Residence routes to Colombia: pensionado, rentista, investor or digital nomad
Anyone who wants to live in Colombia applies online for a visa from the Cancillería, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For retirees there is the M Pensionado visa, with a pension of at least three minimum wages a month. After five years you can apply for permanent residence. Within 15 days of arrival you get your cédula.
5 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
You move to Colombia with a visa that you apply for online from the Cancillería, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There are three kinds: the V (visitante, visitor), the M (migrante, for those who want to settle) and the R (residente, permanent). Anyone retiring usually ends up with the M Pensionado visa. It asks for a lifelong pension of at least three minimum wages a month.
In Colombia the minimum wage is called the SMMLV. For 2026 it was set at 1,750,905 pesos a month (Decreto 1469 of 2025; after a court suspension set temporarily at the same amount by Decreto 0159 of 2026). Every threshold below moves with the minimum wage of the year in which you apply.
| Route | What you prove | In 2026 | Fees from Europe |
|---|---|---|---|
| M Pensionado | lifelong pension of at least 3 minimum wages a month | 5,252,715 pesos a month | € 44 study + € 191 visa |
| V Rentista | periodic income of at least 10 minimum wages a month | 17,509,050 pesos a month | € 44 + € 141 |
| M Inversionista, company | foreign direct investment of more than 650 minimum wages | 1,138,088,250 pesos | € 44 + € 191 |
| M Inversionista, home | a home in your name worth at least 350 minimum wages | 612,816,750 pesos | € 44 + € 191 |
| V Nómada Digital | income of at least 3 minimum wages over the last three months | 5,252,715 pesos a month | € 44 + € 141 |
| R Residente | five uninterrupted years on an M visa | € 44 + € 314 |
You always pay the study fee, even if the visa is refused. Outside Europe the Cancillería charges in dollars: US$ 56 for the study and US$ 279 for an M visa.
Which route suits you?
The pensionado. You show a statement from your pension provider about a monthly, lifelong pension, with an apostille and a translation. It may be a pension from a state or from a private pension fund. Whether your AOW and your occupational pension may be added together, the resolution does not say. Check before you have the documents made. You also hand in a medical certificate and a criminal record certificate from every country where you lived in the last three years. The visa is valid for at most three years and you may not work on it.
The rentista. This is a V visa, not an M. You show a periodic income from a lawful source of at least ten minimum wages a month, with a statement from the institution that pays it, or income from property in Colombia. It is valid for at most two years. The rentista is not on the list of visas that count towards permanent residence.
The investor. Your investment must be registered with the Banco de la República. For a home you also hand in the title certificate, the certificado de tradición y libertad, with only your name on it. See buying a house in Colombia.
The digital nomad. You work remotely for a foreign employer or your own company, and not for a Colombian one. The visa is valid for at most two years. Anyone coming for a Colombian employer needs a different visa; see working in Colombia.
Every route asks for health cover in Colombia or a policy "contra todo riesgo". For the pensionado that has a consequence you need to know in advance; see healthcare in Colombia.
Can you go and look as a visitor first?
Yes. The Netherlands is on the Cancillería's list A: you may enter without a visa for a short stay, as long as you are not paid in Colombia. At the border you get permission for 90 days. Migración Colombia can extend that to at most 180 days per calendar year. For EU citizens the extension is free. Apply no later than five working days before the end.
How does the application work?
You fill in the form online and choose the Colombian consulate closest to where you live. Then you pay the study fee within 10 days. The Cancillería decides within 30 days, or later if it has to consult other bodies. After approval you pay for the visa itself within 10 days. The e-visa arrives by email.
Every document except your passport may be at most three months old when you apply. Anything drawn up in the Netherlands gets an apostille and an official translation into Spanish. Colombia is a party to the Apostille Convention.
Do not have your documents made too early. A pension statement or criminal record certificate that is four months old is not accepted, and then the apostille process starts again.
What do you have to do after arrival?
Anyone with a visa valid for more than three months applies within 15 days for the cédula de extranjería, the identity card for foreigners. See registration and numbers.
When can you stay permanently?
After five uninterrupted years as a pensionado, investor or employee you can apply for the R visa. Only time with a valid visa counts, and the new visa must have been granted before the previous one expired.
Watch your absences. An M visa lapses if you are outside Colombia for more than 180 days in a row, counted per year from the date of issue. An R visa lapses after two years of uninterrupted absence, and you must have it transferred every five years. How the steps fit together is in the route to Colombia.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey, step 1.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Colombia or go straight to step 1.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Cancillería — the V, M and R visa types and their requirements — cancilleria.gov.co
- Cancillería — the fees per visa, in dollars and in euros — cancilleria.gov.co
- Cancillería — the ABC of the visa application, with the payment and decision deadlines — cancilleria.gov.co
- Resolución 5477 de 2022 on visas, amended by among others Res. 10434/2023, 9316/2024 and 12509/2024 (compilation by the Cancillería) — cancilleria.gov.co
- Cancillería — the Netherlands on list A, visa-free for a short stay — cancilleria.gov.co
- Decreto 1469 de 2025 — the minimum wage of 1,750,905 pesos for 2026 — cancilleria.gov.co
- Decreto 0159 de 2026 — after a court suspension temporarily the same minimum wage of 1,750,905 pesos — dapre.presidencia.gov.co
- Migración Colombia — extending a visit up to 180 days per calendar year — migracioncolombia.gov.co
Read on
- ColombiaYour visa4 min
Working in Colombia: a work visa through the employer, or as a digital nomad for abroad
Anyone coming to work for a Colombian employer needs the M Trabajador visa, which the employer applies for together with you. Anyone working remotely for a foreign employer comes on the V Nómada Digital visa. A regulated profession also requires a recognised diploma; that recognition costs 960,539 pesos for a bachelor's degree in 2026.
Updated 15 October 2026
- BrazilYour right of residence5 min
The residence routes to Brazil: 2,000 dollars of pension, 1,500 dollars remotely, or an employer who carries the file
As a Dutch citizen you enter Brazil without a visa, for at most 90 days per 180. Whoever stays needs an autorização de residência, and the migration law of 2017 has fixed doors for it: a pension of at least 2,000 dollars a month, remote work with 1,500 dollars a month, an investment from 500,000 reais, an employer who lodges in Brazil first, or a family member who already lives there. You lodge at the consulate in Amsterdam or in Brazil itself, and register with the Polícia Federal: within 90 days of arrival with a visa, or within 30 days of a grant in Brazil.
Updated 10 October 2026
- BulgariaRegistratie in Bulgarije4 min
Residence in Bulgaria: three months, a certificate of 3.58 euros and a personal number
As an EU citizen you may be in Bulgaria for three months without conditions. After that, within those three months, you apply for the certificate of long-term residence, for 3.58 euros, valid for up to five years — and that certificate gives you the personal number the bank, the health fund and the traffic police ask for. The proof of address is the trap: a notarised declaration from your landlord, or a title deed.
Updated 25 September 2026