The Fernshore Index
The factors digital nomads look at first.
Each grade is against a published measure, with its source and the date we checked it. It is research information, not advice. Where we have no figure, the row says Unknown.
Internet
40 of 100Mixed
18.13 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (2023, the latest year with a value).
Source: Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Panama. Checked 15 October 2026.
Work and career
50 of 100Mixed
Mixed: a residence route for remote workers exists (the short-stay remote worker visa, nine months, renewable once), but fixed broadband is 18.13 per 100 people (2023), under the 30 line.
Source: Decreto Ejecutivo No. 198 de 7 de mayo de 2021, que crea la Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 29290-A, 20 May 2021); Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Panama. Checked 15 October 2026.
Cost of living
74 of 100Strong
Price level 0.451 of United States prices (2025).
Source: Price level index (GDP), Panama. Checked 15 October 2026.
Visa, United States passport
Unknown
Research for US passports is being checked
Visa, Canada passport
Unknown
Research for CA passports is being checked
Visa, Australia passport
Unknown
Research for AU passports is being checked
Visa, New Zealand passport
Unknown
Research for NZ passports is being checked
Community
85 of 100Strong
Expat Insider 2026 Ease of Settling In: 2nd of 31.
Source: Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In. Checked 15 October 2026.
Climate
0 of 100Weak
Panama City, the main city: 0 comfortable months a year. Mean daily highs are 32.6 to 35.4 °C in every month (WMO World Weather Information Service) and 32.6 to 35.3 °C at Tocumen, 1977 to 2010 (ETESA). Neither source is a 1991 to 2020 table; the result does not change with the period, because no month is at 30 °C or under.
Source: Climate information for Panama City (WMO World Weather Information Service); Caracterización climática para los distritos de Panamá y San Miguelito, según los datos de la estación meteorológica Tocumen. Checked 15 October 2026.
Lifestyle
78 of 100Strong
Expat Insider 2026 Quality of Life: 6th of 31.
Source: Expat Insider 2026: Quality of Life. Checked 15 October 2026.
The country
The rest of the research on Panama.
The country page grades every factor, with its sources.
PanamaQuestions from digital nomads about Panama.
Can a self-employed freelancer use Panama's remote worker visa?
Yes, for work for your own foreign business. Instead of an employer letter you give your foreign company's registration and a notarised statement of clients, services, earnings, source of funds and payment dates. Income must pass two tests: to be safe, more than US$37,000 a year and more than US$3,100 a month.
Can I work remotely on a tourist stay if I keep moving?
We found no source saying a tourist may work remotely. Tourist stays are 180 days for US and Canadian passports and 90 days on arrival for Australians; Canada says renewing a tourist stay means leaving for at least 30 days, and re-entry may be refused. The remote worker visa lasts nine months, renewable once.
Is the internet good enough for client work, and is there coworking?
Panama has 18.13 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (ITU, 2023), graded mixed; that counts subscriptions, not speeds. One Bella Vista advert lists a coworking space in the building (the advertiser's claim) but a one-year minimum lease. Short-let prices are unknown. Test upload speed at the address.
How does tax work for a freelancer in Panama?
You are a Panamanian tax resident with more than 183 days in the current or previous fiscal year, or a permanent home there; a residence permit alone does not make you one. Whether pay for work done in Panama for foreign clients is foreign-source is unknown. Your home country's rules are separate.
How easy is it to settle in, and how much English will I find?
Expat Insider 2026, a private survey, ranks Panama 2nd of 31 for Ease of Settling In and 6th for Quality of Life. The EF English Proficiency Index scores Panama 491, 70th globally, which Fernshore grades weak; the index comes from people who chose to take EF's online test.
Sources
Where each figure comes from.
Every figure on this page links to the page we read, with the date we checked it.
- [K2] Fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people, Panama, International Telecommunication Union, via the World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2023: 18.13 per 100 people (2024 and 2025 have no value), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026.
- [K1] Decreto Ejecutivo No. 198 de 7 de mayo de 2021, que crea la Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 29290-A, 20 May 2021), República de Panamá, Ministerio de Seguridad Pública (published in the Gaceta Oficial). Checked 15 October 2026. Article 1: a short-stay (non-resident) visa for foreign remote workers with foreign-source income of at least B/.36,000 a year; nine months, renewable once for the same period; carnet B/.50. Article 2: B/.250 payment, insurance, a letter showing at least B/.3,000 a month, a sworn statement of no local job or service. The Gaceta is a scan; the text was read by OCR. The Servicio Nacional de Migración requirements sheet (migracion.gob.pa) could not be opened (the address returned a page-not-found). Later changes were not checked.
- [C1] Price level index (GDP), Panama, World Bank. Checked 15 October 2026. 2025: 45.08 (United States = 100), read from the World Bank API on 15 October 2026 (data.worldbank.org pages were not used; the API was).
- [Q1] Expat Insider 2026: Ease of Settling In, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama ranks 2nd of 31 countries in the Ease of Settling In Index.
- [W1] Climate information for Panama City (WMO World Weather Information Service), World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service (data supplied by Panama's national meteorological service). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama City station (9.05 N, 79.37 W). Monthly mean daily highs 32.6 to 35.4 °C (October lowest, April highest); rainfall 10.1 mm (February) to 330.7 mm (October). The service marks the rainfall record as 1971 to 2000 and gives no period for temperatures. These are not 1991 to 2020 normals; no month has a mean daily high of 30 °C or less, so there are 0 comfortable months.
- [W2] Caracterización climática para los distritos de Panamá y San Miguelito, según los datos de la estación meteorológica Tocumen, Empresa de Transmisión Eléctrica S.A. (ETESA), Gerencia de Hidrometeorología, Centro del Clima de Panamá (published on the site of the Instituto de Meteorología e Hidrología de Panamá, IMHPA). Checked 15 October 2026. Tocumen station, period 1977 to 2010 (not 1991 to 2020). Average daily maximum 32.6 °C (October) to 35.3 °C (April) in every month; rain 10.0 mm (February) to 329.6 mm (October), 1,917.4 mm a year. No month has a mean daily high of 30 °C or less. IMHPA's own climate pages (imhpa.gob.pa) show current data only, no 1991 to 2020 normals table was found.
- [Q2] Expat Insider 2026: Quality of Life, InterNations (Expat Insider survey, private). Checked 15 October 2026. Panama ranks 6th of 31 countries in the Quality of Life Index.