To all who visit, Panama is a country of beauty and opportunity. No matter whether you are looking to invest or retire here, there is a wealth of opportunities. Panama has steadily worked to create opportunities to attract foreign investment, first by creating world-class privacy laws and then developing the most important banking district in the world. To complete the attractive package, the has implemented a variety of Panama legal services that allow a foreigner to gain a retirement visa, work permit, residency or even citizenship based on self-sufficiency, business investment or the desire to retire in Panama. Most of the available programs are listed below.

This program gives foreigners to opportunity to obtain an immediate Panamanian Passport when they open a 5-year certificate of deposit at the Banco Nacional de Panama, Panama's Government Bank. This CD must earn a minimum of $750 per month in interest, which currently would require a deposit of about $175,000. It is necessary to possess a valid passport from the home country that allows entry into Panama. It is possible to receive a passport within thirty days after submitting paperwork although the timeframe involved can vary. The visa and passport is renewable every five years, which requires the CD to be renewed. For those who want to retire here and received a lump-sum retirement settlement, this is an excellent option.

This program is designed for people who want to live or retire in Panama on their own resources, without needing or wanting to work or start a business. This person must have a one-year certificate of deposit in any local bank of at least $200,000. This requirement can be lowered to $120,000 if $80,000 has been used to purchase a home. The application and first renewal are provisional for one year; after the renewal, the retirement visa is granted permanently and Panamanian nationality and a Panamanian passport can be obtained after five years. Again this is an excellent program for those who want to retire here and received a lump-sum retirement settlement which means they have access to all of their retirement funds.

For those interested in coming to Panama and helping the environment at the same time, this is an excellent program. By investing at least $40,000 in a government approved reforestation program, such as a Teak plantation, Panama legal services can obtain visas for the investor, spouse and dependents. After one year the Panama visa becomes permanent and after five years it is possible to apply for Panamanian citizenship and passport. This can be a very good way to plan for the future; Teak plantations can take approximately 20 years to realize full profit and for someone who is a forward planner, this can be a strong means of creating a plan to retire in Panama.

This law was created in 1960 as a way to give foreigners the chance to become permanent residents and later citizens of Panama by investing in farms and agriculture in various parts of the country.

This program was created for those who are interested in establishing a small business in Panama; it is good to note that retail businesses and some professions are reserved for Panamanians and not available for foreign investors. A minimum investment of $40,000 must be made and a minimum of three permanent Panamanian employees hired. This visa is provisionally granted for one year, and needs to be renewed three more times before it is granted permanently with the right to a Cedula, or national ID card. Five years after obtaining the permanent Panama visa, holders will be eligible to obtain Panamanian nationality and passport.

This program permits foreign investors to obtain legal residency in Panama providing that they rent land, office space or a building (rented through a 10 to 20 year concession) within one of the new tax free processing zones in Panama. The purpose for this venture is to operate a business from Panama that exports its products or services abroad.

Many international investors and companies find Panama to be an excellent location for investing in reforestation, manufacturing, and assembly and distribution facilities for import/export, software creation facilities, call centers, and a variety of other business activities. Many times, investors find that legal residency qualification is just an "extra benefit" to the investments that they are making in Panama.

This program was established to allow foreign investors to obtain up to five two-year work visas for their company in Panama under the condition that they must rent an office or building within the City of Knowledge of Panama (located within the former Fort Clayton military base), for the purpose of operating a business from Panama.

This program allows foreign students to obtain legal residency in Panama under the condition that they will be living in Panama for educational purposes, such as attending a Panamanian university.

With this program, Panama legal services can help foreign missionaries to obtain legal residency in Panama under the condition that they will be living in Panama to perform missionary work for a government recognized religious organization.

This is a great program for those who want to retire in Panama and probably the best known and most widely used visa program in the country. This is also a reason the country is widely renowned for the fact that it has become highly desirable to retire here. It is designed for persons whose pension from a government entity or private corporation is at least $500 per month for an individual or $600 for a couple. Usually a pension statement from the government or private pension is sufficient for proof for someone who wants to retire here. The Pensionado Visa is granted indefinitely must be verified by the Immigration Department annually to ensure that the income is still flowing from your pension. The benefits include one-time exemption of duties for the importation of household goods (up to $10,000) and an exemption every two years of duties for the importation of a car. There are also a wide variety of other benefits and discounts available to those who retire in Panama. This retirement visa does not qualify the holder to acquire Panamanian citizenship or passport, but you do get a Cedulla (national identity card).

Some of the other benefits from a Pensionado visa include:

• 50% off discount in movie theaters, and cultural and sporting events
• 30% discount on train, bus, and boat transportation
• 25% discount on plane tickets within the country
• 15% discount on loans made in your name
• 1% reduction on home mortgages for personal use
• 25% reduction on your water, telephone and electricity bills (off base unit price, not off total bill)
• 20% discount on doctors visits
• 50% discount weekdays on hotels, 30% discount on weekends

Panama has gone to great lengths to encourage relocation of foreign nationals to this country as well as those who want to retire here. While many other countries attempt to limit the numbers of those that relocation or even discourage relocation, Panama is actively inviting foreigners to live and invest in the country as well as luring others to retire in Panama with unsurpassed benefits.