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This article is the first in our series of updates on How to Move to Panama. Here we deal with the issue of a permanent visa or residency in the Republic of Panama.

Unless you are born here it is essentially impossible to become a citizen of Panama. That means you cannot vote nor hold office. However, you can own property, do business, enter and leave the country without difficulty, enjoy all of the same rights under law as a native born Panamanian.

The Panama residency laws were updated in 2008. Anyone who started the process before the end of August 2008 will continue under the old residency law which is basically less expensive than the new.

You need to use a Panamanian lawyer for the paperwork even if you understand all of the laws and speak fluent Spanish. Legal fees are governed by law and run around $1,500 for all expenses directly related to gaining residency, including legal fees.

Be aware that if you are using the attorney to set up  bank accounts, a Panama Bearer Share Corporation, or a Panama Private Interest Foundation that these fees are separate. Also, if you chose one of the residency options whereby you start a business or buy property those expenses are decidedly extra.

The five basic means of obtaining Panama residency are as follows:

• Pensionado Visa
• Private Income Retiree Visa
• Person of Means Visa
• Reforestation Visa
• Investor Visa

For All Visas:
Before you leave home you will want to pick up a certified copy of a police report from your local police precinct. This is to certify that you have no arrests nor convictions of a crime in the last five years. You will send this to the Panama Consulate in Houston, TX and they will return it to you. You will present the envelope from the consulate to your lawyer unopened.

Send the certified police report by UPS or Fed Ex to be returned to you the same way. If you do this from Panama then this step is especially important as getting mail in Panama, for newcomers, can be difficult.

Consulate of Panama in Houston
24 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1307
Houston, Texas 77046
713 622 4451

The report should be from wherever you have lived for the past five years.

If your passport is soon to expire (six months or less) renew it.

You will need certified proof of you means of income if you are applying for one of the two retirees visas, pensionado or private income retiree. Get this at your social security office or private pension office before you leave.

Make half a dozen copies of the signature page of your passport as well as your police report before you send it to Houston. Panama has a way of always wanting more copies of your documents.
Pensionado Visa

If your social security check is $1,000 a month or more plus $250 a month per dependent you can apply for a Pensionado Visa. The cost will be around $1,500. You will need to prove every year that you still are receiving your pension.

Private Income Retiree Visa

This is for retirees with private pensions or income. Like the pensionado visa you will need to prove the source of income with a certified copy showing what you get each month. Retirees without a pension but a lump sum distribution at retirement can deposit a five year CD with the Panama National Bank (BNP) sufficient to yield at least $750 a month.

Person of Means Visa

This option requires a CD of $300,000 in a Panama bank for three years or a $300,000 cash down payment for purchase of property. This investment leads in one year to renewal and a permanent visa with the right to a cedula or identity card.

Panama Reforestation Visa and Panama Residency

With the change in law the temporary reforestation visa is $60,000 minimum with a 10-hectare requirement. The permanent reforestation visa costs $80,000 and you need to reforest 20 hectares. A hectare is two and a half acres so that is 50 acres. This is a popular means of obtaining a visa but you need to follow through with the project.

Panama Investor Visas and Panama Residency

The Panama investor visa requires that you invest $160,000 and employ five Panamanian workers full time at minimum wage. You will need to continue to run the business and hire the workers to keep this visa.

If you have questions contact us at ABPanama,011 507 209 0909 from outside the country, and 209 0909 in Panama. We will be pleased to recommend a competent bilingual attorney to handle your paperwork. Nevertheless, the more you do before leaving home the easier and faster things will be in Panama.