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🇵🇦  Retiring in Panama from the UK

What British citizens need to know: the visa, how your pensions are taxed, what to do before you leave and every year after.

By the retireacross editorial team · Last reviewed

Visa for British citizens

You can visit Panama without a visa for 180 days: enough for a trial stay before you apply. To live there you need a residence route:

  • Permanent residence for retirees (pensionado / jubilado): income from 1,000 USD a month. Official page
  • Residence through economic solvency (US$300,000 deposit or property): savings from 300,000 USD. Official page
  • Friendly Nations residence (nationals of listed countries). Official page
  • Retired rentier (interest from a deposit). Official page

Check your figures in the visa checker

Sources: Servicio Nacional de Migración: permanent residence for retirees (Article 200) (checked 2026-10-23) · LexLatin: Panama pensionado visa (checked 2026-10-22) · Servicio Nacional de Migración: economic solvency, fixed deposit (checked 2026-10-25) · Servicio Nacional de Migración: economic solvency, real estate (checked 2026-10-25) · Servicio Nacional de Migración: Friendly Nations (países específicos) (checked 2026-10-25) · Servicio Nacional de Migración: rentista retirado (checked 2026-10-25)

How your pensions are taxed

Expect UK tax on UK workplace and personal pensions; the State Pension is usually covered by the Personal Allowance. Your UK State Pension is paid but frozen: it does not rise each year while you live there (it goes back to the current rate if you return to the UK). UK government-service pensions (civil service, armed forces, police, teachers, local government; NHS pensions are usually treated the same) generally stay taxable only in the UK, unless you are also a national of your new country.

  • Taxable only in Panama under the other income article; Panama does not tax foreign income.
  • Taxable in Panama, but the 2013 treaty also lets the UK tax pensions arising in the UK (Article 17); as Panama does not tax foreign income, in practice the UK taxes them. Most UK government pensions (such as civil service pensions) are taxed only in the UK.

Sources: GOV.UK: Panama tax treaties (checked 2026-10-22) · GOV.UK: countries where the State Pension is increased each year (checked 2026-10-22) · GOV.UK: tax on your UK income if you live abroad (State Pension, Personal Allowance, government pensions) (checked 2026-10-22) · HMRC International Manual INTM343190: pensions and annuities (State Pension under tax treaties) (checked 2026-10-22)

United Kingdom: Tell HMRC you are leaving (form P85). Your UK pensions may be taxed by the UK, your new country or both, depending on the tax treaty: you pay only once where there is one. UK government-service pensions (civil service, armed forces, police, teachers and local government; NHS pensions are usually treated the same) generally stay taxable only in the UK under the treaties, unless you are also a national of your new country. Official page

Panama's own rules: Panama taxes only Panamanian-source income: foreign pensions and investment income are not taxed. There is no wealth tax and no inheritance tax; property tax applies above exemption thresholds.

Before you leave the UK

  1. Check your National Insurance record (UK): Get your State Pension forecast and check for gaps. From 6 April 2026 you cannot pay voluntary Class 2 contributions for time abroad; you can pay Class 3 for time abroad only if you lived in the UK for 10 years in a row or have 10 qualifying years. Filling gaps can still raise a pension you will draw for decades. Official page (before State Pension or Social Security age)
  2. Tell HMRC you are leaving the UK (form P85): If you are leaving to live abroad permanently, tell HM Revenue and Customs: with form P85, or in the residence section (SA109) of your Self Assessment return if you file one. It lets HMRC refund tax, tax your UK pensions correctly and tell you if you may pay tax in two countries. Official page
  3. Set up your State Pension abroad: If you already get the State Pension, give the International Pension Centre your new address and bank (paid every 4 or 13 weeks, into a UK or a local account). If not, claim through them within 4 months of your State Pension age. Check whether your new country keeps it rising each year. Official page (from age band 65-74)
  4. Rent from a UK property: the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme: UK rent stays taxable in the UK when you live abroad. Under the Non-Resident Landlord Scheme your letting agent (or tenant, above £100 a week) deducts basic-rate tax (20%) from the net rent, unless HMRC has confirmed in writing that you can receive it gross: contact HMRC about the scheme before you go, and declare the rent in your UK return. Official page

Every year, from abroad

  • Return the UK State Pension life certificate (when it arrives): The Department for Work and Pensions sends a life certificate from time to time to pensioners living abroad. Have it signed by a professional witness and post it back within 16 weeks, or payments may stop.

More for British citizens

Rules and figures change and we can make mistakes: confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor before acting.