Residency routes, territorial tax, entity structures and banking — mapped to your actual situation by our trusted country advisor. Book: Brax +507 6776-4203 · Proper (EN) +507 6238-3315.
Which residency route fits your family. How Panama's territorial tax principle applies to your income map — and what your home country will still claim regardless. Whether you need a corporation, a foundation, or neither. And in what order to do any of it.
These depend entirely on your citizenship, your current tax residence, your family structure and your timeline. Anyone who answers them in a blog post is guessing. So we don't — we hand them to Proper Consulting, our trusted country advisor, who works through them with you in a session built around your situation.
Updated September 2026. Panama's Qualified Investor Visa requires US$300,000 in real estate for immediate permanent residency — no expiration date, as long as it's a new, first-sale property. Under Executive Decree No. 17, a resale property now needs US$500,000 instead.
There's no countdown on this one — the distinction is new-build versus resale, not a calendar deadline. A first-sale property secures the $300,000 permanent residency with no expiration date; a resale property needs $500,000 for the identical outcome, a $200,000 difference tied to the type of property, not the date you buy it.
Which one fits depends on whether you already know you're buying, or whether that's still the open question.
Included when you buy through Brax's vetted inventory — pro-forma review, title verification, and residency filing coordinated alongside your purchase. No separate fee; where a session leads to a purchase, any advisory time already paid is credited against the transaction.
For an objective read before you've committed to a property, a developer, or even Panama itself — priced separately so the advice has no transaction riding on it.
The full audit covers custom yield underwriting, residency route mapping, and legal/visa partner introductions.
| Route | Requirement | Status granted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified Investor — real estate | US$300,000, new/first-sale property, no expiration; US$500,000 for resale | Immediate permanent residency — no temporary phase | Can be filed from abroad through a Panamanian attorney |
| Qualified Investor — securities | US$500,000 via a licensed Panamanian brokerage | Immediate permanent residency | Regulated by the securities superintendency |
| Qualified Investor — bank deposit | US$750,000 fixed-term deposit, free of liens | Immediate permanent residency | The conservative route |
| Pensionado | Lifetime pension of US$1,000/month, +US$250 per dependent | Permanent residency | Approval typically around three months |
| Friendly Nations | US$200,000 in property, a qualifying job offer, or US$200,000 on 3-year deposit | 2 years provisional, then permanent | Eligible nationalities only |
| Economic Solvency | US$300,000 in property, deposit, or a mix | 2 years provisional, then permanent | Naturalisation path thereafter |
Two vehicles cover most situations. Both are routine here, neither is exotic, and plenty of buyers need neither.
| Corporation (Sociedad Anónima) | Private Interest Foundation | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical use | Holding and trading assets; running a rental business | Estate planning and succession |
| Indicative setup | ~US$1,500 | ~US$2,000 |
| Formation time | About 5 business days | Comparable |
| Travel required | None | None |
| Capital paid in | Not required | Not required |
| Key features | Shareholders need not appear in the public deed · assets separate from shareholders · territorial tax treatment · straightforward transfers | Private regulations · beneficiary designation · assets protected from debts of founder or beneficiary · control retained in life |
Advisory first, execution second — the order that saves money.
One message with your situation. We route it to the right desk — sometimes that isn't us.
Proper Consulting maps residency, tax and structure against your actual circumstances.
A written sequence: what to do first, second, third — and what can safely wait.
Filings, entities, banking and property coordinated as one workstream, not four.
Annual investment confirmation and compliance calendar, handled.
Pick the session that fits, or message us and we'll point you to the right one:
Where a client proceeds to purchase with Brax, the consulting fee is credited against the transaction.
If a session concludes that Panama isn't right for you, that was a successful session. We'd rather lose a transaction than place someone in the wrong country.
Not automatically. Residency status and tax residency are determined under separate rules, and your home country applies its own tests. This is the single most common misunderstanding we correct.
Not in the way most people hope. The United States taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of residence. Panama doesn't change that, and any advisor who implies otherwise should be avoided. There may still be good reasons to be here — they're just different reasons.
No. There's no minimum annual stay under the investor route. You're expected to visit at least once every two years to keep the status alive.
After five years, freely. Before that, selling or encumbering the qualifying investment without prior approval and a replacement investment can result in cancellation of the residency.
Under Executive Decree No. 17, the distinction is new-build versus resale, not a calendar deadline. A new, first-sale property secures the US$300,000 permanent residency with no expiration date. A resale property requires US$500,000 for the identical outcome — a $200,000 difference tied to the type of property you buy, not the date you buy it.
The advisory itself is published: $300/hr for a single-topic strategy session, or $800 for the full country advisory and audit — credited against your purchase if you buy through Brax. Government fees, attorney fees and repatriation deposits are separate, apply on top of the investment, and vary by route and family size — your attorney gives you that schedule at the session, since those are figures that move and we won't publish a number we can't stand behind.
A person replies — no automated sequences. If it makes sense, we set up a discovery call.