Panama

Visa de Naciones Amigas. Residence for citizens of about 50 "friendly" countries, reformed in 2021 to require a real economic tie rather than just an incorporated company.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 27, 2026

Visa de Naciones Amigas

Two-year temporary residence, convertible to permanent if the economic tie is maintained.

Who qualifies

Must be a national of one of Panama's designated friendly nations.
Executive Decree 197 of May 7, 2021
Must show an economic or professional tie: a Panamanian employment contract, real estate worth at least $200,000, or a fixed-term bank deposit of at least $200,000 held for a minimum 3-year term at a licensed Panama bank.
Kraemer & Kraemer, summary of Executive Decree 197
Simply owning a company (IBC/LLC) no longer counts as the economic tie since the 2021 reform.
Kraemer & Kraemer, 2021 Friendly Nations Visa changes

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

Does it fit your family?

One question, from the program’s own rules.

Savings you could move or invest?

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Savings: About $200,000.
Time: 2–4 months for temporary residence approval.
Cost: About $1,000–2,000 in government fees plus the $200,000 investment itself; legal fees $2,000–4,000.
The hard part: The 2021 reform closed the cheap route of simply forming an LLC; applicants now commit real capital or a genuine local job offer.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

Citizens by 2035.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

2027
First residence permit
2 years, not renewable.
2029
Permanent residence
Most routes, including Friendly Nations, start with a two-year provisional permit and then convert to permanent residence if the job, property or deposit is still held. Pensioners and qualified investors get permanent residence at once.
2034
Apply for citizenship
With a language test and a civics test.
2035
Citizenship

Language: Spanish, tested by the Electoral Tribunal.
Civics: An Electoral Tribunal exam on Panama's history, geography and political and administrative organisation.
Time away: Five consecutive years counted from the resolution granting permanent residence. Migration checks your entries and exits to confirm the residence was continuous.
Two passports: It depends on the rules at the time and on your home country.

A two-year provisional permit, then permanent residence if the job, property or deposit is kept. The five-year citizenship clock starts only then, so about seven years in all.
Renunciation: the Constitution and the application form require an express, irrevocable renunciation of your old nationality, and at the oath you renounce all ties to it. Panama does not require proof that the home country accepted this, so whether you keep your old passport depends on your home country.
Spaniards and Latin Americans by birth can instead meet whatever their own country asks of Panamanians (reciprocity, Constitution art. 10(3)). The years vary by country and are not listed here.
The widely quoted rule of 180 days a year in Panama during the five years comes from secondary sources; I did not find it in Decree-Law 3.
No official decision time found.
Pensionado and qualified-investor residence are permanent from the start according to the migration service's and MICI's requirement sheets, seen in search results but not opened today.
How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
Whether you can keep your current citizenship depends on the rules at the time and your home country.

The law behind these dates

Servicio Nacional de Migración — Residente provisional, nacionales de países específicos (two-year provisional permit toward permanent residence) · checked 2026-09-25
Decreto Ley 3 de 22 de febrero de 2008, arts. 118–130 (naturalisation; clock from permanent residence, art. 126), Gaceta Oficial 25986 · checked 2026-09-25
Constitución Política de Panamá, arts. 10 and 13 (Tribunal Electoral) · checked 2026-09-25

Living there.

Time you must spend there: Must remain in Panama enough to renew the 2-year temporary permit and to keep the underlying economic tie (job, property, or deposit) active; no fixed day count is published.
Tax: Territorial tax system; foreign income is not taxed by Panama.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Confirm current inclusion on Panama's Friendly Nations list, then document one of the three qualifying economic ties before filing.Open kraemerlaw.com ↗
Round up the papers.
- Proof of savings: at least $200,000
- Request your FBI Identity History Summary
- Health cover for the move

Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

18 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →

ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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