Working in Panama
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Nicaragua on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match Nicaragua to Panama · Residency through work
Two permissions, two ministries, and you need both. The Servicio Nacional de Migración grants the residence; the Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral grants the work permit, and the migration file will not move without a copy of it. What constrains the whole thing is a quota written into the labour law and carried into the migration regulation: a company may fill 10% of its ordinary payroll with foreigners and 15% of its specialist payroll, and the two migration subcategories ordinary employees actually use are named after those percentages. The salary floor in both is B/.850 a month. Labour permits are issued for one year at a time up to a total of six years.
At a glance
- Maximum on a labour residence permit
- 6 years
Granted in annual periods, renewed each year.
- Ordinary foreign-worker quota
- 10% of the payroll
- Specialist quota
- 15% of specialist staff
- Salary floor, both routes
- B/.850 a monthas of 2009-03-11
Article 79 as made in 2008 for the 10% route and article 82 as substituted in 2009 for the 15% route both say B/.850. Panama is dollarised, so this is a dollar figure.
- Colón Free Zone executives
- B/.2,000 a month
A separate subcategory with its own, higher floor, for executive, management, trusted or specialist technical posts.
- Renewal proof
- 9 consecutive social-security contributions
The regulation says they count even across a change of employer, which is what makes moving jobs inside a permit year survivable.
- Fees
- B/.250 plus B/.800
Treasury fee and repatriation deposit under article 28.4 of the decree-law. Dollar amounts.
- Employer's duty on termination
- Notify within 20 working days
Requirements
- A job with a Panamanian employer and an employment contract endorsed by the Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral
- A place inside the employer's 10% ordinary or 15% specialist foreign-worker quota
- A salary of at least B/.850 a month on either of those two routes
- A work permit from the labour ministry, with a copy of its card
- Registration with the Caja de Seguro Social, proved at first application and by nine consecutive contributions at each renewal
- The employer's operating notice, Public Registry certificate and national tax clearance
- The common requirements of article 28 of the decree-law, including B/.250 to the Treasury and B/.800 as a repatriation deposit
In detail
The quota is the thing that decides whether you can be hired at all
Panama does not ration work permits by occupation or by a labour-market test on the individual. It rations them by headcount at the employer: 10% of the ordinary payroll and 15% of specialist staff may be foreign, and the two migration subcategories most private-sector employees use are literally named after those ceilings. The practical consequence is that a small Panamanian company with nine employees has no room at all until it hires a tenth, and that a job offer is worth nothing until the employer can show the quota has space. Both routes carry the same salary floor of B/.850 a month.
Two ministries, in a fixed order
The decree-law makes the Servicio Nacional de Migración and the labour ministry coordinate, and the regulation turns that into a document list: the migration file needs a work permit and a copy of its card, and the employment contract has to be endorsed by the labour ministry before it is any use. Renewal is annual and is proved with nine consecutive social-security contributions - which can be with a different employer, since the regulation says so expressly. The employer has its own obligations: it must check the worker's status before engaging them, and must tell the migration service within twenty working days when the relationship ends.
Where the quota does not apply
The regulation's labour chapter is a long list of exemptions as much as a set of rules. Staff hired by the national government or autonomous bodies, by companies holding a contract with the state, by the Panama Canal Authority, by the Panamá-Pacífico area, by multinational headquarters, by Ciudad del Saber and by companies operating under the Marrakesh Agreement each have their own subcategory. Colón Free Zone executives have theirs, with a B/.2,000 floor. Nationals of the Países Amigos list have a route that reaches residence through employment, which is recorded separately here because it depends on where you are from.
Country-level policy
The rules that decide every Panamanian residence application sit in one 2008 decree that has been amended piece by piece ever since, and the state has never published a consolidated version of it. A single 2009 decree substituted fifty-six articles, added six and repealed parts of six more. Later decrees rewrote the forestry investor and created the remote-worker visa. The practical effect for a reader is that an article number alone proves nothing: article 196 of the regulation has said B/.2,000 and B/.850 at different times, and both texts are findable. Even the Servicio Nacional de Migración's own requirement sheets cite amendments to articles that were never amended.
Panamanian statutes and decrees write money in balboas, with the symbol B/. - a tourist must show B/.500, a pensioner needs B/.1,000 a month, the own-means route costs B/.300,000. None of those is a sum you would ever need to convert. Panama has no circulating banknote of its own: its Constitution forbids forced-tender paper money, and what circulates is the United States dollar, with the balboa surviving as coinage and as the unit in which the law is written. The migration regulation makes the equivalence operational without ever stating it: where an applicant's document is in a foreign currency, the regulation requires a conversion into dollars, while every threshold it sets is expressed in balboas.
Whatever route you take, the same frame applies. The application goes in through a Panamanian lawyer - the decree-law makes that compulsory, with two exceptions - and it carries the same five common requirements and the same two payments: B/.250 to the Treasury and a B/.800 repatriation deposit. Almost every permanent-resident route then gives you two provisional years before permanence can be asked for. The migration service has sixty working days to decide and fifteen to let you fix an incomplete file. Once you have permanent residence, two years out of the country can take it away.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Nicaragua
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«La vigencia de los permisos de residente temporal por razones laborales a que hace referencia este capítulo, será por períodos anuales hasta un total de seis (6) años.»Our translation - not official
The validity of temporary resident permits for labour reasons referred to in this chapter shall be for annual periods up to a total of six (6) years.
About this source
The legislature's normative archive. Each PDF carries a header naming the instrument's type, number, year, date, gazette number and publication date, which makes it the most reliable way to date a Panamanian instrument precisely.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It archives the act as filed and does not record later amendments on the face of the document, so it must not be cited for what an instrument says now: its copy of the 2008 migration regulation still shows B/.2,000 for the retired rentista, a figure superseded in 2009. Its older scans are also recognitions of pictures rather than text - its copy of Ley 52 de 2012 renders the words for one hundred and eighty-three as ciento coberta y tres - so anything pre-2010 should be treated as a scan until shown otherwise.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«La contratación de estos extranjeros debe cumplir con los porcentajes de contratación de extranjeros establecidos en esta reglamentación ya sea dentro del 10% del personal ordinario o dentro del 15% del personal especializado, según sea el caso.»Our translation - not official
The hiring of these foreigners must comply with the percentages for hiring foreigners established in this regulation, whether within 10% of ordinary staff or within 15% of specialist staff, as the case may be.
About this source
The legislature's normative archive. Each PDF carries a header naming the instrument's type, number, year, date, gazette number and publication date, which makes it the most reliable way to date a Panamanian instrument precisely.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It archives the act as filed and does not record later amendments on the face of the document, so it must not be cited for what an instrument says now: its copy of the 2008 migration regulation still shows B/.2,000 for the retired rentista, a figure superseded in 2009. Its older scans are also recognitions of pictures rather than text - its copy of Ley 52 de 2012 renders the words for one hundred and eighty-three as ciento coberta y tres - so anything pre-2010 should be treated as a scan until shown otherwise.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Podrá solicitar este permiso de residencia temporal el extranjero contratado por una empresa privada, devengando un salario no menor ochocientos cincuenta balboas (B/.850.00) mensuales.»Our translation - not official
This temporary residence permit may be applied for by the foreigner hired by a private company, earning a salary of not less than eight hundred and fifty balboas (B/.850.00) a month.
This is the 10% ordinary-staff route. Article 79 is not in the list of articles substituted by Decreto Ejecutivo 26 de 2009.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The legislature's normative archive. Each PDF carries a header naming the instrument's type, number, year, date, gazette number and publication date, which makes it the most reliable way to date a Panamanian instrument precisely.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It archives the act as filed and does not record later amendments on the face of the document, so it must not be cited for what an instrument says now: its copy of the 2008 migration regulation still shows B/.2,000 for the retired rentista, a figure superseded in 2009. Its older scans are also recognitions of pictures rather than text - its copy of Ley 52 de 2012 renders the words for one hundred and eighty-three as ciento coberta y tres - so anything pre-2010 should be treated as a scan until shown otherwise.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«Podrá solicitar permiso de personal extranjero contratado como experto o técnico dentro del 15% del personal especializado, el técnico, el experto, el gerente y/o el personal de confianza que devengue un salario no menor de ochocientos cincuenta balboas (B/.850.00).»Our translation - not official
A permit as foreign staff hired as an expert or technician within 15% of specialist staff may be applied for by the technician, the expert, the manager and/or trusted staff earning a salary of not less than eight hundred and fifty balboas (B/.850.00).
The 2009 substitution widened the category: the 2008 text covered an 'experto o técnico', this one adds managers and staff in positions of trust.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Panama's official gazette. An instrument takes effect on publication here and carries its gazette number as part of its identity, which is how the Friendly Nations list, the migration decree-law and every decree amending them are identified.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: It publishes acts as enacted and never republishes the amended text, so it cannot be cited for consolidated law - and on Panama that bites hard: Decreto Ejecutivo 26 de 2009 alone substituted fifty-six articles of the 2008 regulation, and an article number inside an amending decree is an instruction to amend rather than the article of the resulting regulation. Worse, some issues are page images with no text layer: Gaceta 29335 of 2021 extracts only its contents page, which is why the current Friendly Nations property threshold cannot be stated. Anything quoted from a gazette must be checked for recognition damage first and declared as ocr where it is a reading of a picture.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«Podrá solicitar este permiso el extranjero que preste funciones en puestos ejecutivos, de confianza, de gerencia o de técnico especializado en empresas autorizadas para operar en la Zona Libre de Colón, con un salario no menor a dos mil balboas (B/.2,000.00) mensuales.»Our translation - not official
This permit may be applied for by the foreigner performing executive, trusted, management or specialist technical functions in companies authorised to operate in the Colón Free Zone, with a salary of not less than two thousand balboas (B/.2,000.00) a month.
About this source
The legislature's normative archive. Each PDF carries a header naming the instrument's type, number, year, date, gazette number and publication date, which makes it the most reliable way to date a Panamanian instrument precisely.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It archives the act as filed and does not record later amendments on the face of the document, so it must not be cited for what an instrument says now: its copy of the 2008 migration regulation still shows B/.2,000 for the retired rentista, a figure superseded in 2009. Its older scans are also recognitions of pictures rather than text - its copy of Ley 52 de 2012 renders the words for one hundred and eighty-three as ciento coberta y tres - so anything pre-2010 should be treated as a scan until shown otherwise.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
«le exigirá que presente la documentación que acredite su estadía legal en el país y que se encuentra debidamente autorizado para ello. El incumplimiento de esta obligación acarreará la sanción correspondiente.»Our translation - not official
shall require him to present documentation showing his lawful stay in the country and that he is duly authorised for it. Failure to comply with this obligation shall carry the corresponding penalty.
About this source
Panama's official gazette. An instrument takes effect on publication here and carries its gazette number as part of its identity, which is how the Friendly Nations list, the migration decree-law and every decree amending them are identified.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: It publishes acts as enacted and never republishes the amended text, so it cannot be cited for consolidated law - and on Panama that bites hard: Decreto Ejecutivo 26 de 2009 alone substituted fifty-six articles of the 2008 regulation, and an article number inside an amending decree is an instruction to amend rather than the article of the resulting regulation. Worse, some issues are page images with no text layer: Gaceta 29335 of 2021 extracts only its contents page, which is why the current Friendly Nations property threshold cannot be stated. Anything quoted from a gazette must be checked for recognition damage first and declared as ocr where it is a reading of a picture.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«deberá notificar al Servicio Nacional de Migración, en un término no mayor a veinte días hábiles, sobre el cese de la relación laboral o contractual»Our translation - not official
must notify the National Migration Service, within a term of no more than twenty working days, of the end of the employment or contractual relationship
The employer's duty, and the mechanism by which a residence permit built on a job starts to unravel when the job ends.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Panama's official gazette. An instrument takes effect on publication here and carries its gazette number as part of its identity, which is how the Friendly Nations list, the migration decree-law and every decree amending them are identified.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: It publishes acts as enacted and never republishes the amended text, so it cannot be cited for consolidated law - and on Panama that bites hard: Decreto Ejecutivo 26 de 2009 alone substituted fifty-six articles of the 2008 regulation, and an article number inside an amending decree is an instruction to amend rather than the article of the resulting regulation. Worse, some issues are page images with no text layer: Gaceta 29335 of 2021 extracts only its contents page, which is why the current Friendly Nations property threshold cannot be stated. Anything quoted from a gazette must be checked for recognition damage first and declared as ocr where it is a reading of a picture.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
«Contrato de trabajo refrendado por el Ministerio de Trabajo y Desarrollo Laboral a favor del interesado»Our translation - not official
Employment contract endorsed by the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development in favour of the applicant
About this source
Panama's official gazette. An instrument takes effect on publication here and carries its gazette number as part of its identity, which is how the Friendly Nations list, the migration decree-law and every decree amending them are identified.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: It publishes acts as enacted and never republishes the amended text, so it cannot be cited for consolidated law - and on Panama that bites hard: Decreto Ejecutivo 26 de 2009 alone substituted fifty-six articles of the 2008 regulation, and an article number inside an amending decree is an instruction to amend rather than the article of the resulting regulation. Worse, some issues are page images with no text layer: Gaceta 29335 of 2021 extracts only its contents page, which is why the current Friendly Nations property threshold cannot be stated. Anything quoted from a gazette must be checked for recognition damage first and declared as ocr where it is a reading of a picture.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
Practical notes
We read the migration regulation and the decree-law, not the Código de Trabajo. The 10% and 15% figures appear in the migration regulation in those terms and we quote them from there; the labour-law articles that create them were not read, and anyone needing the exact definition of 'personal ordinario' against 'personal especializado' should go to the Código de Trabajo.
We did not find a migration subcategory for a self-employed foreigner working for their own Panamanian business without a corporate employer, other than the investor routes. Several professions are reserved to Panamanian nationals by the Constitution or by special laws; the regulation and the Países Amigos decree both say so without listing them, and we did not read the reserving statutes.
The Servicio Nacional de Migración's requirement sheets for the labour routes cite the regulation's articles as amended by Decreto Ejecutivo 26 de 2009. For articles 80, 82 and 83 that is right; it is not right for article 79, which the 2009 decree left alone.
- consolidatesDecreto Ejecutivo No. 320 de 8 de agosto de 2008
Asamblea Nacional de Panamá - Legispan
About this source
The legislature's normative archive. Each PDF carries a header naming the instrument's type, number, year, date, gazette number and publication date, which makes it the most reliable way to date a Panamanian instrument precisely.
Standing: Maintains the text in force
Cannot be cited for: It archives the act as filed and does not record later amendments on the face of the document, so it must not be cited for what an instrument says now: its copy of the 2008 migration regulation still shows B/.2,000 for the retired rentista, a figure superseded in 2009. Its older scans are also recognitions of pictures rather than text - its copy of Ley 52 de 2012 renders the words for one hundred and eighty-three as ciento coberta y tres - so anything pre-2010 should be treated as a scan until shown otherwise.
We re-read it every 90 days. More about this source
- issuesDecreto Ejecutivo No. 26 de 2 de marzo de 2009, Gaceta Oficial Digital 26238
Gaceta Oficial Digital de la República de Panamá
About this source
Panama's official gazette. An instrument takes effect on publication here and carries its gazette number as part of its identity, which is how the Friendly Nations list, the migration decree-law and every decree amending them are identified.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: It publishes acts as enacted and never republishes the amended text, so it cannot be cited for consolidated law - and on Panama that bites hard: Decreto Ejecutivo 26 de 2009 alone substituted fifty-six articles of the 2008 regulation, and an article number inside an amending decree is an instruction to amend rather than the article of the resulting regulation. Worse, some issues are page images with no text layer: Gaceta 29335 of 2021 extracts only its contents page, which is why the current Friendly Nations property threshold cannot be stated. Anything quoted from a gazette must be checked for recognition damage first and declared as ocr where it is a reading of a picture.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
- issuesDecreto Ley No. 3 de 22 de febrero de 2008, Gaceta Oficial Digital 25986
Gaceta Oficial Digital de la República de Panamá
About this source
Panama's official gazette. An instrument takes effect on publication here and carries its gazette number as part of its identity, which is how the Friendly Nations list, the migration decree-law and every decree amending them are identified.
Standing: Issues the instrument
Cannot be cited for: It publishes acts as enacted and never republishes the amended text, so it cannot be cited for consolidated law - and on Panama that bites hard: Decreto Ejecutivo 26 de 2009 alone substituted fifty-six articles of the 2008 regulation, and an article number inside an amending decree is an instruction to amend rather than the article of the resulting regulation. Worse, some issues are page images with no text layer: Gaceta 29335 of 2021 extracts only its contents page, which is why the current Friendly Nations property threshold cannot be stated. Anything quoted from a gazette must be checked for recognition damage first and declared as ocr where it is a reading of a picture.
We re-read it every 30 days. More about this source
- administersRequisitos para solicitar permiso de personal extranjero contratado por el gobierno nacional o entidades autónomas o semiautónomas
Servicio Nacional de Migración (Ministerio de Seguridad Pública)
About this source
Panama's migration service, under the Ministry of Public Security. It decides applications and publishes one requirement sheet per permit, which is the document an applicant and their lawyer actually work from.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: It must not be cited for what the law says. Its sheets' legal-basis lines are wrong in both directions - they attribute amendments to articles that the decree they name never touched, and date that decree by its gazette rather than its signature - and on the retired rentista the same agency files the permit under permanent residence while the sheet behind the link quotes an article calling it temporary. It is authoritative for what the agency will ask for, and that is where its value lies. It also no longer publishes the list of visa-required nationalities. Its URLs rot: links followed from search results were already dead.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source