Panama

Panama offers one visa built for remote workers and three residence routes that suit people with a pension, a job offer or capital to invest. Which one fits depends on income source, nationality and how long the stay will be.

Choosing a route

• Remote workers on foreign pay: the short-stay remote worker visa needs $36,000 a year from abroad and allows up to 18 months. It does not lead to residence.
• Nationals of listed countries who want to settle: Friendly Nations residence runs on a Panamanian job or $200,000 in property or a bank deposit, and turns into permanent residence after 2 years.
• Retirees: the Pensionado permit gives indefinite permanent residence for a lifetime pension of $1,000 a month.
• Investors: Qualified Investor residence gives permanent residence from the start for $300,000 in new property, under rules rewritten in September 2026.

How the routes compare in practice

The remote worker visa is the only option aimed at people who keep working for employers or clients abroad without settling. Its income bar is proven with an employer letter or, for the self-employed, a notarized account of each client relationship, and holders sign a sworn statement that they will not take work from anyone in Panama. After 18 months the holder must leave or switch to a residence category.

For people from eligible countries, Friendly Nations residence is the usual step up. Its investment routes cost far less than the golden visa, and the job route needs no capital at all, though it pairs with a work permit from the Labor Ministry. Nationality decides access, and the list changes by decree.

The Pensionado permit is the simplest long-term option for anyone with a qualifying lifetime pension, since it never needs renewing. The Qualified Investor route suits people who want permanent residence at once and can tie up capital for 5 years.

Every route is filed in Panama through a Panamanian lawyer holding a notarized power of attorney. The migration service lists further categories, including other retiree and investor permits, for people who fit none of these four.

Visa-free stays

Visa-exempt nationals can stay up to 90 days as tourists, according to the Embassy of Panama in Washington. The same page says U.S. and Canadian citizens get a longer stay under a 2021 migration resolution, and that visitors may be asked to show funds for the trip. Tourist status does not cover living in Panama long term, so anyone staying beyond it needs one of the routes above.

Panama uses the U.S. dollar, with the balboa at par, so prices below need no conversion for anyone paid in dollars. Panama City costs far more than the interior.

The Panama City total adds the average one-bedroom rent, outside the center and in it, to Numbeo's estimate of a single person's other monthly costs. The figures are averages of user reports, not official statistics, and the smaller towns have few reports.

Budgeting by lifestyle

• Panama City, one-bedroom outside the center: about $1,760 a month on Numbeo's averages, before health insurance and coworking.
• Panama City, central one-bedroom: about $2,110 a month on the same data. Furnished short lets in popular districts run higher than these long-term averages.
• Interior towns: rents in David average about $350 a month, and Boquete's run well below the capital's, so a single person's total budget there can sit far under Panama City's, though Numbeo publishes no full monthly estimate for these towns.

Imported goods, private health care and air conditioning push budgets up anywhere. Health insurance matters more than in some countries, since the remote worker visa requires a policy covering Panama for the whole stay.

Most remote workers split between the capital and the western highlands, with the islands and Pacific beaches as shorter bases.

• Panama City: the capital has the fastest connections, nearly all the coworking spaces, the main international airport and the best private hospitals. It suits people who want city life and easy flights across the Americas, at the country's highest rents: Numbeo's June 2026 average for a central one-bedroom was about $1,270 a month.
• Boquete: a mountain town in Chiriqui with a cooler climate and an established foreign community. It suits people who want nature and a slower pace, and its rents average well below the capital's.
• David: the Chiriqui provincial capital, with the lowest rents in the data (about $350 for a one-bedroom), shops, hospitals and a regional airport, and Boquete within easy reach.
• Bocas del Toro: Caribbean islands with a strong travel scene and rents that are not cheap for the region. Connections are less dependable than on the mainland, so it suits flexible schedules more than fixed meeting hours.
• Coronado: a Pacific beach town within driving distance of Panama City, suited to people who want the coast without giving up the capital's services. El Valle de Anton, a cooler valley town inland from the same stretch of coast, is a quieter alternative.

The Speedtest Global Index for August 2026 put Panama's median fixed broadband speed at about 287 Mbps and its median mobile speed at about 52 Mbps. Fixed lines in modern buildings are the fast option; mobile data is much slower.

Coworking spaces with day passes and monthly desks are concentrated in Panama City. Outside the capital, coworking is scarce, and remote workers in beach and mountain towns rely on home connections, cafes and hostels. A second connection, such as a mobile data plan, is a sensible backup outside the city.

Panama taxes on a territorial basis. Article 694 of the Fiscal Code makes income produced within Panama's territory taxable, wherever it is received.

Under Fiscal Code article 762-N, as explained by the DGI, a person becomes tax resident after more than 183 days in Panama, consecutive or not, in a fiscal year or the year before.

No visa comes with its own tax regime. The remote worker visa requires income from abroad for work with effects outside Panama, but whether a given remote worker's pay counts as foreign-source income is for the DGI to decide. Salaries from a Panamanian employer are Panamanian-source income.

The residence routes work the same way. Friendly Nations, Pensionado and Qualified Investor residence carry no tax regime of their own, so rent from Panama property, interest on Panama deposits and pay from a local job are treated under the general rules. A permanent home in Panama can also make a person tax resident, according to the DGI.

Nomads should check three things: whether they pass the day test, how their home country taxes people living abroad, and whether any Panama income, such as rent from local property, needs a Panama return.

• Money: the U.S. dollar is legal tender alongside the balboa, which is at par. Each bank sets its own documents for foreign clients, so asking before arrival saves time.
• Phone: prepaid SIMs and eSIMs from local carriers give a Panamanian number, which helps with deliveries, banks and apps.
• Health care: the best private hospitals are in Panama City. The remote worker visa requires a health insurance policy that covers Panama for the whole stay, and private cover is sensible on any route.
• Arrival: Panama's embassy says visitors may be asked to show funds for their stay.
• Safety: petty crime is the main risk in cities. The Darien region on the Colombian border carries travel warnings from several governments, so checking an official advisory before travel there is wise.
• Getting around: Panama City has a metro and ride-hailing apps; outside the capital, buses link the main towns and a car makes the beaches and highlands easier to reach.
• Paperwork: every residence route is filed in Panama through a lawyer with a notarized power of attorney, and documents from abroad need apostilles and Spanish translations.