New data released by Panama’s Immigration Bureau 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.

Investor visa approvals 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, showing that market demand has stabilized after price adjustments.

　 Annual approval volume of Panama investor visas (excluding friendly countries Visa)

The Qualified Investor Residency Program received 105 applications in the first five months of 2024, and is expected to reach 252 applications by the end of the year, a significant increase from 187 applications 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.

　

Approvals of Panama’s independent livelihood visas in each year

Panama’s independent livelihood visas—Jubilados and Pensionados—maintained the momentum of 2023, with 819 applications approved in the first five months of 2024 alone. 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 for Panama investor visas and independent livelihood visas in 2024 has remained at a very high level, continuing the trend in recent years, with approval rates exceeding 95% continuously. 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 friendly country visa approvals in Panama in each year

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

　

Panama: Proportion of investment immigrants among all immigrants

So far in 2024, all investment immigrants have been approved in Panama The share of immigrants reached 15%, which is the same as the long-term average of the past seven years.