Most solo travelers don’t need a visa for Colombia at all, just a passport and, since 2022, a mandatory free entry form. Here’s what actually applies depending on how long you’re staying and what you’re doing.
Tourist Entry: What Most Solo Travelers Actually Need
Citizens of the US, Canada, the UK, the EU, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and most Latin American countries enter Colombia visa-free for tourism. What you actually receive on arrival isn’t a “visa” in the traditional sense but a PIP (Permiso de Ingreso y Permanencia), a tourism entry stamp, normally granted for 90 days.
This can be extended once, for up to 90 additional days, through a PTP (Permiso Temporal de Permanencia). The number that actually matters is the 180-day annual cap: your PIP plus any PTP extension cannot exceed 180 total days in Colombia within a single calendar year, no matter how many separate trips you split it across. Leaving and re-entering does not reset this clock.
The Check-Mig Form
Every traveler entering or leaving Colombia, regardless of nationality, must complete the free Check-Mig form online before travel, through the official Migración Colombia portal only. It asks for passport details, flight information, and your accommodation address. Third-party websites charging a fee for this form are exploiting travelers; it costs nothing directly through the official site.
Passport and Entry Basics
Bring a passport valid for at least six months from your entry date. Officials may ask for proof of onward travel and sufficient funds, though this is inconsistently enforced for most nationalities; having a return or onward ticket booked removes any risk of being questioned about it.
If You Need a Visa
Travelers from countries not on the visa-exempt list need a visa arranged before arrival. Colombia’s visa system runs on three categories: V (Visitor), covering tourism, digital nomad work, and other short-to-medium stays; M (Migrant), covering work, marriage, investment, and other longer-term categories; and R (Resident), for permanent residency after five years on an M visa (or faster through marriage or investment). Apply online through Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs portal (tramitesmre.cancilleria.gov.co) or through a Colombian consulate, and check the current visa-exempt list for your nationality before assuming either way.
If You Want to Work Remotely From Colombia
If you’re planning to work remotely for longer than the 180-day tourist cap allows, the Digital Nomad Visa (a V-visa subcategory) permits up to two years of legal remote work, provided your income comes from outside Colombia and meets a minimum monthly threshold tied to the country’s minimum wage, adjusted every January. You’ll need proof of that income, health insurance covering your stay, and a passport valid for the visa’s duration. This is a genuinely different situation from tourist entry, worth planning for separately rather than assuming a tourist stay covers it.
Tax Residency Is a Separate Question From Visa Status
Whatever visa or entry status you’re on, crossing 183 days of physical presence in Colombia within any rolling 365-day period makes you a Colombian tax resident, taxed on worldwide income, regardless of visa category. This is a different threshold from the 180-day tourist cap above, and worth knowing if your trip runs long.
Practical Entry Tips
- Complete the Check-Mig form before you travel, not at the airport.
- Keep a digital and physical copy of your passport, separate from the original.
- Have your accommodation address ready in case immigration asks.
- If you’re extending your stay, apply for the PTP before your initial 90 days expire, through the official Migración Colombia portal.
FAQ
Q: Do I need a visa to travel solo to Colombia?
A: Most nationalities (US, Canada, UK, EU, Australia, and much of Latin America) don’t. You enter on a free tourism entry permit (PIP) for up to 90 days, extendable once to a combined 180 days per calendar year. You’ll still need to complete the free Check-Mig form before travel, regardless of nationality.
Q: How do I extend my stay past 90 days?
A: Apply for a PTP (Permiso Temporal de Permanencia) through the official Migración Colombia portal before your initial 90 days expire. This extends your stay to a combined maximum of 180 days for that calendar year; it doesn’t reset with additional entries.
Q: What if I want to stay longer than 180 days or work while I’m there?
A: The tourist entry route has a hard 180-day annual ceiling. For a longer stay, or to legally work remotely from Colombia, you need an actual visa, most commonly the Digital Nomad Visa for remote workers, or one of the other Migrant (M) visa categories depending on your situation.
I’m Luciana, a travel writer from Bogotá, Colombia, and yes, I know exactly what it’s like to be a solo female traveler in a country the world still misunderstands.
I’ve been travelling independently for 10 years, completing 50+ solo trips across Colombia, Mexico, Central America, Argentina, Peru and the United States. I write in both English and Spanish, and I also contribute to allaboutcolombia.com where I cover my home country in depth — from the coffee region to the Caribbean coast to the Andes.
My speciality is Latin America: the neighbourhoods the guidebooks skip, the buses that are actually fine to take, the hostels that feel like home, and the restaurants where locals actually eat. I’ve hitchhiked across Patagonia, navigated Medellín’s metro system at rush hour, and camped solo in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. I know this region the way you only can when it’s yours.
I also cover the US for solo travelers, having spent time road-tripping through the Southwest, the Pacific Coast and the Deep South.
