Buy in Colombia from Spain, Germany, France

A purchase in Colombia follows Colombian rules, whichever country you live in. What changes is how your home tax authority treats a foreign property. This guide covers Spain, Germany and France in separate sections and shares the rest. It is educational, not legal or tax advice.

What stays the same in Colombia, whatever your passport?

The paperwork is an escritura signed before a notary and registered with the Oficina de Registro de Instrumentos Públicos, under the Superintendencia de Notariado y Registro. The steps are the same for Spanish, German and French buyers; see the step-by-step buying guide.

Foreign investment in Colombian real estate must be channeled through the exchange market. Banco de la República lists foreign investment in Colombia, and its yields, among the operations that must be channeled; its own example is a non-resident buying an apartment in Cartagena. Channel the transfer through the exchange market, and ask your bank what the wire must show. Registering the foreign investment is covered in its own guide.

A Colombian contador can confirm how Colombia taxes that rent; see Colombian tax on rental income.

Spain: what does a Colombian property mean for your Spanish taxes?

A Spanish tax resident pays IRPF on worldwide income, subject to any treaty, according to the Agencia Tributaria. The annual return is Modelo 100, and its guide has a section on rendimientos de capital inmobiliario, income from letting property. No page we read says in one sentence where foreign rent is entered, so ask your asesor fiscal.

Spain also has Modelo 720, an information return with three separate blocks, one of them real estate abroad. AEAT's FAQs write the limit for foreign property as 50,000 euros of acquisition value at 31 December, and say the form is filed again only if a block's limit rises by more than 20,000 euros over the amount that triggered the last return.

Spain and Colombia have an income-tax treaty in force since 23 October 2008, listed on DIAN's treaty page and in Hacienda's list. It covers IRPF; how it applies to your rent is a question for your adviser.

On sending money, we found no official personal threshold for ordinary bank transfers from Spain. The 10,000 euro prior declaration (form S1) is for carrying cash and other payment instruments across the border, not for wires (Banco de España).

Germany: no income-tax treaty, so what applies?

A person with a residence or habitual abode in Germany has unlimited income-tax liability (EStG § 1), and income from letting property is one of the taxed categories (EStG § 2). Rental income counts as foreign income when the property is in a foreign state (EStG § 34d). Anlage AUS is the annex for foreign income and foreign tax (we read the 2021 version on the federal form portal); ask your Steuerberater how to complete it. On the official pages we read, we found no separate foreign-asset information return for private individuals.

There is no comprehensive income-tax treaty in force. DIAN lists only the 1971 shipping and air agreement with Germany, and the German finance ministry lists Colombia as a first-time agreement under negotiation (status 1 January 2026). Relief from Colombian tax on your rent therefore depends on German domestic rules; confirm with an adviser.

Since 1 January 2025, payments over 50,000 euros between a person resident in Germany and a person resident abroad must be reported, says the Bundesbank. Transfers between your own accounts are not reportable. Ask your bank how it handles a purchase payment.

France: what do forms 2047 and 3916 cover?

A person domiciled in France is taxable on French and foreign income, subject to treaties (impots.gouv.fr). Form 2047 details income received abroad; rents go in box 4, property income, and the addresses of properties outside France are given on the same form. Form 3916 covers bank accounts and similar contracts opened, held, used or closed abroad, so a Colombian account may fall under it. We found no separate declaration of foreign real estate as an asset.

France and Colombia have a treaty signed in Bogotá on 25 June 2015, in force since 1 January 2022 with tax effects from 1 January 2023, according to the French Treasury. It is also on DIAN's list.

Carrying 10,000 euros or more in cash, gold or bearer instruments across the French border must be declared to customs; that is carried cash, gold or bearer instruments, not a wire. Separately, the Banque de France requires a direct-investment operation, which includes real-estate investment, to be declared within twenty days when it reaches 15 million euros.

Can you sign from home? Apostilles and powers of attorney

Colombia, Spain, Germany and France are all parties to the Apostille Convention. The HCCH status table shows entry into force on 30 January 2001 for Colombia, 25 September 1978 for Spain, 13 February 1966 for Germany and 24 January 1965 for France. Who issues the apostille differs:

• Spain: Ministry of Justice citizen offices and territorial offices, the Government Secretariats of the High Courts of Justice, the deans' offices of the notarial colleges and the Ministry's electronic office (Ministry of Justice).
• Germany: for federal documents other than those of the patent authorities, since 1 January 2023, the Federal Agency for Foreign Affairs in Brandenburg an der Havel; for documents of the Länder, responsibility is not uniform, so ask the issuer of the document (Federal Foreign Office).
• France: service-public says the request goes to the apostille service of the parquet général of the court of appeal, but the form on that page is limited to certain cases; ask the notary or court which office handles your document.

The mechanics of a poder are in the power-of-attorney guide.

Banks and information exchange: where does CRS stand?

The OECD lists Colombia among the jurisdictions undertaking first automatic exchanges in 2017, and DIAN says every jurisdiction except the United States is reportable under CRS. The OECD activated-relationships table, last updated 1 October 2026, lists Colombia with Spain, Germany and France in both directions as "CRS MCAA activated". Ask your bank what it reports.

Visa basics for Spanish, German and French passports

Under Cancillería Resolución 5488 de 2022, article 3, literal A, passport holders of Spain, Germany and France need no visa for airport transit or short stay, provided the activities do not generate payment for services or a salary in Colombia. Short stay means under 90 days, extendable up to 180 days in the cases the rule determines.

Separately, the M Inversionista visa in the real-estate case requires title solely in the foreigner's name for at least 350 salarios mínimos mensuales legales vigentes (SMLMV) at the application date, plus Banco de la República extracts registering the investment (Cancillería). See the visa guide.

Questions to take to your advisers

Take our free one-page due-diligence checklist to your first meeting. The Colombian-side parts of the Colombia Owner Kit (calendar, checklists, Spanish-language letters, BanRep records pack and question lists) apply to you, but its home-country sheet today is the United States sheet, with a Spain sheet scheduled for January 2027 and Germany and France covered by the general international sheet scheduled for March 2027, so for home-country rules today use your own adviser.

• Colombian lawyer or contador: Which taxes and registrations apply to my purchase and my rent, and how do I document the exchange-market channeling?
• Home-country tax adviser: How is Colombian rent reported, how does the treaty (if any) apply, and do Modelo 720, Anlage AUS or forms 2047 and 3916 apply to me?
• Your bank: What does it need for an international transfer, and what does it report?
• Notary or issuing office: Which authority apostilles my power of attorney?

This guide is educational, not legal or tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

Do Spain, Germany and France have an income-tax treaty with Colombia?

Spain (since 23 October 2008) and France (since 1 January 2022) have income-tax treaties in force with Colombia, but Germany does not; DIAN lists only a 1971 shipping and air agreement for Germany.

Do I need an apostille to sign a power of attorney from Spain, Germany or France?

All four countries are parties to the Apostille Convention. The authority that issues the apostille depends on your country and the document, so ask the notary or the office that issued it.

Can I enter Colombia without a visa to look at property?

Spanish, German and French passport holders are exempt from a visa for short stays that do not generate pay in Colombia. Short stay means under 90 days, extendable up to 180 days in the cases the rule determines.

Is there a reporting threshold for sending money from Germany?

Since 1 January 2025, the Bundesbank requires payments over 50,000 euros between a resident of Germany and a non-resident to be reported. Transfers between your own accounts are not reportable.

Does Spain’s Modelo 720 apply to a Colombian property?

Modelo 720 has a block for real estate abroad, and AEAT writes the filing limit as 50,000 euros. Whether it applies to you depends on your facts, so confirm with a Spanish adviser.

Not sure where you stand? Take the quiz. The Colombia Owner Kit (US$79, pre-order) turns this guide into a checklist, a calendar entry and a question list: see what’s included. Or start with the free sample: K19, the one-page due-diligence checklist.