Working in Colombia as a French National: Work Visa, Minimum Wage, Contributions and Income Tax

The 90-day visa-free stay, extendable by 90 days, counts as tourism: the V tourist visa itself states that it does not authorise work. To carry out paid activity, a French national obtains a visa that carries a work authorisation, requested online from the Cancillería. Resolution 5477 of 2022 sets the conditions, and both employer and worker comply with Colombian labour law and the reporting obligations to Migración Colombia; holders of an open work permit report any change of activity within 15 calendar days.

• M worker visa: employment contract with a Colombian legal entity, a contract summary form signed by the employer and the employee, a cover letter explaining how the profile fits the job, and the employer’s bank statements over four months showing average income of 100 minimum wages a month (about €47,100). Duration of up to three years; the authorisation is valid for the position and employer indicated. A regulated profession requires a licence issued by the competent professional council.
• M visa for self-employment: for a regulated profession, with recognition of the qualification, a professional card and average income of at least 5 minimum wages a month (about €2,355); duration of up to three years.
• M visa for partners or owners: capital invested of at least 100 minimum wages in a company, with authorisation to work in that company.
• Temporary V visas: service provider under a works or service contract, or technical assistance to a legal entity (stay of 180 days at most per period of 365 days).
• Spouse of a Colombian: the M spouse visa gives an open work permit. A postgraduate student may work 20 hours a week on a V student visa.

The guide to working abroad presents the general procedure, and the page on living in Colombia details the visas and the cédula de extranjería.

The 2015 France-Colombia agreement opens a V “working holiday” visa to French nationals aged 18 to 30, valid for one year, free of charge, multiple-entry and non-renewable. It grants an open work permit, but the purpose of the stay remains travel. It is requested online from the Colombian consulate in Paris, once only, and does not allow you to apply afterwards for an M or R visa from within Colombia.

• Documents: a letter setting out the reasons for the application, the undertaking form of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an exit ticket from Colombia, a bank statement, a criminal record extract and an insurance policy (resolution 5477 of 2022). Processing of the application can take up to 30 days.
• Funds: the consulate’s most recent information asks for an average bank balance of at least €2,000 over the last three months; an older sheet mentioned €1,300. The amount should be checked with the consulate before filing.
• Insurance: medical cover valid for one year from arrival, for all risks (illness, maternity, disability, repatriation).

The working holiday insurance page presents suitable contracts.

Decree 1469 of 29 December 2025 sets the statutory monthly minimum wage at COP 1,750,905 since 1 January 2026, or about €471 at the rate applied by the CLEISS. Decree 1470 of the same date sets the transport allowance at COP 249,095 (about €67): it goes to private-sector employees and public officials earning up to two minimum wages. For those who work remotely, it takes the form of a connectivity allowance of the same amount. The total thus reaches COP 2,000,000 a month for an employee on the minimum, or about €538.

• Reference thresholds: the minimum wage is the unit for many thresholds, such as the 3 minimum wages of the digital nomad visa (about €1,413), the 5 of the self-employment visa (about €2,355) or the contribution ceiling of 25 minimum wages (about €11,775).
• Salary levels: the official sources consulted do not publish a scale by occupation. Offers are compared with these thresholds, the city and the sector; embassies and chambers of commerce provide information on expatriate managers’ pay.

Law 2466 of 2025, which reformed labour law, makes the open-ended contract the general rule; fixed-term contracts are limited to four years in total. It confirms a maximum of 8 hours a day and 42 hours a week, spread over five or six days with one guaranteed rest day. Day work runs from 6 am to 7 pm and night work from 7 pm to 6 am, six months after the law was promulgated.

The premium for work on compulsory rest days and public holidays follows a phased schedule: 80% since 1 July 2025, 90% since 1 July 2026 and 100% from 1 July 2027. The guide to the local contract explains how it differs from secondment.

The CLEISS publishes the rates in force on 1 January 2026, calculated on a salary capped at 25 minimum wages.

• Employee: 4% for health and 4% for pension, or 8% in total, plus 1 to 2% for the pension solidarity fund depending on income.
• Employer: 8.5% for health (including 1.5% for social assistance), 12% for pension, 0.522% to 6.96% for work accidents depending on risk and 4% for family benefits, or 25.022% at the lowest risk level.
• Self-employed: 12.5% for health, 16% for pension and 0.522% for work accidents, or 29.622 to 31.022% depending on the solidarity surcharge. The contribution base of a service contract is equal to 40% of monthly income excluding VAT, with a minimum of one minimum wage and a maximum of 25 (UGPP, the Colombian social-contributions authority). Example: a contract at COP 10,000,000 a month gives a base of COP 4,000,000, or about COP 1,140,000 of health and pension contributions, excluding occupational risks.

No social security agreement links France and Colombia: local contributions cannot be added to French pension quarters. See the guide to quarters worked abroad and the page on healthcare reimbursement in Colombia.

The DIAN treats as resident anyone present in Colombia for more than 183 calendar days, continuously or not, in any period of 365 consecutive days. A resident is taxed on Colombian and foreign-source income and on worldwide assets; a non-resident is taxed only on Colombian-source income. A foreigner can claim tax residence abroad with a tax residence certificate from their country.

• Resident scale: 0% up to 1,090 UVT, then 19% from 1,090 to 1,700 UVT, 28% up to 4,100, 33% up to 8,670, 35% up to 18,970, 37% up to 31,000 and 39% beyond. The UVT (tax value unit) is revalued each year by the DIAN.
• Tax return: each year the DIAN sets the income, asset and spending thresholds, expressed in UVT, that make filing compulsory, together with the filing calendar according to the last digits of the NIT.
• Tax treaty: signed in Bogotá on 25 June 2015, in force since 1 January 2022 and applied since 1 January 2023 (BOFiP, the French tax authority’s official doctrine). Under its article 14, a salary is taxed in the State where the employment is exercised, except for a stay of 183 days at most in twelve months with a non-resident employer. Article 4 settles dual residence, and article 22 provides a tax credit in France.

Tax advice should confirm the treatment of each case before settling in, in particular for the date of departure from France and the count of days of presence.

A self-employed person combines a suitable visa, payment of their contributions and a tax return. The V digital nomad visa is for remote workers of foreign companies: a letter from the company, income of at least 3 minimum wages a month over three months, a health policy covering the territory and a duration of up to two years, with no paid activity for anyone domiciled in Colombia. A nomad without a visa may stay 90 days, extendable to 180 days, as long as the stay does not generate payment from a Colombian company.

For a Colombian employee working remotely, the law distinguishes teleworking (Law 1221 of 2008), working from home (Law 2088 of 2021) and remote work (Law 2121 of 2021). See the digital nomad insurance page and the guide to visas for digital nomads.

The currency is the Colombian peso (COP), issued by the Banco de la República. On 30 September 2026, its Board of Directors raised the policy rate by 25 basis points, to 12.25% from 1 October 2026, by four votes against two for holding it and one for a 50-point increase. Among the factors it monitors it cites the El Niño phenomenon and the reconstruction after the earthquake of 10 August 2026, and it notes, for July, a 2.3% year-on-year decline in manufacturing.

The growth, inflation, unemployment and exchange-rate benchmarks appear in the block above. For a career move, cities and sectors are best chosen with an employer that handles the visa formalities, and economic news should be read from the DANE and the Banco de la República before every decision.