Panama · Residency by investment
Friendly Nations Visa
Reformed by Executive Decree 197 of 7 May 2021 and Executive Decree 226 of 20 July 2021, both effective 7 August 2021. The pre-2021 version — instant permanent residency on the strength of a Panamanian company and a small bank balance — is dead. There is now a real economic tie and a two-year provisional stage.
At USD 200,000 with bank financing permitted, this is materially cheaper than the Qualified Investor route in cash terms — the price is two extra years and a two-stage process. For a family that is genuinely moving to Panama it is often the better trade; for a family buying optionality it is not.
Qualifying routes
registered value in Panama's Public Registry; may be financed through a Panamanian bank, unlike the Qualified Investor route
three-year term with a Panamanian bank; cannot be pledged as collateral
requires a genuine job offer plus a Ministry of Labour work permit; not a passive route
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $200k
- Total landed cost
- USD 200k qualifying tie plus roughly USD 3.2k in fees for provisional residency and USD 2.3k for the permanent stage; add USD 1.2–2k per dependant per stage
- Timeline
- 12–30 months — roughly 6 months to provisional approval, then two years of provisional status, then roughly 6 months to convert to permanent
- Physical presence
- No meaningful minimum; do not let two years elapse without entering Panama
- Family
- spouseminor childrendependants need not hold a passport from a listed country
- Permanent residency
- 2 years of provisional residency, then conversion on proof the qualifying tie is maintained
- Citizenship
- 5 years of permanent residency — so roughly 7 years from first filing
- Language test
- Spanish plus Panamanian history and civics examination
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- citizenship of a listed friendly nationclean criminal record, apostilledhealth certificate issued in Panamaproof of economic solvency and the qualifying economic tiefiled through a Panamanian lawyer
- Eligibility is restricted to roughly 49–50 listed countries. The list is set by decree and has been amended before; it can be amended again.
- The 2021 reform is the cautionary tale for this whole region: Panama abolished a beloved, heavily-marketed route overnight and grandfathered nobody who had not already filed. Assume any open programme here can be repriced or closed with weeks of notice.
- The two-year provisional stage is a real conditionality — the tie must still exist at conversion. A deposit that matures early or a property sold in year two costs you the residency.
- Provisional residency is not permanent residency, and some banks and tax authorities treat it differently. Do not build a tax-residency argument on the provisional card alone.