Resident
Residente · Arts. 88–93, Res. 5477/2022
Colombia's permanent-residence status — rights close to a national's, including open work permission.
Figures verified for 2026
Headline requirement
Continuous qualifying M-visa time
At a glance
- Validity
- up to 5 years
- Work rights
- OpenOpen work permission — work for anyone, or none.
- Cédula de extranjería
- Required (within 15 days)
- Counts toward residency
- Does not count
- Beneficiaries
- Spouse / children eligible
- Issuance fee
- Varies by subtype
Time outside Colombia
Worth verifying before you apply
- Years-to-R by route (Art. 90): 2 (parent of Colombian by birth; Mercosur/Andean), 3 (spouse), 5 (permanent partner, worker, socio/propietario, independent professional, pensionado, investor). Verify your exact category.
- Continuity is strict — each M visa must be granted before the prior expires. Issuance fee varies — confirm on the official cost filter.
The longer-term path
The R visa document is valid 5 years (renew/transfer every 5 years) and is automatically lost if you're absent more than 2 continuous years. Two routes: by accumulated M-visa time (Art. 90 — 2/3/5 years by category) or by renunciation of nationality (Art. 88).
See what a pack unlocks
A sample of the guided journey. Every pack works like this, tailored to its visa.
Valid passport
Bio page, with enough validity left
Background check — apostilled
The document most likely to slow you down
Each document opens into a how-to:
where to order it, the apostille step, the official Spanish translation, the freshness window it must stay inside — and the mistakes that trigger a requerimiento.
⏱ typical timing notedcost estimate noted
Proof of income
Official statements for the recent months
- Annotated form walkthrough — a watermarked practice copy of the government form with every field explained. You still file the real one yourself.
- Progress that follows you — checklist state saves to your account and syncs across devices.
- Figures kept current — every peso threshold derives from one verified source, with citations and a last-verified date on the page.
Ready to walk the full process?
The guided journey takes you through all five stages for the Resident visa — eligibility self-check, the document checklist, an annotated walkthrough of the government form, the decision window, and the steps after approval.
Start the Resident journeyOne-time pack · US$59 launch price (US$79 after launch) · no subscription · already purchased? It opens right up.
Common questions
Who is the Colombian Resident visa for?
Colombia's permanent-residence status — rights close to a national's, including open work permission.
How long is the Resident visa valid?
Up to 5 years, subject to the authority's decision on each application.
Does the Resident visa require a cédula de extranjería?
Yes. Holders must register for the cédula de extranjería with Migración Colombia, generally within 15 calendar days of the visa being issued.
Does the Resident visa count toward Colombian permanent residency?
No. Time on this visa does not accumulate toward the Resident (R) visa on its own.