Hire a Japanese Chef in Colombia: The M Worker Visa Explained

Colombia's visa rules are unusually specific about the employer. To sponsor a chef on the Migrant (M) Worker visa, the hiring company has to show four months of bank records with average monthly income of at least 100 times the Colombian minimum wage, and explain in writing why the job is not going to a Colombian. For many independent restaurants that test decides the matter before anything else. This guide walks through it using the Ministry of Foreign Affairs resolution that sets the rules.

1. A market that shrank

• MAFF counted about 420 Japanese restaurants in Colombia in 2025, about 100 fewer than in 2023, while Latin America overall grew about 20% (MAFF rounds to the nearest ten).
• MOFA recorded 1,232 Japanese nationals in Colombia on 1 October 2025: 741 permanent residents and 491 long-term stayers.

A falling restaurant count can mean experienced cooks from closed kitchens are looking for work. Before you start a visa process, advertise locally in Spanish and Japanese. A permanent resident or a Colombian cook trained in Japanese cuisine needs no visa sponsorship from you. See our Latin America data guide for the regional picture.

2. The M Worker visa

Resolution 5477 of 2022 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Cancillería) divides Colombian visas into Visitor (V), Migrant (M) and Resident (R). The M Worker (Visa M Trabajador) visa in Article 74 is for foreigners who will work in Colombia for a legal entity under an employment contract. Its main features, as the resolution reads in the Cancillería's legal compilation:

• Validity of up to three years.
• The work permission is limited to the position, entity, profession or activity for which the visa was granted. A chef hired by one restaurant company cannot move to another employer on the same visa.
• The holder can request visas for dependants.
• Time on the M Worker visa counts toward a Resident (R) visa; the resolution requires five years as an M Worker holder.

Note the words "legal entity". The M Worker visa is written for companies (personas jurídicas). If your restaurant is run as a sole proprietorship, talk to a Colombian lawyer about structure before you plan a hire.

3. The employer income test

Article 74 lists the specific requirements. Three of them fall on the employer:

1. A contract summary form published by the Ministry, signed by the company's legal representative and the chef, recording the main terms of the job.
2. A motivation letter from the employer stating the chef's suitability, the duties, the chef's training for the job, the reasons a Colombian national is not being hired for it, and the number of direct jobs the company generates.
3. Bank certificates or statements in the employer's name for the last four months, showing average monthly income of 100 legal monthly minimum wages (SMMLV).

JETRO reports Colombia's 2026 monthly minimum wage as COP 1,750,905. At that rate, 100 minimum wages is COP 175,090,500 a month in average income over four months. The minimum wage changes every year, so recalculate when you apply. A single restaurant may not reach that figure; a group that hires through its main operating company is more likely to.

4. Showing a chef's skills without a degree

Cooking is not a regulated profession in the way medicine or law are, and Article 74 allows for that. For a non-regulated profession, the chef can provide either an apostilled or legalised and translated professional qualification, or work and experience certificates that support their suitability. For most Japanese chefs, letters from previous restaurants will be the core evidence.

• Ask former employers in Japan for certificates showing dates, position and duties, then get them apostilled and translated into Spanish.
• Supporting documents other than passports must be issued no more than three months before the application is registered (Article 20), so do not collect them too early.
• The visa authority may ask for more documents or an interview, up to three times, and approval of an incomplete application is at its discretion (Article 19).

A MAFF cooking skill certificate can add weight to the file. See our guide to the MAFF certification.

5. After the visa

Visas longer than three months come with a foreigner's identity card (cédula de extranjería) issued by Migración Colombia. The employer also has continuing duties: Article 82 requires the employer of an M Worker visa holder to inform the visa authority in writing of any change in the employment relationship, the position or the type of work. Build that into your HR process, alongside the reporting and registration obligations the resolution refers back to in Decree 1067 of 2015.

For the clauses to put in the contract itself, see our employment contract checklist.

6. Step by step

1. Search locally among permanent residents and Colombian cooks.
2. Check whether the hiring company is a legal entity and whether its last four months of bank records meet 100 minimum wages a month on average.
3. Interview with a practical test. See remote skills tests.
4. Collect the chef's work certificates, apostilled and translated, within the three-month window.
5. Complete the Ministry's contract summary form and write the motivation letter, including why no Colombian is being hired.
6. Apply for the M Worker visa through the Cancillería's online system.
7. After arrival, arrange the cédula de extranjería and follow our onboarding guide.

General information gathered from official sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. Resolution 5477 of 2022 has been amended since it was issued; confirm the current requirements with the Cancillería and a Colombian immigration lawyer before acting.