Why it is here
Why Santa Marta is on the list.
A city is listed when there is evidence that people move there. This is the evidence.
- Santa Marta has 582,394 people in DANE’s 2025 municipal projection, 13th of Colombia’s 1,123 municipalities. [N1]
- Migración Colombia lists a migration services centre (CFSM) in Santa Marta under its Atlántico regional office; foreigner procedures such as the cédula de extranjería are completed in person at these centres. [M1] [M2]
The Fernshore Index
How it grades, factor by factor.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Cost of living
84 of 100StrongCountry figure
Price level 0.378 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
0 of 100WeakOwn figure
Santa Marta’s own normals (Simón Bolívar airport): no comfortable months; monthly average daily highs run 32.4 to 33.9 °C in every month, over the 30 °C line.
Source: Climate normals 1991–2020, Simón Bolívar airport, Santa Marta (station 15015050, 4 m). Checked 15 October 2026.
Safety
15 of 100WeakCountry figure
Global Peace Index 2026: 141st of 163.
Source: Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank. Checked 15 October 2026.
Healthcare
73 of 100StrongCountry figure
WHO UHC service coverage index 82 (2023).
Source: UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1). Checked 15 October 2026.
Schools
UnknownCountry figure
Our research doesn't cover schools yet.
Community
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Lifestyle
UnknownCountry figure
Not covered by Expat Insider 2026
Work and career
50 of 100MixedCountry figure
Mixed: a residence route for remote workers exists (the V Nómada Digital visa), but fixed broadband is 17.22 per 100 people (2024), under the 30 line.
Source: Visa types: V Nómada Digital; Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Retirement
85 of 100StrongCountry figure
Strong: the M Pensionado visa needs a lifetime pension of at least three monthly legal minimum wages, has no age minimum or deposit on the Cancillería page, and five years as holder count towards a Resident visa.
Source: Visa M Pensionado; Resolución 5477 de 2022, articles 46, 77 and 90 (compilation updated 31 July 2026). Checked 15 October 2026.
Internet
38 of 100MixedCountry figure
17.22 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2024).
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026.
English
20 of 100WeakCountry figure
EF EPI score 480 (2025 edition), under the 499 anchor.
Source: EF English Proficiency Index: Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
UnknownCountry figure
Research for NZ passports is being checked
The country
More on Colombia.
Cities
Other cities in Colombia.
Questions about Santa Marta.
How big is Santa Marta?
Santa Marta had 582,394 residents in DANE's 2025 projection, 13th of Colombia's 1,123 municipalities; the same file gives 499,188 for 2018. Colombia Travel describes its beaches and the Sierra Nevada, which it calls the highest coastal mountain in the world at 5,775 metres. We found no figure for foreign residents.
How hot is Santa Marta, and when does it rain?
Mean daily highs run 32.4 to 33.9 °C in every month (WMO normals 1991–2020, Simón Bolívar airport). December to April are dry, under 14 mm a month; October is the wettest at 126.9 mm. No month has highs of 30 °C or less.
What should I know before visiting Tayrona or the Sierra Nevada from Santa Marta?
Canada says parts of the Troncal del Caribe (Route 90), the road to Tayrona National Park, have been closed by roadblocks, with little warning. Australia says to stay on designated paths and not venture inland in Tayrona, and to join an organised tour to Ciudad Perdida.
Is Santa Marta safe?
Canada names Santa Marta among places with boating accidents on unlicensed tour boats, and says some beaches are unsupervised, many lack warning flags and riptides are common. It says crime is high across Colombia, especially in main cities. Colombia ranks 141st of 163 in the Global Peace Index, a national rank.
Where do foreigners deal with immigration in Santa Marta?
Migración Colombia lists a migration services centre (CFSM) in Santa Marta, under its Atlántico regional office. Visa holders of more than three months request the foreigner ID card (cédula de extranjería) there by appointment, within 15 calendar days of arrival or of the visa; 2026 fee COP 294,000.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [N1] Proyecciones de población municipal por área, 2018–2042 (DANE), Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE). Checked 15 October 2026. 2025 projection for the municipality of Santa Marta: 582,394 people, urban and rural together (not the wider metropolitan area). The 2018 figure in the same file is 499,188, just under the 500,000 line.
- [M1] Puntos de conexión al Servicio de interpretación remoto en Lengua de Señas Colombiana (Annex 1, 2026), Migración Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026. Lists Migración Colombia’s service points by regional office (CFSM and PCM). The document is about sign-language interpretation, so it is used here only to show that the office exists in the city.
- [T1] Colombia Travel: Santa-marta, ProColombia (the national tourism promotion agency), colombia.travel. Checked 15 October 2026. Describes the contrast of its beaches and the blue of its seas with the white of the Sierra Nevada, which it calls the highest coastal mountain in the world at 5,775 metres.
- [W1] Climate normals 1991–2020, Simón Bolívar airport, Santa Marta (station 15015050, 4 m), WMO Climate Normals 1991–2020, Colombia national set (station codes are IDEAM’s), via NOAA NCEI. Checked 15 October 2026. The station is about 13 km from the map point. Mean daily highs 32.35 (November) to 33.85 (March) °C. Rain (mm) Jan 0.07, Feb 1.30, Mar 2.22, Apr 13.64, May 51.76, Jun 60.19, Jul 61.96, Aug 62.47, Sep 99.01, Oct 126.87, Nov 74.31, Dec 8.29.
- [M2] Portafolio de trámites y servicios (December 2024), Migración Colombia. Checked 15 October 2026. Says the cédula de extranjería (for visa holders of more than three months) and other foreigner procedures are completed in person at a Centro Facilitador de Servicios Migratorios (CFSM).
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Colombia, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 37.82 (United States = 100; exact 37.8156), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [S1] Global Peace Index 2026, overall rank, Institute for Economics and Peace. Checked 15 October 2026. Colombia ranks 141st of 163 countries (score 2.735); the report calls it the least peaceful country in South America.
- [H1] UHC service coverage index (SDG 3.8.1), World Health Organization. Checked 15 October 2026. Colombia: 82 out of 100 (2023), read from the WHO GHO API (UHC_INDEX_REPORTED) on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Visa types: V Nómada Digital, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería de Colombia). Checked 15 October 2026. Visa V for remote work from Colombia for foreign companies: passport from a country exempt from short-stay visas, bank statements showing income of at least three monthly legal minimum wages (SMLMV) over the last 3 months, health insurance valid in Colombia; valid for up to two years; does not allow work for people or companies based in Colombia. Same text as Resolución 5477 de 2022, article 46.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Colombia, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2024: 17.22 per 100 people (17.2244), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [R1] Visa M Pensionado, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería de Colombia). Checked 15 October 2026. For a foreigner with constant monthly income from a pension granted by a state or a private pension fund; a certificate of a lifetime monthly pension of at least three monthly legal minimum wages; valid up to three years, no work; the visa counts towards the Resident visa after a minimum of 5 years as holder. No age minimum or deposit is stated on the page.
- [R2] Resolución 5477 de 2022, articles 46, 77 and 90 (compilation updated 31 July 2026), Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Cancillería de Colombia). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 77: Visa M Pensionado (pension of at least 3 SMLMV a month, up to three years). Article 90: Visa R by accumulated time, 5 years as holder of an M Pensionado visa. Article 46: Visa V Nómadas digitales (3 SMLMV a month for the last 3 months, up to two years). Passport eligibility for short-stay visa exemption is set by Resolución 5488 de 2022, article 3, whose list includes the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- [F1] EF English Proficiency Index: Colombia, EF Education First (private test-taker index). Checked 15 October 2026. Score 480, global rank 76, 5 points down on the previous score; the page’s own text names the EF EPI 2025 edition. Read on 15 October 2026.