Panama country guide
Special nationality or historical route · Last checked 2026-08-08
Países Específicos
Covered nationality plus employment, Panama real estate, or a qualifying fixed deposit
Panama’s Países Específicos procedure gives covered nationals a two-year provisional residence route based on employment, qualifying Panama real estate, or a qualifying fixed deposit, followed by a separate permanent-residence application.
- Country
- Panama
- Applicant basis
- Covered nationality plus employment, Panama real estate, or a qualifying fixed deposit
- Responsible authority
- Servicio Nacional de Migración
- Official route status
- Current official route
- Information available
- Detailed guide
- Last checked
- 2026-08-08
Supported requirements
What the current source supports
- Confirm that the applicant’s nationality is covered by the current specific-countries framework before relying on this route; this guide does not reproduce an unverified country list.
- Provide the notarized power and application, three photographs, authenticated passport copy, criminal-record certificate, health certificate, sworn personal-background form, and the listed Treasury and migration payments.
- For the real-estate branch, document at least B/.200,000 in qualifying Panama property held personally or through a legal entity or foundation in which the applicant is the beneficial owner. Local-bank financing is permitted under the checklist.
- For the fixed-deposit branch, document at least B/.200,000 in an unencumbered three-year deposit at a Panama general-license bank, held personally or through the beneficial-owner or founder-beneficiary structure recognized by the checklist.
- The employment branch requires the current employer, registry, operation-notice, and MITRADEL work-permit evidence; an employment filing is not modeled as an investment route.
Applicant scope
Who this route generally serves
- Generally designed for
- Applicants whose nationality is covered by the current specific-countries framework and who can document one accepted economic or professional basis.
- Legal basis named by the authority
- Executive Decree 226 of 2021, Decree Law 3 of 2008, Executive Decree 320 of 2008, Law 5 of 2007, and Law 38 of 2000, as cited by the current Servicio Nacional de Migración checklist.
Route lifecycle
What to confirm from application onward
- Financial basis
- At least B/.200,000 for the real-estate branch or at least B/.200,000 for the three-year fixed-deposit branch. The employment branch uses employment evidence rather than an investment threshold.
- Government service fees
- The checklist lists certified checks for B/.250 payable to the National Treasury and B/.800 payable to the Servicio Nacional de Migración. Confirm current amounts before payment.
- Initial status
- Provisional residence for two years.
- Renewal
- After the provisional period, the applicant makes a separate permanent-residence application using the current route requirements, except the checklist omits a new criminal record and the two listed checks at that stage.
- Dependents
- Qualifying dependents require responsibility and relationship evidence. An adult child under 25 must be a full-time student and single; the checklist also requires route-specific principal solvency evidence.
- Work rights
- The investment branches do not establish unrestricted employment. The employment branch separately requires the current MITRADEL work-permit process.
- Presence considerations
- The cited checklist does not state one route-specific physical-presence minimum.
- Permanent residence
- Permanent residence is a separate application after the two-year provisional period and is not automatic.
- Citizenship relationship
- Naturalization is a separate constitutional and administrative process; this residence route does not establish automatic citizenship.
Official evidence
Sources for this route
General planning information only—not legal, tax, or investment advice. A listed route does not determine eligibility. Verify current rules with the responsible authority before acting.