Panama Country Profile

Passport
For more details visit Panama Passport Ranking
  • Passport Grade
    B
  • Passport Ranking
    61/198
  • Passport Score
    138.5/198
  • Visa-free Countries
    125
  • Visa-required Countries
    73
  • Access to the World's GDP
    40%
  • Access to the World's Surface Area
    45%
  • Access to the World's Population
    36%
  • Access to the Unesco Sites
    71%
Citizenship and Naturalization
Birthright citizenship (Jus Soli)
  • Birthright citizenship (Jus Soli)
    Yes
    Unrestricted: Any child born in the country automatically becomes a citizen.
Naturalization - Standard Conditions
  • Minimum residency period
    5 years
  • Physical presence requirement
    Officially, need to visit the country every 2 years to keep permanent residency active. In reality, better to spend significant time on the ground
  • Language test
    Yes, Spanish
  • Need to renounce original citizenship?
    Yes, but not enforced
  • Can minor children naturalize?
    Yes
  • Can naturalized parents pass citizenship to a child born abroad?
    Yes
    A child can become Panamanian by birth, after establishing domicile in Panama and submitting an application before turning 19
  • Can you lose naturalization due to prolonged absence/ naturalization elsewhere?
    No / Yes
Naturalization - Your Spouse is a Citizen
  • Living IN the country: Residency/marriage requirement
    3 years / 3 years
    Must be both married and reside in the country for 3 years.
  • Living ABROAD: Marriage requirement
    Not allowed
  • Language test
    Yes, Spanish
  • Need to renounce original citizenship?
    Yes, but not enforced.
Naturalization - Other Beneficial Provisions
  • Your child is a citizen
    3 years
    May apply immediately after having a child with a Panamanian citizen or giving birth in Panama (jus soli), assuming you have resided there for 3 years.
  • Citizens of specific countries
    1/2/3 years
    Based on resiprocity rules: 1 year for citizens of Colombia, El Salvador. 2 year for citizens of Argentina, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Spain. 3 year for citizens of Uruguay.
"–": The provision has not been analysed.
Taxation
For more details visit Cost of Living
  • Taxation Type
    Territorial
A tax resident of a country with a TERRITORIAL tax system pays taxes on the income generated within the country only. Income generated outside of the country remains tax-free.
Schiff Sovereign's Take on Panama
Our founder, Simon Black, used to spend significant amounts of time in Panama. He started going there in the early 2000s. 

Back then, the only positive thing you could say about the country was that you could drink tap water safely. Otherwise, it was very much a backwater type of place.

Today, Panama is an entirely different country. Its GDP grew fivefold. Panama City’s skyline reminds one of Hong Kong. The changes over the past couple of decades have been simply remarkable.

The country is profoundly pro-business. Revenues from the Panama canal have also been a major boon for the country,

The country has also received a high level of press visibility pre-Covid. Yes, we are talking about the Panama Papers – the “scandal” that helped demonize, once again, the entire idea of asset protection structures.

But despite all the negative coverage by breathlessly anti-liberty activists with little understanding of how the global economy actually works, Panama remains a reputable jurisdiction within which to structure your company – if you conduct most of your business in Latin America.

But if your focus is not that region, we would probably abstain from Panamanian structures or even banking – there is simply too much negativity swirling about it.

Panama’s cost of living is also still quite reasonable, though it now tends to be the highest in Latin America (after Puerto Rico).

One reason for this is that they don't have control over their currency, the balboa. It has been pegged to the US dollar since 1904. Dollarization brought fiscal stability, but also an inability to control (read: “inflate away”) the currency, which generally meant a higher cost of living for Panamanians. 

For many years, Panama was home to one of the world’s most attractive residency programs – the Friendly Nations Visa. Westerners could obtain Panamanian permanent residency after starting a local corporation and depositing around $5,000 in a local bank account. 

But its conditions have become much stricter as of 2021. 

Today, Panama is still interesting for residency if you are a retiree with a stable income, or if you’re willing to purchase local real estate.

We’ll close by pointing out that Panama is a great retirement destination. In this regard, Panama competes with neighboring Costa Rica. 
Schiff Sovereign's Rolodex
Service Providers available in Panama
  • Immigration (residency, citizenship)
  • Full relocation services (real estate search, bank account opening, driver's licence, etc.)
  • Tax advice (attorneys and/or accountants)
  • Asset protection (specialized LLCs, trusts, etc)
  • Corporate services (company formation, etc.)
  • Real Estate (agents, lawyers)
  • Banking contact
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Sovereign Global Explorer

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Panama Overview
  • Region
    North and South America
  • Capital City
    Panama City
  • Largest City
    Panama City
  • Currency
    United States dollar
  • Languages
    Spanish
  • Population
    4.3 million (128th)
  • Life Expectancy
    77.6 years (84th)
  • GDP (Nominal)
    $71.1 billion (81st)
  • GDP/Capita
    $16,614 (68th)
Useful Data
For more details visit Cost of Living
  • Cost of Living
    Inexpensive (3/7)
  • Climate
    Average (3/5)
  • Safety
    Safe (3/7)
  • Pollution
    Average (3/5)
  • English Proficiency
    Low (4/5)

Sovereign Global Explorer

Benefiting from over a decade of our team’s boots-on-the-ground experience, Global Explorer is where your international journey begins.
PREMIUM REPORTS
Panama inside Schiff Sovereign resources

Articles featuring Panama

Second Residency

A look at Panama’s residency options in 2023 (and its Retirement Visa, in particular).

As far as Plan B residencies were concerned, nothing we’ve seen has ever come close to Panama’s former Friendly Nations Visa. (Which became distinctly less “friendly” in 2021.) Fortunately, however, the country is still home to several attractive residency options in 2023. Let’s get into the details below… Panama’s acclaimed Friendly Nations Visa became a […]

Panama Residency & Passport
Lifestyle Design

How to get a Permanent Residency, Passport and Citizenship in Panama in 2022

How to get PanamanianPermanent Residency, Passport and Citizenship in 2022 AUTHOR LAST UPDATED If you’re looking for the easiest permanent residency program in the world, then look no further than Panama. In this article you’ll learn about the two best Panamanian residency visas, and how you can obtain a Panamanian passport and citizenship with ease. […]

International Diversification Strategies

Panama rolls out new residency options in 2021

If the idea of packing up and leaving has crossed your mind lately, you certainly aren’t alone. With so many people across the globe staring at a new wave of COVID lockdowns, higher taxes, more chaos in their cities, etc., heading out for greener pastures is a really attractive proposition, especially now that so many […]

International Diversification Strategies

Second Residency: Panama is still an obvious escape hatch

At the turn of the 20th century, the United States had recently become the largest economy in the world… and it was showing. The US had just vanquished Spain in the Spanish-American War, resulting in a vast new American colonial empire, stretching from the Philippines to Puerto Rico. And it was just the beginning of […]

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