The Fernshore Index
The factors remote workers 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 remote workers about Panama.
What does an employee of a foreign company need to show for the remote worker visa?
An employer letter giving your details, post and duties, income (to be safe, more than US$3,100 a month), how often it is paid, remote work and the return-cost commitment, plus a certificate that the employer exists. Foreign income must also pass a yearly test (to be safe, more than US$37,000).
What does Panama's time zone mean for working hours with an employer abroad?
Panama is on UTC-5 all year and has never used daylight saving, so the gap changes when your employer's clocks do. Sydney is 15 hours ahead on standard time and 16 from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April; New Zealand is 17 hours ahead on standard time and 18 on daylight time.
Is Panama's internet dependable enough for a full-time remote job?
Panama has 18.13 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people (ITU, 2023), under the 30 line we use, and Fernshore grades it mixed. That counts subscriptions, not speeds or call quality. Test upload speed and call quality at the exact address, during your own working hours, before you sign a lease.
Which tax and social security rules follow a foreign employer's pay into Panama?
Panama's tax return subtracts foreign-source income, but we found no page saying whether pay for work done in Panama for a foreign employer counts, so that is unknown. Panama is not on the social security agreement lists of the US, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Ask your employer for its position.
What health insurance does the remote worker visa need?
A health insurance policy that covers you in Panama for the whole stay. We found no priced quote, so the cost is unknown. Medicare.gov says Medicare usually does not cover care outside the US, and Canada says you may have to pay in advance in cash and that evacuation can be very expensive.
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.