The issue with Colombia's new digital nomad visa is that it doesn't have any benefits compared to just visa free access. Visa is valid for 2 years but it only let's you stay in the country for 180 days.

Colombia's tax agency (DIAN) will qualify you (human) as a tax resident if you stay in the country for 183 days. At that point, you become a tax resident of Colombia provided that you made more than a few thousand dollars.

I just wanted to second this, a friend is a Colombian accountant and she confirmed it.

You really should be worried about countrie's where you ARE a tax resident and you might not be paying tax because you think you don't have to (i.e Canada's way of defining a tax resident)

Mexico is another tricky one. 183 days for tax residency unless you establish bonafide residency. One could easily make the argument that getting their Residencia Temporal visa (which has low income limits) would qualify you for taxation... it has "residency" in the name.

So, in your pursuit of doing things "the proper way" in Colombia, you might be breaking company policy and technically adding tax liabilities to them that they're not aware of and now they might be breaking tax laws in Colombia, etc.

This is true of all countries for stealth DNs; even if you're willing to pay taxes in order to stay legal with your host country, often there's little clarity on what level of documentation is needed to file taxes locally beyond needing forms. Can you just submit a final paystub at year end? Suppose the country wants to start making payroll deductions every pay period? If you're stealth you might as well mail back your laptop at that point.

Fundamentally, stealth DN works best if you are able to be on a tourist visa or have acquired residency through other means. Anything more advanced than that requires a reconsideration of your situation as the complexity/peril increases drastically.

/r/digitalnomad Thread Parent