Moving to Panama from the US

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. 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.

For up to 18 months, the Short Stay Visa for Remote Workers (Decree 198 of 2021) lets you work remotely from Panama without another work or residence permit, but it is a non-resident visa and only for work for a foreign employer or your own foreign business. A tourist who wants to change category can ask, through a lawyer and ten working days before the stay ends, for an extension of up to 60 days for a B/.250 payment and a B/.500 guarantee deposit.

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 US Social Security retirement 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 meet article 247 of Decree 320 of 2008, which we did not read, so ask Migración whether an apostille and a Spanish translation are needed. 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.

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 US keeps taxing you whatever Panama does.

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.

You cannot take a foreign tax credit for tax on income you exclude. Foreign accounts that together exceed $10,000 at any time in the year must be reported on an FBAR. The IRS list of US income tax treaties does not include Panama, so there is no treaty tie-breaker. The two countries do have a tax information exchange agreement, in force since 2011, under which tax information can be requested.

We found no official page saying whether remote-worker visa holders or residents must enrol with Panama's social security fund (CSS), so that is unknown. This describes the mechanism, not your bill.

It strongly recommends supplemental insurance that covers medical evacuation. Medicare usually does not cover care outside the US. We found no priced insurance quote and no official page on CSS enrolment for foreigners, so those costs are unknown.

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.

For the visa you prove foreign income with a bank certificate or statements, and a Panamanian account counts toward the FBAR $10,000 threshold.