Newly released data from Panama’s Immigration Service shows strong demand for the country’s various investment residency programs. Panama’s Independent Earning Visa and Qualified Investor Residency Programs could reach record highs in 2024.

Approvals for investor visas appear to be stabilizing in 2024, after friendly country visa applications surged in late 2021 and 2022 as the program price increased from $5,000 to $200,000. A total of 1,312 applications for friendly country visas were approved in the first five months of 2024, indicating that market demand has stabilized after price adjustments.

Panama investor visa approvals in each year (excluding friendly country visas)

The Qualified Investor Residency Program received 105 applications in the first five months of 2024. It is expected that there will be 252 cases by the end of the year, a significant increase from 187 cases in 2023.

The minimum investment threshold for the Qualified Investor Residency Program will be raised from US$300,000 to US$500,000 in October this year, which may lead to a surge in the number of applications for the new price to take effect.
819 applications were approved. The strong performance suggests the category could surpass the previous year's record of 1,627 approvals.

2022 approval rate: Panama investor visa and independent livelihood visa

The approval rate of Panama investor visa and independent livelihood visa in 2024 remains at a very high level and continues Following the trend in recent years, the approval rate has continuously exceeded 95%. Approval rates for all visa categories in 2024 were the highest in the last three years, except for the Qualified Investor Residency Program, where the approval rate dropped from 99% to 98%.

Data shows that Panama’s average approval rate has increased, reaching 98%, exceeding the 96% in 2022 and 2023. The fixed deposit investor visa has a 100% approval rate in 2024.


The number of visa approvals for Panama’s friendly countries in each year

The number of visa approvals for friendly countries reached a peak of 4,318 after the announcement of the price increase in 2021. Since then, the number has gradually declined, with 2,544 cases in 2022 and 2,120 cases in 2023. There were 1,312 cases in the first five months of 2024, indicating that friendly country visas will remain at a stable level, but below the peak in 2021.

Panama: The proportion of investment immigrants among all immigrants

So far in 2024, the proportion of investment immigrants among all approved immigrants in Panama has reached 15%, which is the same as in the past The 7-year long-term average is flat.