If your passport normally requires a visa to visit Panama, there is a good chance you do not need one.
Panama waives the tourist visa requirement for anyone holding a valid visa or residence permit from one of eight jurisdictions. The rule has existed since 2009 in some form. In October 2024 Panama quietly stripped out almost every condition attached to it, and the change went almost entirely unreported in English.
The Rule
Executive Decree 521 of 6 August 2018, Article 1:
Any person of a nationality that requires a visa to enter Panama, who holds a valid visa or residence properly issued by one of the listed jurisdictions, may enter Panamanian territory.
That is it. You do not apply to a Panamanian consulate. You do not pay a Panamanian visa fee. You arrive with the foreign visa you already hold.
Which Visas Count
A residence permit counts as well as a visa. The decree says "Visa o Residencia vigente", so a US green card, an EU residence card or equivalent qualifies on the same footing as a visitor visa.
What Changed in 2024
This is the part nobody has written about in English.
Until October 2024, Article 2 of Decree 521 attached three conditions to the foreign visa:
Executive Decree 196 of 28 October 2024 replaced that entire article with one sentence. The new Article 2 requires only that, at the moment of entering Panamanian territory, the traveller holds a valid visa issued by one of the listed countries.
All three conditions are gone. A single-entry visa now qualifies. A visa you have never used qualifies. A visa with two months left qualifies.
Panama made this considerably easier to use, and did it without an announcement anyone picked up.
How Long Can You Stay
The decrees do not say.
Decree 521 and Decree 196 remove a visa requirement. Neither sets a length of stay.
The general rule comes from Executive Decree 590 of 28 December 2016, which rewrote Article 16 of Decree 320 of 2008. Immigration issues tourist entries valid for no more than 90 days, expressly without prejudice to international agreements ratified by Panama and to principles of reciprocity.
That reciprocity clause is why some nationalities get longer. United States and Canadian citizens are commonly admitted for 180 days on that basis.
Expect up to 90 days, check what you were given, and never assume. The officer at the port of entry decides the term, not the decree.
What It Does Not Do
People misread this constantly, so let me be blunt.
It is not residency. It removes a visa requirement for a tourist entry. Nothing more.
It does not permit work. Tourist entry never does, whatever visa got you through the door.
It does not lead to permanent residency. There is no accrual, no conversion, no path. Panama's residency categories are separate and each has its own requirements.
It does not override an officer's discretion. Entry is never guaranteed by paperwork alone.
If you are thinking about Panama as somewhere to live, the tourist question is beside the point. What matters is which residency route your nationality and your money open up, and that has nothing to do with your travel history.
At the Border
Bring the physical documents. A photo of a visa on your phone will not do.
Ask for your entry stamp and read it before you leave the counter. Whatever term you were given is the term you have, and overstaying means fines and trouble getting back in.
The Decree Trail
Check it yourself rather than taking my word for it. The trail also shows why so much of what you read online is wrong: the rule has been rewritten four times in 15 years, and most summaries froze on whichever version was live when they were published.
| Decree | Date | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 248 | 21 July 2009 | Earlier version, repealed by 591 |
| 591 | 28 December 2016 | Exemption for holders of US, Australian, Canadian and UK visas. Required multiple-entry, previously used, minimum one year validity |
| 114 | 4 April 2018 | Extended it to Schengen visas and EU residence, on the same conditions |
| 521 | 6 August 2018 | Consolidated both, added South Korea, Japan and Singapore, and cut the validity requirement from one year to six months. Repealed 591 and 114 |
| 196 | 28 October 2024 | Replaced Article 2 of 521. Removed the multiple-entry, previously-used and six-month conditions entirely. The visa need only be valid on arrival |
A small oddity: Decree 196's own title says it repeals Decrees 591 and 114. Decree 521 had already repealed both, six years earlier. Someone copied the wrong header. No practical effect, but it tells you something about how carefully these get drafted.
Who This Helps
Anyone from a country that ordinarily needs a Panamanian tourist visa. That covers most of Asia, most of Africa, and much of the Caribbean and the Pacific.
If you already hold a US, Canadian, UK, Schengen, Australian, Japanese, Korean or Singaporean visa for some other reason, work, study, family, a holiday you took years ago, you can very probably visit Panama on it.
If you are looking at Panama seriously rather than as a holiday, the question that matters is which residency route your nationality and money allow. For most people this exemption helps, the Friendly Nations Visa is closed, and the answer is somewhere else entirely.
Last updated: July 2026. Verified against Executive Decrees 590 and 591 of 28 December 2016, 114 of 4 April 2018, 521 of 6 August 2018, and 196 of 28 October 2024, as published in the Gaceta Oficial Digital. Immigration rules change, and border officers retain discretion. Confirm your position before booking travel.
Plan B Expat provides consulting and coordination, not legal or tax advice. Always take counsel from the licensed attorneys, accountants and tax specialists in our vetted network.
Michael L.
Canadian founder of Plan B Expat. Permanent resident of both Panama and Paraguay. MBA in International Business, trilingual (English, French, Spanish), and two decades of real estate brokerage experience in Quebec and Ontario. Writes from direct experience navigating the immigration, banking, and relocation systems of both countries.
