What does emigrating to Panama cost?
Answer four questions and you have an honest range for your situation. Every item shows whether it's a checked rate or an estimate. The biggest one-off item here is the visa journey itself: the lawyer the law makes compulsory, the fees and arranging all your documents. After that Panama is affordable, certainly with the legal pensionado discounts. Everything there runs in dollars.
Looking for the whole route to Panama, not just the costs? See the steps, the order and the paperwork →
A rough indication for your situation
A few short questions, and you get a range instead of an amount. That's deliberate: an exact figure would suggest a precision nobody has.
Count on a total of
€ 6.400 – € 14.200
Where does that difference come from?
- The first months€ 3.000 – € 7.000
- Pensionado visa via the compulsory lawyer€ 2.800 – € 5.800
Below you'll find per item where the upper and the lower limit come from.
- Aanvraag en papieren
- € 3.000 – € 6.300
- De verhuizing
- € 400 – € 900
- De eerste maanden
- € 3.000 – € 7.000
Every item, one by onePer item the amount, the source and whether it's a rate or an estimate
Aanvraag en papieren
- Pensionado visa via the compulsory lawyer(estimate)€ 2.800 – € 5.800
The pensionado visa is a residence right for people with a pension. Every residence application runs by law through a Panamanian immigration lawyer, and that determines most of the cost. The lawyer's fees are market prices (US$ 1,000 to 5,000). The government fees are about US$ 250-300 per person. With apostilles, translations and the filing trip added, US$ 3,000 to 6,000 per adult is the realistic total. Family members partly ride along on the same file, but each pays for their own fees and documents.
- Apostilles and sworn Spanish translations(estimate)€ 200 – € 500
Count on four to six documents per person: the pension statement, the certificate of conduct (VOG) and the certificates. Each document gets an apostille at the court (about € 25-30 each). An apostille is an international stamp of authenticity. Then comes a sworn translation into Spanish (€ 50-90 per document). Keep to the right order: first the document, then the apostille, then the translation.
De verhuizing
- Travel(estimate)€ 400 – € 900
This is the flight, one way Amsterdam-Panama City: a good ten hours, usually with one stopover. There is also an earlier trip to file the visa application. That belongs to the visa process and is counted there.
De eerste maanden
- The first months(estimate)€ 3.000 – € 7.000
This item consists of the deposit, rent in advance, temporary furnished living and the furnishing, all in dollars. Rents vary widely by region. A one-bedroom flat costs US$ 400-800 in Boquete or Coronado, from about US$ 1,100 in Panama City and double that in the premium districts. Count in the exchange-rate risk too: your income comes in euros, life runs in dollars.
And if you buy a house?
This calculation assumes renting: the first months include deposit and rent in advance.
If you buy, count on 2 to 5% of the purchase price on top of this amount. On a home of € 250,000 that's € 5.000 to € 12.500.
As buyer you mainly pay your own lawyer, the registration and the notarial settlement. Together that is usually a few per cent. The transfer tax of 2% is formally borne by the seller. The lawyer is no luxury here: the title check, finding out who really owns the property, is the core of the purchase. Never buy land without a title deed ("rights of possession"). And know that a purchased home of more than US$ 100,000 lowers the pensionado income requirement to US$ 750 per month.
An order of magnitude based on averages, not a quote. The real amounts depend on your occupation, your route, the season and dozens of choices you still have to make.
The rates in this calculation haven't been checked against the official sources yet.
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One thing you can sort out today
Closing down the Netherlands is the same work for everyone, wherever you're going. With the letter pack you enter your details once, and every cancellation and notification letter is ready: health insurance, rent, employer, bank, pension fund. Each comes with the date by which it has to go out. € 49 one-off, and it's also included in every plan.
In Vertrekklaar you get the complete picture of your own costs, with your route, your documents and your deadlines.
From range to your own budget
The calculator above works with four questions, but the journey itself knows more. In Vertrekklaar the same model calculates on your real situation: who's coming, and whether the household contents and the pet come along. It also watches the deadlines: the certificate-of-conduct question before the contract with the lawyer, the pet's certificate and notice, the thirty-day reference letter and the driving licence right after the cédula. A one-off € 399, no subscription.
Leaving with AOW or a pension? Compare how countries tax your pension
Every step on one list, free
Not ready to start yet? Then you get the departure checklist for Panama: every step in order, to print and tick off. With it, five mails in a week and a half about the pitfalls and the real costs. If the rules for Panama change, you'll hear about it. After that we ask once where your plans stand, send one offer, and now and then one thing that fits your moment. No newsletter, and you can switch it off at any time.
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