GlobeQuest

Panama visas and residency

Who can visit Panama without a visa, and the 5 long-stay routes that let you actually live there.

Short stay

Visiting Panama, by passport

How the 198 passports we track get in. A visitor entry is never permission to work, study or settle — that is what the routes further down are for.

United StatesVisa-free · 180 daysUnited KingdomVisa-free · 90 daysIndiaVisa requiredCanadaVisa-free · 180 daysAustraliaVisa-free · 90 daysGermanyVisa-free · 90 daysFranceVisa-free · 90 daysNetherlandsVisa-free · 90 daysIrelandVisa-free · 90 daysSpainVisa-free · 90 daysItalyVisa-free · 90 daysPortugalVisa-free · 90 daysPolandVisa-free · 90 daysSwedenVisa-free · 90 daysSwitzerlandVisa-free · 90 daysSouth AfricaVisa-free · 90 days
Long stay

How you actually move to Panama

InvestmentHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Friendly Nations Visa

Citizens of the 50-plus countries on Panama's friendly-nations list — including the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, most of the EU, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Israel, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

What you need
  • Nationality of a listed friendly nation — India, China, and most of Africa and the Middle East are not on the list
  • One of three qualifying economic routes: a Panamanian employment contract; purchase of Panamanian property worth at least USD 200,000; or a USD 200,000 fixed-term deposit held for three years, blocked and free of encumbrances, in a **General License** Panamanian bank
  • Police clearance issued within the last 6 months from your country of residence for the past two years
  • A health certificate from a Panamanian doctor issued within 90 days
  • Proof of financial solvency
How long it lasts
Two years of provisional residency, then permanent residency on a separate application — not an automatic conversion.
Path to permanent residence
Two steps, and this is the thing to get right: provisional residency for two years, then a fresh permanent-residency application once that period elapses. The E-cédula national ID card is issued by the Tribunal Electoral only after permanent residency is granted. Citizenship becomes possible after five further years.
Cost
Around USD 1,020 in government fees per applicant, plus the qualifying investment and legal fees.
Processing time
Commonly three to five months from submission to the provisional resolution, then a two-year wait before the permanent application.
Worth knowing
  • It is two steps now, not one, and almost every published guide still says otherwise. Anyone budgeting time, legal fees or an E-cédula timeline from older advice will be wrong by two years.
  • The employment-contract route needs no capital at all. The USD 200,000 figure dominates every discussion, but a genuine Panamanian job offer qualifies on its own.
  • The deposit must sit in a General License bank — not an international or microfinance licence. A deposit in the wrong class of institution is rejected, and unwinding a three-year blocked deposit to move it is painful.
  • There is no strictly enforced minimum stay — the guidance is a few days every two years — which is why this remains popular with people who travel.
  • Panama's territorial system taxes only Panamanian-source income, and that is the substantive attraction — but 'foreign-source' is a legal characterisation, not a preference. It turns on where the activity is performed and for whom, not on where you invoice from or which bank receives the money. Work performed while physically in Panama, or any work touching Panamanian clients, needs a Panamanian adviser's view before you assume it is outside the net. It also does nothing about your home country's rules.
Sources:Servicio Nacional de Migración
RetirementHigh confidenceVerified July 2026

Pensionado (retiree) visa

Retirees with a guaranteed lifetime pension. Widely regarded as one of the best retirement residencies in the world, and open to any nationality.

What you need
  • A guaranteed lifetime pension of at least USD 1,000 per month, commonly plus around USD 250 for each dependant
  • The pension must be from a government, or a private scheme that can be shown to be lifetime and guaranteed
  • Police clearance and health certificate
  • No age minimum in the immigration rules themselves
How long it lasts
Permanent residency from the outset.
Path to permanent residence
It grants permanent residency directly; citizenship becomes possible after five years.
Cost
Modest government and legal fees — there is no investment requirement at all.
Processing time
Several months.
Worth knowing
  • The pensionado *discount* programme is the real prize and is separate from the visa: statutory discounts of 25% on airfares, 30% on public transport, 15–20% on medical services, 25% in restaurants and more. Few countries legislate anything comparable.
  • The pension must be lifetime and guaranteed. Drawdown pots, 401(k)s and self-managed portfolios are commonly refused where an annuity would be accepted.
  • Unlike the Friendly Nations Visa, this is open to every nationality — which makes it the better route for anyone not on the friendly list.
Sources:Servicio Nacional de MigraciónServicio Nacional de Migración — trámites y servicios
InvestmentMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Qualified Investor Visa

Investors who want permanent residency immediately rather than after a provisional period.

What you need
  • One qualifying investment, each held for five years: real estate at USD 300,000 free of liens; a securities portfolio of USD 500,000 through a licensed Panamanian brokerage; or a fixed-term bank deposit of USD 750,000
  • Funds transferred into Panama from abroad, evidenced
  • Police clearance and health certificate
  • Investment made in your own name or through a wholly-owned entity
How long it lasts
Permanent residency granted directly.
Path to permanent residence
It is permanent residency from grant, with citizenship possible after five years.
Cost
The investment plus government and legal fees.
Processing time
Notably fast — commonly 30 to 45 business days from filing, which is the programme's selling point.
Worth knowing
  • The USD 300,000 real-estate figure is a temporary reduction from USD 500,000, and it is scheduled to revert on 15 October 2026 unless extended again. It has been extended before. If this is your route, confirm the position with Migración before transferring anything and treat the date as a real deadline, not a formality.
  • The three asset classes are not interchangeable in cost: the deposit route asks two and a half times what the property route does for the same residency. Nobody chooses the deposit unless they specifically want to avoid holding Panamanian property.
  • The speed is the differentiator against Friendly Nations: permanent residency without a two-year provisional stage.
Sources:Servicio Nacional de Migración
Digital nomadMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Short Stay Visa for Remote Workers

Remote employees and freelancers working for companies outside Panama.

What you need
  • Annual income of at least USD 36,000 from foreign sources
  • An employment contract or client contracts with non-Panamanian entities
  • Health insurance covering the stay in Panama
  • A sworn statement that you will not work for Panamanian companies or clients
How long it lasts
Nine months, extendable once for a further nine — 18 months in total.
Path to permanent residence
None. This is a short-stay permission, not residency, and it builds nothing toward permanent status. Friendly Nations or Pensionado are the routes for that.
Cost
A few hundred US dollars in government fees.
Processing time
Commonly a few weeks.
Worth knowing
  • Eighteen months is the hard ceiling — this is genuinely a short-stay visa, unlike Brazil's or Colombia's two-year nomad programmes.
  • Do not read Panama's territorial system as 'no tax on anything'. Foreign-source income is untaxed, but source is determined by where the work is performed, and this visa has you performing it inside Panama. The decree's own logic is that your duties take effect abroad — get the characterisation reviewed rather than assuming, and note that tax residency questions arise separately once you pass 183 days.
Sources:Servicio Nacional de Migración
FamilyMedium confidenceVerified July 2026

Marriage to a Panamanian citizen

Spouses of Panamanian citizens, of any nationality.

What you need
  • Valid marriage to a Panamanian citizen, registered in Panama
  • Evidence the marriage is genuine, including an interview and proof of cohabitation
  • Police clearance and health certificate
How long it lasts
Provisional residency for two years, then permanent.
Path to permanent residence
Permanent residency after the provisional period, and this is the shortest route to Panamanian citizenship — three years of marriage plus residency, against five years on other routes.
Cost
Government and legal fees only; no investment.
Processing time
Several months, with a genuineness interview.
Worth knowing
  • The cohabitation and genuineness scrutiny is real and includes home visits in some cases.
  • Three years to citizenship instead of five is a substantial difference, and no other Panamanian route offers it.
Sources:Servicio Nacional de Migración
On the ground

Where you'd land in Panama

Panama City

Dollar-denominated, territorially taxed, and the only Central American capital with a metro — the region's most deliberate base for people who move money and travel often.

Full Panama City guide

Panama at a glance

Capital
Panama City
Population
4.6M
Languages
Spanish
Currency
PAB, USD