{"id":40035,"date":"2017-08-25T06:38:47","date_gmt":"2017-08-25T10:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/?p=40035"},"modified":"2021-02-06T09:46:08","modified_gmt":"2021-02-06T14:46:08","slug":"colombia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/blog\/colombia\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Colombia is quickly becoming one of the most popular countries in Latin America in which to retire.<\/a>\u00a0Thanks to a booming economy, GDP growth and the low cost of living, it makes sense. Toss that into the mix with the beautiful biodiversity Colombia has to offer and you\u2019ve got yourself an expat\u2019s paradise.\u00a0Consider some of these points when thinking about\u00a0<\/strong>moving abroad to Colombia:<\/b><\/p>\n

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About Colombia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Known as the world\u2019s second most biodiverse country, Colombia has something for everyone. It\u2019s made up of tropical rainforests, mountains, glaciers, rivers, plains, deserts, and beaches. Whether you\u2019re someone who prefers the cool, crisp mountain climate or the warm beach climate, Colombia has a place for you. It\u2019s even more of an attractive retirement option if you\u2019re crazy about wildlife and the great outdoors.<\/p>\n

Thanks to its diverse geographical climate, Colombia houses about 10 percent of the earth\u2019s species. That includes 1,800 species of birds, over 450 species of mammals, 4,000 species of orchids (the largest collection of them in the world), and so much more. Take a trip through the rainforest and get a glimpse into the nature scenes Colombia has to offer. You will truly be inspired.<\/p>\n

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Cost of Living in Colombia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Like many Latin American countries, Colombia offers a low cost of living compared to that of the United States and many other countries. The exchange rate works in your favour if you\u2019re using U.S. currency, trading at 3,237.61 Colombian Pesos to $1 U.S. Dollar. That translates to a comfortable living for $1,200 per month or less. That\u2019s pretty cheap for American or Canadian expats looking to live abroad! You can purchase most of your groceries for under $4, and meals for $5 or $6. This makes life in Colombia very affordable, and it means you can probably live a life of luxury that you may not have expected otherwise.<\/p>\n

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Healthcare in Colombia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s usually one of those drawbacks you tend to worry about when considering a move to Latin America, but healthcare in Colombia is top-notch. The hospitals and clinics in the Colombian cities are equipped with all of the latest technology and equipment, which is what makes it possible for this healthcare system to rank highly when compared to all other health systems in the world. According to the World Health Organization, Colombia comes in at number 22 in terms of best healthcare, and that means it beats Canada (30) and the United States (27)! No need to worry about healthcare if you choose to move to Colombia.<\/p>\n

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Colombia Visa Options<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As well as offering all of the amenities listed above,\u00a0Colombia also offers a few different visa options for those looking to live abroad as well<\/a>.\u00a0It\u2019s likely that no matter your specific needs, Colombia offers a visa that fits your scenario. Consider the retirement visa, for example.<\/p>\n

When you apply for a retirement visa, you\u2019ll have to meet some minimum requirements. You\u2019ll need to prove that your retirement salary is at least three times Colombia\u2019s minimum monthly salary. That salary, as of 2017, is 717,717 Colombian pesos per month. When transferred over, the exchange rate shows that amount to be $749 in U.S. currency. The minimum salary increases in Colombia each year, but you can renew your visa based on the terms that it was granted to you originally, so no need to worry about that.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll also need to complete the online application by providing such documents as the first page of your passport, the page of your passport with the stamp from your last Colombia trip on it, proof of your pension, and a passport-like photo of yourself in front of a white background.<\/p>\n

Of course, there are also residency options for those who wish to move to Colombia but who aren\u2019t yet ready to retire. You can opt for the investment visa, for example, or for the annuity visa. The investment visa is intended for those who wish to invest in a business in Colombia or by\u00a0buying real estate in Colombia<\/a>, and the stipulations differ slightly based on which type of investment you\u2019re making. A popular place for investing in Colombia is\u00a0Medellin real estate<\/a>. If you\u2019re looking to invest in property, you\u2019ll need to be making at least an $88,546 investment. If you\u2019re looking to invest in a business, your investment should be at least $25,299. The investment visa lasts one to two years and will need to be renewed past that point. The good news is, if you want to stay in Colombia permanently, you can keep renewing this visa for five years and gain permanent residency automatically. That\u2019s a pretty good deal.<\/p>\n

Then again, you could skip straight to the resident visa, or resident investor visa, if you\u2019d rather go right for the permanent resident status. Just remember that your permanent residency will be cancelled if you leave the country for 2 or more consecutive years.<\/p>\n

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Colombia Investment Opportunities<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Speaking of investment visas, what are your investment options?\u00a0Colombia is currently a solid place to invest abroad in<\/a>.\u00a0Its economy has grown to be the 32nd\u00a0largest in the world with a GDP of $385 billion. Its industries are growing and infrastructure is thriving. In addition to all of that, the influx of expats coming into Colombia is also driving up the price of real estate. If that\u2019s the type of investing you want to do, now\u2019s the time!<\/p>\n

The stock market might be hard to reach without making use of ETFs, of which there are two in Colombia. There\u2019s the Global X MSCI and the iShares MSCI Colombia Capped ETF. The first is the bigger of the two, but both have their perks.<\/p>\n

110: How To Move To Ecuador Complete Master Class \u2013 Marcos Chiluisa<\/a><\/p>\n

Working in Colombia<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If an investment isn\u2019t your forte and you\u2019d prefer to work abroad in Colombia<\/a>, you can do that with a work visa. Apply for that through a Colombian consulate and make sure you have all the right paperwork. There\u2019s quite a bit, but it shouldn\u2019t be too difficult to acquire, and you can complete the process online.<\/p>\n

Colombia is currently known to be one of the most pro-business countries in the world, so you can start your own business there as well. Thanks to a series of policy reforms implemented in 2013, the bureaucratic hurdles have been reduced for business owners.<\/p>\n

If after considering all of these positive points about moving abroad to Colombia you feel you could make this place your home, then you won\u2019t have a problem joining the ever-growing expat community there. Just make sure you study up on the city that will best suit you!<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colombia is quickly becoming one of the most popular countries in Latin America in which to retire.\u00a0Thanks to a booming economy, GDP growth and the low cost of living, it makes sense. Toss that into the mix with the beautiful biodiversity Colombia has to offer and you\u2019ve got yourself an expat\u2019s paradise.\u00a0Consider some of these […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":18243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[19939,25425,25427,2342,19941,7620,2544,3594,1895,19947,4641,3587,3588,19943,5773,3586,3590,1804,2376,19945],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Cartagena_Colombia_chairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40035"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40035"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40035\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44171,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40035\/revisions\/44171"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40035"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40035"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40035"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapeartist.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=40035"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}