Thread: 300,000 investment or...

Hi.

How would $300,000 be better spent in Panama (for economic solvency visa)... invested in a CD, or split between property and a CD...

or.... just spent for modest living at $1000/month and exiting the country every 6months to renew tourist visa?

Please feel free to offer opinions and reasons.

Not sure but how long are you interested in living in panama for? What kind of property would you like? I am also interested in the answer to your question. I am not sure how long I want to live in Panama and would like a 2 bed/2 bath in a decent building in PC.

Originally Posted by explorer

Hi.

How would $300,000 be better spent in Panama (for economic solvency visa)... invested in a CD, or split between property and a CD...

or.... just spent for modest living at $1000/month and exiting the country every 6months to renew tourist visa?

Please feel free to offer opinions and reasons.

Before you invest $300K have you been living here for awhile or have you lived in other Latin countries? Are you familiar enough with Panama to invest $300K?

The best would be to setup a pension fund outside Panama and get the pensionado visa instead.

Then you can enjoy (among other things):

30-50 % off all hotels. (30 on weekends)
50 % off entertainment such as movies.
About 20 % off all flights, domestic, to/from Panama.
25 % off restaurants.

It's really no point at this time to invest in 3 year CDs in Panama. Rates are superlow and you will have more gains from liquidity and ability to move fast on future bargains in the real estate market.

Originally Posted by explorer

Hi.

How would $300,000 be better spent in Panama (for economic solvency visa)... invested in a CD, or split between property and a CD...

or.... just spent for modest living at $1000/month and exiting the country every 6months to renew tourist visa?

Please feel free to offer opinions and reasons.

if you put the whole 3oo large in a 5 year CD you could expect to get 6-8 % . live on their money not yours , at 8%for example that is 24,000 a year , not sure in the city if that would go far as rent is a different ball game there but outside of the city you can live nice on 2 g a month , tax free . also take note , if you pull your money out of the CD or do not renew it when it comes due the self solvent visa ends , the money has to stay as long as you want the visa . not sure how it works if you have property and a CD . i would guess that if you sell the property you would have to reinvest or deposit it into a CD also . also note ,there is no deposit insurance in panama , but to be honest i believe that it a very safe country to do banking in , just try to get a credit card and you will understand , they dont lend money to dead beats like up north as they know there is no lender of last resort if they screw up . now if they would just go away from the USD before Ben drives it into the ground i would be 100% happy .

Originally Posted by MRWOOHOO

Before you invest $300K have you been living here for awhile or have you lived in other Latin countries? Are you familiar enough with Panama to invest $300K?

Nope and nope.
I was just reading about the various ways one might obtain second passports in Panama. Of course, I would actually visit for a few months before making a commitment to stay.

Then... $300,000... well...that is a decent chunk of loot...

Then pensionado is not an option. What do you need a second passport for? There several other countries where the requirements are lesser and it's both cheaper and faster. Even under the solvency visa it would take a loooooong time to get a passport.

Originally Posted by explorer

I was just reading about the various ways one might obtain second passports in Panama.

Originally Posted by EdBowers

Then pensionado is not an option. What do you need a second passport for? There several other countries where the requirements are lesser and it's both cheaper and faster. Even under the solvency visa it would take a loooooong time to get a passport.

i believe it is after 5 years you can get the passport Ed , or do they really drag it out after that waiting period ?

Originally Posted by explorer

Nope and nope.
I was just reading about the various ways one might obtain second passports in Panama. Of course, I would actually visit for a few months before making a commitment to stay.

Then... $300,000... well...that is a decent chunk of loot...

As you can see there are options to invest money here. Since you have a decent chunk of money I would not be in a rush to use it for the purpose of a visa. Maybe you are here 6 months to a year and then decide you want to try an adventure elsewhere? Don't get me wrong I think Panama is a good place to invest but this place is very transient and often people move here only to leave 6months to 1 year later.

Dont need a 2nd passport at all. Just reading about the options.
I am too young to collect soc. sec. or pension, and want to live outside the u.s. for various reasons... weather, slower pace of life, weather, women who don't behave like men, weather... and of course, stretching my dollar is always a good thing.

Oh... and weather.

Ed... once again you have piqued my curiosity. What countries?

It is easy to get the different options confused, but the pensionado program grants the applicant a right to reside in Panama as long as they wish, that is, their life. Qualifying is supposedly easy and relatively quick (maybe 90 days to process.) A pensionado visa does NOT give the applicant rights of a citizen or any right to a Panamanian passport. Also, having the pensionado visa does count towards the five-year period of residency required of other programs that MAY result in citizenship, such as "person of means" visa you mention solvencia economica propia), the investor visa (invesionista), the small business investor visa (invesionista de perquena empresa), and the reforestation visa (inversionista forestal). Typically, these latter mentioned programs confer permanent resident status immediately or in a very short period of time and a right to apply for citizenship after a specified period, usually five years. I have no idea how successful applicants are in obtaining citizenship under any of these programs. The reforestation program is probaby the least expensive outlay to get on a path to citizenship, but the program you refer to is good too because you own property that you can live in.

So, you need to first decide whether you are seeking only residency rights or whether you want the option of having rights as a citizen as well, including a Panamanian passport. The former is easy and cheap; the latter more involved and possibly more expensive depending on your own situation, including what you plan to buy in terms of a residence. (A down-side to the $300,000 program may be that the real estate or bank account or both must be in your individual name or possibly a Panamanian foundation of which you are identified as a beneficiary.

For those seeking "instant" citizenship with no residency or investment requirements (just a big fee to the government), check out (i) Commonwealth of Dominica [not the Dominican Republic] and (ii) Saint Christopher & Nevis (aka "St. Kitts"). The next best option is possibly the birth country of your parents or grandparents as many countries offer citizenship on less-rigorous requirements if your grandparents were born in the county.

I misspoke. I meant to say that the pensiado visa does NOT count towards the five-year period of residency required of visa programs that do lead to the right to apply for citizenship.

Expect a wait to get your Pensionado Visa. They issue the temp fairly quick but the permanent is taking a year according to my friend in PC.