Colombia Work Visa (Visa M Trabajador): 2026 Requirements, Cost and Rules

It's the M Trabajador ("worker") visa, one of 14 categories of migrant (M) visa. It's for foreigners who want to work in Colombia for a company under an employment contract (contrato de trabajo).¹

There's no separate "work permit" to apply for. The permission to work comes with the visa and lasts as long as the visa does.¹

You'll see "M-1", "M-5" and similar codes on older websites. Those belong to the pre-2022 rules. The current resolution names the category "M Trabajador" with no number.¹

On top of the general requirements every visa has, the M Trabajador asks for five things²¹:

1. Contract summary form (formato resumen de contrato), on Cancillería's template, signed by the company's legal representative and by you.
2. Motivation letter from the employer (carta de motivación) covering your suitability, your duties, your training for the job, why the company isn't hiring a Colombian for it, and how many direct jobs the company creates.
3. The employer's bank statements or certificates for the last 4 months, showing average monthly income of 100 monthly minimum wages (100 SMMLV).
4. For a non-regulated profession: your degree, apostilled or legalized and officially translated, or work certificates proving your experience.
5. For a regulated profession (medicine, law, engineering and others that need a license in Colombia): the permit or license from the relevant professional council (Consejo Profesional). You must show it at the latest when you apply for a second visa.

The general requirements are the online application form, a digital photo on a white background, a passport valid for at least 6 more months, and, if you apply from inside Colombia, the page with your latest entry stamp.¹

Supporting documents other than your passport must be dated within 3 months of the application. Documents issued abroad need an apostille or legalization, plus an official Spanish translation if they're in another language.¹ See our apostille guide.

An average of 100 monthly minimum wages over the last 4 months. With the 2026 minimum wage at COP 1,750,905 a month, that's COP 175,090,500 a month in the employer's accounts.¹³

The bar applies to the company's income, not your salary. Our reading of art. 74 is that a small company with lower income can't sponsor this visa, because the resolution gives no lower tier. The exception is a hiring body that is a Colombian state entity, an intergovernmental organization, or a diplomatic mission or consulate accredited in Colombia: it only needs a request letter signed by its legal representative.¹

The minimum wage resets every January 1, so the peso figure will change in 2027.

US$56 for the study of the application, plus US$279 for the visa if it's approved, so US$335 in total (EUR 44 and EUR 191 in euros). Cancillería's fee page for "Migrante - Trabajador" shows a posting date of 10/06/2026.⁴

You pay the study fee within 10 calendar days of submitting, and it isn't refunded if the visa is refused. Once the visa is approved, you have 10 calendar days to pay the visa fee; if you don't, the application is treated as withdrawn.¹

Each beneficiary (spouse, children) pays separately. Apostilles, translations and the cédula de extranjería are extra.

Cancillería has up to 30 calendar days to decide once the application is complete and the study fee is paid. It can take longer if Cancillería has to consult other agencies, and each request for more documents gives you up to 10 calendar days to answer.¹ Our visa processing time guide covers what happens in practice.

If you apply from inside Colombia, you must stay in a regular migration status the whole time the application is pending.¹ See the 90/180-day rule.

Your employer prepares its documents, then you apply online with Cancillería and pay the study fee within 10 calendar days. Cancillería has up to 30 calendar days to decide once the file is complete; if it approves, you pay the visa fee within 10 calendar days. Then you register the visa with Migración Colombia and request your cédula within 15 calendar days of arriving in Colombia, or of the visa being issued if you're already there.¹⁵

Yes. US citizens can enter Colombia without a visa for short stays, but that permit doesn't allow paid work in Colombia. To work for a Colombian company, a US citizen applies for the M Trabajador like anyone else; the requirements in art. 74 are the same for every nationality.⁶¹

Citizens of countries that need a visa even for short stays must apply online, and Cancillería can ask to see the original documents in person.¹ Our green card holders guide explains who is visa-exempt.

Not freely. The M Trabajador allows you to work only in the job, company, profession or activity it was issued for.¹

Your employer must tell Cancillería in writing about any change in your employment, position or type of work.¹ The employer also commits to paying your return trip, and your family's, when the contract ends, the visa is cancelled, or you're deported or expelled.¹

We didn't find a rule in Res. 5477 that spells out how long you have to find a new sponsor if you lose the job. Ask Cancillería or a lawyer before you resign.

Yes. Your spouse or permanent partner, your children under 25 who depend on you financially, and a child of any age with a disability can apply as beneficiaries.²¹

Any visa of 90 days or more, except tourist and airport-transit visas, also lets the holder study.¹

Yes. After 5 years as an M Trabajador holder, you can apply for the resident (R) visa by accumulated time.¹

Time abroad counts against you. An M visa ends automatically if you're out of Colombia for more than 180 continuous days within each 365 days from when it was issued.¹

It depends on who pays you. These are the other routes in Res. 5477/2022, with the main condition of each:

Sources: Res. 5477/2022, arts. 54, 75 and 76; Decreto 1469 de 2025. Fees for M Profesional Independiente are the same as for M Trabajador (US$56 + US$279).⁷

You register the visa with Migración Colombia and request your cédula de extranjería (foreigner ID) within 15 calendar days of arriving, or of the visa being issued if you're already in Colombia.⁵ Our cédula guide walks through it.

Working in Colombia usually means you'll spend more than 183 days a year there, which can make you a Colombian tax resident. See tax residency.

If you're in Colombia when the visa is refused, you have 30 calendar days to leave, and you can't file a new application for 6 months. The next application has to be made from your country of nationality or legal permanent residence.¹

Meeting every requirement doesn't guarantee approval. Cancillería decides each case at its discretion and can ask for more documents or an interview up to three times.¹

• Cancillería, Resolución 5477 of Jul 22, 2022, consolidated text on the Cancillería normograma (art. 11 study fee within 10 days; art. 12 visa fee within 10 days; art. 13 up to 30 days to decide; arts. 16 and 66 work permit and employer duties; arts. 18 and 19 discretion; arts. 20 and 21 document age and apostille; art. 22 visa types; art. 24 general requirements; art. 28 study; art. 54 V Prestador de Servicios; art. 65 180-day absence rule; art. 74 M Trabajador; art. 75 M Socio o Propietario; art. 76 M Profesional Independiente; art. 82 employer must report changes; art. 90 as amended by Res. 10434/2023, 5 years to residency; art. 93 beneficiaries; art. 97 requests for information; art. 99 refusal): https://cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/resolucion_minrelaciones_5477_2022.htm
• Cancillería, "Visa M trabajador" (requirements, validity, beneficiaries; no page date shown): https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/node/26973
• Cancillería, fee page "Migrante - Trabajador" (posted 10/06/2026; USD 56 study, USD 279 visa; EUR 44 / EUR 191): https://cancilleria.gov.co/node/32891
• Cancillería, fee page "Migrante - Profesional independiente" (posted 10/06/2026; same amounts): https://cancilleria.gov.co/node/32893
• Decreto 1469 de 2025 (2026 minimum wage COP 1,750,905), on the Cancillería normograma: https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/decreto_1469_2025.htm
• Cancillería, Resolución 5488 of 2022, consolidated text (art. 3, visa-exempt short stays with no paid activities): https://cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/resolucion_minrelaciones_5488_2022.htm (last read Oct 28, 2026 for the green card guide)
• Migración Colombia, Resolución 2061 de 2020 (arts. 8 and 9, visa registration and cédula within 15 days): https://www.cancilleria.gov.co/normograma/compilacion/docs/resolucion_uaemc_2061_2020.htm (read Oct 29, 2026; art. 9 par. 2)