Panama
Visa & Immigration
Last verified August 15, 2026
Written for U.S. passport holders
Visa-Free Entry
- U.S. citizens (along with Canadians) get an especially generous entry: up to 180 days as a tourist, visa-free, under a reciprocity arrangement, roughly double what most nationalities receive elsewhere in Latin America.
- Make sure you get an entry stamp in your passport on arrival; it's your proof of when the 180-day clock started.
Extending or Overstaying
- Extensions beyond the initial 180 days are handled by Panama's National Migration Service (Servicio Nacional de Migración) and aren't guaranteed; if you want to stay longer, it's worth transitioning to an actual visa category (like the Remote Worker/Digital Nomad visa, see the Working Remotely page for Panama) before your 180 days run out.
The Gotcha
The 180-day tourist allowance is genuinely one of the longest visa-free stays a U.S. passport gets anywhere in this dataset, but it's easy to let that generosity lull you into not planning ahead. Overstaying still carries fines and can complicate future entries, and 180 days arrives faster than it sounds once you're settled in.
Sources
This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.
- Requisitos de Entrada / Visa Policy (Servicio Nacional de Migración, Panamá)