Panama pensionado visa: the lower pension bar needs the property in your own name, registered before you apply
Panama · Pensionado (Retirement) Visa
Income required
USD 1,000 per month
A pension of at least B/.1,000 a month (the balboa is at par with the US dollar), granted for life by a foreign government, an international body or a private company; a married couple may add their two pensions together to reach it
Also on file
USD 750 per month
A lifetime pension of at least B/.750 a month is enough when the applicant also owns property in Panama, in their own name, bought for more than B/.100,000
Also on file
USD 250 per month
Extra monthly income for each dependant, on top of the pension; it may come from a further pension or be shown with a reference from a bank in Panama
Official source · No rule-change history on file for this route — check the official source for changes · Figures read from the official rules on file at the time this page was served.
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The lower pension figure on file applies only once you own property in Panama in your own name, bought for more than the amount the rules set, and the checklist asks for its Public Registry certificate when you apply. An off-plan unit bought on a purchase promise may not be registered yet, so if a seller says the visa comes with the unit, ask how you will show that certificate.
Buying in the wrong order can leave you paying for a home and still needing the full pension. Until the purchase is on the Public Registry in your name, the application is measured against the higher figure above. The checklist's wording is a property acquired in a personal capacity, so ask your lawyer before buying through a company.
The pension itself
The immigration service's checklist asks for a pension granted for life, paid by a foreign government, an international body or a private company. A married couple may combine pensions to reach the minimum.
A private pension needs more paper: a letter from the firm that manages its fund, proof that the paying company exists, and a payment receipt or bank statement.
Bringing family
Each dependant adds the extra monthly sum on file, shown with a further pension or a Panamanian bank reference. Children face a limit: a dependent child gets a temporary permit, only while studying and only until 25, with no right to permanence or to pensionado status, except a child with a proven profound disability. The permit itself is indefinite and needs no renewal.
State and firm charges
The checklist opens with a notarised power of attorney: a representative files for you.
To the Panamanian state:
- No government fee appears above: no official fee table for this permit has been found. Ask for each state charge with its official receipt.
To others:
- The lawyer's fee, notarisation and apostilles, and, on the property route, the price, the agent's commission and the deed costs.
Ask before you pay:
- Does the paying body's letter say the pension is for life?
- If the pension is private, who will certify the fund that pays it?
- How many dependants are coming, and how will the extra sum for each be shown?
- On the property route, will the title be registered in your own name before the application is filed?
- If the application is refused, or the rules change before it is decided, what happens to the lawyer's fee and to any deposit on the unit?
Holding a lawyer's fee quote for this permit, or a developer's offer that bundles residence with a unit? Answer yes at the top of the box above, and it is gone through line by line against the published rules and the prices firms on file publish for this route. Without one, answer no and enter the monthly pension you receive. The check compares a document or a figure with the published rules, and does not look at your application or advise on it; for advice on your own case, speak to a qualified immigration lawyer.
General information, not legal advice.
