permanent residence in about 30 days under the Panama Qualified Investor Visa
Panama's Qualified Investor Visa is the only programme we advise on that grants permanent residence in weeks: US$300,000 in new-build property, US$500,000 in resale property or securities, or a US$750,000 deposit, each held five years. Territorial taxation, one visit every two years to maintain the status, and eligibility to naturalise after five years. The status carries no Schengen rights, and naturalisation requires Spanish.
Figures verified 27 September 2026 · Licensed CICC consultant, Toronto
All four give the same permanent residence for you, your spouse and dependent children, and all require the investment to be held for five years. Government fees of about US$5,000 per applicant and Panamanian legal fees apply on top.
US$300,000
Must be a new unit bought from the developer. Pre-construction purchases qualify only once the price is paid and the promise of sale or title is registered; we structure the escrow.
US$500,000
Raised from US$300,000 to US$500,000 by Executive Decree No. 17 of September 2026 to steer investment into new construction.
US$500,000
Government bonds and listed Panamanian securities qualify; market risk is yours.
US$750,000
Interest is taxable in Panama as local-source income. Highest cash outlay of the four.
US and Canadian citizens may prefer the Friendly Nations visa at US$200,000; it is provisional for two years before permanence. Figures verified 27 September 2026.
Jane Katkova has advised on citizenship and residence by investment since 1998. We confirm eligibility, the complete fee schedule and the realistic processing time before you pay anything, and we advise against a programme when it does not fit your circumstances.
A qualifying investment of US$300,000 or more held five years, a clean apostilled police record, lawful source of funds and one trip to Panama. Most US and Canadian files are straightforward; the main work lies in documenting the source of funds and obtaining apostilles.
About 30 days from filing to approval; two to three months end to end once document collection is counted. Full detail on the process page.
We check nationality, police history and source of funds, then choose between new-build, resale, securities or deposit.
Apostilled police certificates, passport certification, civil documents for dependants, source-of-funds evidence, and a power of attorney to the Panamanian lawyer who files for you.
Property title or promise of sale registered in the Public Registry; broker or bank certification for securities and deposits.
One trip: registration at Servicio Nacional de Migración, a Panamanian health certificate, biometrics and a provisional card the same day.
The resolution granting permanent residence issues in about 30 days; you then collect the permanent card and the cédula E identity document.
Keep the investment five years and visit at least once every two years. Naturalisation is open after five years of residence.
The status sits beside your passport; the table sets out its effect for each applicant profile.
| Your situation | What Panama adds | What it does not change |
|---|---|---|
| US citizen | Permanent residence in a dollarised, territorial-tax country three hours from Miami; a path to a second passport in the Americas | US worldwide taxation, FBAR and FATCA; no treaty relief with Panama |
| Canadian citizen | A permanent winter base and a contingency residence with no renewal requirement; Canada–Panama treaty relief if you ever become Panamanian tax resident | Canadian tax while residential ties remain; departure tax on leaving |
| US resident on an Indian, Chinese or Nigerian passport | A permanent status obtained in a month and held from the US with one visit every two years | Your US status; UK, US and Canadian visas still needed on your own passport |
| Canadian PR or work-permit holder on a weak passport | The same permanent fallback; children may study in Panama as residents | Canadian PR residency obligation; no Schengen rights |
Photo: Jacqueline Brandwayn / Unsplash
Photo: Luis Aleman / Unsplash
Photo: Zdeněk Macháček / Unsplash
Photo: Kaori Hirakata / Unsplash
Photo: Ignacio Hernandez / UnsplashBecause Americans and Canadians appear on Panama's list of friendly nations, they have a second option. The Friendly Nations visa needs either a Panamanian property worth at least US$200,000, a fixed deposit of the same amount, or a genuine job or company in Panama. It grants two years of provisional residence, after which you apply for permanence; processing of the provisional stage is measured in months, not weeks, and it needs two trips instead of one. The Qualified Investor Visa costs US$100,000 more on the property route and gives permanence immediately. We model both routes for every US or Canadian client; for someone buying an apartment to use anyway, the extra US$100,000 in a new-build unit often secures a better unit and a faster, simpler application.
Figures verified 27 September 2026. Thresholds and government fees change by executive decree; we confirm the current schedule before you commit.
US and Canadian citizens are the programme's core applicants. Panama gives an American a contingency residence in the Western Hemisphere, three hours from Miami, in a dollarised economy, with permanent residence that does not lapse unless you stay away for two years. If you are Canadian it is a winter base with the same permanence. Tax follows where you live: become Panamanian tax resident by spending 183 or more days there and Panama still taxes only Panamanian-source income. US obligations continue regardless: the US taxes citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, FBAR and FATCA reporting continue, and there is no US–Panama income tax treaty, only a tax-information exchange agreement, so relief rests on foreign tax credits. Canada has a tax treaty with Panama; a Canadian who becomes non-resident faces departure tax on deemed dispositions first, and Canadian tax continues until residential ties are severed.
For an H-1B, work-permit or PR holder from India, China, Nigeria, Vietnam or Pakistan, Panama is a permanent status you can obtain in a month and keep while you carry on in North America, with no minimum stay beyond one visit every two years. It changes nothing about your US or Canadian status and does not help you enter the UK, the US or Canada; you still need those visas on your own passport. If your status in North America ends, you already hold a permanent, not provisional, right of residence. Panama runs standard background checks and requires apostilled police certificates from your country of residence; there is no published nationality ban, but nationals of countries under Panamanian restricted-visa rules face extra screening and we say so up front.
Thirty minutes with Jane Katkova, licensed CICC consultant, in Toronto. We compare the Qualified Investor and Friendly Nations routes for your family, and advise clearly whether Panama or a European permit fits.
Video forthcoming: the four routes, the September 2026 resale change and the citizenship path in eight minutes.
From US$300,000 in new-build real estate, held five years. Resale property needs US$500,000 since Executive Decree No. 17 of September 2026; Panamanian securities US$500,000; a fixed-term bank deposit US$750,000. Government fees are about US$5,000 per applicant plus Panamanian legal fees, and each dependant carries extra fees.
About 30 days from filing to the resolution granting permanent residence. Collecting apostilled police certificates and completing the investment takes another one to two months before filing, so two to three months end to end is realistic. One trip to Panama of three to five days is needed for registration and biometrics.
Yes, from day one, which is what sets Panama apart from every European golden visa. It is cancelled only if you are absent from Panama for more than two consecutive years or dispose of the qualifying investment inside the five-year holding period. There is no annual renewal and no days-per-year test.
Only on Panamanian-source income, and only if you have any. Panama's territorial system does not tax foreign salaries, pensions, dividends or capital gains even for full-time residents. Rental income from a Panamanian apartment and interest on a Panamanian deposit are local-source and taxable. US citizens continue to file US returns on worldwide income regardless.
Not directly. Panama has no citizenship-by-investment programme; the investment secures permanent residence, and after five years of residence you may apply to naturalise, passing exams in Spanish and Panamanian civics. The decision is discretionary and Panama's constitution asks naturalised citizens to renounce their prior nationality. Full detail on the citizenship process page.
It is cheaper: US$200,000 in property or a deposit, or a Panamanian job or company. It is slower and provisional: two years on a temporary permit, then a second application for permanence, with two trips instead of one. If available capital is the constraint, it is the better choice; if you want permanence now and are buying a new-build apartment in any case, the Qualified Investor Visa is the simpler route.
No. Panama is not in the Schengen area and the residence permit carries no European rights. It does not change your right to enter the US or Canada either; you use your own passport and visas for those. What it gives is a permanent right to live in Panama and, after naturalisation, a Panamanian passport that is itself visa-free to Schengen and the UK.
Compare them side by side: golden visa programmes compared and EU residence by investment options. Looking for a passport rather than a permit? See St Kitts and Nevis citizenship by investment or St Lucia second passport.
This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Programme rules change; we confirm every figure before you commit.
A confidential consultation with a licensed CICC consultant. We assess eligibility and total cost before you commit to any programme.