carries an open work permit, except, under the rule, for pensioners. It must be transferred to a new document every five years.

Step by step: applying through the Cancillería

First, choose the visa and gather documents. Every foreign certificate must be apostilled, or legalised, and translated into Spanish.

Second, complete the online application on the Cancillería portal and upload the files. You can do this from abroad or from inside Colombia.

Third, pay the study fee within ten calendar days of creating the application. If you miss that window, the case is closed automatically.

Fourth, wait for a decision. The Cancillería says it answers within up to 30 calendar days, although checks with other agencies can take longer.

Fifth, if approved, pay the issuance fee within ten calendar days. The electronic visa arrives by e-mail, and any typing error must be reported within 15 calendar days.

What it costs in 2026

The Cancillería publishes its fees in US dollars for applications in Colombia and most consulates. Consulates in Europe and Cuba charge in euros.

Every visa carries a US$56 study fee. Issuance then costs US$183 for a V visa, US$279 for an M visa and US$408 for an R visa.

That puts a nomad visa at US$239 in official fees, a pensioner or investor visa at US$335 and an R visa at US$464. A visa transfer, for example to a new passport, costs US$56 for the study plus US$56 to issue.

Some nationalities pay less. Spanish citizens pay neither fee, Ecuadorians pay no issuance fee, and Japanese and South Korean citizens pay only the study fee.

Budget separately for apostilles, sworn translations, health insurance and any lawyer. Those costs vary by country and can exceed the government fees.

After approval: registering and the cédula de extranjería

Any visa valid for over three months requires a cédula de extranjería, the foreign resident ID card, from age seven. Tourist, business and event V visas are exempt.

You must apply within 15 calendar days of entering Colombia with the visa, or of its issue if you received it inside the country. Children up to six only register the visa.

The process starts online with Migración Colombia’s single procedures form, followed by an in-person appointment. The card costs 294,000 pesos (about US$89) in 2026 under the agency’s new fee schedule.

Banks ask for the cédula. So do landlords, phone companies and health insurers, and the R visa application requires a copy.

Keeping your status: absences and renewals

An M visa lapses automatically if you leave Colombia for more than 180 continuous days within any 365-day period. Retirees who spend long summers abroad should count their days.

An R visa is more forgiving. It lapses only after two consecutive years outside the country.

Investors must prove on renewal that they kept the property or investment throughout the previous visa. Selling the home early can therefore block a renewal.

Holders of open work permits must tell Migración Colombia within 15 calendar days of any change of job or activity. Citizenship by adoption is a separate process, now governed by Law 2332 of 2023.

What this means for foreigners planning a move

If permanent residency in Colombia is the goal, start on an M visa, not a nomad visa. A remote worker who later switches to M starts the five-year clock only at that point.

Test your income against the peso figure, not a dollar number from an old guide. Leave a margin, since the dollar value of three SMMLV rises when the peso strengthens.

Watch the minimum wage decree each December. The next wage decision will reset every threshold in this guide for 2027.

Finally, register for the cédula on time and track your days abroad. Paperwork and absences can cost you a residency as surely as income can.

What Is Not Known

The final wage ruling is pending. The Council of State lifted its provisional suspension of the wage decree on 17 July 2026, but it has not yet decided the merits of the case.

How long files really take is not published. The Cancillería gives up to 30 calendar days as its standard, but it does not report average processing times by visa type.

The dollar value of each threshold is not fixed. It depends on the exchange rate on the day your income or investment is assessed, and no official conversion rate is published for applicants.

Whether the 2023 and 2024 amendments are the last word is not known. The Foreign Ministry can change visa rules by resolution without a vote in Congress.

Sources: Visa rules come from Resolution 5477 of 2022 as amended. Fees come from the Cancillería and Migración Colombia, and the wage from the 2026 decrees; all accessed 20 September 2026.

• cancilleria.gov.co
• cancilleria.gov.co
• cancilleria.gov.co
• cancilleria.gov.co
• cancilleria.gov.co
• migracioncolombia.gov.co
• portal.migracioncolombia.gov.co
• eltiempo.com
• cambiocolombia.com
• open.er-api.com

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

Frequently Asked Questions

How much income do I need for residency in Colombia in 2026?

It depends on the visa. The M pensioner visa and the digital nomad visa need three minimum wages, 5,252,715 pesos or about US$1,591 a month. The rentista visa needs ten minimum wages, 17,509,050 pesos or about US$5,304 a month.

How much property must I buy for an investor visa in Colombia?

The M investor visa by property requires a home registered solely in your name worth at least 350 minimum wages, 612,816,750 pesos or about US$185,653 in 2026. The purchase must be registered as foreign investment with Banco de la República.

How long does it take to get permanent residency in Colombia?

Most foreigners need five years on an M visa, including pensioners, investors and workers, before applying for an R visa. Spouses of Colombians need three years, and parents of Colombian children and Mercosur or Andean M visa holders need two.

Does the digital nomad visa count towards permanent residency?

No. Only M visas count towards the R visa. Time on the digital nomad or rentista visa, which are V visas, does not add to the accumulated time.

What are the Colombian visa fees in 2026?

The Cancillería charges a US$56 study fee for every application. Issuance costs US$183 for a V visa, US$279 for an M visa and US$408 for an R visa.

When must I apply for the cédula de extranjería and what does it cost?

Holders of visas valid for more than three months, aged seven and over, must apply within 15 calendar days of entering Colombia or of the visa being issued inside the country. The card costs 294,000 pesos, about US$89, in 2026.