Panama · Residency by investment
Reforestation Investor Visa
Open
Last verified July 2026
Amounts vary by source between USD 80,000 and USD 100,000 for the temporary tier; the USD 100,000 / USD 350,000 structure is the one consistently reported in 2026. Treat the exact floor as unconfirmed.
The cheapest asset-backed route to Panamanian permanent residency, but the asset is the problem: you are buying into a teak plantation whose value depends entirely on the promoter's honesty and a 20-year growth cycle. The immigration outcome is real; the investment return frequently is not.
Qualifying routes
$100k
Certified reforestation investment — temporary tier
two-year temporary residency, convertible to permanent; add roughly USD 2,000 per dependant
$350k
Certified reforestation investment — permanent tier
direct permanent residency
The facts
- Minimum investment
- $100k
- Total landed cost
- USD 100k–350k investment plus roughly USD 5–10k in legal and government fees
- Timeline
- 4–8 months — unverified; varies with the project's certification status
- Physical presence
- No meaningful minimum
- Family
- spousedependent children
- Permanent residency
- immediate at the USD 350,000 tier; 2 years at the USD 100,000 tier
- Citizenship
- 5 years of permanent residency
- Language test
- Spanish plus Panamanian history and civics examination
- Dual citizenship
- Not permitted — you would have to renounce
- Requirements
- investment in a reforestation project certified by Panama's Ministry of Environmentminimum land area (commonly cited as five hectares of titled land)proof the funds entered Panama from abroadclean criminal record and health certificate
What can go wrong
- This is the most heavily mis-sold programme in Panama. Teak plantation promoters bundle the visa with the investment and price the land at multiples of its standalone value; the residency is effectively paying for itself out of your capital.
- The project must be registered with Panama's Ministry of Environment and the land titled. Verify both in the Public Registry yourself, not through the promoter's lawyer.
- The investment must be held five years, but teak takes 20–25 years to mature — you are illiquid far beyond the immigration horizon and secondary markets for these parcels are thin to non-existent.
- The exact minimum investment is inconsistently reported between USD 80,000 and USD 100,000 across sources. Confirm the current figure with the Servicio Nacional de Migración before relying on it.