Short answer
Possible, but generally not on Swiss social security
No agreement with Switzerland. Swiss law allows it; the employer decides. These are the rules it decides under.
1. Social security
Colombia is outside the EU/EFTA area, so neither the 25 % rule nor the 49.9 % telework ceiling applies, and Switzerland has no bilateral social-security agreement in force with Colombia (Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office list, 1 January 2026).
The Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office lists an agreement with Colombia as in preparation (1 January 2026); nothing is in force yet.
Where no agreement exists, Swiss social security generally cannot be maintained for a longer stay: AHV and Pillar 2 stop. The guide describes two things employers do instead: keep the Swiss contract and accept the interruption for a sabbatical-shaped period, or move the worker onto an employer of record in the destination.
2. Tax
Where you are tax resident decides where income tax is owed. A Colombian resident working from Colombia is normally taxed there on that income. Physical presence in Switzerland of 30 days or more while working can itself make you Swiss tax resident, so on-site days count. Switzerland and Colombia have a double-taxation agreement, which settles which country may tax the income when both claim it.
The "183-day rule" people quote comes from the OECD model tax treaty and concerns where someone counts as resident, not where it is cheaper to pay. Many countries also have a 90 or 183-day local registration trigger that runs alongside the social-security question.
3. The employer’s side
An employer can acquire a taxable presence ("permanent establishment") in Colombia if an employee habitually works there for it. There is no clean numeric test; the OECD model treaty speaks of a fixed place of business through which the business is partly carried on, and the OECD's 2025 Commentary treats a home office used 50 % or more of working time over twelve months as a possible fixed place of business. The type of role matters more than the day count: a sales lead closing deals from Colombia exposes the employer to more risk than an engineer writing code.
Listings on Remotli show the location text the employer published. Treat it as the employer's stated hiring zone and ask which employment form sits behind it. The policy patterns the guide lists are the usual answers: a primary-residence requirement in Switzerland, a yearly cap on days abroad, an EU/EFTA whitelist, structured EU residence under the 49.9 % framework, or an employer of record.
What to ask before applying
- Does the listing name a hiring zone, and is Colombia in it?
- Which employment form does the company offer for residence in Colombia: Swiss contract or employer of record?
- Is the salary paid in CHF or in local currency, and who carries the exchange-rate risk?
What the board says right now
Remotli does not store a structured hiring zone, so this is a text signal: of the 243 roles in the default view, 66contain “EU”, “Europe”, “European” or “EMEA” in their location and 13contain “Worldwide”, “Anywhere”, “Global” or “International”. Start with the fully remote roles and read the location text on each card; a listing that says “Switzerland” can still be open through an employer of record.
Working from Colombia in practice
The Remotli Guide covers Medellin with Swiss-specific notes on cost, connectivity and timezone overlap with Zurich.
Reviewed 8 September 2026. The full rules, with glossary: Working from abroad on a Swiss contract.