Plan your move to Panama
Answer a few questions and get a move plan: which residency options may fit you, and introductions to local attorneys, movers, agents and insurers when you need each one.
Takes about five minutes. Free for you, because providers pay us.
A sample move plan
A couple retiring to Boquete in about nine months
- NowImmigration attorneyConfirms which residency option you qualify for.
- 5 months beforeReal estate agentLines up a rental for your first year.
- 3 months beforeInternational moverSurveys, quotes and books a shipping date.
- 2 months beforeHealth insuranceCover that starts the day you land.
- Moving dayYou move to Panama
- After you arriveUS expat tax preparerYour first return from abroad.
How it works
Tell us about your move
Who is moving, when, where to, and how you will support yourself. Rough answers are fine.
Get your move plan
You see which residency options may fit, and a timeline of who you need and when you need them.
Meet providers when it's time
We introduce you to up to 3 local providers for each service you asked for. You choose who to hire, or nobody.
Help with each part of the move
Most moves need several specialists, at different times. Read what each one does, then ask for an introduction.
- Immigration attorneyResidency applications, which by law must be filed through a Panamanian attorney.
- Real estate agentRentals for your first year, or a purchase once you know the area.
- International moverShipping household goods by sea, with customs clearance in Panama.
- Pet relocationHealth certificates, advance notice to quarantine, flights and arrival inspection.
- Health insurancePrivate, international and hospital plans, and how healthcare in Panama works.
- US expat tax preparerUS returns from abroad, foreign account reporting and how Panama's territorial tax applies.
Where people settle in Panama
Not sure yet? That's a normal place to start. The intake has a "not sure" option.
Panama City
The capital, with the country's main private hospitals, a metro and flights across the Americas.
Boquete and Chiriquí
A cool highland town with Panama's best-known retiree community, about 40 minutes from the city of David.
Coronado and the Pacific beaches
Beach towns an hour or two west of the capital, with shops and clinics built up around a long-standing foreign community.
El Valle de Antón
A small mountain town in a volcanic crater, cooler than the coast and about two hours from Panama City.
Bocas del Toro
Caribbean islands with a slow pace, plenty of rain and limited healthcare.
Azuero Peninsula
Pedasí, Las Tablas and Chitré: dry, traditional and lower cost, four to five hours' drive from the capital.
Guides to read first
- Moving to Panama from the US: the steps in orderWhat to do, in what order, from gathering apostilled documents to your first tax return abroad.
- Panama residency for Americans: requirements and how to get itThe main residency routes, what each requires, and the steps from apostilled documents to your resident card.
- Panama Pensionado visa: requirements, discounts and stepsPanama's retirement visa: the pension you need, the documents, the discounts and the application.
- Panama Friendly Nations visa: requirements since 2021Who is eligible, the three ways to qualify since 2021, and the two-year provisional stage.
- Panama Qualified Investor visa: the golden visa routePermanent residency through a larger investment in real estate, securities or a bank deposit.
- Panama digital nomad visa: the short-stay visa for remote workersNine months, renewable once, for people paid from outside Panama. What it requires and where it stops.
- Panama citizenship and dual nationality for AmericansNaturalisation after five years as a permanent resident, the exam, and where dual nationality stands.
- Living in Panama as an American: what daily life is likeClimate, money, language, healthcare and safety, with the pros and cons people report after the move.
Ready to see your plan?
Five short sections. You can stop at any point, and nothing is shared until you agree to it at the end.