POSTERN

Colombia

Visa M – Pensionado. Colombia's most-used retiree visa, for anyone with a verified foreign pension.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

Visa M – Pensionado

Three-year renewable migrant (M) visa; no minimum age.

Who qualifies

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

1

Does it fit your family?

2 questions, from the program’s own rules.

Steady monthly income, from any source?

Not legal advice.

2

What it takes.

Income
At least $1,590 a month, steady and documented.
Time
2–6 weeks online.
Cost
About $225 in government fees, plus optional legal fees of $300–800.
The hard part
Getting the pension letter properly apostilled and translated to Colombian consular standard, a common rejection point.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

3

Citizens by 2038.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    3 years, renewable for 3 years at a time.

  2. 2030
    Renew the permit

    Filed before the old one lapses; renews for 3 years.

  3. 2032
    Permanent residence

    A resident (R) visa needs 5 years in a row on migrant (M) visas such as Pensionado, Inversionista, Trabajador or Socio (2 years for Mercosur or Andean nationals on those M visas, 3 for spouses of Colombians). Each visa must be granted before the last one expires, and an M visa lapses after more than 180 days in a row abroad. Visitor (V) visa time, including Rentista and digital-nomad visas, does not count. The R visa lapses after 2 years in a row abroad.

  4. 2037
    Apply for citizenship

    With a language test and a civics test.

  5. 2038
    Citizenship
Language
A Spanish test, unless Spanish is your mother tongue.
Civics
Knowledge exams on the Constitution, Colombian history, culture and geography, set by the Foreign Ministry and taken at the regional government; two attempts. People over 60 and graduates of Colombian schools or universities are exempt.
Time away
Five years of domicile in a row immediately before applying, counted from the date the resident (R) visa was issued; you must hold the R visa when you file and throughout. Leaving Colombia for a year or more before applying breaks the clock.
Two passports
Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.
  • Five years in a row on M visas earns the resident (R) visa, and citizenship takes 5 more years from the R visa (2 for Spaniards), so about 10 years in all; the M visa lapses after more than 180 days in a row abroad.
  • Ley 2332/2023 art. 9 also cuts the clock to 2 years where the applicant's country treats Colombians reciprocally; Cancillería's own summary names only Spain, so no other nationality is listed. The old 1-year rule for Latin Americans and Caribbeans (Ley 43/1993) applies only to applications paid by 24 September 2023.
  • Naturalisation is discretionary. The law gives the ministry 3 months to review the file but sets no deadline for the decision, and no official figure for actual waits was found.
  • Visitor visas (Rentista, digital nomad) are granted for up to 2 years; whether a second one can follow is not stated, so they are shown as not renewable.
  • Whether the 5-year R-visa requirement applies to every M category a family might use was read from the resolution's table (art. 90, as amended in 2023); a later 2025–2026 amendment, if any, was not found.
  • How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
The law behind these dates
4

Living there.

Time you must spend there
Cannot be absent more than 6 continuous months.
Tax
Same 183-day tax-residency test; foreign pension income is generally exempt for the first 5 years of tax residence.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

5

Start today.

  1. Submit the apostilled pension certification through Colombia's Cancillería visa system.Open cancilleria.gov.co ↗
  2. Round up the papers.
    • Proof of steady income: at least $1,590 a month
    • Request your FBI Identity History Summary
    • Health insurance that meets the program’s rules
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Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

19 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →
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ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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