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Panama Independent Means Visa Approvals at All-Time High, Investor Visa Interest Stable · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article titled Panama Independent Means Visa Approvals at All-Time High, Investor Visa Interest Stable, and authored by Christian Henrik Neschheim on IMIDaily.com.
• 0:14
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• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Applicants to Panama's four most popular investment-based visas, there are more than a dozen, but statistics are only available for the top four, garnered an aggregate of 2,475 approvals in 2023.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Statistics from Migration Panama reveal.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Accounting for 2,120 approvals last year, the Friendly Nations visa remains Panama's most applied-to-investor visa by some distance.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: While this approval volume represents a contraction of 17% from the preceding year, the program's 2023 performance showed tenacity, considering that the price for the Friendly Nations visa rose from$5,000 to US$200,000 in late 2021.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: The announcement of the imminent price hike drove a surge in applications in late 2021, most of which the government only approved in 2022.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: As such, it is remarkable that application volume didn't fall more sharply in 2023 when the new price level had already been established.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Results from January this year, 201 approvals in the first month of 2024, indicate friendly nations' visa demand is stabilizing in the more than 2,000 applications a year range.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Among the other investment-based visas in Panama, the Qualified Investor Program, which requires a minimum investment of$300,000, has been the largest category since its introduction in 2022.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: Last year, 187 investors gained permanent residency in Panama through the program, a 34% increase compared to the year before.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: In the Independent Means Visa category, which merely requires that applicants demonstrate a modest regular income, approval volume for the Jubulatos and Pensionados permit reached an all-time high of 1,627 last year, up 15% on the year.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Across both the investor and independent means visa categories, rejection rates in Panama remain exceptionally low.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: In the last three years, approval rates have consistently exceeded 95% across the board.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining us today on IMI Podcasts.
• 2:52
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• 3:00
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