Panama Investor Visa 2026: $300K New, $500K Resale

Panama's Ministry of Commerce and Industries raised the minimum real estate investment for its Qualified Investor residency visa to $500,000 for resale property on Sept. 16, 2026, while leaving new construction at the existing $300,000 threshold.

Decreto Ejecutivo No. 17 replaces the 2020 decree that set a single $300,000 figure regardless of whether the property was new or previously owned.

• New, never-occupied property bought directly from a developer: $300,000, unchanged
• Resale or previously occupied property: $500,000, up from $300,000
• Panama-listed securities through a licensed brokerage: $500,000, held five years
• Fixed-term bank deposit: $750,000 at a private bank, or $500,000 at Banco Nacional de Panamá or Caja de Ahorros

The rule appears in Gaceta Oficial Digital No. 30613, which published the decree the president signed Sept. 8, 2026. It replaces Decreto Ejecutivo No. 722 of 2020, amended by decrees No. 109 of 2022 and No. 193 of 2024, and took effect immediately on publication.

The short version

• New-build and pre-construction purchases: still $300,000
• Resale and previously occupied property: now $500,000
• Pre-construction buyers must back the deal with an escrow or a bank guarantee covering the full amount
• The investment has to be held five years, with proof filed annually
• Applications filed before Sept. 16, 2026 keep the old rules

What changed

The net investment counted toward either threshold is whichever is lower: the price the buyer actually paid, or the property's appraised commercial value, minus any liens, under Article 5 of the decree.

Panama's National Land Authority, ANATI, still certifies the underlying cadastral value. The Ministry of Commerce and Industries can order an independent appraisal when the numbers look off, as long as the appraiser has no ties to the seller, developer or the buyer's lender.

Buyers can finance any amount above the required minimum, as long as the financing is documented and traceable and no resulting lien pulls the net computable value below the threshold, under Article 5.

Who it affects

The split favors developers and buyers of new inventory over the resale market. A $300,000 pre-construction unit still qualifies a buyer for residency. A $450,000 resale condo, which qualified under the old rule, no longer does.

The threshold had already confused people before the decree landed. A tax and legal firm publicly corrected a YouTube video in August 2026 that told viewers the minimum would jump to $500,000 for all property types that October, a claim the video's own comments disputed weeks before Decreto 17 answered the question differently for new construction and resale.

Pre-construction buyers now choose an escrow or a bank guarantee

Article 7 keeps pre-construction purchases eligible at $300,000, but only if the buyer's money is protected one of two ways. The funds can sit in a fideicomiso, an escrow account held by a Panama-licensed bank or fiduciary, released only to cover the seller's contractual obligations.

Or, if the buyer pays the developer the full amount directly, the developer must back that payment with an irrevocable bank instrument, a standby letter of credit, bank aval or performance bond, covering the entire invested sum until the unit is built, segregated and registered at the Public Registry. That guarantee has to be renewed every year until the project is finished.

Buyers who take the bank-guarantee route get a one-time right to redirect their investment elsewhere if the developer misses the promised delivery date, within 180 business days of the deadline passing. Time spent relying only on a purchase-promise contract cannot exceed three years total, continuous or not, or the residency permit is cancelled.

What happens to applications already in progress

Buyers who filed before Sept. 16, 2026 keep the rules that applied when they filed, under Article 19's transitional provisions. Investments and purchase contracts finalized before that date can also opt into the old regime, as long as the application is submitted within six months.

Holders of the older "Residencia Permanente por Solvencia Económica Propia" status, or applicants with a case pending under it, get 12 months to convert into the Qualified Investor category if they meet the new minimums, under Article 18. Investments made before Oct. 15, 2020 do not qualify.

Investors who complete either track can apply for Panamanian citizenship by naturalization after five consecutive years of residence, under Article 14 of the same decree.