Panama visa options - and how they apply to my situation

 Panama offers several visa options for US, Canadian, and European (and some other) citizens:

Friendly Nations Visa

Citizens of "friendly nations", who purchase real estate for 200,000$ can apply for a 2-year temporary residency, And after that, they can apply for the permanent residency. It used to be 100,000$, but the law was just amended (as of mid August 2021) to now require 200K.

Digital Nomad Visa

Folks who can work remotely can do so in Panama. With this visa, they are allowed to perform their work in Panama, and can stay up to 90 days.

Pensionado Visa

If you receive at minimum 1,000$ (plus 250$ per dependent, like wife)a month in retirement income you can apply for this visa. You're not allowed to work in Panama. But you can live there, you can import your household goods, and you can import a new car every 2 years tax free.

Reforestation Visa

Panama is making serious steps to aiding the reforestation within the nation. One such step is this visa. If you invest 80,000$ in a government approved reforestation project you get a 2 year temporary residency. After that you can apply for permanent residency, but must prove for 5 more years that you are still holding and maintaining the reforestation investment.

Visitor's Visa

There are several other visa types available, but they are not really useful for me (or any US, canadian, or european) - except, of course, the regular tourist visa. Coming from these nations, you need no visa to enter the country, and get approved for 6 months.

Once the visa expires, you have to leave the country. But can return soon thereafter for another full period. There are several expats living in Panama that way - usually, if they can't get any other visa, mostly due to having blemishes on a criminal record, or - well, my case (see below)... 

As with everything, the devil lies in the details!

How these visas apply to me:

Pensionado Visa - my first choice

According to Miranda and Contreras - one of the best known law offices in Boquete - the immigration authorities do not like to give this visa if you have a private pension, which is exactly what I have. In order for them to consider a private pension, they require a letter from the company whose private pension it is - so, some large corporation or something. I don't have that, since it is my own savings. EVen though it is an annuity, which is potentially paid until the end of my life, that is not accepted by the immigration authorities.

Thus, this visa is not an option for me until I am drawing social security - which I hope to be delaying until after I'm 67.

Friendly Nations Visa

Buying property in the US is no big deal, since you can easily sell it again, if you don't like it. In Panama this is different. There, it is easily possible for a property to be on the market for years! So, I have to be very careful when choosing what to get - and don't want to just get "something", just so I can apply for that visa! 

Aside of that, 200K is more that I had hoped to have to spend on my new home! I'm not interested in a condo in Panama City, or any of the expat tourist beaches. The properties I am interested are below 200K. So I would have to buy something additional. But, what can you buy for 50K? 

Well, for now, this visa is also not an option for me. Maybe, once I found my property it becomes applicable - but for now, this doesn't work for me.

Reforestation Visa

The total cost of the investment would be about 100K. 80K for the property, and 20K for the maintenance of the project for the 8 years it takes to get the permanent visa. 

Reforestation is one of my potential dream projects - however, doing it myself, rather than financing somebody else to do it. Also, I don't have enough savings to spend 100K for the visa and still have enough to get a home, and to live on for a few years.

So, this visa is also a no-go for me. At least for the moment...

Visitor's visa

So, the only visa left viable for me is the visitor's visa. The biggest disadvantage, of course, is that I can not have my household goods shipped until I get any of the other visas. But, I guess, I can import the most important stuff every time I come back.

I would like to visit my parents at least once a year - so there goes my first exit-reentry scenario already. Secondly, I might want to visit some friends in the US or in other places, or travel to some other countries that are still on my bucket-list - there goes my second exit-reentry instance for the year. So, the 6 month restriction isn't much of a big deal for me... Let's see, if there's another devil hiding somewhere in these details! 😝

 For now, I just trust in the Universe, that things will arrange the way it is best for me. And I am curious how everything will pan out - and WHAT will pan out...