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Panama · digital nomad visa · 2026

Panama's digital nomad visa

9months
Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador RemotoOpen · checked 2026-08-18 · migracion.gob.pa

Panama runs the Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (Short Stay Visa as a Remote Worker) — Decreto Ejecutivo 198 de 7 de mayo de 2021, an initial 9 months for remote workers earning 36,000 PAB a year.

Next step

One email when the app can count this stay for you.

How we know

Every figure here is as migracion.gob.pa publishes it, checked 18 August 2026. Where a number is our own arithmetic rather than a printed figure, the row says so.

Status
Open
Visa
Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (Short Stay Visa as a Remote Worker) — Decreto Ejecutivo 198 de 7 de mayo de 2021
Initial stay
9 months
Renewal
'Esta visa tiene una duración de nueve (9) meses, prorrogable una vez en el mismo periodo' — 9 months, extendable once for a further 9 months (18 months maximum). The extension requires the same documents as the original application, including fresh proof that income comes from abroad.
Income required
36,000 PAB a year — Decree art. 1(3): income from a foreign source of 'un monto anual no menor de treinta y seis mil balboas con 00/100 (B/.36,000.00), o su equivalente en moneda extranjera'. The employer letter must state a monthly income 'que no podrá ser inferior a tres mil balboas con 00/100 (B/.3,000.00)'. The balboa is fixed at par with the US dollar, but the figures are published in balboas and are quoted as such. Proof of foreign source must be a bank certification or authenticated bank statements evidencing the transfers.
Fee
250 PAB — 'Pago de doscientos cincuenta balboas con 00/100 (B/.250.00) a favor del Servicio Nacional de Migración', plus the card: 'el costo del carné correspondiente será de cincuenta balboas con 00/100 (B/.50.00)'.
Who qualifies
Created inside the Non-Resident migratory category. Eligible: a foreigner who (1) has a contract as an operative of a transnational foreign company OR is self-employed, in teleworking mode; (2) performs functions whose effects occur abroad; and (3) receives foreign-source income of at least B/.36,000 a year. Once granted, the visa confers the right to work remotely from Panama with no further permit. Applicants must sign a 'Declaración Jurada de No Aceptación de Oferta de Trabajo o Servicio en el territorio nacional'. Documents: notarised power of attorney and application, 3 photos, certified passport copy, police record, health certificate, sworn personal-background form, repatriation-cost undertaking, medical insurance valid in Panama for the whole stay, proof of the foreign company's existence, and the employer letter. Self-employed applicants replace the company documents with proof of their own foreign-registered business plus a notarised sworn statement describing clients, services, amounts, source of funds and payment frequency.
Where to apply
Filed with the Servicio Nacional de Migración through a Panamanian lawyer under notarised power of attorney (the requirements list begins with 'Poder (notariado) y Solicitud'). The requirements sheet is published under 'NO RESIDENTES' on the SNM's Permisos Migratorios page.
Official page
migracion.gob.pa
Checked
18 August 2026

Sources are listed further down the page.

What to know before you apply

Read directly from the Servicio Nacional de Migración's own requirements PDF, which reproduces the articles of Decreto Ejecutivo 198; the visa is still listed as a current permit on the SNM's Permisos Migratorios index, so status is live. Mandatory medical insurance maintaining cover in Panamanian territory for the whole stay (no minimum sum stated). No official processing time and no tax treatment are stated in the requirements document, so both are left null — note that Panama taxes on a territorial basis, but no official statement applying that to this visa was found. Many secondary sources describe the income requirement in US dollars (US$36,000 / US$3,000); the published figures are balboas, which are 1:1 with the dollar.

What it means for your tax days

A visa is permission to stay; tax residency follows the days. Panama treats you as tax resident once you are present 183 days A resident is a person who is physically located and has been generating income in Panama for more than 183 days during the year. Panama's Fiscal Code (article 762-N) is also generally cited as treating a person with a permanent dwelling in Panama as tax resident, but we could not verify the statutory text. — though the system is territorial, so foreign income may fall outside it. Days are not the only test: The Dirección General de Ingresos issues fiscal residency certificates for treaty purposes. Per the Ministry of Economy and Finance page we read, an individual proves residency either through economic interests or business in Panama, or by establishing a primary residence evidenced by utility bills; legal persons prove it through material means of direction and administration or an active operations notice. The full tests and the official source are on our Panama tax-day page.

Sources

Questions people ask about Panama

Does Panama have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Panama runs the Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (Short Stay Visa as a Remote Worker) — Decreto Ejecutivo 198 de 7 de mayo de 2021, which grants an initial stay of 9 months ('esta visa tiene una duración de nueve (9) meses, prorrogable una vez en el mismo periodo' — 9 months, extendable once for a further 9 months (18 months maximum). the extension requires the same documents as the original application, including fresh proof that income comes from abroad.). Checked 18 August 2026 against migracion.gob.pa.

How much do you need to earn for the Panama digital nomad visa?

36,000 PAB a year — Decree art. 1(3): income from a foreign source of 'un monto anual no menor de treinta y seis mil balboas con 00/100 (B/.36,000.00), o su equivalente en moneda extranjera'. The employer letter must state a monthly income 'que no podrá ser inferior a tres mil balboas con 00/100 (B/.3,000.00)'. The balboa is fixed at par with the US dollar, but the figures are published in balboas and are quoted as such. Proof of foreign source must be a bank certification or authenticated bank statements evidencing the transfers.. That is the figure as published; check the official page for the current amount before you apply.

How long can you stay on the Panama digital nomad visa?

9 months on the initial permission; 'esta visa tiene una duración de nueve (9) meses, prorrogable una vez en el mismo periodo' — 9 months, extendable once for a further 9 months (18 months maximum). the extension requires the same documents as the original application, including fresh proof that income comes from abroad.. Stretch counts the days either way and tells you the date you must be out.

Does a digital nomad visa in Panama make you tax resident?

Not by itself — but staying does. Panama treats you as tax resident once you are there 183 days A resident is a person who is physically located and has been generating income in Panama for more than 183 days during the year. Panama's Fiscal Code (article 762-N) is also generally cited as treating a person with a permanent dwelling in Panama as tax resident, but we could not verify the statutory text., though the system is territorial. See our Panama tax-day page for the tests and the official source.

How does Stretch help with the Panama digital nomad visa?

Log the day you land and Stretch counts the days against the permission you are on, shows the date you must be out, and reminds you at 14, 7, 3 and 1 days. It also tallies the days that count towards tax residency, so the 183-day question answers itself. The counting and the alerts are free, forever.

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Panama, the rest of it

Stretch is a tracker, not legal advice, and this is not tax advice. Visa and tax rules change and are applied by the authority, not by an app — every figure here shows its source and the date we checked it. Checked 2026-08-18; confirm on the official page before you apply or file.