Panama · Spouse visas
Panama Spouse of a citizen
First stay: 2 yrs
Permanent Residence Permit as Spouse of a Panamanian (Casado con Panameño)
Checked against official sources on Change log
Key facts
Spouse of a citizen is a spouse visas route for Panama. Checked 2026-10-12 against the official source.
- Government fees
- PAB 250 ≈ $250
- First stay
- 2 yrs
Cost, time and long term
Government feesPAB 250 ≈ $250
- PAB 250 (≈ $250)Payment to the National Treasury for the application for a migration category.
RenewalRenewal rules
A provisional residence permit is granted for 2 years, after which you apply for permanent residence.
Permanent residenceAfter 2 years of residence
After the 2-year provisional permit you can apply for permanent residence.
CitizenshipGeneral rule: 3 years of residence
A foreign spouse of a Panamanian can naturalise after 3 consecutive years of residence, plus Spanish and basic knowledge of Panamanian history, geography and politics.
What you'll need
Who can apply2
- Married to a Panamanian national and living with the spouse in conditions of singularity, stability and continuity.
- Marriage alone does not grant a right to residence; the service may refuse entry or residence on public-interest grounds.
What you must show1
- B/.250 payment to the National Treasury for the application.
Documents7
- Application filed through a legal representative with a notarised copy of the passport.
- Criminal record certificate, health certificate issued within 3 months, and sworn declaration of personal background.
- Certificate of single status from the country of origin.
- Marriage certificate and the Panamanian spouse's birth certificate, both issued by the Civil Registry.
- Copy of the Panamanian spouse's identity card and a notarised responsibility and repatriation letter from the spouse.
- Proof of the marital home: lease, property title or utility bill.
- Foreign documents apostilled or authenticated, and translated into Spanish by an authorised translator.
Steps1
- A provisional two-year residence permit with identity document is issued first.
After you arrive2
- After the provisional period the holder may apply for permanent residence if the legal requirements are met.
- The permit can be cancelled if the marriage was used only to obtain residence.
When you become tax resident
How Panama decides tax residence and treats foreign-source income, from its tax records.
- Foreign-source income
Territorial
Panama taxes income produced inside Panama only; the taxable base of a taxpayer is gross income less foreign-source income, exempt income and deductible costs, and the DGI personal return has a separate line for foreign-source income.
- Special regime
Panama territorial income tax · Tax relief
All tax rules for Panama Tax records checked
What you need to arrange
- Accommodation
Proof of the marital home: lease, property title or utility bill
- Certified translation
Foreign documents apostilled or authenticated, and translated into Spanish by an authorised translator
- Police certificate and civil documents
Criminal record certificate, health certificate issued within 3 months, and sworn declaration of personal background
Taken from this route's requirements above. The authority's own list is the one that counts.
Full official text
For a foreigner married to a Panamanian who lives with the spouse. It starts with a two-year provisional residence permit and can become permanent residence afterwards. 1 2 3
What you must show and pay
- A fee of PAB 250 (≈ $250) · Payment to the National Treasury for the application for a migration category. 2
Requirements
- Married to a Panamanian national and living with the spouse in conditions of singularity, stability and continuity. 1
- Marriage alone does not grant a right to residence; the service may refuse entry or residence on public-interest grounds. 1
- B/.250 payment to the National Treasury for the application. 2
- Application filed through a legal representative with a notarised copy of the passport. 1
- Criminal record certificate, health certificate issued within 3 months, and sworn declaration of personal background. 2
- Certificate of single status from the country of origin. 1
- Marriage certificate and the Panamanian spouse's birth certificate, both issued by the Civil Registry. 3
- Copy of the Panamanian spouse's identity card and a notarised responsibility and repatriation letter from the spouse. 3
- Proof of the marital home: lease, property title or utility bill. 3
- Foreign documents apostilled or authenticated, and translated into Spanish by an authorised translator. 1
- A provisional two-year residence permit with identity document is issued first. 2
- After the provisional period the holder may apply for permanent residence if the legal requirements are met. 2
- The permit can be cancelled if the marriage was used only to obtain residence. 2
Stay
- Two-year provisional residence permit, then application for permanent residence.
- Initial permitted stay: 24 months.
Family
Dependants must meet the requirements of the family-reunification temporary residence permit.
Official sources
- Solicitud de Permiso de Residente Permanente como Casado con Panameño · Servicio Nacional de Migración / Panamá Digital · checked 2026-10-11
- Decreto Ley 3 de 22 de febrero de 2008 (Servicio Nacional de Migración), arts. 18-29 · Gaceta Oficial Digital de Panamá · checked 2026-10-11
- Permiso de residente provisional por razones demográficas, reagrupación familiar, casado con panameño(a) · Servicio Nacional de Migración · checked 2026-10-12
- Constitución Política de la República de Panamá, art. 10 · Asamblea Nacional de Panamá · checked 2026-10-11
Spouse of a citizen and its alternatives
| Route | Money needed | Stay | Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spouse of a citizen | – | 2 yr | – |
| Spouse of a citizen Mexico | – | 2 yr, renewable | Limited |
| Partner of a citizen Colombia | – | – | Yes |
| Spouse of a citizen Costa Rica | – | 1 yr, renewable | Limited |
| Spouse of a resident Brazil | – | – | Yes |
Questions people ask
How much money do I need for the Spouse of a citizen?
A fee of PAB 250 (≈ $250). Payment to the National Treasury for the application for a migration category.
How long can I stay on the Spouse of a citizen?
Two-year provisional residence permit, then application for permanent residence.
Can I bring my family on the Spouse of a citizen?
Dependants must meet the requirements of the family-reunification temporary residence permit.
Does the Spouse of a citizen lead to permanent residence in Panama?
Time on the Spouse of a citizen counts toward permanent residence in Panama, which the rules allow after 2 years of residence. The general rule for citizenship is 3 years of residence.
Is there a tax break for Spouse of a citizen holders in Panama?
Panama territorial income tax (foreign-source income outside the tax base): Panama taxes income produced inside Panama only; the taxable base of a taxpayer is gross income less foreign-source income, exempt income and deductible costs, and the DGI personal return has a separate line for foreign-source income. It's separate from the visa and has its own conditions.
Tax
Special regime
Panama territorial income tax (foreign-source income outside the tax base)
Tax relief
Details
- Who: Applies to every taxpayer, natural or legal, national or foreign
Panama taxes income produced inside Panama only; the taxable base of a taxpayer is gross income less foreign-source income, exempt income and deductible costs, and the DGI personal return has a separate line for foreign-source income.
Taxed on
Taxable income = gross income minus foreign-source income, exempt/non-taxable income and deductible costs and expenses (Código Fiscal art. 695 as amended by Ley 8 of 2010); art. 694 par. 2 lists activities whose income is not treated as produced in Panama (invoicing from a Panama office for goods moving only abroad, directing from Panama transactions that are completed abroad, distributing dividends out of income not produced in Panama).
Who it applies to
- Applies to every taxpayer, natural or legal, national or foreign (art. 694 definition of contribuyente); no application, visa status or registration is needed to have foreign-source income left out of the base.
- Foreign-source income is reported on line 18 of the DGI natural-person return, citing par. 2 of art. 694 of the Código Fiscal and special laws.
Exclusions
- Income from work or services performed in Panama, Panama-located assets and Panama business activity is Panama-source and taxable.
- Persons domiciled abroad who receive payments for services that benefit persons in Panama and affect Panama-source income are subject to withholding on 50% of the amount remitted under art. 694 lit. e as amended by Ley 8 of 2010, unless they register as taxpayers.
- Costs and expenses attributable to foreign-source income are not deductible against taxable income.
Tax residence
no residency test is recorded.
Visas
The territorial base applies regardless of visa or residence permit type; it is a feature of the income tax, not of an immigration route.
Other taxes
Social security (CSS) and educational insurance are charged on salary by separate tariffs set out in the DGI instructivo (educational insurance tariff 2.75% of the base for employees per the instructivo).
Checked against official sources on , some details partly verifiedChange log
More in Panama
Spouse and partner visas elsewhere
≈ USD figures are approximate: daily reference rates from ExchangeRate-API, dated 12 Oct 2026, refreshed when the site is updated.
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How this was checked
Checked on 2026-10-12 against 4 official sources. Status: verified against the official sources.
Every figure on this page comes from the official source it links to. The record was researched against these sources, then reviewed separately, with special attention to effective dates and amendments. Where a source does not state something, the page leaves it out.
- Solicitud de Permiso de Residente Permanente como Casado con Panameño · Servicio Nacional de Migración / Panamá Digital · checked 2026-10-11
- Decreto Ley 3 de 22 de febrero de 2008 (Servicio Nacional de Migración), arts. 18-29 · Gaceta Oficial Digital de Panamá · checked 2026-10-11
- Permiso de residente provisional por razones demográficas, reagrupación familiar, casado con panameño(a) · Servicio Nacional de Migración · checked 2026-10-12
- Constitución Política de la República de Panamá, art. 10 · Asamblea Nacional de Panamá · checked 2026-10-11
Tracked since 2026-10-10. Rule changes and corrections are listed on the changes page, and the methodology page explains how facts are checked. Found something out of date? Email contact@stayglobe.app with a link to the official source.