Colombia’s Investor Visas
Colombia is a great place to invest in real estate, and has ranked consistently in the top 10 for best places to invest in. The weather is great, the people are welcoming, and the cost of living is incredible. In my opinion, one of the best countries for a residence visa.
Much like Mexico, Colombia also offers a permanent residence visa though real estate. This is also known as a foreign investor visa.
Type M and R
Before we dive into the visas themselves. Here are the requirements in order to apply for the visa. Be sure to have all this in order prior to applying.
- Photocopy or scan of the general data page of your valid passport.
- Photocopy or scan of the last entry/exit stamps for the country.
- Photocopies or scans of any previous Colombian visas you’ve held (if any).
- Passport-style face photo with white background, sized 3 cm wide X 4 cm tall (max 300 kb .jpg file size for online applications).
- Criminal record of the applicant (all foreign documents must be duly apostilled, legalized, and translated into Spanish by a certified translator).
- Certificate of a health insurance policy with coverage of medical expenses of at least 57 legal minimum wages (approximately $13,500), death coverage of 5.7 minimum wages (approximately $1,350), and coverage for repatriation of remains of 17 legal minimum wages (approximately $4,000).
Colombia has two types of investor visas, visa M and visa R. Visa M is a temporary residence visa. A valid real estate purchase that is worth 350 times the minimum salary, or 350,000,000 Colombian pesos, approximately 82,000 USD. The type M is valid for up to 3 years.
The type R visa is another residence visa. The 2 main differences are the investment amount and length of the visa. The qualifying property value goes up to 650 times the minimum salary, or 650,000,000 Colombia pesos, approximately 152,000 USD. The type R visa lasts for 5 years. After 5 years of being a legal resident you can apply for a permanent residence permit and avoid visas altogether.
Unlike Mexico, purchasing real estate does not require as much effort, but still needs careful attention for everything to be in order. Make sure you have a real estate lawyer who understand Colombia’s requirements to avoid any headaches.
Real estate in Colombia is still a great bargain for foreign investors looking to park some of their money offshore. Forbes even listed a Colombian city as number 4 in a list of best places to purchase real estate in 2022. However, word is getting around and that might be the case in the years to come.