Panama Digital Nomad Visa: Requirements and Costs

Panama's remote worker visa does something most countries make complicated. It lets you live in Panama, legally, while you keep working for your employer or your clients abroad, and it says so in writing: once granted, the visa gives you the right to work remotely from inside Panama with no further procedure and no permission from any other state entity. No separate work permit. Everything you earn stays foreign-sourced, and everything you spend stays in dollars, because the balboa is at par with the US dollar and Panama uses US notes day to day.

The terms come from Decreto Ejecutivo 198 of 7 May 2021, and the requirements sheet is published by the Servicio Nacional de Migración. Income of not less than B/.36,000 a year, which is B/.3,000 a month, from a foreign source. Nine months, extendable once for the same period. Government cost of B/.250 plus B/.50 for the carné, the residency card. Everything below is what those conditions mean in practice, and what you have to put in the folder.

Key takeaways

• Income threshold is B/.36,000 per year, or B/.3,000 per month, from a foreign source. The employer's letter has to state the monthly figure explicitly and confirm the money comes from abroad. Servicio Nacional de Migración, checked August 2026.
• Duration is nine months, extendable once for the same period. The visa sits inside the No Residente, non-resident, category, and the decree contains no route from it into residency.
• You sign a sworn declaration that you will not accept work or services inside Panama, whether with Panamanian nationals, residents, tourists or companies. It is a formal condition, and it shapes who the visa suits.
• Government cost is B/.250 to the Servicio Nacional de Migración, plus B/.50 for the carné. Anything beyond that is your own document preparation.
• Health insurance is mandatory, must cover you inside Panamanian territory, and must stay valid for the whole period of stay.

What the visa gives you

The clarification in the first row is worth more than it looks. The common worry among remote workers is whether opening a laptop in a Panamanian apartment counts as working in Panama. Under this visa it plainly does not, and the decree says so rather than leaving it to interpretation.

What the decree actually says

Article 1 creates the visa inside the No Residente category and sets three conditions. You hold a contract as an operative of a foreign transnational company, or you are a self-employed worker, and in either case you work remotely. Your functions take effect abroad. Your income comes from a foreign source, at not less than B/.36,000 annually.

The legal basis given on the Migración requirements sheet is Decreto Ley 3 de 2008, Decreto Ejecutivo 320 de 8 de agosto de 2008, and Decreto Ejecutivo 198 de 7 de mayo de 2021. That is the reference to quote if a lawyer or an employer's HR department asks which permit you are applying for.

The condition that decides who this suits

Among the required documents is a sworn declaration, signed by you, that you will not accept an offer of work or services within Panamanian territory, with nationals, residents, tourists or companies, to carry out business in Panama.

Read that carefully, because it defines the shape of the visa. You may work for clients and employers abroad from a desk in Panama City. You may not take on Panamanian clients or pick up local work while you hold it. Your presence is here; your economic activity stays outside.

For freelancers that has a practical edge. If your client list grows while you are in the country, signing a Panamanian customer is not a small administrative wrinkle. It runs against a declaration you personally signed.

The self-employed route also asks for a notarised sworn declaration describing your commercial relationship with each client: who they are, what services you provide, what you earn from those services, where the funds come from, and how often you are paid. If you bill many small clients, assembling that is more work than clearing the income threshold.

What you actually have to produce

The full list is on the Migración requirements sheet. These are the rows that catch people.

If you are self-employed, the items covering the foreign company's existence and its letter are replaced by certification of your own registered company abroad, plus the client declaration above.

That last row sets your calendar. Apostilles are issued in the country the document came from, not in Panama, so your timeline belongs to whichever government office at home handles them. Start there and work backwards from the month you want to land.

What it costs to be here

The government side is small: B/.250 to Migración and B/.50 for the carné. Your real budget is rent, health cover and daily life, and that varies more by neighbourhood than by anything on the visa. Our Panama cost of living guide breaks the monthly picture down line by line, and the Panama City neighbourhood guide compares the districts remote workers actually choose, from El Cangrejo's walkable streets to towers in Costa del Este with bay views.

Connectivity is the other line item worth pinning down before you sign a lease. Providers and speeds vary by building and by tower, so the number that matters is the one measured in the unit you are considering, at the hours you work. Ask the landlord which provider serves the apartment, run your own test at a viewing, and read our guide to internet providers in Panama for what the plans look like.

Who this visa fits, and who should look elsewhere

• You work remotely for a foreign employer and want a legal base in the Americas: this is the route, and the paperwork is the only hard part.
• You freelance for foreign clients with clean documentation: also a fit, as long as you can produce the per-client declaration.
• You intend to settle in Panama permanently: look at the residency categories instead. This visa is time in the country rather than a foundation for staying, and starting on the right route saves both fees and months. Our Panama residency guide compares the main routes and the threshold each one applies.
• You expect to work with Panamanian clients: the sworn declaration rules that out, so a business plan built on local customers needs a different permit.
• Your income sits close to B/.3,000 a month: the letter and the bank evidence both state figures, so make sure the documents show the threshold cleanly before you file.

Your next step

Wherever you land on the visa, you still need somewhere to live, and that is the part we do best. Tell us your budget, the month you arrive, how long you plan to stay, and what your working day needs, whether that is a fast connection, a quiet room or a walk to the café you will half-live in. We will come back with neighbourhoods and actual apartments that fit, furnished or unfurnished, short let or long. The form below is the whole ask, and it costs nothing.

Frequently asked questions