If you are a digital nomad, chances are rather big that Colombia is on your bucket list to visit. Or, maybe you’ve already been there and you want to go back there for a longer period. In all these cases, you can have a look at the Colombia digital nomad visa.
In this article, we’ll go over the eligibility criteria and the application process. Furthermore, we’ll have a look at the possible tax consequences of applying for a digital nomad visa in Colombia.
Colombia Digital Nomad Visa Overview
- The visa is valid for up to two years and you can renew afterwards
- If you have dependents, they can accompany you if your visa is approved
- You need to come from a country that has visa free access to Colombia
- The minimum monthly income requirement is only EUR 950
- The application process can be completed online
- You might want to watch out for the tax consequences if you spend more than 183 days per twelve months in Colombia
Eligibility Requirements for the Colombian Digital Nomad Visa
In order to qualify for the Colombian digital nomad visa you need to meet certain requirements.
The conditions are set out in article 46 of Resolution 5477 of 2022 and you can also review these on the website of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Nationalities that can Apply for the Colombia DNV
You can apply for the digital nomad visa if you have a passport of a country that gets a visa exemption for tourist purposes.
Hereby the full list:
- Albania
- Andorra
- Antigua & Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbeidjan
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Belize
- Bolivia
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Brunei
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Granada
- Greece
- Guatemala
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kazachstan
- Latvia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxemburg
- Malta
- Marocco
- Marshall Islands
- Mexico
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Oman
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Romania
- Russia
- Saint Kitts & Nevis
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Saint Lucia
- Salomon Islands
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Suriname
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- Uruguay
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uruguay
- Vatican
- Venezuela
In any case, I would always recommend to check the updated list to make sure your passport qualifies
Minimum Income Requirement
You need to show that your monthly income is at least equal to three times the legal minimum wage.
The minimum wage for 2024 is 1.462.000 COP per month. This means that your minimum income to apply for the Colombia digital nomad visa is 4.386.000 COP. At the exchange rate of writing this article that equals around EUR 950 per month.
You will have to demonstrate that you meet the minimum income requirements for the last three months before filing your application. You have to add copies of your bank statements as proof.
Colombia’s digital nomad visa has one of the lowest income requirements of all digital nomads worldwide.
Work Remotely
You have to provide proof that you work remotely for a foreign company. This means you can’t work for a Colombian company.
You will need to add a letter to your application which confirms this. This can be a letter from your employer. For self-employed individuals or company owners a similar letter is required.
If you’re an entrepreneur you need to write a motivation letter. Furthermore, you have to set out the financial and human resources of your venture.
These letters need to be written in English or Spanish or translated in one these languages.
Health Insurance Valid in Colombia
Another common requirements for most digital nomads visas is that you need to have a health insurance which covers you for your entire stay in the country.
This is also the case if you want to apply if you want to apply for the Colombian DNV.
Clean Criminal Record
Furthermore, you will also need to provide a copy of your criminal record as Colombia wants to make sure it only grants a visa to people who aren’t troublemakers.
How to Apply for the Colombia Digital Nomad Visa
Here we’ll give you an overview of the different steps to apply for the Colombian digital nomad visa.
Gather Necessary Documents
The first step to apply for the digital nomad visa is to gather all the documents you need to include in your application.
Hereby an overview of the documents you will need:
- Valid passport (with a validity of at least 6 more months)
- Passport picture
- Bank statements for the last three months showing you meet the minimum income requirement
- Letter from your employer confirming your remote job or similar proof for your own business
- Proof of health insurance valid for your stay in Colombia
- Criminal record
Submit Application to Get Your Colombian DNV
The next step is to actually submit your application. You can submit your application online via the online visa portal from the Colombian authorities.
You will have to fill out the application form and upload all the documents you gathered in the previous step. Furthermore, you’ll have to pay the application fee of 218.000 COP (around EUR 50).
The big advantage to many other digital nomad visas is that you can do the whole application process online. There is no need to visit an embassy or consulate.
Approval and Payment
After you successfully completed your application you’ll have to wait for the outcome. This can take around one month. Yet, you can always check the status online with the registration number you got with your application.
If your Colombia digital nomad visa is approved, you’ll have to pay the actual visa fee. The fee is 715.000 COP or around EUR 150. So, you only need to pay the actual visa fee if your application is approved. You can make the payment online.
Receive your Electronic Colombia Digital Nomad Visa
After your payment, you will receive your visa within 10 days. Also this is done online as you will receive an electronic visa in your mailbox.
This makes that you can do the full process online and even while already being in Colombia.
Tax Considerations about the Visa Program for Digital Nomads in Colombia
Before packing your bags and moving to Colombia on the digital nomad visa, we need to talk about taxes. The reason is that you want to know upfront which tax consequences your Colombia digital nomad visa might trigger.
Colombia has one very simple rule to determine if you are a Colombian tax resident or not.
Do you spend 183 days or more in the country in a period of 365 days.
If this is the case, you will become a Colombian tax resident. If this isn’t the case, you don’t have anything to worry about.
For the sake of completion, I want to mention that the rules regarding tax residency for Colombian citizens are a bit more complicated. However, those don’t need the digital nomad visa in any case to stay in their own country.
If you qualify as a tax resident of Colombia, you will need to declare your worldwide income.
So, you will also have to pay taxes on any income from your home country or any other country for that matter.
This is important to keep in mind because Colombia does have rather high taxes. The tax rates for professional income start at 19% and go up to 39%.
On top of this, you’ll also have to start paying social contributions.
For these reasons you better think twice before using your Colombia digital nomad visa to its full extent by staying there more than six months per year.
If you are looking for a more tax efficient DNV, you might want to have a look at my article about tax free digital nomad visas.
How is Colombia for Digital Nomads?
Colombia is one of the most popular countries in Latin America for digital nomads. For people working for a US company the timezones are comparable. However, also many digital nomads from other parts of the world find their way to Colombia. There are various reasons for this:
- Affordable cost of living: you could already read the minimum income in Colombia is rather low. This also means that the cost of living is lower in such a country. Digital nomads on a Western budget can live like a king in Colombia.
- Internet infrastructure: Colombia offers a good internet infrastructure with fast WiFi, a must have for remote workers.
- Vibrant culture: I’m probably not telling you anything new if I say that many Latin countries have a warm and vibrant culture.
- Beautiful nature: Colombia also offers great natural beauty from mountain ranges to beaches.
- Digital nomad community: because of all these reasons, many nomads find their way to Colombia. Mainly in cities like Medellin and Bogota you’ll find many other nomads and the community that comes with it.
So, what do you think? Will Colombia be one of your next destinations?
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