Living and working in Panama: daily life for families

Work and pay

A day shift can last up to eight hours, and a work week up to 48. Overtime costs your employer a 25 percent surcharge by day and 50 percent at night. After every 11 months with the same employer you earn 30 days of paid vacation, and on top of your salary comes the thirteenth month, paid in three parts during the year.

Overtime

Time beyond those limits is overtime. Your employer adds 25 percent to your hourly pay for daytime overtime and 50 percent at night.

Vacation

Thirty days of paid rest for each 11 months in a row with your employer, one day for every 11 days on the job. If you end up in hospital while on vacation, those days do not count as vacation.

Your contract

Read your contract slowly: the Labor Code sets the floor, and a contract can only improve on it, never take it away.

Your hours, by the Labor Code

Shift	Longest day	Longest week
Day	8 hours	48 hours
Night	7 hours	42 hours
Mixed	7.5 hours	45 hours

Seven night hours, or seven and a half mixed hours, are paid as eight day hours when the minimum wage is worked out.

Labor Code, articles 31 and 33, compilation published by the Judiciary

The thirteenth month

Panama pays a thirteenth month: one extra month of salary a year, split into three payments. The usual dates are April 15, August 15 and December 15. Each payment covers the four months before it, so if you start mid year you receive a share for the months you worked.

First part: April 15
Second part: August 15
Third part: December 15

Cabinet Decree 221 of 1971 on the thirteenth month, as explained by La Estrella de Panamá, press

What comes off your pay slip

Every employee pays into the Social Security Fund, CSS. The worker share is 9.75 percent of salary and, since April 2025, the employer pays 13.25 percent, rising in steps to 15.25 percent in 2029. Being on the payroll is what opens the CSS clinics and hospitals to you and your family.

We read these rates in the press and in the CSS announcement it quotes; the consolidated text of Law 51 of 2005 with the 2025 reform is not yet in our hands.

TVN, the CSS on employer contributions after Law 462 of 2025, press

The days the office is closed

Article 46 of the Labor Code gives every worker twelve paid days off a year, in companies and in government alike: nine celebrations and three days of mourning. An election year adds the day the new president is sworn in. November alone has four of them, so plan deadlines and trips with care.

November, a short work month

Four paid days off land in November, and two more days in between are working days on which many public offices still close. If you need a signature from Immigration, the Ministry of Labor or a notary that month, book it for the first or the last week.

Paid day off by law
Working day, but many public offices close

November 2026

1
2All Souls
3Separation
4Flag Day
5Colón Day
6
7
8
9
10First Cry
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28Independence
29
30

Nov 2All Souls’ Day, a working day
Nov 3Separation from Colombia, 1903
Nov 4Flag Day, a working day
Nov 5Colón Day, 1903
Nov 10First Cry of Independence in La Villa de Los Santos, 1821
Nov 28Independence from Spain, 1821

Law 55 of 2001, amending article 46 of the Labor Code

The twelve paid days off in 2026

Date	2026	What it marks	Kind
January 1	Thursday	New Year’s Day	Celebration
January 9	Friday	The flag protests of January 9, 1964, in the Canal Zone	Mourning
Carnival Tuesday	February 17	Carnival	Celebration
Good Friday	April 3	Holy Week	Mourning
May 1	Friday	Labor Day	Celebration
November 3	Tuesday	Separation from Colombia, 1903	Celebration
November 5	Thursday	Colón Day, 1903	Celebration
November 10	Tuesday	First Cry of Independence, 1821	Celebration
November 28	Saturday	Independence from Spain, 1821	Celebration
December 8	Tuesday	Mother’s Day	Celebration
December 20	Sunday	Victims of the 1989 invasion	Mourning
December 25	Friday	Christmas Day	Celebration

When a day off jumps to Monday

November 28

If it lands on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, the day off moves to the Monday before; on a Thursday or a Friday, to the Monday after. This year it is a Saturday, so the calendar stays as it is.

January 9

It stays on its date every year. Law 118 of 2013 ended the old habit of moving it to Monday.

Long weekends by decree

The government can move other days off to a Monday by decree, and the original date turns into a normal working day. These decrees usually come out a few days ahead, so watch the news.

A day off on Sunday

No rule we found moves a day off that falls on a Sunday, as December 20 does in 2026.

Days that look like holidays but are not

November 2: All Souls’ Day. Many public offices close.
November 4: Flag Day, in the middle of patriotic week.
Holy Thursday: A working day, but some public offices close.
December 24 and 31: Working days. Some public bodies, such as the Superintendency of Banks, close their own offices.
District days: Every district celebrates its founding, and public offices there close. The Ministry of Government publishes the dates each year.

Each private bank decides whether to open on a national day off, under a Superintendency of Banks rule, so look up your branch before you go.

Banks, Yappy and paying

Your salary is paid in US dollars, the money Panama has used since 1904, and price tags say balboas, worth one dollar each. Most employers pay into a local bank account, and once you have one you can join Yappy, the phone payment everybody uses.

Dollars on your pay slip

The US dollar has been legal tender here since a monetary agreement with the United States signed on June 20, 1904.

Coins, never notes

The Constitution bans paper money that people must accept, so Panama has no banknotes of its own. It does mint balboa coins.

Reading a price

B/. 20.00 is twenty dollars. US coins and Panamanian coins of the same size share the same value and mix freely in your change.

Yappy, the way people pay each other

Yappy sends dollars from one phone number to another in seconds. Colleagues split lunch with it, landlords collect the rent with it and the school bake sale takes it too; Banco General counts more than 34,000 businesses that accept it. The company behind it, Yappy, S.A., is not a bank: your money never leaves your own account, Yappy just moves it for you.

Paying by phone in three steps

1
Get a local account
Yappy only links to an account in your own name and checks that it is yours.
Its terms say nothing about foreigners without a Panamanian ID card, so the real question is whether your bank opens the account.
2
Activate it
Some banks do it inside their own app, others through the Yappy app; the table shows which.
3
Send
Choose a contact or type a mobile number, write the amount in dollars and confirm.

The eight banks that offer Yappy

Bank	Where you activate it
Banco General	In the bank’s app
St. Georges Bank	In the bank’s app
Banisi	In the bank’s app
Banistmo	Yappy app or the bank’s app
Caja de Ahorros	Yappy app
Credicorp Bank	Yappy app
Davivienda	Yappy app
MetroBank	Yappy app

What Yappy costs

Personal payments carry no Yappy fee, though your bank may charge for its own channels.
If you receive more than 50 payments worth over US$10,000 across several months, Yappy treats you as a business and keeps 1 percent of each payment plus ITBMS, the sales tax, with a minimum of US$0.02.
If you open a business, Yappy asks a foreigner for a business notice and, with a personal account, a Banco General savings account.

Opening your bank account

Start by asking your employer which bank it pays salaries into, since that is where your money will land each month. The national rule changed in 2026. Acuerdo 1 of the Superintendency of Banks replaced Acuerdo 10 of 2015 and made the passport the identity document for a foreign client, with copies of the photo page and the entry stamp, or the residence card or E cédula once you have it. Banks also ask for the tax number of the country where you pay taxes and for proof of income, such as your job contract or pay slips. The rule itself requires no reference letter; if a bank asks for one, that is its own policy.

Superintendency of Banks, Acuerdo 1 of 2026, articles 16, 18, 20 and 54

Bank	What it asks a foreigner	To open
Banco General	Passport or E cédula; a tie with Panama if you have no cédula, such as your job; proof of income	From US$1
Banistmo	Non-residents: original passport with the entry stamp; proof of income as assessed; at a branch	US$10
BAC	Passport plus an Immigration card or a work permit; proof of income	US$50
Caja de Ahorros	Passport or E cédula, provisional Immigration card, proof of income, a lease and a utility bill in your name	US$100 for foreigners
Banco Nacional	Requirements given in person at a branch	B/. 5,000 for foreigners

Your phone at the till

In Panama City you can pay for coffee, groceries and the Metro by tapping your phone or card. Apple and Google both list Panama as a country where their wallets work, and local banks joined one by one. Visa has told the press that contactless payments are now most in-person card payments here, though it does not publish those figures itself. At the Metro turnstiles marked Visa or Mastercard, tap in and out with the same card or phone.

Bank	Apple Pay	Google Pay
Banco General	Visa and Mastercard, credit and debit	All Visa credit cards; Mastercard and Visa debit coming
BAC	Listed by Apple	Credit and debit cards
Caja de Ahorros	-	Visa and Mastercard, credit and debit, purchases only
Global Bank	-	Credit cards
Credicorp Bank	-	Credit, debit and prepaid
St. Georges Bank, Banesco, Ficohsa, CMF	Listed by Apple	-

Tips go on a separate line

By law a tip is your choice. A restaurant can suggest one, normally 10 percent, but the bill has to show the total first and the suggested tip below it on its own line. Only services hired in advance, such as catering for a work event, may include a fixed tip. If one is forced on you, keep the receipt and complain to Acodeco, the consumer authority.

Carry a few dollars in cash for the market, the corner fonda, taxis and the “biencuidado” who keeps an eye on parked cars. We found no official count of shops that take cards.

Law 45 of 2007, article 56, as replaced by Law 34 of 2016

Lunch near the office · B/.

Arroz con pollo7.00

Patacones3.00

Chicha de maracuyá2.00

Total12.00

Suggested tip, 10 percent1.20

With tip13.20

The tip has its own line, and the choice is yours.

Your daily commute

Panama City runs two Metro lines and a branch to Tocumen airport, and a Line 1 ride costs B/. 0.35. If you live near a station, the train beats the traffic on most mornings. If you drive, expect the roads in and out of the city to be busiest from about 6 to 8 a.m. and again after 2 p.m.

Line 1

AlbrookSan Isidro

14 stations · about 16 km · about 26 minutes

Begins at the national bus terminal

Line 2

San MiguelitoNuevo Tocumen

16 stations · 21 km, elevated

Transfer to Line 1 at San Miguelito

Airport branch

Corredor SurAeropuerto

A train every 10 minutes

Then a shuttle bus to Terminals 1 and 2

Line 3, a monorail to Panamá Oeste across the Canal, is being built, which matters if you look for a home in Arraiján or La Chorrera.

Fares

Ticket	Price	Note
Line 1 ride	B/. 0.35	Executive Decree 367 of 2014
Line 1 ride, seniors, retirees, pensioners and people with disabilities	B/. 0.24	With a personalized card
Metro card	US$2.00	Sold by the machines at every station
Ride on both lines to the airport	US$0.85	Airport guide, March 2023

Top up your card at the station machines or at outside sales points. The Metro also reads MetroBus and RapiPass cards, and at turnstiles with the Visa and Mastercard logos a contactless bank card works on its own.

Metro hours

Monday to Friday: 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Saturday: 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Sundays and days off: 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Metro de Panamá, questions

A reduced fare for your parents

Friendly Nations residents can bring dependent parents. Once they hold a residence card and reach the senior age set by Law 6 of 1987, they can ride Line 1 for B/. 0.24 with a personalized card, which costs US$4.00 with registration. They bring a copy of a current Metro, MetroBus or RapiPass card showing its number, plus their address and phone number, and:

Senior, foreign resident: Copy of the residence card, both sides
Senior, Panamanian: Copy of the cédula, both sides
Retiree or pensioner in Panama: Copy of the cédula and the Social Security card

MetroBus

City buses take a prepaid card, bought empty and topped up at ticket offices or from online banking. One tap gives you 150 minutes of travel with two free transfers, day and night. MiBus publishes a school fare, useful if your children ride to class.

Corridor buses: B/. 0.75
Trunk buses: B/. 0.25
Trunk to corridor transfer: B/. 0.50
Children under 4: Free

Rush hour by car

Telemetro, ATTT plan for Panamá Oeste traffic, February 25, 2026, press

To the airport by Metro

1
Line 2
Take it towards Nuevo Tocumen and step off at Corredor Sur.
2
Airport branch
Switch trains; one comes every 10 minutes.
3
Shuttle bus
From Aeropuerto station, a bus runs to Terminals 1 and 2.

Metro de Panamá, airport branch guide, March 2023

Buses to the rest of the country

Long distance buses leave from Albrook, beside the first station of Line 1, for David, Bocas del Toro, Santiago, Penonomé, El Valle de Antón, Las Tablas and most of the interior. There is no official timetable for the terminal; each company posts its own times at its counter.

Metro de Panamá, Line 1

Taxis and ride apps

We could not read an official taxi fare table: the Transit Authority’s fare lookup did not open from outside its network when we checked. Agree the fare before you get in. In March 2026 the Authority said fares may not go up and that any unilateral rise has no legal effect; complaints go to 311. The rules for apps such as Uber and InDrive are being rewritten after a 2026 decree on them was repealed four days later, so we cannot tell you their legal status today.

Domestic flights

Airline	From	Scheduled flights to	Charter only
Air Panama	Albrook, Marcos A. Gelabert	David, Changuinola, Isla Colón, Bocas del Toro, Chitré	Contadora, Pedasí, Guna Yala, Isla San José, Bahía Piña, Jaqué, Puerto Obaldía
Copa Airlines	Tocumen	David	-

Renting a family home

Home leases fall under Law 93 of 1973, although since 1995 most terms of a new lease are whatever you and the landlord agree.

A short list of rules still protects every tenant: a written lease filed with the Housing Ministry, a one-month deposit held by the State, the right to leave early with 30 days’ notice, and no refusal because of your nationality or because you have children.

Law 93 of 1973 is the lease law, and it set up the Directorate of Leases inside the Housing Ministry, MIVIOT. Executive Decree 7 of 1995 freed new leases of empty private homes from most of that law, so your contract decides most things. Only articles 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 16, 19, 65, 66 and 68 still bind, and the Supreme Court confirmed the decree in 2000. Read every clause before you sign, above all the ones about repairs, renewal and the rent increase.

Five rules that protect every tenant

Article 5

A written lease

On the form of the Directorate of Leases.

Article 6

Filed within five days

Within five business days the landlord must file a copy at the Housing Ministry. Late filing brings him a sanction, but your lease is still valid.

Article 13

One month of deposit

Held by the State, not by the landlord.

Article 10

Leave when you need to

Any time, with at least 30 calendar days of written notice. Useful if your job moves you.

Article 4

No discrimination

A landlord may not turn you away for your nationality, your age, your race, your sex, your marital status, your beliefs or your children.

Law 93 of 1973 on leases, consolidated text

Where your deposit goes

1
You pay it
One month of rent, as the law asks of every tenant.
2
The State keeps it
Through Banco Nacional or Caja de Ahorros, never in the landlord’s account.
3
The lease ends
To keep any of it, the landlord has to prove unpaid rent or damage before the Directorate of Leases.
4
You get it back
With interest, unless he proves his claim.

Law 259 of 2021, article 13 of Law 93, the deposit

Moving out early

The term you sign binds the landlord, not you. If a transfer or a new school changes your plans, send written notice at least 30 calendar days before you leave, or the landlord may keep part or all of the deposit. A signed and dated letter, with a copy for you, is the safest proof.

Law 93 of 1973 on leases, consolidated text

Power, water, phone and internet

With your passport you can put the power, the water and a prepaid phone line in your name. Fast fixed internet is normal in the cities, which helps if you work remotely part of the week, but check the signal before you rent a beach house or a farm. If your parents live with you, Panamanian law gives seniors 25 percent off several bills.

25%

Electricity

On up to 600 kWh a month; anything above is billed at the normal rate.

25%

Water

On up to B/. 30 of water a month, for the home, with the account in the senior’s name.

25%

Home phone

On the fixed charge of one home line. The law says nothing about mobile or internet plans.

These discounts are for seniors as Law 6 of 1987 defines them, Panamanian or foreign residents, and for retirees and pensioners. A dependent parent with a residence card fits; you, at working age, usually do not. The bill has to be in the parent’s name.

Internet for remote work

69.9%occupied homes with internet, 2023 census
96%people in mobile coverage, 68% of the land
287 Mbpsmedian fixed download, September 2026
51 Mbpsmedian mobile download, September 2026

The 2023 census found internet in seven of every ten occupied homes, and far fewer outside the capital. Mobile signal reaches 96 percent of the people but only 68 percent of the land, so a house in the hills can sit in a dead zone. In the cities fixed internet is quick: about a quarter of fixed connections are fibre and most of the rest are cable. Commercial 5G is still on its way; the regulator expects it at the end of 2026 or early 2027, while Más Móvil already runs a 5G layer over its 4G network in much of Panama City, the press reports.

Homes with internet, by province

Province	Homes with internet, 2023	Where people settle
Panamá	80.4%	Panama City, Costa del Este, Clayton
Panamá Oeste	78.2%	Panamá Pacífico, Arraiján, Coronado
Chiriquí	69.7%	David, Boquete
Los Santos	59.8%	Pedasí, Las Tablas
Coclé	56.3%	Penonomé, El Valle
Bocas del Toro	49.4%	Bocas town

We divided two census tables ourselves, homes with internet by occupied homes.

Putting the services in your name

Service	Who provides it	What you bring as a foreigner
Electricity	Naturgy or ENSA, by area	Naturgy: valid passport or Immigration card, proof of ownership or the owner’s cédula with your lease, and a guarantee deposit. ENSA: passports or cédulas of both people for a change of name; good payment history or recent credit references can replace the deposit
Water	IDAAN, the national water company	Its published list is for owners: title deed or Public Registry certificate and the owner’s cédula or passport
Mobile phone	Tigo or Más Móvil	Tigo prepaid: your passport. To keep your number when you switch: your passport and, for a contract line, your last paid bill

Digicel shut down its network in April 2024 under a migration order from ASEP, the telecom regulator, so any guide that still lists it is out of date.

ASEP, Digicel customers migration, 2024

Claiming the water discount for a parent

1
Go to the senior window
The window is in Customer Relations, on the ground floor of IDAAN’s main office on Vía Brasil. The account holder, your parent, goes in person.
2
Bring
The last bill and a copy of the cédula and of the Social Security card; pensioners also bring the pension resolution.
3
Allow a month
The discount shows on the bill about a month later.

IDAAN, questions

Mail, shopping and deliveries

Panama has a national post office, Correos y Telégrafos, but home delivery is rare: in 2025 it ran 94 offices, fewer than 6,000 private boxes were in use, and outside Panamá province it brought barely a thousand items to people’s doors. Most families shop online through a “casillero”, a courier account with a Miami address.

Parcels worth up to B/. 100 come in free of duties and taxes.

94post offices in 2025, down from 108 in 2021
5,892private PO boxes in use, out of 52,943
1,077home deliveries outside Panamá province in 2025

Of 276,716 items delivered to homes in 2025, 275,639 stayed inside Panamá province. Bocas del Toro, Coclé, Colón, Chiriquí and Darién got no home deliveries at all, and Darién has no PO boxes. A national postal code system started only in May 2026, with a code for every home. Give your employer, your bank and your school an email or casillero address, not a street address for letters.

How a casillero works

1
Open an account
Most couriers do it for free and give you an account number and your own Miami address.
2
Shop online
Use that address at Amazon, eBay, Walmart or any US store, as if you lived in Florida.
3
Pay by weight
The courier brings it to Panama by air or sea and charges by the pound, plus insurance and home delivery if you want it.
4
Collect it
At a branch or at your door, usually two to seven business days by air.

What casilleros charge

Company	Air, per pound	Time by air	Note
Airbox	US$3.15 to US$5.15 in the city	2 to 4 business days	By sea from US$1.85 a pound; home delivery from US$1.50
PGT Logistics	US$3.50, sales tax included	2 to 3 business days	Free home delivery up to 25 pounds by air
Blue Cargo	B/. 2.50 to B/. 3.00	2 to 7 business days	Minimum B/. 4.00 to B/. 5.00
Tracking Box	US$2.50	48 to 72 hours	No volume charge, it says
Tulogy	US$2.65	3 to 5 business days

Prices as published on each company’s site on October 26, 2026. Bulky parcels may be charged by volume rather than weight.

Customs: what you pay

Up to B/. 100

Free

Small parcels of unrestricted goods valued at B/. 100 or less pay no duties or taxes.

B/. 100 to 2,000

Taxes apply

The courier declares it through a customs broker and bills you the taxes. Import sales tax is 7 percent of the CIF value plus duties.

B/. 2,000 or more

A full import

The same for restricted goods of any value, such as weapons or dual-use items.

Amazon, Shein and Temu

Amazon ships to Panama directly, with duties and taxes charged to you. Many US sellers do not ship abroad, which is why people use the casillero; couriers name Amazon and Shein among the stores their customers order from. We could not confirm that Temu ships straight to Panama.

Your work laptop and phone

Panama has no Apple Store. Apple’s locator lists 94 resellers, all third parties, 59 of them in Panamá province; of its 8 authorized repair centers, 6 are in Panama City, one in Colón and one in David. If your job depends on one machine, bring a spare charger and keep a backup, because a repair outside the capital can mean a trip into town or a wait for parts by casillero.

Apple resellers by province

Panamá59

Chiriquí11

Colón8

Veraguas4

Herrera3

Panamá Oeste3

Bocas del Toro3

Coclé2

Los Santos1

Apple, find a reseller or repair center, Panama

How Panamanians talk

Panamanian Spanish borrowed a few words from English, like “fren” for friend, and invented many of its own. At work, begin with “usted” and switch to “tú” when your colleague does. And when someone promises something “ahorita”, it means soon, not this minute.

Outside the capital, people use “usted” far more, even among friends and family; in Panama City both forms are heard. In a first meeting, a call with a client or an email to a ministry, usted is the safe choice. Let the other person invite you to “tú”.

Teixeira and Leal, Travessias 14, 2017, on usted in Panama

Words you will hear at work and at home

¿Qué xopá?What’s up?“Qué pasó”, back to front
FrenFriendFrom English
PritiPretty, nice; also a partnerFrom English, young people
ChantinHome
BucoA lot
OfiOK, got itFrom “oficial”, young people
PelaoA kid, a young personPelada for a girl
PintaA bottle of beer
¡Chuleta!Wow!The polite way to be surprised
La gran vainaSomething huge, good or bad“Ni de a vaina”: no way
PifiosoFlashy; of a thing, excellent
ChivaA small bus with facing seats
BiencuidadoThe man who watches parked cars for a tip
AhoritaSoon, in a whileNot right now

Diccionario de americanismos, ASALE, 2010, entries marked Pa.

Diccionario de americanismos, ASALE, 2010, entries marked Pa.

Before your first day

Ask your employer which bank pays salaries, and open your account there in your first weeks.
Read your contract against the Labor Code basics: hours, overtime, vacation and the thirteenth month.
Mark November 3, 5, 10 and 28 before you plan deadlines or trips that month.
Test the Metro or drive the route at rush hour before you sign a lease.
Ask for the lease on the Housing Ministry form, and where the deposit will be held.
Put power and water in your name, and in a parent’s name if they qualify for the senior discount.
Open a casillero before your first online order.
Start with usted, and hear “ahorita” as soon, not now.

Questions people ask

How many hours is a work week in Panama?

Up to 48 hours on day shifts, with a maximum of eight hours a day, under article 31 of the Labor Code. Night shifts top out at seven hours a day and 42 a week, and mixed shifts at seven and a half hours and 45 a week.

How much is overtime paid in Panama?

Article 33 of the Labor Code adds a 25 percent surcharge to the hourly wage for daytime overtime and 50 percent at night.

How many vacation days do workers get in Panama?

Thirty days of paid vacation for every 11 months in a row with the same employer, under article 54 of the Labor Code.

What is the thirteenth month in Panama?

An extra month of salary each year, paid in three parts, usually on April 15, August 15 and December 15. It comes from Cabinet Decree 221 of 1971.

Is there a single minimum wage in Panama?

No. Executive Decree 13 of 2025, in force since January 16, 2026, sets different rates by activity, occupation, company size and region.

How many public holidays does Panama have?

Twelve paid days off a year under article 46 of the Labor Code: nine celebrations and three days of mourning, plus the presidential inauguration in an election year.

Can I open a bank account in Panama with a work permit?

Yes. Since Acuerdo 1 of 2026 of the Superintendency of Banks, the passport is the identity document for a foreign client, and BAC, for example, publishes passport plus work permit as its route. Each bank adds its own requirements, such as proof of income.

Can a foreigner use Yappy?

Yes, if a Panamanian bank opens an account in your name. Yappy only works linked to your own account at one of eight local banks, and its terms publish no rule about foreigners.

How much does the Panama Metro cost?

B/. 0.35 for a Line 1 ride and US$0.85 for a trip on both lines to the airport. Seniors, retirees, pensioners and people with disabilities pay B/. 0.24 on Line 1 with a personalized card.

Do my parents get discounts on bills in Panama?

If they are residents and have reached the senior age, Law 6 of 1987, as amended by Law 37 of 2001, gives 25 percent off electricity up to 600 kWh, water up to B/. 30 and the fixed charge of one home phone line, with the bill in their name.

How fast is the internet in Panama?

In the cities it is fast: the median fixed download was 287 Mbps in September 2026, according to Ookla. Outside the capital it thins out: 80 percent of homes in Panamá province had internet in the 2023 census, against 49 percent in Bocas del Toro.

Who keeps the rent deposit in Panama?

The State. Under article 13 of Law 93 of 1973, the tenant lodges one month of rent through Banco Nacional or Caja de Ahorros, and it comes back with interest unless the landlord proves unpaid rent or damage before the Housing Ministry.

Can I break a lease if my job moves me?

Yes. Article 10 of Law 93 of 1973 lets a tenant leave at any time with at least 30 calendar days of written notice; without notice the landlord may keep part or all of the deposit.

How much can I import into Panama tax free?

Courier parcels of unrestricted goods valued at B/. 100 or less, under Resolution 049 of 2025 of the National Customs Authority. Above that, duties and the 7 percent import sales tax apply.

Starting a job in Panama and not sure how something works here? Write to us, and we will tell you how it is done.