Medellín for remote founders: visas, coworking and founder meetups (2026)

Medellín suits founders who sell into the Americas and want a visa that's actually written for remote work. Colombia's digital nomad visa runs for up to two years, covers people working remotely for foreign companies and people starting a digital venture, and its income test is pegged to the local minimum wage rather than a big savings balance. The catches: outside a few active AI and tech groups, the founder meetup scene is thinner than the city's reputation suggests, and GOV.UK warns about street robbery and drugging in major cities including Medellín. Everything below was checked on 28 October 2026 against the official, venue or group page linked next to it, except where we say a page wouldn't load.

Visas and residency routes a founder would actually use

Most remote founders either come in visa-free for a scouting stay or apply for the digital nomad visa. Both are set out in Colombia's visa rules, Resolution 5477 of 2022 from the foreign ministry (Cancillería). The compiled text we read was last updated on 30 September 2024. We couldn't open the Cancillería's own visa requirements pages (they returned an error), so we've worked from the resolution and the fee resolution instead.

Visiting without a visa

The same resolution says nomads, remote workers and digital entrepreneurs from countries that don't need a short-stay visa can enter without one and stay with an entry permit, as long as their stay doesn't generate payments from Colombian companies. The stay can't be more than 90 days, extendable to a maximum of 180 days, continuous or not, in a calendar year.

GOV.UK tells British visitors they can come for up to 90 days without a visa for business or tourism, and that a visitor can't remain more than 180 days in any 12-month period. Note the different wording (calendar year versus any 12 months), and plan around the stricter one. The same page says filling in the Check-Mig form 72 hours to one hour before you fly can speed up entry, though it isn't mandatory.

If you extend, Migración Colombia's 2026 fee table lists the extension (Permiso Temporal de Permanencia, prórroga) at COP 150,000, set by Resolution 0599 of 10 February 2026.

The digital nomad visa (Visa V Nómada Digital)

This is the route built for remote founders. Article 46 of Resolution 5477 says it's for remote work done from Colombia through digital media, exclusively for foreign companies, either as an independent or as an employee, or for starting a digital content or IT venture of interest to the country. The key points:

• Length: up to two years.
• Passport: from a country or territory that doesn't need a short-stay visa.
• Income: bank statements showing income of at least three monthly legal minimum wages over the last three months.
• Founders starting a venture: a motivation letter describing the project and the financial and human resources it needs.
• The limit: the visa doesn't allow work or paid activity with any company or person domiciled in Colombia. So no local clients.

The minimum wage resets every year. For 2026, Decree 159 of 2026 sets it at COP 1,750,905 a month, the same figure as the original December 2025 decree that the courts suspended and later reinstated. Three times that is COP 5,252,715 a month.

Fees are set separately. Resolution 3969 of 2026, in force from 1 April 2026, charges visitor (V) visas US$56 for the study stage and US$138 for issuance, US$194 in total (or €44 plus €106, €150 in total). You pay the study fee to apply and the issuance fee only if you're approved. The fee doesn't include stamp tax, Spanish nationals are exempt from both stages, and Ecuadorians don't pay the issuance stage.

If your visa needs a foreigner ID card (cédula de extranjería), Migración Colombia lists it at COP 294,000 in 2026.

Other routes worth knowing

Resolution 5477 also has routes for founders who want to build something in Colombia:

• Visa M Socio o Propietario: for partners or owners of a Colombian company, with an investment of at least 100 monthly minimum wages (COP 175,090,500 at the 2026 rate). It only lets you work in that company.
• Visa M Profesional Independiente: needs average monthly income of at least five minimum wages and is for a regulated profession or, exceptionally, an unregulated activity of interest to the country.
• Visa V Rentista: needs rental income of at least ten minimum wages and doesn't allow work in Colombia.

Migrant (M) visas cost US$56 plus US$204, US$260 in total, under the 2026 fee resolution.

For how Colombia compares with other countries' nomad visas, see our digital nomad visas guide.

Where founders work

Medellín's coworking splits between El Poblado, where the international chains and most expats sit, and Laureles, which has smaller spaces with clearer published prices. These were checked on their own sites on 28 October 2026. Colombian sites write thousands with a dot, so we've switched to commas.

A few notes from the pages:

• Semilla has a café downstairs and also sells a week for COP 220K. It's open Monday to Friday 7:30 AM to 7 PM, Saturday to 6 PM and Sunday 9 AM to 4 PM, which is rare.
• Coworking Inspira lists its prices plus 19% IVA and doesn't name the currency, though the amounts read as pesos. It also sells hour packs: 30 hours for 148,764 plus IVA, valid for a month.
• 1 Segundo uses a $ sign without naming the currency and doesn't say whether IVA is included. A half day (four hours) is $35,000 and Monday to Saturday is $220,000.
• WeWork lists All Access Basic at COL$839,695 a month or COL$713,741 a month on a 12-month plan, and All Access Plus at COL$1,099,811 a month on a 12-month plan. The building is under 10 minutes from El Poblado metro station. WeWork's Medellín page lists two other buildings, on Av. Las Palmas and Carrera 42.
• Tinkko sells fixed desks, private offices and a flex zone paid in hourly credits ("Tinkkoins"), but asks you to request a quote.

If you're scouting for a soft landing for a team, Ruta N, whose complex is at Calle 67 #52-20, lists a landing offer for companies and teams, without public prices.

Where founders meet

Medellín's active founder scene clusters around AI and software builders, plus a couple of paid or invitation-led founder circles. These had dated events on their own pages when checked on 28 October 2026:

• AI Tinkerers Medellín calls itself a hands-on AI builder meetup with live demos, technical discussion and no-pitch networking. It doesn't state a schedule, but it has run numbered builder nights since its launch on 25 April 2024, including 27 August, 12 September and 24 September 2026, and listed the next one, #27, for 29 October 2026 from 6 to 9 PM when we checked on 26 October (its page blocked our check on 28 October). It's the most consistent builder night we found.
• Go to Ceiba is a Spanish-language tech community with 4,657 members on Meetup. Its next in-person talk, on agentic software workflows, is listed for 29 October at Ceiba Software in Medellín, and its last Medellín talk was on 3 September.
• Entrehouse describes itself as an invitation-only community for Latin American founders running seven and eight-figure businesses. Its calendar lists "The Monthly" for November in El Poblado and for December in Medellín, plus a Founders Table in Medellín, without exact dates. It's for established operators, not first-timers.
• eChai Medellín lists a Startup Mixer on 12 November 2026 from 6 to 8 PM that only goes ahead once 10 Medellín founders say they're interested (it showed 0 of 10), and another on 10 December 2026.
• Founder Institute Medellín lists a Medellín Latam Fall 2026 cohort, but every event on its page is online.
• Nomads Giving Back! Medellín Community has 1,106 members on Meetup, but its masterminds are online, with the next ones on 4 and 18 November.

For the city's big startup moment, StartCo ran its seventh edition on 16 and 17 April 2026 at Plaza Mayor, and Ruta N reported it expected 350 startups and 90 investment funds. The next edition's dates weren't on that page.

Several nomad groups have gone quiet. DareToShift Medellín, a founders and investors social club with 1,560 members, had nothing upcoming and its last event was on 4 July. Medellín International Students and Nomads Meetups (2,782 members) last met on 8 March 2025. Weekly language exchanges such as Wandering Paisa Language Exchange, listed every Thursday, are an easy way to meet people while you learn Spanish. Our guide to communities for remote founders covers online groups you can join before you land.

Business basics

The short version: keep your foreign company and account, watch the 183-day line, and use the time zone as a selling point to US clients.

Banking and getting paid

Opening a local account needs local ID. Bancolombia's help page says foreigners must bring original documents to a branch: for employees and independent workers, a visa, passport or temporary foreigner ID, a second photo ID, and a work letter showing the company, income and length of stay. It says the receipt you get while your cédula de extranjería is being processed isn't accepted, and that it may ask for more documents. On a visitor stay you won't have most of that, so most founders keep invoicing through their existing company and keep their home or multi-currency business account. Remember the nomad visa bars paid work for anyone domiciled in Colombia, so local clients aren't an option on it anyway. Our guide to business accounts for remote founders compares the options.

Tax residency

DIAN, Colombia's tax authority, says you're a tax resident if you stay in the country for more than 183 calendar days, continuously or not, including the days you arrive and leave, within any period of 365 consecutive calendar days. If those days fall across two tax years, you become resident from the second year. A two-year nomad visa makes it easy to cross that line without noticing. Read our tax residency guide and get advice in Colombia and at home before you commit to a long stay. Sort cover first with our health insurance guide.

Time zones

Medellín is on Colombia Time, UTC-5, all year, and doesn't observe daylight saving. From 1 November 2026, when US clocks go back:

• US Eastern: New York moves to UTC-5, so it's the same time as Medellín. Full overlap.
• US Pacific: Los Angeles moves to UTC-8, three hours behind Medellín. Most of the day overlaps.
• Central Europe: Berlin is on UTC+1 until 28 March 2027, six hours ahead. 9 AM in Medellín is 3 PM in Berlin, so you get a morning window. In European summer it's seven hours.
• Australia: Sydney is on UTC+11 until 4 April 2027, 16 hours ahead. 5 PM in Medellín is 9 AM the next day in Sydney, so early-evening calls work. After 4 April it's 15 hours.

Until 1 November, New York is one hour ahead and Los Angeles two hours behind. For meeting patterns that work across these gaps, see running a team across time zones.

Staying safe

GOV.UK's Colombia safety page (the advice was updated on 15 October 2026 and still current on 28 October) names Medellín among the major cities where street robbery is a concern. It warns that criminals use dating apps and websites to identify and lure foreign nationals, especially people travelling alone, and that criminals use drugs such as scopolamine to incapacitate and rob victims. Meet new contacts in public places and keep your drink with you.

Monthly cost band

Numbeo, a crowd-sourced site, showed on 28 October 2026 (last updated 26 October) that a single person in Medellín spends about COP 2,644,372 a month excluding rent. Its average for a one-bedroom flat is COP 3,859,360 in the city centre (range COP 2.5 million to 4.68 million) and COP 2,046,667 outside the centre. That's based on 712 entries from 53 contributors in the past 12 months, so treat it as a rough guide, not a quote.

Common mistakes

• Taking local clients on a nomad visa. The visa doesn't allow paid work for any company or person domiciled in Colombia.
• Using last year's minimum wage. The income test is three minimum wages, and the wage rose to COP 1,750,905 for 2026. Recheck it every January.
• Mixing up calendar year and 12 months. The resolution caps visa-free stays at 180 days in a calendar year, while GOV.UK says 180 days in any 12-month period. Plan around the stricter reading.
• Counting only full days. DIAN counts the days you arrive and leave towards the 183-day test.
• Expecting a big nomad meetup scene. Several well-known nomad groups have no recent events. Go where the builders are: AI Tinkerers, Go to Ceiba and the founder circles.
• Ignoring the dating-app warning. GOV.UK specifically flags dating apps being used to lure foreigners in Colombia.

Bring Remote Builders to Medellín

Remote Builders runs city chapters: monthly nights for people building businesses remotely, each run by a member who lives in the city. Bali Startup & Tech in Canggu is chapter one. No city outside Bali has a chapter yet, Medellín included. A chapter opens when a member who lives there applies to host and runs a first event, so if you're based in Medellín, apply to host or read more on the chapters page.

To meet other remote founders before you land, join Remote Builders (it's free).