Guide

Panama Qualified Investor Visa: USD 500,000 for Resale Property After the 2026 Rule Change

Panama's Qualified Investor residence now needs USD 500,000 for resale property but still accepts USD 300,000 for new property bought from the developer. This guide covers the math, the other investment options, the processing deadlines and the costs set by the government.

Published: 2026-10-16 · Last verified: 2026-10-16 · Numbers apply to US passport holders

What changed

Since September 16, 2026, Panama's Qualified Investor (Inversionista Calificado) permanent residence has been governed by Executive Decree 17 of September 8, 2026 (Decreto Ejecutivo 17 de 2026). It replaced Executive Decree 722 of 2020 and its amendments. After the 2024 change, the old rules set one real estate threshold of USD 300,000 for any property. The new decree splits real estate into two types. New property bought on a first sale from the developer still qualifies at USD 300,000. Secondary market property, meaning a resale, now needs at least USD 500,000.

Applications filed before the new decree keep the rules that were in force when they were filed. If you filed under Decree 722 with a USD 300,000 resale property, your file is judged on the old threshold. A resale purchase filed under the new decree has to meet USD 500,000.

The resale math

• Resale floor: USD 500,000. New property floor: USD 300,000. The gap is USD 200,000, so the resale threshold is 66.7 percent higher (200,000 divided by 300,000).
• A resale property priced from USD 300,000 to USD 499,999 no longer qualifies for this category. The same price still works if the unit is new and bought from the developer on its first sale.
• The money must come from abroad.
• You must hold the investment for 5 years (60 months) and prove it to the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI) every year of that period.
• If you sell, you may replace the investment with one of equal value within 90 days. If you drop the investment without an equal replacement, the residence can be cancelled.

How new construction compares

For a buyer with USD 300,000 to USD 499,999 to put into property, this category now only works with new property. You have two ways to qualify with it:

• Completed new property on a first sale from the developer: at least USD 300,000.
• A purchase promise contract of at least USD 300,000. The money must be held in a licensed trust, or paid to the developer against a bank guarantee. Residence based only on promise contracts cannot last more than 3 years in total. That is shorter than the 5 year holding period, so plan for the purchase to complete within that 3 year window.

The options that do not involve property all start at USD 500,000 or more:

• Eligible Panamanian securities bought through a licensed brokerage: at least USD 500,000, held for 5 years.
• A fixed term deposit at the Banco Nacional de Panamá or the Caja de Ahorros: at least USD 500,000, held for 5 years.
• A fixed term deposit at a private bank with a general license: at least USD 750,000, held for 5 years.

Lower property routes and the time cost

Two other categories accept resale property for less, but both start with 2 years of provisional residence. Friendly Nations (Países Amigos), which is open to US citizens, takes real estate of at least USD 200,000. Economic solvency (Solvencia Económica Propia) takes at least USD 300,000 in real estate, a fixed term deposit or a mix of both, plus USD 2,000 for each dependent. Neither one splits property into new and resale.

The difference shows up in the citizenship math. Naturalization requires 5 years of consecutive residence counted from the grant of permanent residence. A Qualified Investor gets permanent residence on approval, so the earliest naturalization point is 5 years after approval. On a route with a provisional period it is 2 + 5 = 7 years after the first approval. On the Qualified Investor route, the extra USD 200,000 for resale property buys a 2 year shorter path, not just a residence card. The full comparison of routes is on the Panama country page.

Processing timeline

Qualified Investor files go through a special MICI window, and Decree 17 sets two deadlines. Both run from the date the file is complete:

• MICI must issue the investment certification within 15 business days.
• The Servicio Nacional de Migración must decide the residence application within 30 business days. With no public holidays in between, 30 business days is 6 calendar weeks.
• You can file through an attorney before you enter Panama.

These deadlines start when the file is complete. They do not cover the time spent buying the property, moving the funds from abroad or collecting documents. Most other Panama residence categories have no official processing time published at all.

Costs set by the government

• USD 250 application fee to the Tesoro Nacional.
• USD 800 repatriation deposit to the Servicio Nacional de Migración, which is refundable.
• Residence card fees.
• Adding a dependent after the grant: USD 1,000 to the Tesoro Nacional plus USD 1,000 to Migración, so USD 2,000 per person.
• Attorney fees are separate and the government does not set them.

Government money due up front: USD 250 + USD 800 = USD 1,050 plus card fees. USD 800 of that is refundable, so the cost you do not get back is USD 250 plus card fees. A dependent added after approval costs USD 2,000 each, so it is cheaper to include dependents in the first filing if you can.

Absences, tax residency and citizenship

Qualified Investor residence is permanent from the grant and has no expiry. It can be cancelled after an absence from Panama of more than 2 years without authorization from Migración (Decreto Ley 3 de 2008, Article 31). Keep each absence under 2 years or get authorization first.

Holding a residence card does not by itself make you a tax resident. Under Decreto Ejecutivo 958 de 2013, you become a tax resident in any of three ways: more than 183 days in Panama in a calendar year, more than 183 days in the year before, or setting up a permanent home (vivienda habitual) in Panama. The third trigger does not depend on the day count. The DGI issues tax residence certificates based on proof of presence and ties. Panama taxes only income from Panamanian sources.

To naturalize, a Qualified Investor files through the MICI window, which certifies that the investment is still in place. Panama also requires you to expressly renounce your previous nationality and pass an exam on Spanish and Panamanian civics. Weigh that renunciation requirement before you treat this route as a path to a second passport.

If you hold economic solvency residence

Holders of the older economic solvency category have 12 months to convert into the Qualified Investor category, as long as they meet the new decree's amounts. If your solvency rests on a resale property, it has to meet the USD 500,000 floor to convert.

Before you apply

Thresholds, fees and deadlines here come from Executive Decree 17 of 2026 and the migration rules as of October 16, 2026. Before you sign a purchase contract, confirm with the Servicio Nacional de Migración and MICI that your property counts as a first sale or a resale, and get the current requirements in writing. Check the Panama country page for the other residence routes.

Country pages

Panama: every long stay route with the current math on the Panama country page.

Official sources

• Servicio Nacional de Migración de Panamá (Qualified Investor, Decreto Ejecutivo 17 de 2026; Friendly Nations)
• Decreto Ejecutivo 320 de 2008 and Decreto Ley 3 de 2008 (economic solvency category, fees and absence rule)
• Gaceta Oficial de Panamá, Decreto Ejecutivo 320 de 2008

Facts in this guide last verified against the sources: 2026-10-16