Retiring in Panama from Australia: costs, the pensionado visa, pension and health cover (2026)

Who Panama suits, and what to weigh up

Panama suits you if you have a pension that is paid for life and want permanent residence in a single step. Its pensionado permit asks for a lifetime pension of at least US$1,000 a month (about A$1,450), and Panama’s immigration service says the permit is indefinite and needs no extension. Prices are in US dollars, and Smartraveller says private hospitals are well equipped, though expensive.

Whether an Australian pension counts is unconfirmed. Panama’s rule says the pension must be granted for life. An account-based super pension pays only until the account runs out, and nothing official we found says how Panama treats the Age Pension. Until Panama answers in writing, the pensionado is a possibility for Australians rather than a plan.

Panama has no Medicare or social security agreement with Australia. Its public social security fund only takes new voluntary members under its own pension age. There’s no non-stop flight home, and Smartraveller advises a high degree of caution because of crime.

What a month costs

Our estimate for a month in Panama City is about A$5,350 for a couple and A$4,060 for one person, rent included.

A month in Panama City	Couple	One person
Rent, one-bedroom flat in the centre	A$1,890	A$1,890
Living costs (food, transport, bills)	A$2,230	A$1,240
Eating out, local trips and extras (30%)	A$1,230	A$930
Total	A$5,350	A$4,060

How a month in Panama compares

For a couple

Panama, our estimate

A$5,350

Comfortable in Australia

A$6,580

Age Pension, the most paid in Australia

A$4,040

About A$1,230 a month less than a comfortable month in Australia.

For one person

Panama, our estimate

A$4,060

Comfortable in Australia

A$4,680

Age Pension, the most paid in Australia

A$2,680

About A$620 a month less than a comfortable month in Australia.

Not built the same way: Australia's figure (ASFA Retirement Standard, comfortable, June quarter 2026) assumes you own your home and includes health insurance; our estimate for Panama includes rent and leaves health insurance out. Age Pension: the most paid in Australia from 20 September 2026; living overseas for good, the base rate is about A$3,710 a month for a couple and A$2,460 for one person.

Our estimate: Numbeo’s living costs for one person (without rent) plus a one-bedroom city-centre rent, plus 30% for eating out, local trips and extras. For a couple, living costs times 1.8. Converted at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s average exchange rate for the 12 months to September 2026 (A$1 = US$0.6919). Health insurance is not included. Panama’s banknotes are US dollars, so we use Numbeo’s US dollar figures, converted at the RBA’s average US dollar rate. Numbeo’s Panama City page, last updated 20 October 2026, puts living costs for one person at US$856 a month (about A$1,240) and a central one-bedroom flat at US$1,305 (about A$1,890).

Rent is more than a third of the total. On the same page Numbeo has Panama City’s living costs, before rent, about 36% below Melbourne’s, and its rents about 35% lower.

Against the Age Pension. After 12 weeks away, the most the pension pays is the base rate: about A$2,460 a month for one person and A$3,710 for a couple, before tax (rates from 20 September 2026). That leaves a couple about A$1,640 a month short of our Panama City estimate. One person is about A$1,600 short.

What costs more than you’d expect. Health cover sits outside our estimate. Smartraveller says private hospitals and clinics are very expensive and you’ll likely pay up front. Panama’s public fund, the Caja de Seguro Social, won’t take you as a new voluntary member once you are past its pension age. Past that age, cover means private insurance. Flights home are the other extra, and every trip means at least one change of planes.

La Estrella de Panamá reported in April 2026 that Panama’s retiree discount law covers retired foreign residents, with 25% off water and 25% off electricity up to a usage limit. Whether an Australian on a pensionado permit can use them is unconfirmed.

Renting long term. We couldn’t find an official Panamanian source on usual lease lengths or deposits, so we give no figures here. For a tax residence certificate, Panama’s tax office asks renters for a lease certified by a notary, plus utility bills in their own name. Before you sign, it helps to have the rent, the deposit, the notice period and who pays for repairs and power in writing.

Visas for Australians

Australians can visit for up to 90 days without a visa. Living there means a residence permit, and the one written for retirees is the pensionado.

Visiting. Smartraveller says you don’t need a visa if you arrive by air or land, and immigration officers can give an initial stay of 90 days. You need to show the equivalent of US$1,000 (about A$1,450) or a credit card, and a return or onward ticket. Fill in the online immigration and customs declaration when you arrive, and check that your passport gets an entry stamp. Smartraveller says leaving without one can mean a fine of up to US$1,000 (about A$1,450).

Staying longer: the pensionado permit. Panama’s immigration service, the Servicio Nacional de Migración, lists what it wants:

What the rule says	Amount	About, in A$
A pension from a foreign government, an international organisation or a private company, granted for life	at least 1,000 balboas (US$1,000) a month	A$1,450
Each dependant	another 250 balboas a month	A$360
If you bought a property in Panama in your own name for more than 100,000 balboas (about A$145,000)	the pension can be 750 balboas a month	A$1,080

The balboa is Panama’s own unit and is valued the same as the US dollar. Amounts in A$ are at the RBA’s 12-month average rate. Article 200 of the rules, printed on the checklist, also asks that you have enough money to cover all your living costs in Panama, and your dependants’ too. The checklist lets spouses add both pensions together to reach the 1,000 balboas (about A$1,450); de facto partners can ask the embassy how they’re treated. It says the permit is indefinite and needs no extension.

What the checklist asks for. The immigration service’s checklist for the permit, uploaded in April 2026, lists:

1. a notarised power of attorney, giving your parents’ names and nationality, and the application
2. three photos
3. a certified copy of your passport
4. a police certificate and a health certificate
5. a sworn statement of your personal history, on Panama’s form
6. a certificate showing you receive a pension for life of at least 1,000 balboas a month (about A$1,450)
7. for each dependant, proof of another 250 balboas a month (about A$360), from a second pension or a reference from a bank in Panama
8. the Public Registry certificate for your property, if you are using the property rule

A pension paid by a private company needs three more papers: a letter from the foreign company that manages the money, proof that the paying company exists, and a payment slip or bank statement.

The checklist doesn’t list a fee, an age limit or a processing time. A power of attorney lets someone in Panama act for you. A licensed lawyer in Panama can tell you how filing works now, what it costs and how long decisions are taking.

Does an Australian pension count? Panama’s rule says the pension must be granted for life (“vitalicia”). Nothing official we found says whether the Age Pension or an Australian super pension meets that test, so treat it as unconfirmed. DFAT says Panama has had an embassy in Canberra since 2018. The embassy, Panama’s immigration service or a licensed lawyer in Panama can say whether your pension counts, and which papers they would accept as proof. Our guide to retirement visas by age compares other countries’ rules.

Discounts for retirees. Panama’s Law 6 of 1987 sets discounts that businesses must give retirees and pensioners. La Estrella de Panamá reported in 2026 that they apply to foreign residents who are retired, as well as to women from 55 and men from 60. The list it gave includes 20% off medical consultations and medicines, 25% off airline tickets and 50% off cinema tickets. Whether an Australian on a pensionado permit can use each discount is a question for a lawyer in Panama.

A partner, and family. The checklist sets no minimum age. Children who depend on you get a temporary permit only, until 25 and only while studying full time, unless they have a proven severe disability. The embassy or a lawyer in Panama can say how a partner who isn’t drawing a pension yet would apply.

Documents to get in Australia before you go. The checklist asks for a police certificate and a health certificate. Questions for the embassy: which country’s police certificate Panama wants, and whether each paper needs an apostille or a Spanish translation. An Australian Federal Police national police check costs A$57, and the AFP says most online checks arrive within a few days. One with fingerprints costs A$114 and takes 15 to 30 business days. Panama and Australia have both signed the Hague Apostille Convention, and DFAT issues apostilles on Australian public documents, at an Australian Passport Office by appointment or by mail.

Your Age Pension and Medicare in Panama

Services Australia says your Age Pension can keep paying overseas. After 6 weeks the Energy Supplement stops and your Pensioner Concession Card is cancelled. The Pension Supplement stops at 12 weeks (since 20 September 2026). After 26 weeks it is paid at a proportional rate if you lived in Australia less than 35 years between age 16 and pension age. See the 6, 12 and 26-week rules.

Panama isn’t a social security agreement country. Services Australia’s list for the Americas has only Canada, Chile and the USA. That means you need to claim the Age Pension before you leave, while you still live in Australia. If you move overseas for good, you get the base rate only from the day you leave: A$29,520.40 a year single, A$44,506.80 for a couple.

Medicare never pays for treatment overseas, and Panama is not one of Australia’s 11 reciprocal health care countries. An Australian citizen who moves overseas can still use Medicare on visits home for up to 5 years, and visits don’t restart that clock. For permanent residents, enrolment ends 12 months after they leave. See Medicare overseas.

Health care and insurance

You pay for all of your care in Panama. Smartraveller says public medical facilities in Panama City are reasonable, but limited in smaller towns and the countryside. Private hospitals and clinics are well equipped and very expensive, and you’ll likely pay up front and claim later. If you’re seriously ill or injured, Smartraveller says you’ll need a medical evacuation to the United States.

Panama’s public insurance. The Caja de Seguro Social (CSS) runs Panama’s social security, health care included. Its affiliation rules, as published in 2020, let a foreigner join as a voluntary member with a declared income of at least 500 balboas a month (about A$720) and proof of address. You also sit the CSS medical examinations, and foreigners pay their full cost. A first-time voluntary member must be under the CSS old-age pension age. If you are past that age when you apply, you can’t join. The CSS can say what applies to you.

What is where. Panama City has both public and private hospitals. Outside it, care thins out. In Chiriquí, the province with Boquete and David, Panama’s Ministry of Health counts 120 first-level health centres and 3 second-level hospitals. It says the doctors are concentrated in David, in its two regional hospitals, and some centres are an hour or more from their district’s main town. For Coronado we couldn’t confirm the nearest hospital from an official source.

When care means travelling. From Boquete, the regional hospitals are in David, about 50 minutes by road. From Coronado, Panama City is about 2 hours by road. Serious illness or injury means evacuation to the United States, Smartraveller says. Panama’s embassy can say whether a medicine you take daily is legal there. Our guide to taking medicines overseas has the Australian side.

For a long visit, Smartraveller says your travel insurance must cover all medical costs overseas, including evacuation. If you live there, the usual type is international health insurance. Our guide to international health insurance by age covers the age limits. Questions to ask: the oldest age you can join, whether cover continues as you get older, whether evacuation to the US is included and whether the insurer pays a Panama hospital directly. If you’d like help working out where to start, book a free planning session on Zoom.

Smartraveller also says yellow fever is widespread and to get vaccinated before you travel. Dengue, zika and chikungunya are risks too. Malaria is a year-round risk in Bocas del Toro, Darien and San Blas, but not in Panama City.

Where Australians live

There is no official count of where Australians settle in Panama. Here are four to compare, with rough driving times from Panama City.

Area	What it’s like	From Panama City	Hospital	Airport
Panama City	The capital, on the Pacific; our cost base	Long-distance buses leave from the Albrook terminal	Public and private hospitals	Tocumen International
Boquete	A hilly mountain valley in Chiriquí, 12°C to 30°C	About 7 hours by road, or fly to David	Regional hospitals in David, about 50 minutes	David, about 50 minutes
David	The capital of Chiriquí province	About 6 hours by road or bus; flights from Panama City	Two regional hospitals	Enrique Malek International
Coronado	A beach town on the Pacific Riviera	About 2 hours by road (88 km)	None we could confirm; Panama City about 2 hours	Panama City’s airports

Panama City has the main hospitals and the international airport at Tocumen. Our costs are based here. Smartraveller lists crime hotspots in the city, including the old town, Casco Viejo.

Boquete is a wooded valley in the mountains of Chiriquí, near the Costa Rican border. Panama’s tourism authority calls it one of the coolest places in the country, at 12°C to 30°C. You can fly to David and drive about 50 minutes, or take the bus from Albrook to David in about 6 hours.

David is Chiriquí’s capital, with the province’s airport and its two regional hospitals. The Ministry of Health says Chiriquí’s doctors are concentrated here.

Coronado is a beach town about 88 kilometres west of Panama City. The tourism authority calls its beach the most developed on the Pacific Riviera, with sand that runs from white to volcanic black.

If you are comparing Central America, see our pages on Costa Rica and Mexico.

Renting or buying a home

Foreigners can buy property in Panama, with one limit near the borders. Panama’s list of exceptions in its trade agreement with Peru cites Articles 290 and 291 of the 1972 Constitution. A foreign national can’t own real property within 10 kilometres of Panama’s borders. Neither can a Panamanian company owned partly or wholly by foreigners. Chiriquí, home to Boquete and David, borders Costa Rica, so how far a property sits from the border is worth checking early.

Property and the pensionado are linked. Buying in your own name for more than 100,000 balboas (about A$145,000) lowers the pension the permit needs to 750 balboas a month (about A$1,080). The checklist then asks for the property’s certificate from the Public Registry, the office where Panama records who owns what. Panama’s tax office accepts the same certificate as proof of your home when you apply for a tax residence certificate.

Before any money changes hands, the person to ask is a property lawyer in Panama. They can check the title at the Public Registry, any debts on it and the distance to the border. Our guide to overseas property and visa scams covers the warning signs. For the Australian side, see whether to keep, rent or sell the family home.

Tax: there and at home

Panama’s tax office, the Dirección General de Ingresos (DGI), sets out the residency test in its Resolution 201-0354 of 13 January 2016, quoting Article 762-N of Panama’s Fiscal Code. You are tax resident if you stay in Panama more than 183 days, in a row or not, in a tax year or in the year before. You are also resident if you have set up your permanent home there.

The DGI reads “permanent home” as the centre of your economic or family interests. Having a home to use, owned or rented, doesn’t make you resident on its own if you have no personal tie to it. A tax lawyer’s column in La Prensa reported in December 2024 that the resolution still applies.

The DGI issues tax residence certificates. It asks for a notarised copy of your passport, proof of your home, utility bills in your name and the immigration service’s record of your entries and exits. It says a decision takes about 3 months.

Australia has no tax treaty with Panama. Panama isn’t on Treasury’s list of income tax treaties (updated 24 March 2026), and the DGI’s own list of 17 treaties doesn’t include Australia. So there are no treaty rules on which country taxes which income.

At home, the ATO’s residency tests decide whether you are still an Australian resident for tax; our guide to tax residency when you retire overseas walks through them. As a foreign resident you lose the tax-free threshold, so Australian income such as rent is taxed at 30% from the first dollar (2025-26), as the foreign resident tax rates show. Sell your Australian home while you are a foreign resident and, for sales after 30 June 2020, you generally lose the main residence exemption from capital gains tax, apart from narrow life events.

Talk to a registered tax agent in Australia, and to a tax adviser in Panama about how it treats your pension and super, before you go.

Money and banking

Panama’s own unit is the balboa, valued the same as the US dollar, and its banknotes are US dollars. Prices are in dollars, so you are always spending a currency other than the one your pension comes in.

Your pension. Services Australia decides how and where it pays you while you are away, and whether an overseas account is an option. Our guide to living overseas on the Age Pension has the rules and the numbers.

A local account. The pensionado checklist accepts a reference from a bank in Panama as proof of the extra money for a dependant. That puts a local account on the list early for some couples. Panama’s banks each set their own rules for foreign customers, so the bank itself can tell you what it needs.

Moving money. The main options are a transfer from your Australian bank, a currency transfer service, or cash from an ATM on an Australian card. Each charges a fee and builds a margin into its exchange rate; ask for both.

Currency swings. At the RBA’s 12-month average rate, US$1,000 is about A$1,450; if the Australian dollar fell 10%, it would cost about A$1,610.

Day to day

Language. Panama’s official forms are in Spanish, the pensionado checklist and the tax office’s pages among them, so paperwork usually means Spanish or a translator. Smartraveller says doctors may only speak Spanish.

Getting around without driving. Long-distance buses leave from the Albrook terminal in Panama City; David is about 6 hours away. The tourism authority says flights also run from Panama City’s airports to David.

Driving. Smartraveller says that to drive in Panama you need your passport and an Australian driver’s licence. La Prensa reports that foreign residents applying for a Panamanian licence need a current migration card and a valid passport. Permanent residents also need their foreigner’s identity card. Anyone 70 or over needs a certificate of physical and mental health, from a specialist in internal medicine or geriatrics, no more than six months old. Panama’s embassy can say how long you may drive on an Australian licence before you need a local one.

Safety. Smartraveller advises a high degree of caution in Panama overall because of crime. It says do not travel to the Darien Gap beyond Yaviza or to the Mosquito Gulf, and it lists crime hotspots in Panama City, including Casco Viejo. Read the current advice before each trip.

Weather. Panama’s climate centre says the Panama City area is rainy from May to November, December is a changeover month, and the dry season runs from January to mid-April. October is the wettest month. A short dry spell often comes in July, which Panamanians call the “veranillo”. The heat changes little across the year:

Month in Panama City	Average high	Average low	Rain
January	34°C	20°C	26 mm
February	34°C	19°C	10 mm
March	35°C	20°C	15 mm
April	35°C	20°C	70 mm
May	35°C	22°C	233 mm
June	34°C	22°C	238 mm
July	34°C	22°C	177 mm
August	34°C	22°C	220 mm
September	33°C	22°C	247 mm
October	33°C	22°C	330 mm
November	33°C	21°C	252 mm
December	33°C	20°C	99 mm

Figures: Tocumen weather station, on the city’s outskirts, 1977 to 2010, from the climate centre of Panama’s power transmission company, published by Panama’s meteorology institute. Boquete, up in the hills, runs from 12°C to 30°C.

Public holidays. La Estrella de Panamá reported 2026’s official calendar. Carnival runs for several days, but only Carnival Tuesday (17 February in 2026) is a national holiday. November has four: 3, 5, 10 and 28 November, the patriotic days that mark separation from Colombia and independence from Spain.

Getting there and coming home

There are no direct flights between Australia and Panama, so expect at least one stop and a full day of travel or more. If you change planes in the United States, Smartraveller says you must meet US entry or transit rules, even if you only pass through Hawaii. Changing in Canada needs a Canadian Electronic Travel Authorisation. You also pay a departure tax at Tocumen airport, which may already be in your ticket.

Panama doesn’t change its clocks. It is 15 hours behind Sydney and Melbourne in our winter and 16 hours behind in our daylight saving. A 7pm call from Panama reaches Sydney at 10 or 11 the next morning.

Your first steps

One order that works, from a first visit to living there. Yours depends on your health, your home and your money.

1. Ask for help first. Book a free planning session on Zoom, or contact our team. Once we understand your situation, we can point you in the right direction.
2. Talk it over with your partner and family early. Our guide to talking to your family has ways to start.
3. Visit in the dry season and the rainy one, and spend time outside Panama City. See trying before you move.
4. Ask Panama’s embassy in Canberra, or a licensed lawyer in Panama, whether your pension counts as a pension for life. Some people ask for the answer in writing. Our guide to retirement visas by age compares other countries.
5. Check what happens to your pension at 6, 12 and 26 weeks. If you haven’t claimed it yet, the claim has to be made while you live in Australia.
6. Find out what health cover you can get at your age, including evacuation to the US. Start with travel insurance for long stays.
7. Work out what happens to the house, and whether it counts for the pension while you are away.
8. Get your police check, and any apostilles and translations Panama wants, done while you are in Australia. See our visa guides.
9. Some people rent short before signing a lease. A notarised lease and utility bills in your name are what Panama’s tax office asks to see later.
10. If Panama confirms your pension counts, a licensed lawyer in Panama files the pensionado application with the checklist’s papers. Our guide to overseas property and visa scams covers the warning signs.
11. Tell Services Australia you are leaving, and set up how your pension will be paid. See living overseas on the Age Pension.
12. Find the nearest hospital that handles emergencies, and know how you’d pay for an evacuation. See international health insurance by age.
13. Know your way back: coming home covers your pension and Medicare.

Questions people ask

Can Australians retire in Panama?

You can visit for 90 days without a visa. To live there, the pensionado permit needs a pension granted for life of at least US$1,000 a month (about A$1,450). Whether an Australian pension counts is a question for Panama’s embassy or a licensed lawyer in Panama.

How much money do you need to retire in Panama?

Our estimate for a month in Panama City is about A$5,350 for a couple and A$4,060 for one person, rent included. Health insurance is extra. That is more than the Age Pension’s base rate, which is what is paid after 12 weeks away.

What are the Panama retirement visa requirements?

Panama’s immigration service asks for a pension granted for life of at least 1,000 balboas (US$1,000) a month (about A$1,450). It also wants a police certificate, a health certificate, a certified passport copy and a notarised power of attorney. Buying property worth more than 100,000 balboas (about A$145,000) lowers the pension needed to 750 balboas (about A$1,080).

Is there an age limit for Panama’s retirement visa?

The immigration service’s checklist sets no minimum age. What matters is a pension paid for life of at least US$1,000 a month (about A$1,450). Retiree discounts under Panama’s Law 6 of 1987 are reported to start at 55 for women and 60 for men.

What are the Panama pensionado visa benefits and discounts?

The immigration service says the permit is indefinite and needs no extension. La Estrella de Panamá reported in 2026 that retiree discounts by law cover foreign residents who are retired, including 20% off medical consultations and 25% off airline tickets. A lawyer in Panama can confirm which apply to you.

Does the Age Pension count for Panama’s pensionado visa?

We couldn’t find an official answer. Panama asks for a pension granted for life from a government, an international organisation or a private company. Ask Panama’s embassy in Canberra or a licensed lawyer in Panama before you plan around it.

Is it safe to retire in Panama?

Smartraveller advises a high degree of caution in Panama overall because of crime. It says do not travel to the Darien Gap beyond Yaviza or to the Mosquito Gulf. Panama City, Boquete, David and Coronado are not in those areas, but read the current advice before you go.

Does Medicare cover me in Panama?

No. Panama has no reciprocal health care agreement with Australia. Smartraveller says you need travel insurance for a visit, covering all medical costs including evacuation, and the usual cover for living there is international health insurance.