Colombia Investor Visa
The requirement to obtain an investor’s visa in Colombia changes each January when the government sets the new minimum wage. For 2024 the rate in pesos is now 754,000,00 pesos Colombianos (or approximately $160,426 USD with exchange of 4,700 per dollar, Keep an eye on the USD COP exchange rate searching google. The investment must be made DIRECTLY into a property or stocks a corporation. Please keep in mind that at the beginning of January in 2023 the exchange rate was aproximately 4,000 pesos per dollar. So, year-by-year fluctuations are effected by the exchange rate and Colombian minimum wage adjustments.
James S. Lindzey has more experience in visas for foreigners than anyone else. He arrived in Colombia in 2005, and has been managing legal services for expats ever since. Many people copy James, but there is only one real expert in immigration for foreigners migrating to Colombia.
You can apply inside Colombia first time for the Colombia investors Visa. The duration of this visa is permanent but your information must be revalidated every 5 years with a process referred to by visa officials as a visa transfer. To maintain this visa active you must come into Colombia 1 time every two years. The most recent visa law went into effect the 15th of December, 2017. Under the new law smaller investments may qualify for the new 3-year migrant property owner visa if you can legalize an investment of 350 minimum salaries, which is approximately $87,500 US dollars. The minimum salary for Colombia in 2024 is $1,300,000 pesos per month.** Immigration policies and laws may change without notice.
To protect properties from lawsuits or government seizure Living Trusts in Colombia are the best solution. Please check out the information on Living Trusts in Colombia here.
Remember that to qualify for this visa you must have an expert who knows how to correctly do wire transfers, investment legalizations, and purchase agreements so they all comply with the strict requirements of the investor visa. Wire transfers and purchase agreements done incorrectly can invalidate the visa and alert tax authorities. Half of the persons who use an attorney provided by a realtor will end up with the above problems. The attorneys at Colombia Legal & Associates have this experience.
The new qualifying investment amount for a 5 year RE visa is 650 minimum salaries, which currently comes out to a bit more than $216,667 USD using an exchange rate of 4,000 pesos per US dollar.. Foreigners only need a passport to purchase stock in a company or purchase real estate by Colombian Law. Its important to work with professionals who know what bank branches are familiar with working with foreigners, to facilitate opening everything from Colombian bank accounts, conducting international wire transfers and finally registering investments. Its important to get legal assistance from attorneys with experience with all aspects of real estate and commercial transactions. Finally, our expertise with obtaining the correct immigration status for our clients is beyond comparison. James Lindzey is an expat who has been living in Colombia full time since 2005, and has dedicated his career in Colombia to helping foreigners establish both new lifes and expand corporate investments into Colombia. We provide expert knowledge on both corporate and real estate investments, with legal and accounting services provided by licensed Colombian accountants and Colombian lawyers. We invite foreigners to take advantage of the booming economy and tax discounts available under the many free trade agreements now in place with Colombia.
The most popular options for investing in Colombia fall into the following categories which are outlined below. Depending on the individual our company can also assist with obtaining lawyers to create corporations, contractual agreements, purchase of shares, purchase of real estate in Colombia (Paradise Realty is recommended for revision of real estate contracts and purchases).
We have a long history helping foreigners invest in Colombia with trusted financial institutions in Colombia,and ateam of experts including lawyers and legal assistants. Through trial and error over the years we have found the team of experts that works, which you will find in Colombia is not so easy at times. Everyone says they now how to do it, but very few actually do! We are so confident that we now GAURANTEE ALL OF OUR COLOMBIA VISAS. If we don’t get your visa you get your money back! *
1. Create a Corporation or Purchase Shares (acciones) in private Colombian company
Create or buy into any range of Colombian corporations by purchasing stock in the value of 650 minimum salaries (650 minimum Colombian salaries is roughly $216,667 USD). Popular areas for foreigners to invest in are real estate management companies, tourism agencies, tourism service providers, hotels, hostels, furnished apartments, business consulting services, international franchises, holding companies, import and export consulting services, mining engineering and exporation, and manufacturing companies just to give you some ideas.
2. Purchase of Real Estate
Purchase directly of real estate in the value of 650 minimum Colombian Salaries with foreign money converted to pesos in your name. (650 minimum Colombian salaries is roughly $162,500 USD). Paradise Realtor provides excellent property management services and consultations on real estate investments.
Related Topics of Interest for You:
Click the following topics to read more about the return on investments you may receive while investing in Colombia, and obtaining permanent residency under the Colombian Investment Visa.
Visas y Tramites Internacionales is teamed up with the Medellin Entrepreneurs Society, which is a group of expats working in Colombia and developing new ideas and creating international businesses. Even if you don’t live in Medellin the group is a valuable resource for expats and foreigners doing business across Colombia. There is no cost to join the organization. Please contact James Lindzey for information on where the next meeting will be.
*MONEY BACK GUARANTEE – We refund all of our fees which we charge internally for processing visas If a visa does not get approved. The external fees for lawyers, messenger, mail, translations and legalizations of documents are paid to third parties and are not included in the guarantee. Rest assured we do not like to work for free so we do not process visas which we do not think will get approved.