Colombia

Yes, and this is the single most important fact about Colombia, one that is rarely spelled out. Read Ley 2277 art. 292-3 in plain terms. It contains no exclusion for foreign residents. That means a foreign tax resident pays Colombian wealth tax on worldwide net assets above roughly USD 1.16 million (72,000 UVT) from day one, at rates of 0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5%. The five-year exclusion for foreigners that existed under the old Ley 1943/2010 did not carry over into the current law. For an eight-figure family, that can mean up to 1.5% of everything, every year. It is enough to rule Colombia out as a tax base for most ultra-high-net-worth clients, yet visa agents almost never mention it.

You become a tax resident after 183 days, whether continuous or spread out, within any 365-day window, under art. 10 ET. If that window spans two calendar years, residency begins in the second year. It is easy to cross this line without meaning to, and holding a residency visa gives you no exemption. Digital nomads and part-time residents cross it routinely, often without realizing. Once you do, worldwide income tax of up to 39% and the wealth tax on worldwide net assets both apply, with no grace period and no holiday.

No, it is a dead end by design. The V-visa digital nomad route (Resolución 5477 of 2022, art. 46) requires income of only 3 SMMLV a month, roughly USD 1,400 at current exchange rates, since 3 x the 2026 minimum wage of COP 1,750,905 is about COP 5.25m. It is valid for up to two years, but V-visa time counts toward neither the R visa nor naturalisation. This is the single most common and most expensive planning error in Colombia. Two years on a nomad visa are two wasted years if you want a Colombian future. Use an M visa instead if residency is the goal.

The M-visa company investor route is the cheapest, at 100 SMMLV of registered foreign direct investment. That is COP 175,090,500, roughly USD 54,000 at the July 2026 exchange rate, which makes it among the cheapest investor visas anywhere. The property route costs more, at 350 SMMLV, about USD 188,000. Every threshold is a wage multiple that resets each January, and the SMMLV itself is under litigation following the Consejo de Estado's suspension of Decreto 1469/2025 on 12 February 2026. Verify the current figure before relying on it.

You need five years of continuous residence, though that drops to two years if you are married to a Colombian or are the parent of one. Latin Americans and Caribbean nationals by birth need only one year. That clock runs on the R, or resident, visa. Only time spent on an M visa counts toward it, not V-visa time, and you reach the R visa after five continuous years on an M visa. The old shortcut, which granted an R visa immediately for a qualifying investment, was reportedly eliminated in the 2022 visa reform. Plan on the five-year M-visa path rather than an instant grant. Investment thresholds are set as multiples of the minimum wage, known as the SMMLV, rather than as fixed dollar figures, so confirm the current number before relying on it. Colombia allows dual citizenship, so you keep the nationality you already have.

You need 350 SMMLV, which is COP 612,816,750, or roughly USD 188,000 at the TRM of 15 July 2026, in registered real estate held in your own name under Resolución 5477 of 2022. The investment has to be registered as foreign investment with the Banco de la República. Unregistered purchases do not qualify. Because the threshold is a wage multiple, it moves every January, and it carries the same uncertainty as the SMMLV decree itself. The visa processing is quick, though, running one to three months once the investment is registered.

Yes. Naturalisation requires an exam covering the Constitution, historia patria, geografía and castellano, along with a culture module added on 25 September 2023. Applicants over 60 are exempt. This is a real test, not a formality, and it applies whether you reach the R visa through investment or through accumulated time on an M visa.

Colombia has no expatriation or deemed-disposal exit tax. Do not confuse this with the impuesto de timbre por salida del país, a per-trip departure charge introduced by Decreto 0625 of 19 June 2026. The two are often, and wrongly, presented as the same thing. Colombia does have CFC (ECE) rules under arts. 882+ ET since 2017, and CRS reporting since 2017, so there is no opacity here. For most wealthy clients, the practical answer is to hold the visa, stay under 183 days, and never become tax resident.