Buying property in Colombia: your home and visa

Yes. Foreigners have the same civil rights as Colombians (Constitution, art. 100).
You do not need a visa or residency to buy.

It depends on what you want to do here and on your days in Colombia. Property needs 350 minimum wages or more and does not let you work; a company needs 100 minimum wages or more of paid-in capital and a business that really operates. If you are already a tax resident, the property route is closed for now. We tell you which one fits in the first conversation. The company route is explained in doing business in Colombia.

Bringing your money in through an exchange intermediary, with an exchange declaration, puts its entry on record, which is what makes it traceable. If it is for the visa, it is registered as foreign investment. The intermediary charges 0.6% to 1%, and the 4x1000 tax applies when the money leaves the intermediary for another account. Whether you pay income tax in Colombia depends mostly on becoming a tax resident.

Not while you are a tax resident: the investment has to be made before. We review with you when you could qualify again.

Yes. Off-plan purchases are paid to the developer in stages, and that works for the visa. You can apply only once the public deed is signed and the purchase is complete. What counts is the price recorded on the Certificate of Freedom and Tradition. It must be 350 times the minimum wage of the year you apply, or more, and the minimum wage changes every January. We review the agreed price against the threshold with you.

Once we have the property's documents and the terms agreed with the seller, the title study and the promise agreement are ready in 3 business days.
Both run at the same time: the title study takes 2 of those days.
The notary sets the date of the deed, depending on each deal; then the deed is registered.
Buying property in Colombia →

Cancillería has up to 30 calendar days to decide once the application is complete and the study fee is paid (Resolution 5477 of 2022, art. 13).
It can take longer if Cancillería consults other entities.

Yes, up to 180 calendar days in a row, about 6 months.
If you are away longer, within each 365-day period counted from the day your visa was issued, the visa ends on its own (Resolution 5477 of 2022, art. 65).

If you owned the property for 2 years or more, the profit pays capital gains tax, at 15% (Estatuto Tributario, arts. 300, 314 and 316).
With less than 2 years, it is taxed as ordinary income.
If you are a tax resident, at a progressive rate from 0% to 39%, depending on your other ordinary income and on the profit (art. 241).
If you are not, at 35% (art. 247).
Selling your property →