Panama Working Holiday Visa (Not Yet Open)

Status: Not yet open for applications; no partner country with a working holiday agreement in force has been named, and the Foreign Ministry certificate the visa requires has no published procedure.

Executive Decree 21, signed Oct. 13, 2026 and in force since its publication on Oct. 14, creates a short-stay visa for young people taking part in a working holiday (Vacaciones y Trabajo) program. It sits in the non-resident category, and the Servicio Nacional de Migracion (SNM) runs it with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The visa allows a stay of up to 12 months with temporary work for applicants between 18 and 30 years old. It covers only nationals of countries that have a working holiday agreement with Panama in force, and the decree names none.

Panama has announced no partner country, and it is missing from the working holiday partner lists of Japan, France, Canada and Uruguay. Still pending: the partner countries, any yearly quotas, the funds amount, fees and processing time.

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Articles 1, 3 and 4 of the decree set these conditions:

• Nationality: Only nationals of countries that have a bilateral working holiday agreement with Panama in force; the decree names none.
• Age: between 18 and 30 years old on the day of the application, proven with an apostilled birth certificate.
• Program place: A certificate from Panama's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the applicant takes part in the Working Holiday program.
• Means: Proof of sufficient funds to support the stay in Panama; the decree sets no amount.

Local work allowed: Temporary work only, with a separate work permit from the Ministry of Labor (MITRADEL); no permanent employment.

Family: the decree does not mention spouses or children.

People who earn from employers or clients abroad and want no local job fit the remote worker visa better. It has no age limit or nationality list.

Article 4 lists the documents for the SNM file:

• The application, filed in the applicant's own name
• A copy of the passport certified by a Panamanian notary
• Three passport-size photographs
• An apostilled birth certificate showing the applicant's age
• A certificate from Panama's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the applicant takes part in the Working Holiday program
• Health insurance covering the whole stay in Panama
• Proof of sufficient funds to support the stay in Panama; the decree sets no amount
• Apostilled criminal record certificate from the applicant's country of origin

Any job in Panama also needs a work permit from the Ministry of Labor (MITRADEL), which authorizes temporary work while the visa is valid (Article 6).

No fee has been published. The decree sets none, and the SNM lists no fee for this visa.

Applicants will also pay for the notarized passport copy, apostilles and health insurance for the whole stay. Each provider sets those prices, so no official total exists.

In Panama, filed personally at the Special Projects Office (Oficina de Proyectos Especiales) of the Servicio Nacional de Migracion, under Article 4.

No application can be filed yet. The file must include the Foreign Ministry's participation certificate, and the ministry has published no procedure for issuing it while no partner agreement is in force. Services that offer to file this visa now have no official channel to file it through.

Options in the meantime:

• Visa-exempt nationals can stay up to 90 days as tourists, without working.
• People paid from abroad can apply for the remote worker visa, which needs $36,000 a year in foreign income and bars local work.
• Nationals of listed countries with a Panamanian job offer or capital to invest can seek Friendly Nations residence.

• Length: up to 12 months

No extension is possible, and holders cannot switch to another immigration category (Article 3).

Path to residence: No. Holders cannot obtain permanent residence during the stay or change immigration category, and must leave Panama when the program ends.

Breaches: breaking the decree's rules leads to cancellation of the visa and a deportation order (Article 8).

Decree 21 contains no tax provision. Panama taxes income produced within its territory, wherever it is received, under Article 694 of the Fiscal Code, so wages for temporary work done in Panama fall under Panamanian income tax.

A person becomes tax resident after more than 183 days in Panama in a fiscal year or the year before. A stay of up to 12 months can cross that line, so holders should check their position with Panama's tax authority (DGI) and with the tax authority at home.