Build a Life In…

Moving as a Canadian citizen

Building a life in Colombia as a Canadian citizen

Andean cities, low costs and a real path to a passport Here is what that means for you specifically, from the front door to the tax return to the passport, seen through your Canadian status rather than in the abstract.

Researched from public sources, dated below. Not legal or tax advice.

The verdict

90 days visa-free, then a long-stay route.

As a Canadian citizen you can enter Colombia visa-free for about 90 days per entry. That covers a stay, not a life: living here means a long-stay visa or residence permit. Separately, a visa is not tax residence, spend past roughly 183 days a year and Colombia can tax you (see Keep).

How we stand behind this

Effective
2026
Last verified
2026-07-23
Source
PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Colombia - Individual Residence
Confidence
Medium confidence

This block carries its source and dates above. Rules change constantly; the verification record is how you judge whether to rely on it, or take it to a professional.

The 15-second snapshot

You can visit
90 days visa-free for US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia passports, extendable to 180 days per calendar year
You can stay long term
Migrant (M) visa on income, pension or investment, converting to a Resident (R) visa after five years
Remote-work routes
2 routes
Bring dependants
Spouse and children can be included as beneficiaries on M and V visas
Open a local bank account
Local account possible once you hold a cedula de extranjeria from a valid visa
Likely tax resident after
183 days in any 365-day period
Citizenship pathway
Naturalisation after 5 years on an R visa, reduced to 2 years if married to a Colombian or with Colombian children, and 1 year for Latin American and Caribbean nationals

The sourced facts

Checked Jul 2026
  • Entry2026 · Medium confidence

    90 days visa-free for typical Western passports, extendable to 180 days per calendar year US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia get 90 days on arrival, extendable once to a 180-day annual cap that resets on 1 January. Official authority is Migracion Colombia

    Go To Colombia (2026 tourist visa guide)High-churn · re-verify by 2026-10-21
  • Tax residence2026 · High confidence

    Tax resident after 183 days in any 365-day period; residents taxed on worldwide income 183 days (continuous or not) within any 365 consecutive days. Fiscal residents are taxed on worldwide income (PwC Taxes on personal income)

    PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Colombia - Individual ResidenceHigh-churn · re-verify by 2026-10-21
  • Citizenship2026 · Medium confidence

    Naturalisation after 5 years of residence, less for some nationalities 5 years standard under Ley 2332 de 2023; 2 years if married to a Colombian or with Colombian children; 1 year for Latin American, Caribbean and Spanish nationals. Clock counts only R-visa time, plus Spanish and civics tests

    Stanford Baker, Colombian Citizenship Through Naturalization (Ley 2332 de 2023)High-churn · re-verify by 2026-10-21
  • Income tax2026 · High confidence

    Progressive personal income tax up to 39 percent on worldwide income Top marginal rate 39 percent for fiscal residents, who are taxed on worldwide income

    PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Colombia - Taxes on personal incomeStable · re-verify by 2027-07-23

Researched from public sources on the dates shown. Rules change; this is a planning layer, not legal or tax advice, and not a substitute for a professional before you act.

  1. Enter

    Getting in

    As a Canadian citizen, a visitor can typically spend 90 days in Colombia per entry. Staying longer than that means one of the routes under Stay.

    Visa-free stay
    90 days per entry
    On arrival
    90 days visa-free for US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia passports, extendable to 180 days per calendar year

  2. Stay

    Visitor to resident

    Living in Colombia for years rather than weeks means a long-stay visa or residence permit. For a Canadian citizen, migrant (M) visa on income, pension or investment, converting to a Resident (R) visa after five years.

    Long-term routes
    Migrant (M) visa on income, pension or investment, converting to a Resident (R) visa after five years
    Bring dependants
    Spouse and children can be included as beneficiaries on M and V visas

  3. Earn

    Remote income & your company

    2 remote-work routes make foreign or remote income relatively unremarkable in Colombia. Running your own company from here is the sharper question: running your foreign company from Colombia can make key decisions happen there, so Colombia may treat the company as tax-resident (place of effective management) or as having a permanent establishment. That can pull corporate profit into Colombia's net. This is the review that pays for itself. Your full, profile-specific company analysis is in the world designer.

    Remote-work routes
    2
    Company / PE
    Permanent-establishment / management risk

  4. Keep

    Tax residence

    Here is the line the category forgets: your visa lets you stay, it does not decide who taxes you, and that is true no matter which passport you hold. In Colombia, tax residence typically turns on roughly 183 days a year, tax resident after 183 days in any rolling 365-day period. Residents are taxed on worldwide income at rates up to 39 percent As a Canadian citizen you may also still have filing ties back home, worth settling before you move.

    Tax-residence threshold
    ~183 days
    As a resident
    Varies by income and status
    Also weighs
    Tax resident after 183 days in any rolling 365-day period. Residents are taxed on worldwide income at rates up to 39 percent

  5. Belong

    Residence to citizenship

    For a Canadian citizen, citizenship in Colombia is a route of patience: roughly 5 years of qualifying residence, each year usually needing about 183 days present. Whether you can keep your Canadian citizenship alongside it is a separate question worth checking early.

    Citizenship route
    ~5 years
    Qualifying presence
    ~183 days / year

  6. Live

    Banking, cost & family

    The practical scaffolding once the stamps are sorted. Opening a local bank account in Colombia is local account possible once you hold a cedula de extranjeria from a valid visa. Bringing family: spouse and children can be included as beneficiaries on M and V visas.

    Local banking
    Local account possible once you hold a cedula de extranjeria from a valid visa
    Bring dependants
    Spouse and children can be included as beneficiaries on M and V visas

Weighing Colombia against another

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