Frequently asked questions

Currently 51 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Australia, Japan, Mexico and Costa Rica. The list is set by executive decree and can change; see the full list on our eligibility page.

Source: Executive Decree 416 of June 13, 2012, article 2, as amended by Executive Decree 197 of May 7, 2021 and Executive Decree 226 of July 20, 2021 (Official Gazette 29335); current list in Executive Decree 16 of August 31, 2026, article 1 (Official Gazette 30601-B), which added Ecuador and took effect on September 1, 2026.

For the real estate route, at least US$200,000 in property; for the deposit route, US$200,000 in a three-year fixed-term deposit. The employment route requires no investment, but you need a job with a Panamanian company and a work permit.

Source: National Immigration Service, requirements sheet PPT-PE / PPP-PE (Países Específicos)

Yes. A US$200,000 fixed-term deposit for three years, free of liens, at a bank with a general license in Panama, qualifies. It can be held personally or through a company or private interest foundation you ultimately own.

Source: National Immigration Service, requirements sheet PPT-PE / PPP-PE (Países Específicos)

No. Immigration first grants a two-year provisional residency. After those two years, you apply for permanent residency.

Source: National Immigration Service, requirements sheet PPT-PE / PPP-PE (Países Específicos)

Yes. Your spouse and children can be included as dependents. According to the Immigration sheet, children aged 18 to 24 must be full-time students and single, and you must show income of B/. 1,000 per month plus B/. 100 per dependent.

Source: National Immigration Service, requirements sheet PPT-PE / PPP-PE (Países Específicos)

Yes. In Panama, immigration applications are filed by a licensed Panamanian attorney acting under your power of attorney.

You prepare most documents at home. In our practice, clients come to Panama for the filing and for registration with Immigration; we tell you in advance exactly when you need to be here.

Most visitors can stay up to 90 days per entry. U.S. and Canadian citizens: Panama's Embassy in the U.S. lists up to 180 days under Immigration Service Resolution 22706 of 2021. On the same page it lists three months for the same countries. The number of days stamped in your passport at entry is the one that counts.

Source: Decree-Law 3 of 2008, article 16(1) (Official Gazette 25986, February 26, 2008); Immigration Service Resolution 22706 of September 10, 2021 (Official Gazette 29379)

If you enter as a visitor, you can ask for a change of category (for example, to residency) during your stay or during its extension. Once your residency application is filed, Immigration issues a processing card valid for six months.

Source: Decree-Law 3 of 2008, articles 14 and 17; Executive Decree 320 of 2008, articles 238–239; Executive Decree 320 of 2008, article 16 (as amended by Executive Decree 590 of 2016)

If a document is still missing when your visitor stay ends, a lawyer can ask for up to 60 more days. The request goes in at least 10 working days before your stay ends, and Immigration decides whether to grant it. It costs B/. 250 (US$ 250) plus a B/. 500 (US$ 500) deposit. If you file the residency application complete and on time, the deposit comes back. If not, you lose it and must leave within five days.

Source: Executive Decree 320 of 2008, articles 23–25

While your residency application is in process, you need a multiple entry-and-exit visa to leave Panama and come back.

Source: Executive Decree 320 of 2008, article 264

No rule we found sets a minimum time outside Panama, or promises a new period when you come back. Do not plan a trip around that.

Immigration may cancel a permanent residency if you are away from Panama for more than two years without a justified and authorized absence. It is a power, not an automatic loss. If you were away for more than two and up to six years, your lawyer can ask for your residency to be reinstated within 30 business days after you return, with a notarized sworn statement of the reasons. After more than six years you start a new application. Friendly Nations residents have no special exception.

Source: Decree-Law 3 of 2008, article 31(3); Immigration Service Resolution 17405 of 2019 (Official Gazette 28853)

No. The remote worker visa is a non-resident permit for people paid from abroad: nine months, extendable once, with foreign income of at least US$36,000 a year. Friendly Nations is a residency that leads to permanent status.

Source: Executive Decree 198 of 2021

Because that is the legal procedure: residency applications are filed through a Panamanian lawyer acting under your power of attorney. You sign the power, and you normally come once to register with Immigration.

Source: Decree-Law 3 of 2008, article 28

Immigration gives you 15 business days to complete it. The 60-business-day limit to decide is a maximum, not an average, so we only file once every document is ready.

Source: Decree-Law 3 of 2008, article 34

If you qualify through employment, you work under your work permit. If you qualify through real estate, ask us about your plans: working in Panama has its own rules.

By law, Immigration has up to 60 business days to decide the provisional residency (Decree-Law 3 of 2008, art. 34). The permanent stage begins once you complete two years.

Yes, over time. Permanent residents can later apply for nationality by naturalization, subject to the requirements of the Constitution and the immigration law.