Panama Friendly Nations Visa: Is Your Country on the List?

Fifty countries qualify. The table below has all of them in alphabetical order, so you can find yours in a few seconds.

Two things to know before you scroll. Being on the list does not get you residency by itself; it opens a door you still have to walk through. The list is also set by executive decree, so a decree can change it.

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Check before you spend money. This page reflects the country list as published in Panama’s immigration decrees at the verification date below. Check your nationality with Panama’s National Immigration Service, or with an immigration attorney licensed in Panama, before you pay for documents or travel. Treat this page as general information rather than legal advice.

The 50 eligible countries

These names come from Article 2 of Executive Decree 416 of 13 June 2012. Two decrees amended it in 2021: Executive Decree 197 of 7 May, and Executive Decree 226 of 20 July.

The 50 names above reflect the exact list as established by Executive Decree 416 (2012) and finalized by the 2021 amendments (Executive Decree 197 and Executive Decree 226). This list excludes Taiwan (removed in 2017) and Italy (which operates under a separate bilateral treaty).

If you are reading from the US, Canada or Australia

Your country is on the list. So is the United Kingdom, and so are New Zealand, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

For most readers of this page, that settles the nationality question. The useful next step is to stop researching the country list and start on the economic requirement. That second gate is what decides these applications, and it is where the money and the planning go.

Two smaller points are worth carrying forward. Your dependents do not need a passport from the list. And your permit will start as a two-year provisional permit rather than permanent residency, which matters if citizenship is part of your longer plan.

If you are reading from Asia, Africa or the Middle East

Coverage here is thin. Six Asia-Pacific entries qualify: Australia, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea. South Africa is the only African country on the list, and Israel the only one in the Middle East.

Everywhere else in those regions falls outside Friendly Nations, including mainland China, India, the Philippines and the Gulf states. The permits further down this page are the ones to look at instead.

If you are reading from Europe

Thirty-two European countries are on the list. Many guides shorten that to “the EU, and most of Europe,” and the shortcut misleads people.

Count the European Union members in the table,e and you get 23 of the 27. Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovenia are not on the Friendly Nations list. Italy is not on it either, for a different reason covered below.

If you hold one of those three passports, an EU passport does not help you here. The routes further down this page are where to look instead.

Nine European countries outside the EU do qualify: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

A note for British passport holders

The decree names the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. British nationality comes in several classes, and passports issued by the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories are a separate question.

Note that Panama’s National Immigration Service generally requires a standard, full British Citizen passport. Passports that confer different statuses—such as British National (Overseas) (BNO) or British Overseas Territories Citizen (BOTC) passports, as well as those issued by Crown Dependencies—are frequently rejected during the application process because they do not carry the exact same reciprocal rights.

If you are reading from Latin America

Eight Latin American countries are on the list: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

That leaves out a lot of the region. Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic are not on it. Neither are Panama’s Central American neighbors: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

Geography is not the test here, and neither is trade volume or how easily you can visit Panama as a tourist. Being able to enter Panama without a visa says nothing about whether you can apply for this residency permit.

Why Panama keeps a country list at all

The permit’s formal name explains the logic. In Panamanian law,w it is the permit for foreign nationals of specific countries that maintain friendly, professional, economic, and investment relations with the Republic of Panama. “Friendly Nations Visa” is the nickname.

The list is a diplomatic and economic judgment, not a ranking of applicants. That is why it can look arbitrary from outside. A country’s presence on it says nothing about how many of its citizens already live in Panama.

It also explains how a country comes off the list. When a diplomatic relationship changes, the list can change with it — which is exactly what happened to Taiwan, covered below.

How to tell whether a list you found is out of date

Stale lists are the main hazard when researching this permit, and most of them look perfectly authoritative. Four checks date almost any list in seconds.

• Does it show Taiwan? Then it predates the 2021 decrees, and probably predates 2017.
• Is Hong Kong SAR missing? Hong Kong was added in May 2021. A list without it is older than that.
• Is Peru missing? Peru was added in July 2021, and it was the last addition. A list without Peru is older than that.
• Does it total something other than 50? The current count is 50. Anything else is either out of date or has quietly included Italy.

One more signal is worth watching for. Some pages still describe this visa as granting immediate permanent residency, or say you can qualify by opening a bank account and registering a company. Both describe the pre-2021 program. Treat those country lists as equally old.

Names people expect to find and don’t

Taiwan. Taiwanese nationals appeared on earlier versions of the list. Panama switched diplomatic recognition to the People’s Republic of China in June 2017, and Taiwan does not appear in the 2021 decrees. A list that still shows Taiwan was written before those changes.

Italy. Italy has never been part of Friendly Nations. Italian citizens have their own route into Panamanian residency through a bilateral friendship, commerce, and navigation treaty between the two countries. It is a separate immigration category with separate requirements, so a list that includes Italy under Friendly Nations has merged two different things.

Mainland China is worth naming too. Hong Kong SAR is on the list; the People’s Republic of China is not.

Being on the list is the first gate, not the only one

An eligible passport qualifies you to apply. It does not qualify you for the permit.

You also have to show why you want residency, and Panama accepts three answers. The National Immigration Service requirement sheet sets them out:

Most people who find their country on the list stop here, because the second gate is the expensive one. Our Friendly Nations Visa cost breakdown works through what each route costs. The complete Friendly Nations Visa guide covers documents and process in full.

For example, we frequently see applicants initially plan to use the real estate route to buy a condo in Panama City. However, after realizing the property closing and title registration process can take several months and delay their residency application, they pivot to the $200,000 fixed-term deposit. By opening the CD at a local general-license bank, they receive their bank certification in a matter of days, allowing their attorney to file the residency application immediately.

What changed in 2021

Older articles describe this visa as immediate permanent residency. That description is out of date, and it matters for planning.

Since the 2021 changes, the immigration service grants a provisional residence permit valid for two years. You then apply for permanent residency, showing that you still meet the same grounds you originally used. Sell the property or close the deposit in the meantime, and the basis of your permit is gone.

The 2021 decrees also removed the old qualifying method, where opening a Panamanian bank account and registering a company was enough. That path no longer exists.

What the list eventually leads to

People check the country list because they are thinking years ahead, so it helps to know where the road ends.

Under Panama’s Constitution, naturalization opens up after five straight years of residence. Where that clock starts is set by the immigration law: at the resolution granting permanent residence.

Read those two rules together and the two provisional years sit outside the count. A Friendly Nations applicant reaches permanent residence in year two, and the five-year clock starts there. Someone who enters through a permit that grants permanent residence at approval, such as the Panama Pensionado Visa, starts the clock immediately.

That difference is worth knowing before you choose a route, particularly if a Panamanian passport is part of your long-term thinking. Naturalization is a separate process with its own requirements. Applicants are tested on Spanish and on Panama’s history, geography and system of government. Approval rests with the executive branch.

Four things people get wrong about the list

• “I can visit Panama without a visa, so I must be eligible.” Tourist entry rules and residency eligibility are separate systems with separate rules. Many nationalities can enter Panama easily and are not on this list.
• “It covers the EU.” It covers 23 of 27 EU members. Three are missing, and Italy sits in its own category.
• “My country is on the list, so I qualify.” Nationality is the first of two gates. The economic route is the one that stops most people.
• “Permanent residency comes straight away.” It comes after two years of provisional residency, and only if the qualifying tie is still in place.

Does your family need an eligible passport?

No. The nationality test applies to the main applicant.

Dependents are included on your application and their own nationality is not what qualifies them. The requirement sheet asks for proof of the relationship. That means a marriage certificate for a spouse, a birth certificate for a child, or a court document where custody applies.

Published descriptions differ on whether parents can be included as dependents in this category, and the requirement sheet does not name them. While spouses and children are standard dependents, including parents on a Friendly Nations application is notoriously difficult in practice.

Panamanian law requires proving absolute economic dependence. Most Panamanian immigration attorneys advise that if your parents draw a lifetime pension, it is significantly faster and safer to have them apply independently for the Panama Pensionado Visa.

Two conditions are worth knowing in advance. A dependent aged 18 to 24 must provide certification from a school or university confirming full-time enrollment, plus a sworn declaration that they are unmarried. You also have to show enough income to support them. The requirement sheet accepts either of two proofs.

One is a tax return showing at least $1,000 a month, plus $100 for each dependent. The other is an up-to-date work letter with a social security record and a copy of your work permit.

Dual nationals

If you hold two passports and one of them is on the list, that is normally the passport you apply with.

In practice, the immigration service allows you to apply using your eligible passport regardless of your second nationality. However, you must be completely consistent across two key steps: you must enter Panama using that eligible passport, and your national police background check must be issued from the country of the passport you are applying with (or the country where you have held legal residency for the last two years).

If your country is not on the list

The Friendly Nations route is closed to you, and no amount of investment changes that. Nationality is a threshold condition here, not a factor that money can offset.

Several other Panamanian permits carry no nationality restriction at all.

Start with the Pensionado if you draw a pension. Its financial bar sits far below the $200,000 that Friendly Nations asks for. Our permanent residency in Panama guide compares what each route leads to and how long it takes.

How to check whether the list is still current.

The country list changes by executive decree, and it has changed before. Countries were added in 2021, and Taiwan came off. A page you read today can be wrong next year.

Three habits protect you:

1. Ask which decree. Anyone advising you on your eligibility should be able to name the decree and amendment their answer comes from. A vague “yes, your country qualifies” is not an answer you should act on.
2. Check the immigration service directly. Panama’s government portal points people to the National Immigration Service for the current list of qualifying nationalities.
3. Re-check before you spend. Confirm your nationality again before you pay for apostilles, translations, or flights. Waiting until filing day is too late.

For example, a common trap involves applicants from Taiwan who find an outdated blog post from 2016 listing their country as eligible. They often pay hundreds of dollars to have their national police records apostilled and translated, only to be told by a Panamanian attorney that Taiwan was removed from the program in 2017. Always confirm your nationality against the current decree before paying for document authentication.

Frequently asked questions

Is the list the same as the EU? No. Twenty-three of the 27 EU member states are on it, and nine non-EU European countries are on it as well. Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia are EU members that do not appear.

Can the list change? Yes. It is set by executive decree, which the executive branch can amend without an act of the legislature. Countries have been added and removed before.

Does being on the list guarantee approval? No. Nationality is the first condition, not the last. You still have to satisfy one of the three economic routes and pass the standard document checks. The immigration service retains discretion over every file.

My country is on the list. Do I need a Panamanian lawyer? Yes. Under Panamanian immigration law, a residence application reaches the authorities through a legal representative. Filing on your own behalf is not an option.

Can I apply from outside Panama? The application is filed in Panama through your attorney, and applicants generally travel there for the process. The complete Friendly Nations Visa guide covers the sequence.

Is Hong Kong treated separately from China? Yes. Hong Kong SAR appears on the list in its own right, added in 2021. The People’s Republic of China does not appear.

What to do next

Find your country in the table. If it is there, your next question is no longer about nationality. It is which of the three economic routes you can realistically meet, because that is what decides most applications.

The rough fit is straightforward. Employment suits people with a Panamanian job offer, or those willing to relocate for work. Property suits people who were going to buy in Panama anyway. The fixed-term deposit suits people holding liquid capital who would rather not own property abroad. Our complete Friendly Nations Visa guide works through each one.

Not there? Skip the Friendly Nations material entirely and start with the permits that carry no country list. The Panama Pensionado Visa is the first one to check if you have pension income.

Last verified: August 17 2026

Suggested authoritative external sources

• Servicio Nacional de Migración — requirement sheet for the specific-countries permit (PPT-PE / PPP-PE): https://www.migracion.gob.pa/wp-content/uploads/02-PAISES-ESPECIFICOS.pdf
• Servicio Nacional de Migración — decrees and resolutions index: https://www.migracion.gob.pa/decretos-y-resoluciones-2021/
• Executive Decree 416 of 13 June 2012 (creates the subcategory; Article 2 holds the country list)
• Executive Decree 197 of 7 May 2021 (overhauls requirements; adds Hong Kong SAR)
• Executive Decree 226 of 20 July 2021 (adds Peru; sets the three current qualifying routes)
• Panamá Digital — government portal notice on the 2021 changes: https://www.panamadigital.gob.pa/Noticia/se-modifican-requisitos-para-permisos-migratorios-

Abakwa Studio

Abakwa Studio is the founder and editor of Lifestyle Panama. An American Company with a background in advertising technology, and founder has travelled across North and South America and much of Europe.