Citizeo Expand your global options
Pathway

Colombia Migrant Worker Visa

Colombia Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

An employment contract with a qualifying Colombian company or organization may let you live and work in Colombia. Your visa is tied to the approved employer and role.

Job offer required?
Yes
Employment requirement
A contract with a Colombian company or other qualifying legal entity
Employer income requirement
An ordinary private employer must average at least 100 times Colombia's monthly minimum wage in monthly income over the previous 4 months

Summary

Colombia's Worker visa lets you live and work in Colombia under a contract with a Colombian company or another eligible organization. Your employer must provide documents about the job and show that it can support the hire.

The visa can last up to three years and covers only the approved employer and work. After five years meeting the residence requirements, you may apply separately for permanent residence.

Apply with support from your Colombian employer
  1. Confirm your employer and contract The job must be with a qualifying Colombian company or organization.
  2. Prepare employer and qualification records Your employer provides the job letter and required financial evidence.
  3. Apply for the Worker visa If approved, complete registration and follow the employer and work conditions on your visa.

Check permission before changing jobs. Permanent residence requires a later, separate application.

Could this pathway work for you?

Eligibility

Your employer and contract

You need an employment contract with a Colombian legal entity, such as a registered company. You and the employer's legal representative must sign the Foreign Ministry's contract-summary form.

Your employer must also provide a letter explaining your qualifications, intended duties, why a Colombian citizen was not hired, and how many direct jobs the organization creates.

An ordinary private employer needs four months of bank records showing average monthly income of at least 100 times Colombia's monthly minimum wage. That is COP 175,090,500 per month in 2026. This measures the employer's income, not its bank balance or your salary.

Certain public bodies, intergovernmental organizations, accredited embassies, and consulates have a simpler employer-document requirement: a request letter from the legal representative or equivalent official. A company with both public and private ownership must meet the ordinary requirements if most of its capital is private.

Your qualifications

For a profession that does not require a Colombian license, provide your degree or records of relevant work and experience. Degrees need the required authentication and Spanish translation.

For a regulated profession, you and your employer must arrange the license or permission from the responsible professional council. It must be provided for a second or later visa in all cases.

Your contract and pay must comply with Colombian employment and social-security rules. The employer's financial requirement above is not a minimum salary for you.

What This Route Allows

Your work and stay

You can work for the employer and in the role authorized on your visa. The approved stay may be shorter than three years, depending on your contract and the visa decision.

Some changes can be handled through a formal visa update, known as a transfer. Examples include a new role in the same company, a company name change under the same tax number, or an additional employer for related work where the reporting rules are met. Check what approval is needed before making the change.

Family and permanent residence

Your financially dependent spouse or recognized permanent partner, children up to age 25, and children with a qualifying disability regardless of age may apply for separate family visas. These beneficiary visas do not allow work.

After five qualifying years, you may apply for a Resident visa. You will need your visa and travel history, proof that you still meet the relevant conditions, identity records, and evidence of how you support yourself. Spending more than 180 days in a row outside Colombia within a consecutive 365-day period automatically ends a Migrant visa.

What This Route Is Not

This visa does not let you take any job or change employers freely. A different employer or activity may require a new visa or a formal update.

It also does not cover looking for work, a contract only with a private individual, or work for a foreign company without the required Colombian entity. Other visas cover some independent work and services.

If your employment ends, your visa may end before its printed expiration date. Employers must report relevant changes. If your sponsor requests termination or the authority ends the visa, you generally have 30 calendar days after notice to leave or apply for a new visa.

Five years on a Worker visa is not five years toward citizenship. The ordinary citizenship residence period starts when a later Resident visa is issued.

Next Steps

  1. Confirm that your employer and employment contract meet the visa requirements.
  2. Ask your employer to check its financial evidence or eligibility for the public or international-organization exception.
  3. Complete the contract-summary form and employer letter. Check that the duties, pay, qualifications, and company details agree.
  4. Prepare your qualification records and begin any degree-recognition or professional-licensing process.
  5. Apply through the Foreign Ministry's online visa service. If applying from Colombia, keep your current immigration permission valid during the review.
  6. If approved, complete immigration registration and identity-card requirements. Your employer must also complete its employment, social-security, and foreign-worker reporting.
  7. Keep the records for future applications and check visa requirements before changing jobs or duties.

Stay up to date on this pathway

Get an email when something important changes.

No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Similar employment pathways in other destinations.

Sources