Where can Colombian citizens move to?
Ranked by what the move actually takes on a Colombian passport specifically, not in general. Every rating below comes from the same verified data as the full guide it links to.
You keep your Colombian passport if you naturalise in 10 of these 12. Naturalising in Japan and the Netherlands would mean giving it up.
No working-holiday route is open on a Colombian passport in any of these 12. That shortcut is not on the table.
Easiest to keep driving on in Costa Rica, Spain and Thailand. Each guide has the exact terms. Elsewhere expect more steps, often a full local test.
An apostille is accepted in 11 of these 12. Thailand still needs the full consular legalisation chain, so start earlier.
Straightforward 2 of 12
- Costa RicaColombians are one of the largest Latin American groups relocating to Costa Rica, often via Rentista/Pensionado residency or cross-border work in tourism and services, helped by geographic and cultural proximity.Straightforward
- SpainOne of Spain’s largest Latin American migration corridors: the Ibero-American citizenship fast-track, family-based migration, and standard work/Non-Lucrative visas are all well-trodden routes.Straightforward
Moderate 9 of 12
- AustraliaColombians are one of the fastest-growing Latin American source groups, arriving via student visas and increasingly skilled and partner visas.Moderate
- CanadaColombia sits around twelfth among source countries, through a mix of economic streams, family class and protected persons.Moderate
- IrelandColombians are one of the fastest-growing Latin American groups in Ireland, arriving mainly through employment permits in meat-processing, dairy, and increasingly healthcare and hospitality roles.Moderate
- ItalyColombians moving to Italy mostly rely on family reunification — Italy has a large, long-established Colombian community from earlier migration waves — or the Decreto Flussi work-permit quota, with a smaller student pipeline.Moderate
- JapanColombians typically move via the Specified Skilled Worker program, family ties to Japan's broader Latin American Nikkei community, or student-to-work transitions.Moderate
- New ZealandColombians moving to NZ mostly go through the Skilled Migrant Category or Accredited Employer Work Visa (IT, engineering, hospitality), with a small international-student pipeline.Moderate
- PortugalColombians arrive mostly on D7 and D8 visas and, increasingly, work visas, part of a fast-growing Latin American wave into Lisbon and Porto since 2021–2022.Moderate
- ThailandColombians relocating to Thailand mostly rely on the DTV or LTR visas as freelancers/remote workers; the community is small and recent.Moderate
- United StatesA mix of family-based sponsorship, employment-based visas (H-1B, L-1) (Colombia is not eligible for the Diversity Visa lottery); a growing remote-work/digital-nomad-turned-immigrant pattern in recent years.Moderate
Complex 1 of 12
Ratings weigh entry class, working-holiday access, licence exchange, dual citizenship and document legalisation. Each is checked against the issuing government. Open any destination for the full guide written for Colombian citizens.