I am a freelance producer in my home country and have about 5 million euros in my foreign bank account. I am considering applying for a Panama Private Retiree Visa. I am wondering if an applicant who has no foreign pension available but has large amount of savings could be granted such a visa?
Unfortunately, holding savings on a bank account in a foreign country won’t allow you to apply as a retiree to a permanent residency permit; however, if you deposit at least $300,000 in a fix-term account at a local (Panamanian) bank, you will be able to obtain a two-year resident permit first, which will lead to a permanent resident one. This fix-term deposit must be done for 36 months, at least.
For a retiree and pensioner visa, which grants permanent residency, an official or private retirement or pension plan is needed with a minimal amount of $1,000 per month, for life. For the private income retiree visa, which grants permanent residency and the right to a local travelers passport, a fixed term deposit for five years in a state bank such as Banco Nacional de Panama or Caja de Ahorros is required, with sufficient funds to average $850 per month on interests, which at current rates adds up to a CD of approximately $370,000.
To qualify for the private income retiree visa, you need to have a lump sum which may be deposited on a five-year certificate of deposit with a Panamanian state bank, yielding at least $850 U.S. dollars a month (at current rates approximately, $350,000). The visa is renewable every five years, as long as the certificate of deposit keeps being renewed. The private income retiree visa includes such benefits as a Panamanian passport, a one-time exemption of duties for the importation of household goods (up to $10,000) and an exemption every two years of duties for the importation of a car. The passport needs to be renewed every five years. The applicant has the option to open the certificate of deposit either at the Banco Nacional de Panama or at the Caja de Ahorros. Both are banks of the government of Panama.
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