Panama Digital Nomad Visa

Summary

Panama's Short-Stay Visa for Remote Workers is the country's digital-nomad visa, created by Executive Decree 198 of 2021. Nine months of legal stay, renewable once for a second nine-month block — eighteen months total.

Your foreign-source income stays outside Panama's tax net (Panama only taxes Panama-source income), and you can open a local bank account while on the visa.

The headline threshold is simple: at least $36,000/year, or about $3,000/month, in foreign-source income.

Eligibility

You qualify when all of the following are true:

• You work remotely for a company or clients outside Panama — employed, freelancing, or running a foreign-source business.
• You earn at least $36,000/year, or the equivalent in another currency, from foreign sources.
• You carry health insurance valid in Panama for the length of your stay.
• You can prove clean criminal history from your countries of residence.
• You haven't held the visa before, or you're applying for your single renewal.

The decree sets the core income threshold at $36,000/year. If you're bringing family, plan on documenting enough income to show the household can support itself during the stay.

What "foreign-source income" means

Panama is strict about the source. You need to earn from:

• A foreign employer (U.S. W-2 or salary, European contract, etc.).
• Foreign clients (freelance or consulting from abroad).
• A foreign-source business (online sales to customers outside Panama).

You cannot earn from a Panamanian company, Panamanian clients, or a Panama-registered business while on this visa. That would require a different permit (employment, self-economic solvency, or the investor tracks).

The eighteen-month cap

The visa has a hard cap. After nine months, you can file a single extension for another nine months. When the second block expires, you either leave Panama or switch to a different visa — you can't stack extensions.

Many applicants use the eighteen months to evaluate Panama and then transition to a longer-term residency (Pensionado, Qualified Investor, or Friendly Nations).

Health insurance

Panama requires policy coverage valid for the entire stay, including any renewal period. Panama doesn't publish a specific minimum coverage amount, but international expat or global health plans routinely clear the bar; single-trip travel insurance usually doesn't cover the full window.

Can it lead to residency?

Not directly. The digital-nomad visa is explicitly a short-stay visa — it doesn't count toward the five-year residency clock for naturalization. To build toward permanent residency, you'd need to convert to one of Panama's permanent-track programs during or after the stay.

What This Route Allows

This route can allow you to live in Panama while working remotely for clients or an employer outside the country. It is mainly a temporary residence option, although some countries allow later renewal or a separate long-term residence step.

What This Route Is Not

This is not usually a local employment visa or a direct citizenship route. Most digital nomad routes limit work for local employers and must be renewed or replaced by another status later.

Next Steps

1. Document your foreign-source income. A year of bank statements, pay stubs or employer letter, tax returns, or client invoices.
2. Buy qualifying health insurance. Covering you in Panama for the full 9-month stay (plus potential renewal).
3. Retain a Panamanian legal representative. Filing requires a Panamanian apoderado.
4. Gather documents. Apostilled passport, apostilled criminal record check, proof of income, proof of insurance, and the pathway's application fee ($250 plus $50 for the card).
5. File the application. Submit the application through the official channel and keep your contact information current during review.
6. Receive your nomad card. Valid for nine months; renewable once.

Sources

• Decreto Ejecutivo 198 de 2021 — the Short-Stay Remote Worker framework.
• Servicio Nacional de Migración — Corta Estancia — official application portal.