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A record 120,640 Canadians left the country in 2025, and housing costs, taxes, and immigration frustration are among the top reasons. Here’s why a growing share are choosing Panama, what the Qualified Investor Visa and territorial tax system mean for Canadian buyers, and how the cost of living actually compares between the two countries.
Panama’s Pensionado Visa approved a record 1,917 applications in 2024 at a 97% approval rate. Here’s what the $1,000-a-month pension requirement (or $750 with a qualifying property purchase) actually gets you, including permanent residency from day one and Law 6 discounts on healthcare, transportation, and dining.
Despite its “Panamá-David” name, Phase 1 of Panama’s new rail project stops at Divisa, not David. Its real centerpiece is a dry port and free trade zone in Capira tied to the Canal Railway, Corozal, and Balboa port, meaning the earliest real estate impact will land in Panama Oeste, not Chiriquí.
Pedasí and Playa Venao sit 30 minutes apart on Panama’s Azuero coast but serve completely different buyers. Here’s how the two markets actually compare on price, infrastructure, and return profile, plus what a new branded five-star development in Venao signals about where that market is headed.
Panama’s Superintendency of Banks issued Agreement 1-2026, formalizing digital ID verification and geolocation for remote bank account opening. Here’s what it means for expats still abroad, a simple guide to opening an account under the new rules, and how far Panama’s banking system has come since the days when moving money from the US could take days.
Tocumen International Airport is adding 10 new boarding gates in a $220 million terminal expansion and rebuilding both of its runways in a $56.9 million project, part of a broader push toward 30 million annual passengers by 2030 that strengthens the connectivity every region of Panama depends on.
Panama’s housing market split in two in 2025, with apartments growing 11.1% while houses and land fell 6.5%, and 2026 has opened with the strongest construction investment in five years, a 26% jump in Q1 permits, and developer projections of 38% more new homes sold this year than last.
Panama’s Ministry of Public Works is investing $1.2 billion in roads in 2026, including a 192-kilometer, 20-year Pan-American Highway partnership, and the plan touches Boquete, Cambutal, Coronado, Coclé, Santiago, and several other regions Casa Solution serves, directly targeting the one weak spot, infrastructure, in Panama’s otherwise chart-topping expat rankings.
President Mulino has announced a forthcoming tourism incentives law aimed at directing large private investment into Panama’s under-developed interior, using tax exemptions rather than the tax credits that drew controversy under the previous administration, with the bill headed to the Cabinet Council on August 4 before moving to the National Assembly.
For the third year running, Panama has been ranked the best country in the world for expats by InterNations’ Expat Insider 2026 survey, topping the Working Abroad and Personal Finance indices outright and posting some of the strongest satisfaction numbers of any country measured.
