Professional Services & Technology

In short: A foreign employee of a company holding a Multinational Headquarters (SEM) license does not apply for a separate work permit: Law 41 of 2007 created the Permanent Personnel Visa, processed at the Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MICI), which gives the right to work and live in Panama. The ID card lasts five years and can be renewed for the same period, unless the contract sets a shorter term. Family members have their own dependent visa. Last verified: 19 October 2026. Every fact links to its official source. Contents of this guide Which permit applies and who qualifies…

In short: The professional residence permit is a category of Panama's National Immigration Service for foreigners who hold a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, as long as the profession is not reserved to Panamanians by the Constitution or by law. The official form asks for the usual immigration documents, the degree apostilled or authenticated and, for a foreign degree, a homologation certificate. A provisional permit comes first, and the permanent one can be requested afterwards. Professions with their own law, such as engineering, architecture or health, also require their own licence. Last verified: 19 October 2026. Every fact links to…

In short: A person or company in Mexico can open an account at a Panamanian bank without living in Panama: for a foreigner, the banking rule treats the passport as the identity document. Being Mexican does not change the right to open one, but it shapes the file behind the profile: tax number, proof of income, origin of funds and, for a company, its incorporation and beneficial owner. Apostille is not in the rule, although each bank decides which foreign documents it wants apostilled. The final decision is always the bank's. Last verified: 19 October 2026. Each fact links to…

In short: Panama's Law 32 of 1927 requires a Board of Directors of at least three adults and a president, a secretary and a treasurer elected by that board. Directors do not have to be shareholders, and the law sets no nationality or residence for them. One person can hold several officer posts if the articles of incorporation or bylaws allow it, but the three directors must be different people. Liability toward creditors appears in article 64 and is limited to specific cases. Last verified: 19 October 2026. Every fact links to its official source. Contents of this guide How…

In short: Updated in October 2026. There is no single figure for how much electricity a business's air conditioning uses: it depends on equipment power, hours of use and condition. There is one weighty reference, though: according to a 2017 La Prensa report citing Panama's Energy Secretariat, air conditioners account for 42% of electricity demand in the commercial sector. According to the sources cited here, what raises the bill most is dirty or neglected equipment: dirty condensers and coils, filters left unchanged and maintenance only when something breaks. Contents of this guide How much air conditioning weighs in a business…

In short: Supreme Storage has four mini storage branches in Panama City: Costa del Este (Ave. Marina del Norte), Paitilla (Calle Ramón H. Jurado), Vía Brasil (next to the IDAAN) and Bella Vista (Calle 41 Este). According to the company website, all of them offer climate-controlled facilities, 24-hour security, humidity and pest control, covered parking and the same sizes, from 2 m² to more than 100 m². The practical choice depends on proximity to home or office and on the hours. Updated in October 2026. Contents of this guide The four branches compared Costa del Este Paitilla Vía Brasil Bella…

In short: A startup deciding where to set up in Panama compares five things: the legal regime of the base, support for incubation, access to public funds, the community it will work with and the real state of the building. Panama has official sources for each point: Law 32 of 2011 and MICI for free zones, and SENACYT for incubation and non-reimbursable funds. Innovation Smart District (ISD) presents itself on its website as an ecosystem with a free zone license inside Green Valley Panamá. Updated in October 2026. Contents of this guide Five criteria to compare The layers of Panama’s…

In short: Filing a travel insurance claim starts before the claim itself: in an emergency, local emergency services are called first and the assistance center second. Then come keeping original invoices and medical reports, filing the claim and waiting for an answer. According to the ASSA Travel website, claims analysts respond within the following 10 days. If the insurer does not resolve it, there is a route through the Superintendency of Insurance and Reinsurance. Information read in October 2026. Contents of this guide The right order Before the trip During the emergency Afterwards: documents and claim If the claim is…

In short: In several residency routes, Panama's National Immigration Service first grants a two-year provisional permit and, once that period has passed, the foreigner can apply for permanent residency with the same requirements as the initial application, except the criminal record certificate and the cheques. The card is issued by Immigration, and the optional cédula E by the Electoral Tribunal. Official Immigration forms reviewed in October 2026; fees and requirements should be confirmed with the institution before filing. Contents of this guide From provisional to permanent: the two-year rule How long the provisional lasts by route Steps to apply for…

In short: Updated in October 2026. Climate control in a Panama restaurant splits into three systems: kitchen exhaust, refrigeration (walk-in coolers and cold rooms) and dining room air. According to the Climatiza website, any of the three can keep the restaurant from operating, and exhaust carries the most risk because grease built up in hoods and ducts makes fires easier to start and spread. The reference cleaning schedule comes from the international standard NFPA 96 and runs from monthly to yearly depending on cooking volume. Contents of this guide The three systems in a restaurant Kitchen exhaust: hood, filters and…

In short: A storage unit makes sense when there is a gap between two stages of a move: an apartment handed over unfurnished, a new house that is not ready yet, a renovation that forces rooms to be emptied, or leaving the country with an uncertain return. According to the Supreme Storage website, these are the cases its mini storage units are meant for, with contracts for individuals starting at one month. Updated in October 2026. Contents of this guide When a storage unit makes sense The most common cases Which size for which move How to organise the move…

In short: An office in a Panama free zone is not chosen on space alone. A company moving in needs its own free zone company license, which the National Free Zones Commission approves within a maximum of ninety days, and one of the application documents is a certification from the zone's promoter authorizing the installation (Law 32 of 2011, articles 26 and 27). Innovation Smart District (ISD) states on its website that it holds a free zone license and that its first building, Marie Curie, offers space to create and work. Updated in October 2026. Contents of this guide What…