Health Insurance Requirements for Colombian Visas (2026)

• The digital nomad visa requires a health policy that covers you in Colombia for your whole planned stay, "against all risks" for accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalization, death and repatriation.²¹
• The same wording appears for many other visas (details below).
• Visa-exempt visitors (90/180 days): we found no insurance requirement in the visa-exemption rules³. Colombian law says uninsured non-resident visitors will be encouraged to buy medical insurance, which is not the same as being required to (Ley 1438 de 2011, art. 32, parágrafo 1, as cited in Res. 5477/2022, considerandos).

Resolución 5477 de 2022 defines the required policy as "a private insurance policy with coverage in national territory against all risks in case of accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalization, death or repatriation."¹

Before you buy, check that the policy:

• names Colombia (or worldwide including Colombia) as a covered territory;
• covers each listed risk: accident, illness, maternity, disability, hospitalization, death, repatriation;
• runs for the whole period you plan to stay on the visa;
• covers your dependents too, if they apply as beneficiaries.

This checklist is for reading your own policy's wording. It doesn't mean that any particular product, including "travel medical" or nomad insurance, meets the visa rule. We don't name or recommend insurers, and the consulate decides whether a policy is acceptable.

From Resolución 5477 de 2022¹:

Note for retirees: the M Pensionado visa "will not allow its holder to join the Colombian Social Security System, except as provided in bilateral or multilateral agreements."¹

The US State Department notes that hospitals and doctors may ask for payment up front and may not accept credit cards. It says US Medicare and Medicaid don't work abroad, and it strongly recommends supplemental insurance that covers medical evacuation.⁴ That is general travel advice from the US government. It is separate from, and doesn't satisfy by itself, the visa coverage rule above.