Residency in Colombia

Taking up residence in Colombia is an excellent decision if you want to live in a rapidly growing, extremely young and dynamic state, where the ideas for innovating and doing business from scratch are impressive. Moving to Colombia above all offers young people an interesting and sparkling environment where they can also gain work experience. Moving to Colombia requires obtaining a residence permit in Colombia, which is not too difficult. In fact, transferring residence to Colombia does not even require criminal records and pending charges as required in other countries. The procedure for applying for a residence visa or residence visa in Colombia is carried out via a legal procedure through one of our lawyers qualified for Italians. Therefore, taking up residence in Colombia for Italians becomes simple under our legal assistance. In practical terms, a transfer to Colombia requires a few steps and few documents.

Transfer of residence to Colombia, country information

Colombia is an attractive country for digital nomads from all over the world. Colombia is located in the extreme northwestern part of South America, with an area of ​​1,141,748 km2, it has coasts on the Pacific and the Atlantic. Crossed from south to north by the Andes which, near the southern border, divide into three branches: western, central and eastern mountain ranges. East of the Eastern Range is the Orinoquía or Llanos and the Colombian Amazon. In addition to the Andes: Serranía del Baudo and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. There are six peaks higher than 5000 meters.

Precipitation values ​​determine the different climates, of which two are distinguished:

• Lowland or lowland climate: altitude less than 500 meters and average annual temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius;
• Mountain climate or slopes or valleys: altitudes above 500 meters, very humid, dry or very dry climate

Based on its GDP ($264,933 million as of October 2020, IMF estimates), Colombia is the fourth largest economy in Latin America and the 39th largest globally. Colombia has experienced a 15-year expansion cycle. However, since 2014 it has faced a continuous slowdown, accompanied by inflation, falling foreign investment and growing public debt.

In 2019, the country recorded a GDP growth of 3.2% according to the IMF. The Fund expects a decline of 8.1% for 2020. The public debt would reach 68.2% of GDP in 2020 and the public deficit 9.4%. In 2020, inflation in October was 1.3%% and the unemployment rate in 2020 was around 7.2% according to the IMF.

How to take up residency in Colombia

Currently, as of October 21, 2022, instant permanent residence permits are no longer available, this means that there is no permanent visa and there are only temporary visas to be renewed every year, according to government provision 5477. All permanent residence visas can only be obtained by having first a 2-5 year migrant visa. The migrant visa is called an M which is explained further below. There are 14 types of type M residence visa, which can be converted into permanent residence over the years if you live permanently in the country and do not spend time abroad. If you are a digital nomad, the best country to take up residence in could certainly be Panama or Paraguay .

To move to Colombia you need to apply for a residence or stay visa. Colombia is a very attractive country for those looking for a foreign residence. In fact, taking up residence in Colombia is a fairly simple process when followed by a lawyer. The Colombian residence allows you to live even outside the country without many time limits. Furthermore, applying for residence in Colombia does not require the production of criminal records and pending charges, making the process faster and easier. But how do you take up residence in Colombia?

To move to Colombia you can decide to apply for a

▶︎ Resident visa via real estate investment ( R ), permanent residence with the right to a passport and Colombian citizenship

▶︎ An Equity Investment visa ( M-6 ), temporary residence to be renewed

▶︎ A Migrant visa via real estate investment (M-10), temporary residence to be renewed

▶︎ Beneficiary visa, for all applicants for residence as dependent family members of those who have already obtained another residence visa (R or M)

All require the stipulation of a compulsory health insurance to be able to live in Colombia

You can move to Colombia as a tourist for a limited time. In Colombia a tourist has the possibility of settling down for a maximum of 180 days. The tourist visa lasts 90 days and can be extended to a total of 180 days, starting the extension 20 days before the expiry of the first 90 days both online and face-to-face at the appropriate workshops. To enter Colombia it is mandatory to have an exit flight from the country within the terms set by the tourist visa. Not meeting the requirements leads to a fine and impossibility to return to the country for 2 consecutive years.

The Residence (R) visa, which began being offered in Colombia in December 2017, is similar to the previous RE visa. It is the current residency visa that you must apply for to become a resident of Colombia. For the transfer of residence in Colombia you will have to decide which category of R visa to apply to.

There are five categories of the new R visas:

• Returning Colombian – In some cases, Colombians living in other countries were required to renounce their Colombian citizenship when they became citizens of their adoptive countries. Is the father or mother of a Colombian citizen by birth.
• category 1 to 3 migrant visa ( M The M-1 category visa is a marriage visa. M-3 is a visa for citizens of Mercosur, Bolivia and Chile and M-2 is a visa for being a parent or child of a Colombian through adoption .
• You have continuously and continuously held an M visa in category 4 to 11 , which includes retirement, work and student and marriage visas.
• Or you have continuously held an R-type beneficiary visa for five years, called an accumulated time visa
• Investment of more than 650 times the monthly minimum wage in Colombia. The minimum wage in 2021 in Colombia is 908,526 pesos per month. So, 650 times is 650,000,000 pesos or $164,000 USD at the exchange rate of 3.831 pesos to USD( the exchange rate when you read this article will surely have changed and therefore the value will be different ) . Note that there are investment visas for separate migrants with lower investment requirements.

Previous RE visa rules required TP-10 marriage visa holders to hold their visa three years before becoming eligible for an RE visa. According to resolution 6045 at the end of 2017, this parameter decreased to two years for holders of a category M 1 visa (marriage visa) before becoming eligible for an R visa.

The documents required for the R residence visa are as follows:

Photocopy of the first page of your valid passport where your personal details are displayed.

• Proof of employment or source of income.
•  Certificate of migratory movement issued by Colombia Migration, dated within three months of applying for the visa.
• If you are receiving the R visa for investment you must provide a communication issued by the International Exchange Department of the Banca della Repubblica registering the foreign direct investment in your name with an amount exceeding 650 times the minimum monthly wage.
• Health insurance policy certificate showing you have an international health insurance policy that covers you. This policy should be valid for at least one year, as the validity period of your visa depends on the validity period of your international health insurance. This health insurance policy should show that it has coverage of at least $100,000 USD. Additionally, you can use Colombian EPS health insurance to meet this requirement if the policy is in your name (not a beneficiary).
• Passport style face photo with white background, size 3cm wide X 4cm high, max size 300kb jpg file for online application.

Type R visas Residency in Colombia

Residency in Colombia with type R visas offers:

▶︎ Type R visas : Mercosur – Marriage – Accumulated time

The M-6 Equity Investment in a Colombian Company visa is a visa that provides only temporary residence, which will never become permanent and must be renewed annually. The basic investment is 100 times the Colombian minimum salary. So 100,000,000 COP.

In addition, for the visa application you will need a number of documents, which are :

• A letter of inquiry including the business name, address and tax identification number (NIT) of the commercial company incorporated or the company in which the investment has been made. In the case of joint stock companies, participation in the company is attested by a certificate of company composition signed by a public accountant, indicating the amount of capital or assets registered and paid by the foreigner applying for the visa, which indicates no less than the equivalent of 100 times the Colombian minimum monthly salary.
• Certificate of opening a bank account in the name of the company. Support for entry into Colombia of the total amount of the capital that is paid to the Chamber of Commerce.
• Exchange declaration form F4.
• Foreign Investment Certificate issued by Banco de la República.
• Certificate of share composition drawn up by an accountant.
• Photocopy of the accountant's slip. Photocopy of the accountant's professional card.
• Current evidence of the accountant's disciplinary background.
• Bank statements for the last 6 months in the name of the company (only in case the company is not a new one).
• Latest income statement in the name of the company (applicable only to companies with more than 1 year of incorporation).

Residency in Colombia as a real estate investor requires the purchase of a property in Colombia. If you're applying for an M-10 real estate investment visa, you'll need to invest at least 350 times the Colombian minimum monthly salary, which is 350,000,000 pesos or $91,650 USD (at an exchange rate of 3,819 pesos to USD). In addition, for the visa application you will need:

• Certificate of libertad y tradición of real estate ownership proving ownership.
• Communication issued by the International Exchange Department of the Banco de la República, which registers foreign direct investment for the purchase of real estate in the name of the foreigner applying for a visa.

Residency in Colombia as a real estate investor is provided only if the property is registered in the land registry. It is not possible to obtain residency in Colombia by purchasing a real estate project still to be built or if the purchased property has not yet been signed.

The Residency visa in Colombia as a Beneficiary is the visa that allows you to take up residence in Colombia as a dependent family member of an already resident or an applicant for residency through an R or M type residence visa in Colombia. For example, husband and wife . If the Husband or Wife is the first applicant for residency in Colombia through one of the Residency or Migrant visas (R or M-10), then the dependent spouse, either the spouse or the husband, must apply for residency in Colombia using the beneficiary visa.

The documents required for the residence visa in Colombia as a beneficiary are:

• Photocopy of the first page of your valid passport where your personal details are displayed. You will find the photocopy of the passport page with the last entry or departure stamp from Colombia.
• If you have had a previous Colombian visa, a photocopy of this visa.
• Copy of the visa of the principal holder you wish to be a beneficiary of.
• Certified copy of the civil deed or registry office certifying the kinship, marital or family relationship with the main owner. If it is a foreign document, it must be apostilled and include a Spanish language translation.
• Written communication signed by the main visa holder requesting the beneficiary visa and making a declaration of dependence and economic responsibility for the expenses related to the travel and/or stay of the beneficiary in the national territory.
• Passport style face photo with white background, size 3cm wide X 4cm high, max size 300kb jpg file for online application.

Residency in Colombia with type M visas offers:

▶︎ Type M Visas : Marriage – Andean – Relatives of Colombian Citizens - Marriage with Domestic Partnership – Investment / Real Estate – Mercosur – Work – Retirement – ​​Business – Freelancer

The time required ranges from 20 days to 60 days to obtain your residence visa. Similar to the previous RE visa, if you leave Colombia for more than two consecutive years on an R visa without returning to Colombia, the R visa expires and is no longer valid.

However, if you intend to become a naturalized Colombian citizen, the restriction is different. While you have the R visa and are out of the country for more than one continuous year, you are not eligible for citizenship. So, if you plan to become a citizen through an R visa, you cannot leave Colombia for more than a year at a time.

Additionally, you can work in Colombia with a Resident (R) visa.

In addition to obtaining your residence in Colombia, you will probably be interested in creating a life insurance policy on your taxation, taking up a second tax residence, in a country with territorial taxation, such as a residence in Panama or a residence in Paraguay .

To start your residence transfer procedure, contact us at info@studiopanamaitalia.com, sending us a copy of your passport, and the precise dates to start and take up residence in the country of your preference, or contact us via the contact form on this website or via whatsapp-telegram at +1 786-623-8177

What is the taxation on the Italian pension in Colombia?

Taking up residence in Colombia is an opportunity for Italian retirees. Residency in Colombia as a pensioner with a life pension is a way to be able to retire to an economic country where it is easy to adapt. How is retirement taxed in Colombia? Italians retired in Colombia can fully submit to the Colombian and non-Italian taxation system when receiving their pension in Colombia. The indications are provided by INPS with message no. 4463/2020 in which it implements the ratification laws n. 92/2020 (Colombia). In compliance with the usual scheme of OECD conventions, the tax regime is diversified according to the type of pension received : a) in the case of pensioners dependent on private INPS managements, for the Italian pension to be detaxed, proof of residence is sufficient in Colombia, b) in the case of pensioners dependent on the social security management of public workers (ex-inpdap) for the tax relief of the benefit, citizenship in the aforementioned foreign countries is also required. In consideration of what has just been said, INPS explains that requests for exemption relating to social security management services for private workers must also be accompanied by suitable documentation certifying the taxation of retirement income received in Colombia.

Self-employed

The treaty on the double taxation of Italy-Colombia pensions stipulated with Colombia in 2020, however, provides for a particular discipline for pensions deriving from the performance of self-employment for which the taxation regime is sanctioned in both states (Colombia and Italy regardless of residence. In order to eliminate double taxation, however, the resident in Colombia is granted a deduction of the tax on retirement income withheld at source in Italy by the Institute, in its capacity as withholding agent, in compliance with the limits and conditions established by the legislation Colombian tax.

Deciding which Colombian city to move to and take up residence is, after understanding which type of visa to request, the most important decision to make. Colombia is an extremely large and also diverse country. Both in terms of customs and ethnicity, the country is extremely different and the cities offer certainly different lifestyles, different rhythms of life and diet and timetables as well as the climate and the social and criminal situation. When you decide to become a resident in Colombia, some decisions must be justified in a calculated and certain manner by evaluating the pros and cons of all the cities. So let's see which cities in Colombia to move to and how to decide which Colombian city is best for our requirements and tastes.

The various Colombian cities sought after by foreigners are:

Bogotá, political and administrative capital of the nation, the only megalopolis in northern South America to exceed 10 million inhabitants.

Medellín, capital of Antioquia, Colombia's second largest city

Cali, third largest city in Colombia and capital of Valle del Cauca.

Bogotá is the capital of the country. The teeming and intense metropolitan life is marked by the timetables of the corporations, multinationals that live and invest in the metropolis. All seasoned with incessant political life, made up of meetings, assemblies, and the presence of the president of the republic and all the big names in Colombian politics. Bogotá is a sophisticated metropolis, made up of daily cultural events, international concerts, theatres, musicals, historic centers among the oldest in Latin America, both local Colombian restaurants and the top of international food and wine, with a wide choice of guided restaurants and Michelin star, as well as breathtaking views to experience in its surroundings. The temperate to cool climate in some periods of the year makes it perfect for those who hate the heat, cannot tolerate mosquitoes, and love that environment and pampered sensation of an Andean mountain, warm and comforting. Bogotá is very safe compared to the rest of Colombia and it couldn't be otherwise considering the interests at stake and the eyes of the political and business world on this city. It has one of the best mobility systems in the country but is also the busiest city in the nation. In Bogotá the nightlife never ends and there is no difference between Monday and Sunday. You can go out and have dinner even at midnight without any problem. Its inhabitants, Los Rolos, are welcoming and particularly polite but are not loud and party animals like other Colombians. They follow European fashion a lot, so you will probably find people, men and women more attractive in clothing than anyone else in Colombia. You will go to live in Bogotá because it is the city where any European, Italian or North American foreigner would immediately feel comfortable and at home due to the infinite possibilities it offers. Despite being the capital, it is also the cheapest city in Colombia. Bogotá does not suffer from drug trafficking and human trafficking like other cities in Colombia. The city of Bogotá rises 2500 meters above sea level. Its airport is among the largest in South America and connects the whole world with direct flights.

Medellín, Antioquia, rises 1500 meters above sea level. Medellin is the city famous for its eternally spring climate, which makes it interesting for all those people interested in living in a climate that is between 20 and 28 degrees per year. However, let's not forget that Medellin is among the rainiest cities in the world, with an average of 5 days a month of very intense rain which in certain periods such as June, August and September reaches up to 11 hours a day of rain for almost 10 days a month. . It is a city surrounded by valleys and mountains and which stands in a valley 1500 meters above the sea. The inhabitants are called paisas, and unlike the inhabitants of Bogota, they are very party people and music lovers, but they have a much more closed and respectful pace of life. If in Bogota you can decide every day of the week to go out at midnight or two in the morning to have dinner or party in some place in Medellin after 9 in the evening during the week from Monday to Thursday you will only find closed restaurants and closed clubs. It is a city that wakes up very early, where life begins around 4 in the morning and then ends very early around 7/9 in the evening maximum. People in Medellin have dinner between 6pm and 7.30pm. He goes to sleep between 8:30 pm and 9:00 pm. In terms of safety it has made enormous progress and is an acceptable city within certain limits. Unfortunately, it is in category 4 of the most unsafe city for Americans to visit, one point away from the highest unsafe category. In 2023 alone, 32 American tourists died in Medellin after dating on adult dating applications (Tinder, Bumble, etc.) due to the fact that criminal organizations target tourists looking to meet women from Medellin to extort, kidnap and often kill the unaware tourists. Another plague of the city is child prostitution, so much so that the city is now adopting very serious and invasive prevention measures from the moment of arrival at the airport. The neighborhoods where you can move around without problems are El Poblado, Sabaneta, Envigado and Laureles within certain time limits. The arrival at Medellin Airport in Rio Negro is traumatic. Migration often requires more than 3 hours of waiting in line, in some cases 5 hours in line due to the poor management of the migratory flow, which has increased over the years and has led to an excess of turnout versus a mediocre and underdeveloped migration office which has very few agents in Medellin, often only 2 or 3 agents for 4 or 5 planes landed at a time. Don't make any commitments on the day you land in Medellin because you certainly won't be able to keep them. The city boasts the best metro in the country and a tunnel that connects the city to the airport which allows you to reach it within 50 minutes. The cost of living is on average higher than in Bogota but generally cheap being in Colombian COPs.

Cali, Valle del Cauca, third city in the country, is without a doubt, the cheapest city in Colombia. It is a city of celebration, dance, traditions and music at any time of day or night. Its inhabitants are considered among the happiest in the country and the city is kissed by the warm, yellow sun all year round. The population is ethnically very mixed, and the women and men thanks to the climate are extremely friendly, open and always dress very well and attractively. The beauty of the city is that despite being a large city, the third largest in the nation, it is the cheapest place in the nation. Really living and tourism or moving to Cali is without a doubt the winning choice if you want to start in a comfortable and inexpensive way. The city has no timetables, it is very relaxed and with little traffic.