Do US Green Card Holders Need a Visa for Colombia? (2026)

It depends on your citizenship. Resolución 5488 of 2022, issued by Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cancillería), says foreigners need a visa to enter "salvo las excepciones" (except where the resolution says otherwise), and every exception it lists is tied to the passport you carry.¹

US permanent residence counts in only one place: the conditional exemption for eight nationalities, covered below. If your country is on neither list, you apply for a visa at a Colombian consulate before you travel, green card or not.¹

Citizens of these eight countries and territories, as long as they meet one condition at the border²:

For a US permanent resident, we read that residence permit as the green card (Form I-551). Resolución 5488 never names Form I-551. The resolution's wording attaches the 180-day minimum to visas; for residence permits it says only that they must be valid ("vigente").¹ Airlines often check documents before boarding. We found no Cancillería or Migración rule on soon-to-expire green cards or USCIS extension letters, so a card that is close to expiry can still cause a problem at the gate even if Colombian law only says the permit must be "vigente." Renew or carry clear proof of status before you go if you can. See What we couldn't confirm.

Taiwan was added to this list by Resolución 3717 of 2023, in force 10 days after its publication in the Diario Oficial on May 23, 2023.²

Citizens of 100 countries can visit Colombia without a visa, with or without a green card. The list includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, all EU countries, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, the Philippines, Indonesia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.¹ The last change to that list added Israel back on Sept 4, 2026. See what Resolución 12189 of 2026 changed.

If you hold two passports, the one you enter with is the one that counts. Check the full list on the normograma before you book.

Apply for a Colombian visa before you travel. Nationals of countries outside articles 3 to 6 of Resolución 5488 "deberán solicitar y obtener la visa que corresponda ante un Consulado de Colombia previo a su viaje."¹ That covers, for example, US permanent residents who are citizens of Nigeria, Pakistan, Ghana or Bangladesh.

For a tourist or business trip that usually means a visitor visa (type V). How long a decision takes, and what happens if it's refused, is on our page Colombia visa processing time.

Two other residence-based exemptions exist, and neither involves the US:

• Pacific Alliance: permanent residents of a Pacific Alliance member can visit without a visa.¹ The members are Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.³
• Andean Community: permanent residents of an Andean Community member can visit without a visa, on a reciprocity basis.¹ The members are Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.⁴

Up to 90 days per entry, extendable by up to 90 more, with a cap of 180 days in the same calendar year. Resolución 5488 defines a short stay as under 90 days, extendable to 180.¹ Migración Colombia grants the entry permit (Permiso de Ingreso y Permanencia, PIP) at the border for up to 90 calendar days.⁵ In a May 2026 reply, Migración described the PIP as 90 days "prorrogable a 90 adicionales, sin exceder los 180 días por año calendario."⁶

The exemption is only for activities that don't pay you "servicios, salario o sueldo en Colombia."¹ How the 180 days are counted is on our 90/180-day rule page.

Your passport, your green card (if it's what makes you visa-exempt), and the documents Migración Colombia asks every foreign visitor for. In a May 20, 2026 reply to a citizen request, Migración listed⁶:

• a valid passport in good condition
• a visa, if your nationality needs one
• a ticket out of Colombia (air, land, sea or river) if you don't need a visa
• proof of the reason for your trip, if it isn't tourism
• a hotel booking or an invitation letter with the address and phone number where you'll stay
• proof you can pay for the stay

The same reply says Migración doesn't require a minimum passport validity for visitors entering on a PIP, but recommends one, because the passport must be valid when you leave. Check-MIG is free and optional.⁶ More detail: Colombia entry requirements and Check-MIG.

It can. USCIS says brief trips abroad usually don't affect permanent resident status, but an absence of more than a year is the general guide officers use to decide whether you've abandoned it, and shorter trips can count if you don't seem to intend to live in the US. (USCIS, International Travel as a Permanent Resident, last reviewed Sept 12, 2025)

What USCIS says, in short:

• To come back to the US you need a valid, unexpired green card (Form I-551).
• If you'll be away more than a year, apply for a reentry permit (Form I-131) before you leave. A reentry permit expires after 2 years abroad.
• Absences of 6 months or more may break the continuous residence you need for US citizenship.
• If your green card is lost or stolen abroad, you may need Form I-131A (carrier documentation) to board a flight home.

Source: USCIS, read Oct 28, 2026.

Yes, but you need a Colombian visa for that, and the green card doesn't replace one. The visa-free entry above covers short stays only. For a longer move, see our guides to the retirement (pensionado) visa, the spouse or partner visa and the digital nomad visa.

The digital nomad visa needs a passport from a country whose citizens don't need a visa for short stays (Cancillería, as summarized on our digital nomad visa page). Whether the eight conditionally exempt nationalities qualify isn't spelled out on the pages we read. Ask the consulate before you apply.

• Cancillería (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores), Resolución 5488 of Jul 22, 2022, consolidated text (art. 2 visa rule; art. 3 literal A, 100 exempt nationalities incl. Israel; literal C, 8 conditionally exempt nationalities with US/Schengen residence or a US/Schengen visa valid 180+ days; short stay under 90 days extendable to 180; no paid activities; arts. 4 and 5 Pacific Alliance and Andean Community residents; art. 7 consulate visa for all others; art. 8 as amended by Res. 3717/2023, airport transit visa list incl. India): https://cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/resolucion_minrelaciones_5488_2022.htm
• Cancillería, Resolución 3717 of 2023 (Diario Oficial No. 52.404, May 23, 2023; art. 1 adds Taiwan to literal C): https://cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/resolucion_minrelaciones_3717_2023.htm
• Migración Colombia, "Permiso de Ingreso y Permanencia (PIP)" (up to 90 calendar days, granted at the border; changes of permit capped at 180 days per calendar year; no page date shown): https://www.migracioncolombia.gov.co/tramites-y-servicios/tramites-generales/permiso-de-ingreso-y-permanencia-pip
• Migración Colombia, reply to citizen request (PQRSDF) 181368, dated May 20, 2026 (entry documents; PIP 90 days extendable by 90, max 180 per calendar year; no minimum passport validity for PIP; Check-MIG free and optional): https://www.migracioncolombia.gov.co/fileadmin/user_upload/informes-garc/2026/Mayo/181368.pdf
• USCIS, "International Travel as a Permanent Resident" (last reviewed/updated Sept 12, 2025): https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-we-grant-your-green-card/international-travel-as-a-permanent-resident
• Alianza del Pacífico, "¿Qué es?" (members Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru): https://alianzapacifico.net/que-es/
• Comunidad Andina, "Quiénes somos" (members Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru): https://www.comunidadandina.org/quienes-somos/