Panama
Short Stay Visa for Remote Workers: health insurance requirements
Yes: health insurance is required
Yes. Panama's Short Stay Visa for Remote Workers (Executive Decree 198 of 2021) requires a valid medical insurance policy with coverage in Panama for the duration of stay. It is for people working for a foreign employer or foreign clients, on income of at least US$36,000 a year, and runs nine months, renewable once for about eighteen months total. No specific minimum coverage amount is published.
The requirements at a glance
| Local-licensed insurer required | No: compliant international IPMI is accepted |
|---|---|
| Accepted proof | A valid medical insurance policy with coverage in Panama for the full duration of stay. An international policy that covers Panama is accepted; no specific minimum coverage amount is published. |
Remote work for a foreign employer or foreign clients (a sworn non-competition declaration confirms you will not work in the Panamanian labour market); income of at least US$36,000/year; nine months, renewable once (about 18 months total); filed through a Panamanian lawyer. For longer-term residency, the Friendly Nations Visa now requires an economic tie (e.g. a US$200,000 property purchase or bank deposit).
Who qualifies for the Panama nomad visa
The income bar is what decides most applications, and it is the number people look for first. Here is the current one, with the conditions that come attached to it.
- Income required
- $3,000/mo ($36,000/yr)
- Length of permit
- 9 monthsrenewable
- Who can apply
- Employed remotely, Freelancer, Business owner
9 months, extendable once to 18.
Tax
Foreign-sourced income is not taxed (territorial system).
That is a summary of the rule, not tax advice. Residence for immigration and residence for tax are decided separately, and the second one tends to arrive quietly, usually after you have been in the country long enough to stop thinking about it. Take proper advice before the year you need it.
What the income bar really means
Two things get people rejected on income even when they earn enough. The first is proving it: consulates want a documented, repeating history, usually bank statements and contracts covering several months, not a screenshot of a good quarter. Irregular freelance income clears the bar on average and fails on paper. The second is dependants, who almost always raise the threshold, and by a percentage of the base figure rather than a flat amount.
Treat the number above as the floor for the paperwork, not as a comfortable income for living there. It is set by the country’s own cost of living or minimum wage, which means it moves, and in several countries it is re-set every year.
Panama's Short Stay Visa for Remote Workers (Decree 198 of 2021) requires a valid medical insurance policy covering Panama for the stay, with income of at least US$36,000/year, but publishes no minimum coverage amount; it runs nine months, renewable once.
Our take
The rule is 'covered in Panama', not a number, but Panama is the place not to under-insure: the top private hospitals (one a Johns Hopkins affiliate) can bill close to US prices, so a thin policy that clears the visa can still leave a big gap.
Carry a high limit plus medical evacuation, and do not let the dollar economy lull you into treating Panama as a cheap-care country at the top end.
What happens if you get it wrong
Without a policy covering Panama for the full stay, the application is incomplete.
Because no minimum is set, a low-limit policy can satisfy the lawyer's checklist yet fall far short of a Punta Pacífica bill.
Interactive
Verified pricesWhat would it cost in Panama without insurance?
Gravel on a bend outside town. Road rash, a broken forearm, and a night or two before they discharge you.
| Ambulance | $175–$450 |
| Emergency room, on arrival | $50–$200 |
| X-ray on the forearm | $30–$40 |
| Two nights on the ward | $1,600–$2,400 |
| You pay, out of pocket | $1,855–$3,090 |
Priced as one lump instead of itemised, a serious admission in Panama runs $8,000 to $40,000.
That is the bill you carry alone. Insurance exists for exactly this.
See what cover costsTypical private-care estimates for illustration, not a quote. Actual bills vary by hospital, city and severity.
FAQ
Yes, a valid medical policy with coverage in Panama for the duration of stay. No specific minimum amount is published, so insure for the real risk.
At least US$36,000 a year, from a foreign employer or foreign clients.
Nine months, renewable once, for about eighteen months total.
No. An international policy that covers Panama for the stay is accepted; it just has to cover Panama.
More than the visa technically needs. Top hospitals can approach US prices, so carry a high limit and medical evacuation.
How to apply
- Processing time
- Reported at roughly 30 to 45 business days; no official published figure.
- Government fee
- US$250 government fee to the National Immigration Service, plus an immigration-card fee of about US$50. Excludes lawyer fees.
- Where to apply
- Filed in Panama with the National Immigration Service through a licensed Panamanian immigration lawyer.
- 1
Engage a licensed Panamanian immigration lawyer. Panama requires immigration applications to be filed through an attorney; you cannot file directly.
- 2
Gather and legalise your documents: passport valid at least six months, proof you work remotely for a foreign employer or your own foreign business, proof of foreign-source income of at least US$36,000 per year (or employment paying at least US$3,000 per month), a criminal-record certificate, health insurance covering Panama, and an affidavit that you are not employed by a Panamanian company. Foreign documents must be apostilled or authenticated.
- 3
Your lawyer files the Short-Stay Visa for Remote Workers application with the National Immigration Service.
- 4
Pay the government fee of US$250 to the National Immigration Service (a separate immigration-card fee of about US$50 applies).
- 5
On approval the visa is granted for nine months, extendable once for another nine months, up to 18 months total.
Fees and processing times move, sometimes without announcement, and a consulate can add a document the published checklist does not mention. Treat the above as the shape of the process rather than a guarantee, and check the current requirement with the mission handling your application before you book anything.
What policy actually satisfies this visa
Panama does not publish a minimum figure, which sounds permissive and is not. It means you are judged against somebody's unwritten idea of adequate, and the safe reading of adequate is enough to cover a serious hospital admission in Panama, not the cheapest policy that technically exists.
A compliant international policy is accepted, so you are not forced into a local insurer. That matters more than it sounds: it means one policy can follow you when you leave, instead of expiring at the border.
Repatriation is not named as a condition, though it is the benefit you would most want to have if the worst happened, and it costs very little to add.
And the dates. The policy has to run for the whole permit, which a standard travel policy cannot do because it stops at around 90 days. An officer comparing your policy period with your permit period does not have to look hard to see it expire in the middle.
Ask your insurer for a certificate of cover that states your full name as it appears on your passport, the exact policy period, the territory covered, and the benefit amounts. That is a normal request and any decent insurer issues it without fuss. The insurance being real and the paperwork still failing is a more common way to lose an application than being uninsured.
The visa tells you the minimum. It does not tell you what to actually carry. Those are different questions, and the paperwork minimum is nearly always the smaller of the two answers.
Get a policy that satisfies this visa
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