Decreto Ejecutivo 198 de 2021, Explained

What Decreto 198 is

It is a one-program decree, short as these instruments go. The president signed it on May 7, 2021. Gaceta Oficial 29290-A published it on May 20, 2021.^[2][4] Its full title reads “QUE CREA LA VISA DE CORTA ESTANCIA COMO TRABAJADOR REMOTO, Y SE DICTAN OTRAS DISPOSICIONES”. In English: it creates the short-stay visa as a remote worker, and it dictates other provisions.^[2] The digital nomad visa page covers what the decree means for an applicant.

Article 1: what it created, and where it sits

The opening line of Article 1 does the creating. It reads: “Se crea dentro de la categoría migratoria de No Residente, la Visa de Corta”.^[2] The full sentence creates the Visa de Corta Estancia como Trabajador Remoto (VCRE). It sits inside the No Residente category. No Residente is the non-resident tier of Panama’s migration taxonomy. Tourist and short-stay statuses sit there too. The decree did not create a new residency class. It added a short-stay visa to a category that already existed.^[1][2][3]

Article 1 then sets two eligibility conditions. One is an operative contract with a foreign transnational company. The other is autonomous telework whose functions produce effects abroad. A third condition carries the income number. It requires foreign-source income of no less than B/.36,000 a year.^[1][2]

The income articles

Three articles carry the money rules, and they interlock.

Article 2 lists the application documents. Item 2.5.c is the employer letter. It must state monthly income not below B/.3,000. The letter anchors the B/.36,000 annual floor to a monthly figure the employer signs for.^[1][2]

Article 3 handles the self-employed. It swaps the foreign-company certification and the employer letter for two documents. One certifies the registration of the applicant’s own company. The other is a notarized sworn declaration about the clients. It lists names, services, earnings, the origin of funds, and how often payment arrives.^[1][2]

Article 4 sets the proof of income. One form is a bank certification. It states the income comes from abroad and matches the declared work. The other form is account statements from a foreign or local bank, stamped to show the fund transfer.^[1][2]

The 9-month stay and its single renewal

The duration rule lives in two places. One is Article 1’s closing paragraph. The other is an amendment the decree makes to an older instrument. The initial stay is 9 months. The visa is renewable once, for the same period. The amended text states the cap in two lines. First, “prorrogable solo una vez por el mismo periodo”. Second, “Esta visa es improrrogable después de vencido dicho término”.^[1][2] In English: extendable one time only, by the same period, and not extendable after the term ends. The ceiling is 18 months, and the decree gives nothing past it.^[1][2][5][6]

Renewal is a re-file, not a rubber stamp. Article 5 requires the applicant to submit the Article 4 income proof again at renewal. The money rules that qualified the first stay must still hold nine months later.^[1][2]

Article 6: consular checks for restricted nationalities

Article 6 adds a verification step for certain passports. Applicants from countries without visa-suppression agreements with Panama go through consular verification. So do holders of restricted nationalities.^[2] In practice this adds a step at a Panamanian consulate before the file can move. The decree leaves the ordinary nationalities on the standard path.

Article 7: the cancellation clause

The decree bars local work twice. The document list includes a sworn declaration that the applicant has accepted no local job offer or service. Article 7 then states the sanction. If the holder starts representing the foreign company for local activities, the visa is cancelled.^[1][2][5] That is why the visa fits remote employees and freelancers with clients abroad, and nobody else.

What the decree does not say

Three absences define the program as much as its articles do.

It contains no tax article. Foreign-source income is not taxed in Panama because the system is territorial. The decree neither grants a tax break nor needs one.^[2][5][6]

It grants no residency. The visa sits in the No Residente category, caps at 18 months, and converts to nothing. A holder who wants to stay longer needs a different visa.^[1][2][3]

It has no dependent provision. Neither the decree nor the SNM requirements sheet includes or authorizes accompanying family members. Each dependent needs their own status.^[1][2]

Still in force in 2026

Nothing has touched the decree since 2021. A successor-instrument search on September 8, 2026 found no modifying or repealing decree. The SNM category index still lists the visa, with that page last modified May 26, 2026. Kraemer, Rio Times, and NDM guides dated 2026 treat the program as current.^[2][3][5][6] The 2026 visa changes page tracks anything that does land.

What to check before relying on an article

• The gaceta PDF, pages 6 through 8. Check any article your plan rests on. The decree is three pages long.
• The current SNM sheet. The document list is administrative, so it can move without a new decree.
• The Article 6 verification step, if the applicant holds a passport from a restricted nationality.
• Family-member status planning, since the decree covers one person only.

This page states the decree as of September 2026 and quotes the registered text. It is not legal advice. Use a qualified Panamanian immigration attorney before filing anything.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-09