Moving to Colombia from Australia

Migración Colombia can grant a 90-day entry permit and extend it by another 90 days without leaving, up to 180 days in a calendar year. Ask for the extension at least five working days before the permit ends. The Cancillería says remote workers from visa-exempt countries may enter without the remote-worker visa on the same 90-day and 180-day limits, provided their stay generates no payments from Colombian companies. Migración Colombia says the Check-Mig online form is free and not mandatory but speeds up the border interview; since it costs nothing, completing it avoids the question.

We found no official rule on renewing it or on a maximum total stay, so both are unknown. Longer routes are written for other kinds of money. The pensioner visa (visa M) needs a lifelong pension, certified and apostilled, of at least three minimum wages (to be safe, have more than COP 5,300,000 a month, about A$2,400); it is granted for up to three years, does not allow work, does not let the holder join Colombian social security except under bilateral agreements (Australia has none with Colombia), and after five years as a pensioner it leads to the resident visa. The Cancillería's text speaks of pensions from a State or a private pension fund; we did not find whether an Australian Age Pension or superannuation income stream qualifies, so check that with the Colombian consulate in Canberra. The rentista visa is a visitor-group visa (article 56 of the resolution), not a migrant one, for periodic income from a lawful source certified by a public body or a company recognised by its government, or from property in Colombia, of at least ten minimum wages (to be safe, have more than COP 18,000,000 a month, about A$8,100); it lasts up to two years, bars work and is not on the list of visas that count towards the resident visa. The investor visa (visa M) asks for foreign direct investment of more than 650 minimum wages (to be safe, have more than COP 1,200,000,000) registered at the Banco de la República, or a property held in your own name worth at least 350 minimum wages (to be safe, have more than COP 620,000,000), on the filing date; it lasts up to three years and, after five years, leads to the resident visa. The resident visa (R) allows any lawful work, but it lapses after two consecutive years outside Colombia and has to be transferred every five years. A separate work-and-holiday visa exists for ages 18 to 30 under agreements Colombia has in force (article 52 of the resolution); we did not find whether one is in force with Australia, so that is unknown.

In Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) issues apostilles for A$105 a document, by mail or in person; a document that is not an original Australian public document first needs an Australian Notary Public, and DFAT publishes no processing time. Documents must be dated within three months of filing. The pensioner visa adds an apostilled criminal record certificate from the authority of the country where you lived over the last three years, a medical certificate and the pension certificate. The Cancillería can ask for more documents or an interview, and meeting the list does not guarantee a visa. You apply online on the Cancillería's platform (about 30 minutes, with a JPG photo under 300 KB and PDF documents totalling under 5 MB). The Cancillería has up to 30 calendar days to decide once everything is filed and the study fee is paid, and longer if it consults other bodies. Once approved you have 10 calendar days to pay the issue fee, and the electronic visa is sent within 10 working days of payment. Fees are in US dollars: visitor-group visas (including the remote-worker and rentista visas) cost US$56 for the study, which is not refundable, plus US$138 to issue, US$194 in total, about A$281; migrant visas US$56 plus US$204, US$260, about A$376; resident visas US$56 plus US$183, US$239, about A$346, all at the cross rate of 15 October 2026. These fees do not include stamp tax, whose amount we did not find, so it is unknown. A visa holder with a visa valid for more than three months must ask Migración Colombia for the identity card (cédula de extranjería) by appointment, within 15 calendar days of arriving, or of the visa being issued if you get it while in Colombia. If you are in Colombia while the application is studied, you must stay in regular status, for example on your entry permit. The fee schedule in Resolution 3969 of 2026 sets one fee for all nationalities that apply for these visa types (exemptions exist only for a few nationalities, and Australians are not among them), and the consulate in Canberra points visa requests to the Cancillería's central visa page, so we found no Australian-specific fee. We found no processing times beyond the 30-day study period.

The ATO also treats you as a resident if you go overseas temporarily and do not set up a permanent home in another country, and the 183-day test counts days in Australia unless your usual home is overseas and you have no intention of living in Australia. Whether a year in Colombia ends your residence depends on your facts. Australian residents are taxed on worldwide income, so Colombian pay or fees still go on your Australian return while you stay resident. You could be resident in both countries at once because there is no treaty tie-breaker (see below), and you keep the same obligations to repay study and training support loans.

We found no contribution rate for you, so that cost is unknown. As an Australian citizen, your super stays in your fund under the same access rules, and we did not check whether an Australian employer must keep paying super while you work from Colombia. If you get Age Pension, you move to the outside-Australia rate when you leave to live in another country, and after 26 weeks the rate depends on your years of Australian residence. This describes the mechanism, not your bill.

We found no priced policy, so that cost is unknown. Services Australia says Medicare does not cover you while you are overseas, and Colombia is not among the eleven countries with an Australian reciprocal health care agreement. Smartraveller says private hospitals in Bogotá and other major cities are of a reasonable standard, medical facilities are limited elsewhere, public facilities are generally poorly funded, you will need to pay upfront, and your insurance should cover medical evacuation, including from high altitude (Bogotá sits above 2,500 metres).

It is valid for as long as the visa. The DIAN identifies foreigners who must register with Migración Colombia by that card in the tax register (RUT); we did not find how a foreigner enrols, so ask a Colombian accountant.