Charlotte Beugge reports in the UK Telegraph about the lure to expats here in Panama and she covers a lot of ground in this article.
Panama offers plenty of opportunities for adventurous expats. Around 1,000 Britons live there on a full or part-time basis and it was recently voted the second-best global retirement destination in International Living’s annual index. Meanwhile US expats account for over 30 per cent of the 190,000 overseas population.
The country boasts good weather (it’s outside the hurricane zone), a low cost of living and one of the fastest-growing economies in Latin America. Panama has a stable government and a currency pegged to the US dollar. And with a large proportion of the 3.6m population bilingual in Spanish and English, it could look attractive to Britons wanting something different but without too many culture shocks.
But this is still a developing nation – the CIA World Factbook says that while it has a fast growing economy, “poverty and inequality remain prevalent” particularly among the indigenous population and the rural poor. And while it can be easy to retire to Panama, working opportunities may be more difficult to find. So what’s life like there for the expat?
Visas
Britons visiting Panama don’t need visas and can stay for up to 180 days. And it’s easy enough if you want to stay longer: Britons who want to undertake commercial or professional activities can apply for permanent residency as can those investing in forestry.
The pensionado scheme makes retiring to Panama easy for anyone aged over 18. You qualify as long as you have a pension income of at least US$1,000 (around £656) a month for life – plus $250 (£164) for each dependant – paid into a Panamanian bank account.
Under the visa you can live without working in Panama and get discounts on travel, medical treatment, electricity and telephone bills, public transport and leisure activities.
What kind of income is considered “pension income” when it comes to qualifying under the pensionado scheme requirment of $1,000.00 per month?
Does dividend income from investments in public stocks and ETF’s qualify?
How about dividend income from a privately owned business in Canada?