Bank Account in Colombia for Foreigners

Many owners of Colombian property find a local bank account useful. Some want to learn the rules before they travel to open one. This guide shows what the official sources say about opening an account as a foreigner, and where they stop. Banks add their own procedures to the law. Use this guide as a map of questions, not as a promise of what any bank will accept.

Why would a property owner want a Colombian account?

An apartment brings regular payments in pesos, such as property tax (predial) and the monthly HOA fee (cuota de administración), and possibly rent that you receive. A peso account is a practical way to handle them. The sources we reviewed do not make an account a legal requirement for owners.

The purchase money is a separate matter. Foreign capital investment in Colombia, and its yields, must go through the exchange market, that is, an authorized intermediary or a compensation account (Resolución Externa 1 de 2018, arts. 41 and 42). For an investment in foreign currency, the exchange declaration (declaración de cambio) also counts as the registration. Banco de la República explains this and cites Decreto 1068 de 2015, art. 2.17.2.5.1.1. See how to register your foreign investment.

What must a bank check before it opens your account?

Colombian banks must run an anti-money-laundering risk system called SARLAFT (Colombia's system for managing money-laundering and terrorist-financing risk). The duty to know your customer is in articles 102 to 107 of the Estatuto Orgánico del Sistema Financiero. The operating instructions are in Chapter IV, Title IV, Part I of the Circular Básica Jurídica 029 de 2014 (Superfinanciera). The 2022 version of that chapter is in the Circular Externa 011 de 2022 text.

Supervised banks cannot open a relationship with a new customer until they have collected the required information, checked the customer's identity and approved the onboarding. Even simplified onboarding asks for the type of ID document, the name, the number and the issue date.

Which ID can a foreigner use?

Migración Colombia issues the foreigner ID card (cédula de extranjería) to foreigners over 7 who hold a visa valid for more than three months. The card identifies you inside the country. To get it, you need your original, valid passport at the appointment (Migración Colombia). Our guide on visas and buying property covers the visa side.

A passport is a different question. We did not find a rule in the official pages we reviewed that lets every foreign individual open an ordinary account with a passport alone. For Venezuelan nationals, Superfinanciera has said that institutions must accept the Special Stay Permit (Permiso Especial de Permanencia, PEP) together with a passport or national ID (Superfinanciera press release). We found no equivalent instruction for the Temporary Protection Permit (Permiso por Protección Temporal) on its own. Bank-by-bank requirements for foreigners are not set out in the sources we reviewed, so ask the bank which documents it will accept for your situation.

Do you need a RUT (DIAN's tax registry) or NIT (tax ID number) to open an account?

The RUT is Colombia's tax registry, and the NIT is the identification code of the person registered in it. DIAN says non-resident individuals must register in the RUT to meet their tax duties, including declaring Colombian-source income when articles 591 and 592 of the Estatuto Tributario require it. It also says a bank account is not required to register (DIAN).

We found no DIAN or Superfinanciera rule that makes a RUT a legal precondition for every foreign individual to open a savings account. Ask the bank what it requires.

What is the 4x1000 tax, and can one account be exempt?

The tax on financial transactions (gravamen a los movimientos financieros, GMF, or "4x1000") applies to financial transactions that dispose of money held in checking or savings accounts (art. 871), at a rate of four per thousand (art. 872) (Estatuto Tributario). Article 879 exempts withdrawals up to 350 UVT (DIAN's annual tax value unit) a month from one savings account, electronic deposit or prepaid card. The holder must tell the institution that it is the only product that uses the exemption.

Ley 2277 de 2022 added article 881-1, which tells institutions to build a system that applies the 350 UVT exemption without marking a single account. DIAN's Concepto 006727 of 2026 says three things. The system is not yet in place. In practice, institutions still mark one account. Account holders have the right to demand the exemption up to 350 UVT a month. Ask your bank how it handles the marking.

What about non-resident accounts, foreign currency and accounts abroad?

For exchange purposes, a foreigner who stays in Colombia more than 183 days in 365 consecutive days is a resident. Otherwise, the foreigner is a non-resident (Banco de la República). Exchange-market intermediaries may take peso deposits and specified foreign-currency deposits from non-residents. Those deposits need no registration at Banco de la República (Resolución Externa 1 de 2018, art. 8). Ordinary resident individuals are not on the list of persons who may make foreign-currency deposits in Colombia. A non-resident's peso account cannot be used to disburse peso loans or to pay operations that must go through the exchange market, with listed exceptions (DCIP-83, Chapter 10).

Two simplified products exist. A low-amount deposit (depósito de bajo monto) has two caps: 210.50 UVT of balance at any time and 210.50 UVT of debits in a calendar month. Each holder may have one per entity. Opening is simplified and does not require physical presence (Decreto 2555 de 2010). Simplified-procedure accounts (cuentas de trámite simplificado, CATS) may also be opened for non-residents. We did not confirm their current limits, so ask the bank.

An account abroad is a separate matter. A resident may hold one freely. It becomes a compensation account (cuenta de compensación), which must be registered, only if it is used for an operation that must go through the exchange market or for an internal obligation paid in foreign currency (Banco de la República). If you are a US person, ask a CPA, enrolled agent or tax attorney licensed in the US whether your Colombian accounts must be reported on the FBAR; see US tax reporting for Colombian property.

Questions for your bank, certified public accountant and home-country tax professional

For the purchase itself, a good starting point is the free one-page due-diligence checklist. The Colombia Owner Kit has question lists for your Colombian lawyer, certified public accountant and home-country tax professional, an ongoing-costs guide on how your share of the monthly HOA fee is set, and a records pack with a Spanish letter asking your bank for your exchange declaration and certificate. It has no account-opening guide.

• Your bank: Which ID and tax documents do you accept for my visa status, and what limits apply to the account type you are offering me?
• Your bank: How do you mark the account for the 4x1000 exemption?
• Your Colombian certified public accountant: Do I need to register in the RUT, and does my stay in Colombia make me a resident or non-resident for exchange purposes?
• Your Colombian lawyer or bank: Which account should receive purchase money and rent, and which exchange declarations should I keep?
• Your licensed home-country tax professional: Is my Colombian account reportable, and how?

This guide is educational, not legal or tax advice. Bank practices and limits change; confirm them with your bank and certified public accountant.

Frequently asked questions

Can a foreigner open a bank account in Colombia?

Banks must verify your identity before opening any account. Non-residents may hold peso deposits and specified foreign-currency deposits at exchange-market intermediaries. The sources we reviewed do not set out which documents a given bank accepts, so ask the bank.

Do I need a foreigner ID card?

Migración Colombia issues the foreigner ID card to foreigners over 7 with a visa valid for more than three months. We found no official rule that lets every foreigner open an ordinary account with a passport alone, so ask the bank which ID it accepts for you.

Do I need a RUT to open an account?

DIAN says non-resident individuals must register in the RUT to meet their tax duties and that a bank account is not required to register. We found no rule that makes a RUT a legal precondition for opening a savings account, so ask the bank.

What is the 4x1000 and is any account exempt?

It is a tax of four per thousand on financial transactions that dispose of money in checking or savings accounts. Withdrawals from one marked savings account are exempt up to 350 UVT a month, and DIAN says holders may demand that exemption.

Not sure which topics to raise? Take the quiz. The Colombia Owner Kit (US$79, instant download) turns this guide into a checklist, a calendar entry and a question list: see what’s included. Or start with the free sample: Chapter 4, the due-diligence checklist.