If you've started researching a Colombian visa, you've already encountered the three-letter shorthand: V, M, and R. Visitor, Migrant, Resident. The Colombian immigration system reorganized around these categories in 2022, replacing the older TP (temporary) and RE (resident) classification, and the new framework is actually more logical once you understand the underlying structure.
Here's what each category means, the subcategories that matter, and how to figure out which one applies to you.
The V visa: Visitor
The V visa is for people who want to be in Colombia without establishing long-term ties to the country. It covers a wide range of situations: tourism and short stays, specific short-term work, studying Spanish, and digital nomad scenarios.
The key characteristic of a V visa is that it does not accumulate toward permanent residency. If your plan is to eventually apply for a Colombian cedula and make this your long-term base, time on a V visa doesn't count.
Most V visas are valid for up to two years with continuous stay authorized, and they're multi-entry. The digital nomad visa specifically (V-DN) lets you stay continuously for up to two years.
Common V subcategories
- V-TU (Tourism): For tourism — though most nationalities can enter visa-free for 90 days, so this is rarely needed.
- V-DN (Digital Nomad): For remote workers with foreign employers or clients. Two-year validity, continuous stay allowed.
- V-TE (Study): For language students and short academic programs.
- V-TP (Work): For short-term paid work engagements in Colombia.
The M visa: Migrant
The M visa is the workhorse of Colombian immigration. It's for people who want to live and work in Colombia on an ongoing basis — employees of Colombian companies, investors, business owners, spouses of Colombians, retirees, and people with significant assets or income.
The critical distinction: M visa time accumulates toward permanent residency. After five continuous years on qualifying M visas, you can apply for an R (Resident) visa. For spouses of Colombian nationals, the threshold drops to three years.
Common M subcategories
- M-CA (Marriage/Partnership): For spouses and permanent partners of Colombian citizens or permanent residents.
- M-PE (Work Employee): For people employed by a Colombian company.
- M-IN (Investment): For investors with at least 350 SMMLV (~612 million COP, ~$161,000 USD in 2026).
- M-EI (Business Owner): For people who own a registered Colombian business with at least 100 SMMLV (~175 million COP, ~$46,000 USD in 2026).
- M-PE (Pensionado/Retiree): For retirees receiving at least 3 SMMLV per month (~5.25M COP, ~$1,380 USD monthly in 2026).
The R visa: Resident
The R visa is permanent residency. Once you have it, you can stay indefinitely, work for any employer, and live in Colombia without ongoing visa renewals. It's the final step before Colombian citizenship, which becomes available after five years of permanent residency.
You can qualify for an R visa in several ways:
- Five years of continuous M visas (or three years for spouses of Colombians)
- Being the parent or child of a Colombian national
- Having a Colombian-born child
The 2026 update: minimum wage and visa thresholds
Colombia's monthly minimum wage (SMMLV) increased 22.7% effective January 1, 2026, to approximately 1,749,848 COP. Because many visa financial requirements are expressed as multiples of SMMLV, every threshold that uses this multiplier went up proportionally.
- Investment visa (350 SMMLV): was ~500M COP, now ~612M COP
- Business owner visa (100 SMMLV): was ~143M COP, now ~175M COP
- Pensionado minimum (3 SMMLV): was ~4.3M COP/month, now ~5.25M COP/month
Which visa is right for you?
If you're testing the waters or want flexibility without committing to Colombia as a permanent home, start with a V visa. If you're building a life here — working, investing, or partnering — go straight to M. The residency clock only starts ticking once you're on qualifying M visas.
All Colombian visa applications go through the official Cancelaria portal (cancilleria.gov.co). Applications are done online, documents are submitted digitally, and processing typically takes two to six weeks depending on the category.