You can stay in Colombia without a visa for up to 90 days on arrival, which you can extend by another 90 days to a maximum of 180 days per calendar year. Keep a log of your entry and exit dates against the 180-day cap.
This permit applies to travellers holding passports from 102 visa-exempt countries and territories, including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Time spent in Colombia without a visa counts across all trips within the same calendar year, meaning multiple shorter visits share the same 180-day allowance.
The 90-Day Entry Permit and the 180-Day Cap
Visitors from visa-exempt countries receive an entry permit called a Permiso de Ingreso y Permanencia (PIP) for up to 90 days upon arrival in Colombia. You can extend the permit by up to 90 more days (Resolución 3167 de 2019, art. 13, as cited in Migración Colombia reply 173752; see also Resolución UAEMC 1089 de 2013). This creates a hard legal limit of 180 days per calendar year.
The 180-day ceiling is cumulative across all entries between 1 January and 31 December. If you make several separate visits in a single calendar year, every day you spend inside the country subtracts from your 180-day pool.
Example: two trips of 70 and 60 days use 130 of the 180 days, leaving 50 (180 - 130 = 50).
If that traveller enters Colombia again later that year, the maximum time remaining without a visa is 50 days. Leaving the country and coming back does not reset your allowance back to 90 or 180 days. The balance resets only when a new calendar year begins on 1 January.
Visa-Exempt Nationalities Under Colombian Rules
Colombia exempts nationals of specific countries from the visitor (V) visa for short stays. A 2024 notice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, known as Cancillería, lists 102 nationalities and territories exempt from holding a visitor (V) visa for stays under 90 days.
This list of 102 visa-exempt nationalities includes Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The exemption for citizens of the United States is established under Resolución 5488 of 2022.
The exemption covers only the listed nationalities. If your passport is not on the list, check with Cancillería what you need before you travel. The 2024 list is in the Cancillería notice.
Entry rules for land borders and discretionary stamp durations given by individual immigration officers are not published here. Confirm border procedures and entry-stamp requirements directly with Migración Colombia.
When the Tourist Route Stops Working
The tourist route stops working once you need more than 180 days in a calendar year.
The tax authority, the Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN), treats you as a Colombian tax resident once you spend more than 183 days in Colombia within any 365 consecutive days, counting both your arrival day and your departure day.
Because the 365 days are counted on a rolling basis, not by calendar year, talk to a Colombian accountant (contador público) before you reach 183 days.
When you need to stay in the country past the 180-day calendar limit, you must hold a formal visa issued under Resolución 5477 of 2022. The legal options differ by income type, investment level, and stay duration.
| Legal status | Basis and qualification (2026) | Maximum stay | Leads to a resident visa |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visa-exempt entry permit | Passport from an exempt country | 90 days, extendable to 180 per calendar year | No |
| V-Nómada Digital | Remote income of COP 5,252,715 a month | Up to 2 years | No |
| V-Rentista | Passive income of COP 17,509,050 a month | Up to 2 years | No |
| M-Pensionado | Pension income of COP 5,252,715 a month | Up to 3 years | Yes, after 5 years |
| M-Inversionista (property) | Property purchase of COP 612,816,750 in your name | Up to 3 years | Yes, after 5 years |
The nomad, pensioner and investor thresholds are multiples of the minimum wage (COP 1,750,905 in 2026, Decreto 1469 de 2025).
The digital nomad visa requires earning at least three minimum wages each month, which equals COP 5,252,715. Under Resolución 3969 of 2026, the government fee for this visa has been USD 194 since 1 April 2026. You cannot use this visa to work for Colombian-domiciled employers or clients.
The pensioner visa (M-Pensionado) also requires three minimum wages, or COP 5,252,715 a month from a pension, according to Cancillería’s visa rules. Pensioners cannot work in Colombia on this visa. The real estate investor visa (M-Inversionista) requires Colombian property in your name worth at least 350 monthly minimum wages, which totals COP 612,816,750 in 2026.
What the Entry Permit Does Not Give You
The entry permit is not a visa, so it gives you no path to a resident visa. It also does not entitle you to a cédula de extranjería; the cédula applies to visas longer than 3 months other than V (see cédula de extranjería in Colombia).
Under art. 90 of Resolución 5477 de 2022, the 5-year path to a resident visa runs through M visas such as the investor and pensioner visas. V visas, including the nomad and rentista visas, do not count toward it.
Extending a Permit with Migración Colombia
If your 90 days are running out and you want to stay, you must apply for the extension to use the rest of the 180-day cap.
The extension fee, procedure and timing are not published here. Confirm them with Migración Colombia.
Penalties, fines, and potential re-entry bans for overstaying an entry permit are not published here. Ask Migración Colombia or a Colombian immigration lawyer.
Whether time spent on a formal visa resets your calendar entry permit allowance is also not published here. Travellers moving between entry permits and formal visas should verify their cumulative day count directly with Migración Colombia.
Planning a Longer Stay
At Colombia Desk, we help foreigners plan a move to Medellín or Bogotá and line up a Colombian lawyer. See our relocation concierge page and get in touch. Visa choice is a matter for Migración Colombia or a Colombian immigration lawyer.