Panama Investor Visa — Friendly Nations

Two routes carry a figure, both at 200,000 balboas.

First, owning real estate worth at least 200,000 balboas, held in the applicant own name, or in the name of a legal person of which the applicant is the final beneficiary of the shares, or as founder and final beneficiary of a private interest foundation; that purchase may be financed through a loan from a local bank.

Second, a fixed-term deposit of 200,000 balboas with a general-licence bank operating in Panama, free of encumbrance and with a three-year term, and likewise capable of being held through a legal person or private interest foundation.

Beyond the two money routes there is a third that needs no capital: the employment route, with a job offer letter stating position, salary and a repatriation undertaking

A two-year provisional residence permit, granted to applicants for the Permanent Resident subcategory, and open only to nationals of the countries on the decree's list.

The National Immigration Service's requirements sheet sets three ways of proving economic capacity, not two. First, employment: a notarised letter of employment on the company's letterhead stating position, salary and the repatriation undertaking, together with the employer's Public Registry certificate.

Second, real estate: a Public Registry certificate proving ownership of immovable property worth at least two hundred thousand, held in the applicant's own name.

The property may instead be held by a legal person of which the applicant is the ultimate beneficiary of the shares, or by a private interest foundation of which the applicant is both founder and ultimate beneficiary. This purchase may be financed through a local bank.

Third, a fixed-term deposit: a certificate from a general-licence bank operating in Panama confirming a fixed-term deposit of two hundred thousand, free of encumbrance and running for three years, held in the same three ways as the second route

This route runs in two stages rather than one.

At the first stage the National Migration Service grants a provisional residence permit of two years, coded PPT-PE, to a person applying for the Permanent Resident subcategory.

The applicant must hold the nationality of one of the specific countries with which Panama maintains friendly, professional, economic and investment relations, and the purpose is carrying out economic or professional activities under this Executive Decree.

The second stage is the application for the Permanent Residence Permit, coded PPP-PE, and that file resubmits all the first-stage requirements except exactly two: the criminal record certificate and the cheque.

In practice the applicant files their proof of economic standing, identity documents and health certificate afresh after two years, rather than merely renewing a stamp.

For a dependant who has reached majority but is under twenty-five, the file must include a certificate from an educational institution attesting full-time and regular student status, together with a sworn declaration of being single — so dependant status at that age must be re-proved each cycle.

The legal basis comprises the Constitution of Panama, Executive Decree 226 of 20 July 2021, Law 38 of 2000, Law 5 of 2007, and Decree Law 3 of 22 February 2008 together with its regulating Executive Decree 320 of 8 August 2008

This route does not grant permanent residence outright but runs in two stages, and missing the first stage means misreading the whole timetable.

Article 3 of the requirements sheet the authority itself publishes: the National Migration Service may grant a provisional residence permit for a period of two years to persons applying for the permanent resident subcategory as nationals of specific countries.

Those are countries maintaining friendly, professional, economic and investment relations with the Republic of Panama, and the permit is for the purpose of carrying on economic or professional activities.

The word may is a discretion, not a duty to grant. The second stage is the permanent resident permit under the same heading, and its condition is stated very briefly: to apply for permanence, the same documents as the first stage are filed, except the criminal record certificate and the cheque.

The second stage is therefore lighter in both paperwork and money, but it remains a separate application that must be filed rather than an automatic upgrade.

The ground on which status rests must be maintained throughout, and the sheet allows three branches.

The first is employment, with a work letter on company letterhead stating position, salary and the repatriation clause, together with the employer's Panama public registry certificate.

The second is investment in real property, with a Panama public registry certificate proving ownership in the applicant's own name, or by a legal entity of whose shares the applicant is ultimate beneficial owner, or as founder and ultimate beneficial owner of a private interest foundation.

That property must have a minimum value of 200,000, and the purchase is permitted to be financed through a local bank.

The third is a fixed-term deposit, with a certificate from a general licence bank operating in the national territory attesting a deposit of 200,000 free of any encumbrance and with a three-year term.

One note on the legal basis, because it differs from another document on this same record: this requirements sheet states its basis as Executive Decree 226 of 20 July 2021, together with Decree Law 3 of 22 February 2008 as regulated by Executive Decree 320 of 8 August 2008, Law 5 of 2007 and Law 38 of 2000.

An accompanying dependant must file a letter of responsibility from the sponsoring resident or national, together with proof of the relationship: a marriage certificate for a spouse, a birth certificate for a child, or a judicial instrument on guardianship and custody as the case may be.

An adult child under 25 can still be included, with two further documents: certification from an educational institution that the person studies full time and regularly, and a sworn declaration of single status.

The sponsor must also prove sufficient means, in one of two ways. The first is an income tax return with a tax clearance certificate showing income of at least 1,000 balboas a month, plus 100 balboas for each dependant.

The second is a current employment letter with a payslip or Social Security Fund record, and a copy of the work permit.

The status this programme grants, whether a visa or a residence permit, does not replace the holder's passport. The holder still travels on the passport of their own country, so the figure below belongs to the Panama passport and becomes the holder's only once they are issued a Panama passport.

According to the Passport Index of Prosperous Intelligence, on data dated 30 September 2026, the Panama passport reaches 157 destinations without applying for a consular visa in advance. The figure combines three forms of entry and does not count an e-Visa that must be obtained beforehand:

It is therefore a measure of how easily the holder travels, not a count of visa-free countries in the narrow sense.

For comparison, on the same source and the same method of counting, the Vietnamese passport reaches 44 destinations. The two lists of destinations do not nest inside one another, so the difference is an indication rather than a list of places newly opened.

Prosperous Intelligence dates its data and advises checking with the destination’s official authorities before travelling.

This category carries no tax regime of its own, but its immigration file contains a real tax obligation.

The official requirements sheet of the National Migration Service does not use the words tax, fiscal, taxpayer, revenue directorate or territorial; it mentions income in one place only, and that passage decides this record.

Under the dependants heading, the resident must show sufficient financial capacity in one of two ways, the first being to file a copy of the income tax return together with its tax clearance certificate, showing a minimum income of 1,000 balboas a month plus a further 100 balboas for each dependant.

The second is a letter confirming employment with pay slips or social security fund records and a copy of the work permit.

The tax return is one option and not an absolute obligation, and this record keeps that distinction. One point on the legal basis to be checked against the record: the requirements sheet cites Executive Decree 226 of 20 July 2021, resting on Decree Law 3 of 2008 and Executive Decree 320 of 2008.

The second tier can be established:

The electronic tax filing manual of the revenue directorate itself, a text document rather than an image scan, cites paragraph 2 of article 694 of the Fiscal Code directly at line 25 of the return, where foreign-source income is deducted from taxable income.

Two fees, each paid by certified cheque to a different payee: 250 balboas to the National Treasury and 800 balboas to the National Migration Service.

The file also requires a notarised power of attorney stating the names and nationalities of the applicant parents, three photographs, a certified copy of the passport, a criminal record certificate, a health certificate and a sworn declaration of personal background.

Each route has its own document set, and each set is a cost of its own. The employment route needs a notarised employment letter stating position, salary and a repatriation undertaking, the employer's Public Registry certificate, its notice of operation, and a copy of the permit application filed with the Ministry of Labour.

The property route needs a Public Registry certificate of ownership.

The permanent residence stage after two years uses the same documents, except the criminal record and the cheque, according to the requirements sheet based on Executive Decree 226 of 20 July 2021.