How Colombia's 90/180-Day Rule Works for Visitors

Last verified: Oct 19, 2026

General information, not legal advice. Medellín Basic is an independent guide, not a law firm or visa agency, and is not affiliated with the Colombian government. We summarize official sources; we don't know your situation, and this page is not a substitute for the advice of a lawyer. Rules change and officials decide each case. Before you apply, travel or pay, check the official source linked below and, for your own case, ask a licensed Colombian immigration lawyer (abogado).

Información general, no asesoría legal. Medellín Basic es una guía independiente; no somos una firma de abogados ni una agencia de visas, y no tenemos relación con el Gobierno de Colombia. Resumimos fuentes oficiales, no conocemos su caso y esta página no reemplaza la asesoría de un abogado. Las normas cambian y cada autoridad decide caso por caso. Antes de solicitar, viajar o pagar, verifique la fuente oficial enlazada y, para su caso particular, consulte a un abogado colombiano.

Short answer (checked Oct 19, 2026): If your passport is visa-exempt, Migración Colombia gives you an entry permit (PIP) of up to 90 days at the border. You can extend it with a PTP, but your total time can't go over 180 days, continuous or not, in the same calendar year. Source: Migración Colombia (PIP and PTP pages).

What is the 90/180-day rule?

If your passport is from a visa-exempt country, Migración Colombia gives you an entry permit (Permiso de Ingreso y Permanencia, PIP) at the border. It is valid for up to 90 calendar days. You can extend it with a PTP ("prórroga"), but your total time on these permits cannot exceed 180 calendar days, continuous or not, in the same calendar year. (Migración Colombia, PIP; Migración Colombia, PTP; Resolución 2061 de 2020, art. 16)

Rule last checked Oct 19, 2026 on Migración Colombia – PIP and Resolución 2061 de 2020. If the official page says something different, the official page is right.

Key points

Calendar year, not a rolling window. The 180-day cap is counted "within the same calendar year", meaning January 1 to December 31. (Res. 2061/2020, art. 16) This is different from Europe's rolling Schengen rule.
Up to 90 days per permit. The Tourism (PT) and Business (PN) permits are each valid for up to 90 days. Some other permit types are shorter, for example 30 days for urgent technical assistance. (Migración Colombia, PIP)
The officer decides. The permit is granted at the border by the immigration officer if you meet the requirements. There is no application in advance, and the initial permit is free. (Migración Colombia, PIP)
Migración Colombia counts your days. It keeps a record of each foreigner's days on PIPs and PTPs so they don't exceed 180 per calendar year. (Res. 2061/2020, art. 17, parágrafo 2)
No paid work in Colombia. Visa-exempt short stays are allowed only if your activities "do not generate payments for services, salary or wages in Colombia." (Resolución 5488 de 2022, art. 3)
Remote work for foreign employers is covered. Cancillería says digital nomads and remote workers from visa-exempt countries can enter without a visa on an entry permit. The conditions are that no Colombian company pays them and that they stay no more than 90 days, extendable to 180 per calendar year. (Cancillería, Visa V Nómadas digitales, NOTA)

Worked example

You arrive on March 1 with a 90-day tourism permit. Days 1–90 take you to about May 29. You request a PTP extension no later than 5 business days before the permit expires and get up to 90 more days, taking you to about late August. Those two blocks total about 180 days, so you cannot return on a visa-exempt permit until January 1 of the next year.

The dates are illustrative. Your exact permit dates are on your entry record. Count every calendar day, and leave a margin.

Who is visa-exempt?

As of Sept 4, 2026, 100 nationalities are on the short-stay exemption list, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the EU states. (Res. 5488/2022, art. 3, literal A, as modified by Res. 12189/2026) Nationals of Cambodia, India, Nicaragua, Myanmar, China, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam are exempt only if they hold a valid Schengen or US residence permit, or a Schengen or US visa valid for at least 180 more days on arrival. (Res. 5488/2022, art. 3, literal C)

Canadian citizens pay a reciprocity fee of COP 270,000 for immigration control on entry. Exempt from the fee: travelers whose final destination is San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina; children under 14; people over 79; holders of a valid Colombian visa; diplomats; crew; and transit passengers. (Migración Colombia, Feb 20, 2026)

What if you need more than 180 days?

You need a visa: for example the digital nomad visa, or another category from Resolución 5477 de 2022 (normograma). Staying beyond your authorized time is "permanencia irregular" and can lead to administrative measures. (Res. 2061/2020, art. 20) The US State Department warns that overstaying brings a fine and that "you may not be able to leave until you pay." (travel.state.gov, Colombia)

What we couldn't confirm

Overstay fine amounts. We did not find an official 2026 table of fines for overstaying, so we don't quote a figure.

Whether officers routinely grant fewer than 90 days. The rule says "up to" 90 days. We have no official data on how often shorter permits are issued.

Days on a visa vs. days on PIP/PTP. We did not find an official statement on whether days spent under a visa count toward the 180-day visa-exempt cap in the same year.

The worked example's exact dates. They depend on your actual entry date and on how Migración counts the entry and exit days. Use your own record (Certificado de Movimientos Migratorios, COP 89,000 in 2026, Migración tarifas).