Panama Travel Guide
Visa summary
247 passport nationalities researched for entry into Panama.
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Guide
Panama can be easy to enter, and hard to get a straight answer about. Citizens of Canada and the United States get up to 180 days without a visa, citizens of the EU, Australia, Japan, the UK, and roughly 100 or more other countries get 90 days, and holders of valid multiple entry visas or residence permits from several rich countries can get a conditional 30 days. Passports must be valid for at least three months.
Guides add two conditions that are not in every official summary: a return or onward ticket, and the possibility that immigration will ask for proof of about 500 dollars in funds, in cash, a bank statement, or a valid payment method. One guide adds that requirements can be hard to pin down, since officials sometimes say something different from the website and some rules seem to change often.
Border crossings
- Paso Canoas, the busy one to Costa Rica
Costa Rica's guide on this site describes it as one of the busiest and most chaotic land borders in Central America. Panama is one hour ahead of Costa Rica, which matters when the crossing has closing hours.
- Sixaola and Guabito, the Caribbean bridge
A bridge crossing near the Caribbean coast, with old railway tracks laid in 1908 for pedestrians. Costa Rica charges a land exit tax when you leave, described in the Costa Rica guide.
- The Darién Gap, where there is no crossing
There is no road between Panama and Colombia. The Pan-American Highway breaks at Yaviza in Panama and resumes at Turbo in Colombia, roughly 106 km away.
Transit routes
- Transit without a visa, with limits
Travelers who are not Cuban or Haitian can transit for 12 hours without a visa if they have confirmed onward travel. Cuban and Haitian nationals need visas even for transit.
- Tocumen is the usual gateway
Most visitors arrive by air, and guides name Tocumen International Airport as the most common entry point, where the ticket and funds questions can come up.
Entry point notes
- Carry proof of onward travel
A return ticket home or a ticket onward to a third country is the standard requirement listed by guides.
- Have some proof of money available
The 500 dollar figure is a guideline that officers may ask about, not a universal check, but a bank statement on your phone answers the question quickly.
- Verify with Panama's migration service before you fly
Because the rules are described as changeable, confirm the current position through the official migration authority rather than a year old blog post.