About Panama

Whether you’re looking to visit, live or work in Panama—we can support your immigration needs at every stage of your journey.

If you’re a foreign national looking to visit, live and/or work in Panama, several options are available.

• Business Visits: Depending on your citizenship, you may not ​​​​require a visa to enter Panama for business for up to 90 or 180 days. If you're a visa national, you may require either a Consular or Authorized Tourist/Business Visitor Visa to stay in Panama for up to 30 days, extendable in-country. Authorized Visas require special authorization from the National Security Council in Panama.
• Work Authorization: Panama has more than 20 specialized visa categories for foreign nationals depending on their nationality, position, the sponsoring company's registrations or location within a special area or regime in Panama (such as the Panama Pacific area or the City of Knowledge Foundation), among other criteria. If you are employed by a company that is certified as a multinational company by the Secretaría Técnica de la Comisión de Licencias de Sede de Empresas Multinacionales in Panama, you may use a special visa category (SEM Visa) with a designated processing desk for immigration applications with shorter processing times.
• Internships/Traineeships: There are trainee-specific work authorization categories in Panama, including (1) the short-term visa for scientists and investigators; suitable for student exchanges and cultural, educational, health, and scientific internships for up to nine months; (2) the temporary residence permit for participants of the Fulbright student program which allows non-remunerated practical training in Panama for up to 24 months; and (3) the temporary residence permit for participants aged 18 to 30 from non-profit educational programs approved by the Ministry of Education.
• Self-sponsored: There are work authorization programs dedicated to potential investors or entrepreneurs in Panama, notably (1) the Temporary permit for agricultural investors; (2) the Temporary permit for foresting investors; (3) Permanent residence for investors in macro companies; and (4) Permanent residence for investments in real estate or fixed-term deposits, or a mix of both.
  Panama also offers the Short-Term Visa as Remote Worker which allows foreign nationals who are employed by a company outside Panama or who own a company that operates outside of Panama to reside in and work remotely from Panama for up to nine months (renewable one time for an additional nine months), without company sponsorship and without requiring an additional work permit.​

Fragomen can also consult on citizenship matters and, as permitted within the confines of local law, may be able to offer citizenship assistance.