Moving to Colombia from New Zealand

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. SafeTravel adds that it is illegal to take part in local political activities, rallies or demonstrations if you enter on a visit or on a visa.

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); 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 (New Zealand 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 NZ Super qualifies, so check that with the Cancillería. Work and Income's worked example uses NZ$595.57 a week before tax as the single rate, about NZ$2,581 a month, which is below the monthly minimum the pensioner visa asks for. 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); 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.

Documents must be dated within three months of filing. The pensioner visa adds a criminal record certificate from the authority of the country where you lived over the last three years, apostilled, a medical certificate and the pension certificate. In New Zealand the closest thing to a police certificate is a Ministry of Justice Criminal Record Check, answered within 20 working days; a police vetting request for visa purposes sends the result only to the issuing authority, and the Department of Internal Affairs issues the apostille (its country list includes Colombia, but we did not read the category). 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), and the Auckland consulate's services page sends visa questions to the same central page. 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 and are the same for New Zealand passports (New Zealand is not among the nationalities with reduced fees): 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 NZ$346); migrant visas US$56 plus US$204, US$260 (about NZ$464); resident visas US$56 plus US$183, US$239 (about NZ$427). The New Zealand dollar figures use the ECB cross rate of 15 October 2026 (NZ$1.7855 per US dollar). 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. We found no processing times beyond the 30-day study period.

Until then, New Zealand taxes your worldwide income, including income not brought into New Zealand, so Colombian-source and other overseas income goes in your IR3 with the IR1261 overseas income summary (due 7 July unless you have a tax agent), and you can claim a credit for foreign tax you paid. If you leave permanently, file an IR3 or ask for an income tax assessment, and tell your bank and any investment funds so the right non-resident withholding tax is deducted.

If you already get NZ Super, you must apply to keep it overseas at least six weeks before you leave, and because Colombia has no agreement with New Zealand the rate depends on the months you lived in New Zealand between ages 20 and 65, out of 540; other payments, such as the Accommodation Supplement, stop.

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.