Colombia Retirement Visa | A Complete Guide

What is retirement visa?

Retirement visas are a type of passive income visa that has been popular worldwide since the 1980s. Typically, they are issued to retirees who have sufficient retirement funds or stable income.

In general, global retirement visas have the following characteristics:

1. Applicant Qualifications: Typically, retirement visas require applicants to be retirees, reach a certain age, or have retirement funds.

2. Restrictions on Employment: Visa holders are usually not allowed to work locally.

3. Path to Permanent Residency: After residing in the destination country for a certain period, retirement visa holders can often apply for permanent residency or even citizenship.

If you’re interested in retirement visas or passive income visas, you might want to read our informative article: ‘Global Passive Income Visa | An Incomplete Guide‘.

Colombia Retirement Visa:

The Colombian M-11 Retirement Visa (Pensionado) requires applicants to be retirees with a monthly pension income that is three times the local minimum wage. In 2024, the specific income requirement is a monthly income of 3,901,818 Colombian Pesos, approximately $970 USD.

Your income must be entirely from pension sources, and this pension, whether it comes from government sources or privately purchased insurance, is recognized.

In addition to the financial requirements, applicants for the retirement visa must also meet basic conditions such as being in good health, having no criminal record, committing not to work within Colombia, and not exceeding a total of 180 days of absence from the country each year.

Colombia Rentista Visa:

The Colombian Rentista Visa has no age restrictions for applicants, but it requires that your monthly passive income reaches ten times the local minimum wage. In 2024, the specific income requirement is a monthly income of 13,006,060 Colombian Pesos, approximately $3,220 USD (please check the real-time exchange rate).

For this program, your income needs to come from non-salary sources such as rental income, bank interest, financial product dividends, etc.

Since October 2022, the Colombian authorities have downgraded the Rentista Visa from a type-M immigrant visa to a type-V visitor visa: currently, this visa is valid for a maximum of two years, can be renewed, but cannot be converted into permanent residency or citizenship.

Application Process:

The application process for the Colombian Retirement Visa and Rentista Visa is identical and very straightforward:

Once you have prepared all the necessary documents, you can choose to submit your visa application online by uploading the documents or schedule an appointment to submit the application in person at the nearest Colombian consulate or the Colombian Ministry of Interior in Bogotá.

Required documents for this program include:

• Applicant identification documents: This includes valid passports and copies for all primary and secondary applicants, a 3cm * 4cm passport-sized photo, and proof of relationship such as birth certificates and marriage certificates.

If any primary or secondary applicants have previously held a Colombian visa, the person must also provide copies of those previous visas.

• Application forms.

• Medical examination report.

• Proof of income: If applying for a Retirement Visa, you need to provide clear proof of income from the pension-paying institution. If applying for a Rentista Visa, the income must come from sources like rental income, annuities, dividends, and financial product returns; it’s best not to include work income.

• Proof of health insurance purchase: You need to purchase health insurance that covers the duration of the visa and is valid in Colombia for each applicant.

• Criminal record certificate: All adult applicants must provide a criminal record certificate from the areas where they have lived in the past three years.

All documents issued outside of Colombia must be notarized, and non-Spanish documents must be translated into Spanish.

Generally, if no additional documents are requested, the processing time for a Colombian visa is about 30 days. Each applicant must pay a $52 visa fee, but you may face delays due to government bureaucracy.

You might also be required to attend a brief interview where the visa officer may verify your application documents and ask some additional questions.

After the visa is approved, you need to pay a second visa fee of $271 per person, after which you can freely enter and reside in Colombia. However, you must apply for a residence card within one month of entering the country.

Once you obtain your residence card, you can join Colombia’s public healthcare and social security system.

Dependents:

For the Colombian Retirement Visa, the primary applicant’s spouse, children under 25, and children of any age with physical or mental disabilities can jointly obtain the visa as secondary applicants.

Colombia’s policy for dependents is relatively flexible. If you try to apply, there is also a good chance that you can successfully obtain a family reunification visa for parents or other direct relatives.

Visa Validity:

Colombian type-M visas are valid for a period ranging from 1 to 3 years. Specifically for the Retirement Visa, the initial validity is generally one year. Upon expiration, it can be renewed continuously for three-year periods, although some applicants receive a three-year Retirement Visa on their first application.

However, whether it’s the Retirement Visa or the Rentista Visa, if you leave Colombia for more than six consecutive months, your visa could be revoked.

Type-M visa holders can apply for permanent residency in Colombia after legally residing in the country for 5 years, provided other conditions are met.

Foreigners who have legally resided in Colombia for 10 years, are permanent residents, have no criminal record, and possess a basic proficiency in Spanish, among other conditions, can apply for citizenship.

Official Links:

Colombia Retiement Visa: https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/en/special-temporary-pensioners-visa-0