Panama grants permanent residence directly and fast — often within about 30 days — through its Qualified Investor Visa, from a 300,000 USD property purchase, paired with a territorial tax system that does not tax foreign-source income. Two things to keep honest: the 300,000 USD threshold is set to rise to 500,000 USD around October 2026, and this is residency, not a near-automatic passport.
Thirty days is roughly how long Panama's Qualified Investor Visa takes to grant permanent residence, a pace matched by almost nothing else in this comparison set. The 300,000 USD real-estate threshold is a closing window, though: Decree 193-2024 sends it back to 500,000 USD around October 2026, so the cheap entry will not last. What makes the residency worth holding afterwards is Panama's territorial system, which leaves foreign-source income untaxed entirely, unlike the worldwide bill that awaits residents of Mexico or Colombia. Naturalisation, by contrast, is slow and discretionary — treat Panama as a fast residency and a tax base, not a quick passport, and compare the numbers in our methodology.
| Programme | Status | Verified on | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panama Qualified Investor Visa | Open | Gaceta Oficial — décret modifiant le Decreto Ejecutivo 722 (Inversionista Calificado), publié par le MICI |
Residency by investment
| Route | Official minimum | Real total, family of four | Hold | Recoverable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real estateReal estate free of liens, held for five years. This 300,000 USD threshold is a window: under Decree 193-2024 it is set to revert to 500,000 USD around 15 October 2026 unless extended again. Government fees add roughly 10,000 USD plus per-dependant charges. | $300 000 | ≈ $400 500 | 5 yr | No |
| Investment fundInvestment of 500,000 USD in securities through a Panama brokerage, held five years. Redeemable at the end of the term, subject to market value. | $500 000 | ≈ $667 500 | 5 yr | Yes |
| Bank depositFixed-term bank deposit of 750,000 USD in a Panama bank, held five years. The highest entry point of the three routes, but capital-preserving. | $750 000 | ≈ $1 001 250 | 5 yr | Yes |
The programme announces 1–2 months. That is the official figure, not a commitment.
Unusually for a residency programme, permanent residence is granted directly and fast — often within about 30 days of a complete filing — rather than after a probationary temporary stage.
Panama taxes on a territorial basis: income earned outside Panama is not taxed, whatever your residence status. For someone whose income comes from abroad, that is the substance behind the golden-visa headline — and a different model from a worldwide-tax country.
Income arising inside Panama is taxed progressively: broadly 0% up to about 11,000 USD, 15% on the next band, and 25% above roughly 50,000 USD. Local salary and local business income fall here; foreign income does not.
Companies pay income tax on Panama-source profits (headline 25%), while foreign-source corporate income is outside the net. The main consumption tax, ITBMS, is 7% — low by international standards.
There is no tax on foreign capital gains and no wealth tax. Panama-source capital gains on property and securities are taxed under specific rules, but assets and income abroad sit outside the system.
Holding a Panama residence permit does not automatically make you Panama tax-resident, nor does it remove obligations to a country that taxes on citizenship, such as the United States. And residency is not a passport: naturalisation is a distant, discretionary step. If your aim is a second citizenship rather than a tax-efficient base, weigh a residency route like Panama, Portugal or Bermuda against the citizenship programmes, and see how each figure is checked in our methodology. Explore the residence options on our residency hub and the tax picture on our tax hub.
| Route | Official minimum | Real total, family of four |
|---|---|---|
| Real estate | $300 000 | ≈ $400 500 |
| — | Portugal | Greece |
|---|---|---|
| Official minimum | env. $289 000Identical on this line | env. $289 000Identical on this line |
| Real total, family of 4 (fees included) | ≈ $385 214Identical on this line | ≈ $385 214Identical on this line |
| Announced processing | 12–24 months | 4–6 monthsfaster |
| Presence required | Seven days in the first year, then fourteen days in each subsequent two-year period. | None. |
| Years to citizenship | 10 years | 7 yearsfaster |
| Investment routes | Investment fund, Business, Donation | Real estate |
| A route returns the capital | NoIdentical on this line | NoIdentical on this line |
| Open to Russian applicants | YesIdentical on this line | YesIdentical on this line |
| Region | EuropeIdentical on this line | EuropeIdentical on this line |
Open the country page · PortugalOpen the country page · Greece
Freedom. Anywhere.
What we do for you
Citizenship or residence, the honest answer often is not the one you arrived with. We take the whole procedure with you — eligibility, the route that fits your situation, the file, the follow-up — with one person on your side throughout.
For Panama specifically, you are talking to someone who already knows the file: who to speak to on the ground, what the unit actually asks for, and the points where applications stall.
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