Bogotá
COP
Spanish
UTC−5
Daily life
- Climate: Set by altitude rather than season: Bogotá (2,600 m) is cool, Medellín (1,500 m) mild all year, the Caribbean coast (Cartagena, Santa Marta) hot and humid. Most of the country has two rainy seasons.
- Safety: Pickpocketing, muggings and armed robbery in big cities (Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, the Caribbean coast); "express kidnappings", often by criminals posing as taxi drivers. Armed groups are active in rural and border areas, where the UK advises against all but essential travel to several departments.
- English: limited outside tourist areas
- Expat community: large
Sources: UK travel advice: Colombia, safety and security (checked 2026-10-22) · EF EPI 2025: Colombia (76th, score 480) (checked 2026-10-22) · IDEAM: national weather service (checked 2026-10-22)
Cost of living
| Monthly, COP | Bogotá | Medellín | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single | Couple | Single | Couple | |
| Rent | 1,423,000 | 2,290,000 | 1,994,000 | 2,600,000 |
| Food | 1,250,000 | 2,250,000 | 1,450,000 | 2,600,000 |
| Utilities | 491,000 | 540,000 | 630,000 | 690,000 |
| Transport | 160,000 | 320,000 | 248,000 | 496,000 |
| Health cover | 950,000 | 1,900,000 | 950,000 | 1,900,000 |
| Leisure | 800,000 | 1,350,000 | 930,000 | 1,600,000 |
| Total | 5,074,000 | 8,650,000 | 6,202,000 | 9,886,000 |
Amounts in Colombian pesos. Rent: a one-bedroom flat outside the centre for one person, between one and three bedrooms for a couple. Health: a private or international policy at 65–74 (see healthcare). Utilities include internet.
Sources: Numbeo: cost of living in Bogotá (updated Oct 2026) (checked 2026-10-22) · Numbeo: cost of living in Medellín (updated Oct 2026) (checked 2026-10-22)
Visas and residence
Visa M Pensionado (retiree)
For people with a lifetime pension from a state or a private pension fund of at least three monthly minimum wages: COP 5,252,715 a month in 2026. You need a criminal record certificate, a medical certificate and health cover valid in Colombia. The visa lasts up to three years, does not allow work, and the time counts toward the Resident visa (after five years).
- Minimum income: 5,252,715 COP a month
- Valid 36 months, renewable; permanent residence possible after 5 years
- The threshold moves each January with the minimum wage (COP 1,750,905 in 2026). Register the visa with Migración Colombia within 15 days of arriving.
- Spouse can be included
- Official page
Trying it first: United States passport: 90 days in any 365 without a visa; Canada passport: 90 days in any 365 without a visa; United Kingdom passport: 90 days in any 365 without a visa.
Sources: Resolution 5477 of 2022 (visas), Article 77: Visa M Pensionado (checked 2026-10-22) · Cancillería de Colombia: visa M (migrant) types (checked 2026-10-22) · PwC tax summaries: Colombia (2026 minimum wage COP 1,750,905; wealth and inheritance) (checked 2026-10-22) · UK travel advice: Colombia, entry requirements (checked 2026-10-22)
Healthcare
Colombia's system is built on EPS insurers (contributory regime) and private prepaid plans (medicina prepagada); private clinics in Bogotá and Medellín are among the best in Latin America. For retirees, the rules conflict: the visa resolution says Visa M holders cannot join the Colombian social security system, while 2026 guides say every foreigner with a visa over three months must join an EPS. Ask Migración or an EPS before you arrive, and keep a private or international policy.
- Public system: Visa M: the 2022 visa resolution (Article 77) excludes affiliation to the social security system unless a treaty applies; other foreigners with long visas join an EPS (minimum about COP 219,000 a month in 2026, per guides).
- Private insurance, monthly (USD): age 55-64: 200 · age 65-74: 300 · age 75+: 450
- Pre-existing conditions: varies by insurer
Sources: Resolution 5477 of 2022 (visas), Article 77: Visa M Pensionado (checked 2026-10-22) · Rio Times: healthcare in Colombia for expats (2026) (checked 2026-10-22)
Taxes
Residents are taxed on worldwide income at progressive rates. Since the 2022 reform, pensions from abroad get the same exemption as Colombian ones: up to 1,000 UVT a month (about COP 52 million in 2026). There is a wealth tax on large fortunes, and inheritances are taxed as occasional gains (15%).
- When you become tax resident: Resident if you spend more than 183 days in Colombia (continuous or not) in any period of 365 consecutive days.
Coming from United States
Colombia mostly leaves pensions alone, but other foreign income (interest, dividends, rents) is taxed once you are resident. File a Colombian return if you pass the filing thresholds.
- Tax treaty: no
- Public pension: There is no US–Colombia tax treaty. US Social Security counts as a pension and is exempt in Colombia up to 1,000 UVT a month, so most retirees owe no Colombian tax on it; the US taxes it as usual.
- Private pension: Exempt in Colombia within the same monthly ceiling; the US still taxes its citizens on it.
Sources: IRS: US income tax treaties A to Z (checked 2026-10-22) · KPMG: Colombia 2022 tax reform (foreign pensions exempt up to 1,000 UVT) (checked 2026-10-22)
Coming from United Kingdom
Under the UK–Colombia treaty, UK pensions paid to a resident of Colombia are taxable only in Colombia. Colombia exempts pensions up to a high monthly ceiling. Your UK State Pension is paid but frozen: it does not rise each year while you live there (it goes back to the current rate if you return to the UK).
- Tax treaty: yes
- Public pension: Taxable only in Colombia (pensions article of the 2016 treaty), which exempts pensions up to 1,000 UVT a month.
- Private pension: Taxable only in Colombia (Article 17), within the same exemption. Most UK government pensions (such as civil service pensions) are taxed only in the UK.
Sources: GOV.UK: Colombia tax treaties (checked 2026-10-22) · GOV.UK: countries where the State Pension is increased each year (checked 2026-10-22) · GOV.UK: tax on your UK income if you live abroad (State Pension, Personal Allowance, government pensions) (checked 2026-10-22) · HMRC International Manual INTM343190: pensions and annuities (State Pension under tax treaties) (checked 2026-10-22)
Coming from France
Colombia exempts pensions up to 1,000 UVT a month, so most French non-government pensions are taxed little or not at all.
- Tax treaty: yes
- Public pension: Basic state pension: Taxable only in Colombia, as your country of residence (pensions for past employment). (Article 17). Civil-service and military pensions are taxed only in France, unless you are Colombian and not French. (Article 18)
- Private pension: Taxable only in Colombia, as your country of residence (pensions for past employment). (Article 17).
Sources: Law 2061 of 2020 approving the Colombia–France tax treaty (2015), Articles 17 and 18 (copy of the official text) (checked 2026-10-22) · economie.gouv.fr: income tax for residents abroad (minimum rates, non-resident withholding on pensions) (checked 2026-10-22)
Coming from somewhere else? The general rules above apply; check your home country's tax treaty with Colombia or ask a licensed advisor.
Sources: KPMG: Colombia 2022 tax reform (foreign pensions exempt up to 1,000 UVT) (checked 2026-10-22) · PwC tax summaries: Colombia (2026 minimum wage COP 1,750,905; wealth and inheritance) (checked 2026-10-22) · PwC tax summaries: Colombia, residence (checked 2026-10-22)
Housing
Foreigners can buy like Colombians. Money brought from abroad to buy must be channelled through the exchange market and registered with the central bank (Banco de la República), or you may not be able to take the proceeds out when you sell. Buyer costs are about 2–3%: registration tax (about 1%), the buyer's share of notary fees and registry charges.
- Can foreigners buy? Yes
- Purchase costs: about 3% of the price (taxes and fees)
- Renting: Furnished flats for foreigners are common in Medellín and Bogotá, at higher prices than local long leases.
Sources: Nexo Legal: buying property in Colombia in 2026 (checked 2026-10-22) · Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro (checked 2026-10-22)
Settling in
Once you choose Colombia, the settling plan takes you through 7 steps, from a year before the move to your first year there. The first ones:
- Gather apostilled documents: Lifetime pension certificate, criminal record certificate (last three years) and a medical certificate, apostilled and translated into Spanish.
- Arrange health cover valid in Colombia: Required for the visa: a policy covering accident, illness, hospital stays and repatriation.
- Apply online for the Visa M Pensionado: Apply on the Foreign Ministry visa portal; you can apply from abroad or while visiting Colombia.
- Register your visa with Migración: Within 15 days of arriving (or of the visa being issued in Colombia), online or at an office.
The full plan, with costs, delays and official links, is in your personal space (coming soon).
Rules and figures change and we can make mistakes: confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor before acting.