Panama has a dedicated remote-work visa: the Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto. It allows an initial nine-month stay, renewable once for another nine months, for eligible foreign employees and self-employed remote workers. It belongs to the non-resident category—not a permanent-residency route. Once approved, it permits the qualifying remote work without a separate work permit. These rules appear in the National Immigration Service’s current requirements sheet.

For planning, treat this as a nine-month option with a possible extension, not an automatic 18-month stay. Requirements and published fees below were checked on 31 October 2026.

Who qualifies?

You must meet all three conditions:

  • Have a contract with a foreign transnational company, or work independently in a remote-work arrangement.
  • Perform functions whose effects are outside Panama.
  • Receive foreign-source income of at least B/.36,000 annually, equivalent to US$36,000. The employer letter must show at least B/.3,000 monthly, or its foreign-currency equivalent.

The official eligibility and financial-evidence requirements specify these amounts in balboas; one balboa equals one US dollar.

A savings balance alone is not the stated income test. Applicants must document income tied to their declared work, using a bank certification or bank-authenticated statements showing the transfers.

This is not permission to take local work. You must sign a declaration against accepting local work or service offers. Representing the foreign company in local activities will result in cancellation under Article 7. The restriction concerns where the work takes effect, not simply where your employer’s bank account sits. Executive Decree 198, Articles 1, 2 and 7 set out those limits.

Prepare the right document pack

The immigration checklist lists:

  • Notarized power of attorney and application; the power must include your parents’ names and nationalities.
  • Three photographs and a notarized or appropriately authenticated passport copy.
  • Criminal-record certificate, health certificate and personal-background sworn-declaration form.
  • Application commitment to cover return or repatriation costs if necessary.
  • Medical insurance covering Panama throughout your stay.
  • Signed declaration against accepting local work or service offers.
  • Bank evidence of qualifying foreign-source work income.

Employees also need proof that the foreign employer exists where it is registered, plus a letter on company letterhead signed by its legal representative. The letter must give your details, position, duties, monthly income, payment frequency, foreign source of income, remote-work arrangement and the company’s repatriation-cost commitment.

Self-employed applicants replace those two employer documents with proof of their own business registered abroad and a notarized declaration describing their clients, services, earnings, source of funds and payment frequency. This business-registration requirement matters: do not assume informal freelance invoices alone will satisfy the route. Both alternatives are detailed in the official requirements.

Application sequence and budget

  1. Confirm your passport’s entry requirements before buying flights. Visa eligibility does not settle every nationality check: Article 6 requires additional verification for applicants from countries without visa-suppression agreements or with restricted nationalities. Ask the Panamanian consulate or your immigration lawyer how this affects your case. Read the decree’s nationality provision.
  2. Have a Panamanian immigration lawyer review document copies before authentication and travel. Confirm which foreign documents need apostilles or consular authentication, Spanish translation and originals. Kraemer & Kraemer’s application guidance describes pre-trip review, authentication and translation.
  3. Agree the filing and appointment plan before fixing your arrival date. Confirm what lawful status you need while the application is pending. The same firm estimates about 40 business days from a complete submission to resolution. That is a practitioner estimate, not an official deadline or guarantee.
  4. Budget beyond the visa fee. The published government charges are B/.250 to immigration plus B/.50 for the corresponding card: US$300 combined. Legal fees, insurance, medical certification, authentication, translation and any additional administrative charges are separate. Official fee amounts.

Keep the long-stay plan reversible

Start with cancellable accommodation and confirm any required in-person appointments before committing to a distant base. Ask the property about a usable desk, evening noise and backup internet rather than relying on “digital-nomad friendly” wording.

For renewal, immigration requires the same qualifying documents again, including income evidence. Keep those records current and confirm the filing window well before your nine-month permission expires. The official renewal rules allow only one extension.

The checklist does not set out an accompanying-dependent route, so confirm each family member’s status separately. Likewise, do not treat this visa as a tax-residency certificate: obtain advice on your own work and tax arrangements before making a long-stay commitment.