Moving to Panama from Australia

More than US$37,000 a year: Income from abroad under Executive Decree 198 of 7 May 2021 must be a set minimum a year, or the equivalent in another currency, from a foreign source. The balboa is used at par with the US dollar. To be safe, have more than US$37,000 a year (about A$53,500). The test is set in US dollars, so its Australian dollar value moves with the exchange rate. The letter from your employer (or, if you are self-employed, a sworn statement about your clients) must also show a set minimum of monthly income, paid from abroad (to be safe, have more than US$3,100 a month). You prove the foreign source with a bank certificate or foreign bank statements with the bank's seal. The visa lasts nine months and can be renewed once for nine more. You must sign a sworn statement that you accept no work or service offer in Panama, and the visa is cancelled if you come to represent the foreign company for local activities.

You get two years of provisional residence, then permanent residence, on the basis of one of three things: a job with a Panamanian company (you and the employer must also get a work permit from MITRADEL); property in your name or your company's name worth a set minimum (to be safe, have more than US$210,000), which can be bank-financed; or a fixed-term deposit at a set minimum (to be safe, have more than US$210,000) held free of liens for three years. Migración's checklist asks for certified cheques of B/.250 and B/.800. Pensionado: a lifetime pension with a monthly minimum (to be safe, have more than US$1,100 a month) from a foreign government, an international body or a private company. The monthly minimum is lower if you buy property worth over a set minimum (to be safe, buy for more than US$110,000), where the checklist says a lower monthly minimum. Spouses can combine pensions, each dependant adds a monthly amount (to be safe, add more than US$300 a month for each) to what you must show, and the permit has no end date. We found no guidance on whether the Australian Age Pension or a superannuation income stream counts, so ask Migración. Qualified investor (Decree 17 of 8 September 2026, in force on promulgation in the Gaceta of 16 September 2026): the options are a first-sale (new) property at a set minimum (to be safe, have more than US$310,000); a resale property at a higher set minimum (to be safe, have more than US$510,000); a set minimum in securities through a licensed broker (to be safe, have more than US$510,000), held five years; or a five-year fixed deposit, a set minimum in a private bank (to be safe, have more than US$760,000) or a lower set minimum in Banco Nacional or Caja de Ahorros (to be safe, have more than US$510,000). The funds must come from abroad. It replaces Decree 722 of 2020. Migración's site still lists older own-solvency checklists with their own set minimum (to be safe, have more than US$310,000) that we did not compare with the new decree.

All applicants sign a sworn statement that they accept no work or service in Panama. You prove foreign income with a bank certificate or a foreign bank statement showing the transfer, with the bank's authentication seals. Documents issued abroad must be apostilled (or authenticated by the Panamanian embassy or consulate and Panama's foreign ministry), be in Spanish or translated by an authorised public translator, and give any foreign currency as a dollar equivalent from a competent entity (Decree 320 of 2008, article 247, the 2008 text). In Australia, the Australian Federal Police issue a National Police Certificate for A$57, or A$114 if fingerprints are needed. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) puts apostilles on original Australian public documents, including National Police Checks and birth certificates, or on copies notarised by an Australian Notary Public, for A$105 per document, by post or by appointment at an Australian Passport Office. Migración's checklist says only "criminal record certificate", so whether it must be an Australian one and how recent it must be is unknown: ask your Panamanian lawyer. For the remote-worker visa the payment to Migración is B/.250 and the card costs B/.50 (the card fee is stated as B/.50 in the decree). We found no published processing time for the remote-worker visa or for friendly-nations residence, so they are unknown. For the qualified-investor route the decree allows the Ministry of Commerce and Industries 15 working days to issue the investment certificate, and Migración 30 working days after a complete file, and it allows filing before you enter Panama through a lawyer. Migración's checklists open with a notarised power of attorney, so filing normally goes through a Panamanian lawyer; we did not price one. In Australia, the AFP says a digital police certificate usually arrives within a few days and fingerprint checks take at least 15 working days; DFAT publishes no processing time for apostilles, only that times vary and rise at peak periods.

The visa is an immigration status and does not itself set your tax treatment. We found no Dirección General de Ingresos page saying whether pay for work you do physically in Panama for a foreign employer counts as foreign-source, so that is unknown: ask a Panamanian adviser before you rely on it. Meanwhile the ATO says an Australian resident for tax purposes declares income from Australia and overseas, and that can include you while you live in Panama.

For taxable Panamanian income, the Tax Code rates for individuals (Law 8 of 2010) are 0% up to B/.11,000, 15% on the part from B/.11,000 to B/.50,000, then B/.5,850 plus 25% above B/.50,000; we read the 2010 text and did not check later amendments. Law 926 of 28 May 2026 adds economic-substance rules for entities in multinational groups and, in the articles we read, does not address individuals.

Residents declare income earned in Australia and overseas, even if tax has already been paid on it overseas, with a possible foreign income tax offset for tax paid abroad. If you are an Australian resident for only part of the year, your return shows the date you stopped being resident and the months you were resident. The ATO says a treaty tie-breaker decides dual residents where a treaty exists, and Treasury's treaty table does not list Panama, so nothing settles a double claim.

You can choose instead to disregard all gains and losses on leaving, in which case your assets are treated as taxable Australian property until a sale or until you become resident again. The full 50% discount is not available for the part of ownership after you leave. This describes the mechanism, not your bill.

Panama is not on Australia's list of 32 social security agreement countries. If you get Age Pension, you move to the outside-Australia rate when you leave to live elsewhere, and after 26 weeks the rate depends on your years of Australian residence. The ATO says your super stays subject to the same rules when you leave Australia: you cannot access it until you reach preservation age and retire or meet another condition. We did not check whether an Australian employer must keep paying super for you while you work from Panama, so that is unknown.

Smartraveller says public medical facilities are reasonable in Panama City but limited elsewhere, private clinics and hospitals are well equipped but very expensive, you will likely pay up front and claim back from your insurer, and a seriously ill person may need medical evacuation to the United States. It advises yellow fever vaccination before you travel. If you cancel Australian private patient hospital cover while you live overseas and stay an Australian tax resident, the ATO says you may owe the Medicare levy surcharge if your income is over the threshold; travel insurance does not count as private patient hospital cover, and exempt foreign employment income counts toward the income test. We found no priced insurance quote and no official page on CSS enrolment for foreigners, so those costs are unknown.

Start the Australian paperwork early: the police certificate and each apostille come from different offices (see the documents section). For tax you can ask the Dirección General de Ingresos for a free tax number (NT) online, with your passport, a migration movement record and proof of taxable income or an accountant's certificate; documents from abroad must be apostilled and in Spanish.

We found no official page on opening a bank account for a new resident, so the requirements are unknown. For the visa you prove foreign income with a bank certificate or statements. As an Australian resident for tax purposes you still lodge an Australian return; the ATO says you can do that from overseas through a myGov account linked to the ATO. If you have a study or training loan such as HELP, the ATO says to update your contact details before you leave or within 7 days, and to submit an overseas travel notification.