Panama has enjoyed consistent economic growth for the past decade, because of this there has been a lot of interest by foreign investors over the years, and Panama has needed to create immigration laws to take advantage of this situation, one of the most recent ones being the Qualified Investment Immigration Program, that was created to attract major investors in the real state market as well as for the banking system, however, the precursor to this law is The Friendly Nations visa program which was introduced in 2012, this visa differs from the QIIP in a few but very important key aspects, making this law a more affordable options for investors but with a longer waiting time when it comes to obtaining their residencies, this types of laws where created out of the need to increase migration and investment to Panama, it was originally introduced with 22 nations but has increased to around 50 nations as of 2022.

Panama has become a great country for investment, because of its political stability, the use of the US dollar, and best of all a stable and exponential economic growth, with an average GDP growth of 8.56% over the past 10 years, and with a 1% inflation as well as the low unemployment rate, along with a high quality of life when compared to other countries in the region, has made Panama very attractive option for foreign investors, creating a need to have an easy way for investors and professional foreigner citizens to have legal permanent residency in Panama. That's how the Friendly Nations Program was born, this program allows citizens from specific nations to come and invest in Panama, after showing professional or economic ties to the country.

Friendly Nations Visa has been around for ten years, it is a process that foreign visitors, as well as immigration lawyers, have become very familiar with, and know the process to a T, it is a straightforward process as long as you have all of the required documents, many of the requirements for this visa program are the same as any other program, which includes photos, power of attorney, copy of your passport, health certificate, criminal record, personal records, as well as some other requisites that are particular to this program, the biggest one being that the investor or professional must belong to one of the nations in the Friendly Nation's program, a copy of the country's ID and a bank statement reflecting a balance of no less than four averages figures and a document showing your economic or professional ties to Panama, you can show this ties by showing the following documents.

• Economic ties: This could be done by showing that you are either a member of the management team, the owner of the company or the majority shareholder of a company, along with the company’s bank statement showing the company’s income.

• Profesional ties: This refers to any professional activity done in any Panamanian company, proof of contract must be shown, and the company must be dully registered in Panama.

Another great option for investors is the reforestation permanent residency program which is a middle ground between the QIIP and the Friendly Nations program, because the reforestations permanent residency is a more affordable investment option, a foreign investor can spend a minimum of 100,000 in reforestation or plantation activities, if the investment reaches 350,000 then the investor is eligible for an expedited process where the investor can get its permanent residency almost immediately.

If you are interested in the reforestation permanent residency program please click here, it will take you to a page where you can learn more about that program, and even has some plantation investments ready for you. 

There are many great options for a foreign investor to obtain permanent residency, if you are not sure about which investment option is better for you, please feel free to contact us here.