A foreigner can be a shareholder in a Colombian company without a visa. To live here and sign as gerente (legal representative), you need a migration status. The most common form for small business and startups is SAS (Sociedad por Acciones Simplificada).
Below is a step map, not a substitute for a lawyer. Personal taxes: RUT. Visas: Visa and documents. Bank accounts: Finance.
Entity types: what people usually pick
SAS
Flexible, from 1 shareholder, no statutory minimum capital, estatutos often as a private document (no notary if you are not contributing real estate). Default for foreigners.
Persona natural / independiente
Freelance and small services without an LLC: RUT + sometimes matrícula mercantil. Simpler start, less corporate overhead.
Ltda / S.A.
Less common for small projects: stricter and more expensive to maintain.
SAS registration steps
- Name — check availability in RUES / Cámara de Comercio.
- Estatutos — business purpose, capital, governing bodies, domicilio in Colombia (often a coworking / lawyer address).
- Representante legal — who signs before DIAN and banks. Often a local resident or a foreigner with CE; without a representative, banks and tax office stall.
- Cámara de Comercio — matrícula mercantil, Certificado de Existencia y Representación Legal. In practice, days to a couple of weeks.
- NIT / company RUT — through DIAN (often linked with Cámara). Without NIT there is no proper account or factura electrónica.
- Corporate bank account — KYC is stricter than for individuals; prepare CE/passport, estatutos, Cámara certificates.
- Investment from abroad — large capital inflows are often registered with Banco de la República (ask your lawyer/accountant).
Remote setup: apostilled power of attorney + official translation — a local lawyer files. Portals: Government sites, GOV.CO.
Visa and the “I run the company” role
Being a shareholder ≠ automatically living and working in the country. If you personally manage, hire, and sign — you need a status (often M-category visas for business/investment; SMMLV thresholds change — check Cancillería).
The nomad visa is for remote work for a foreign employer, not for “opened a SAS and work as a local employee without M.” See Nomad visa.
Taxes and operations (overview)
- DIAN: filings, sometimes IVA, factura electrónica, electronic nómina if you have employees.
- Annual matrícula renewal at Cámara.
- Municipal impuesto de industria y comercio (ICA) — depends on city and activity.
- Most foreigners hire a contador from the first filing — cheaper than DIAN penalties.
Your personal RUT and the company NIT are different entities. Do not mix them up.
Practical tips
- Do not open a SAS “just in case” without a clear activity — compliance and filings still apply.
- Coworking with a mail address simplifies domicilio.
- Compare lawyer offers in community chats: a “SAS turnkey” package usually includes Cámara + RUT + first year of support.
Have a verified Cámara/tax case? Message us on Telegram and we will add it to this section.