Cartagena or Santa Marta for work and living?

If you time it right, you can actually stay in Colombia for about a year. You have 180 calendar days a year that you can use on a tourist visa. If you time it right and have your 180 days end around the beginning of a new year, then you can stay in Colombia for another 180 days when the new year begins. Your 180 days automatically resets when the new year starts. I have also met many people who enroll in Spanish courses at the universities here. Most of them will get you a student visa if you begin lessons with them. Not the cheapest option, but probably the easiest if you don't have a Colombian boyfriend/girlfriend. Some institutes offer sponsorship as well. However, you should do your homework before signing up. I've heard that some of them have shady business practices and take advantage of the teachers that use them to get a visa.

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