Panama’s Green Investment Visa

A new trend in recent years in the USA and the EU has been alternative clean investments to protect the environment and provide clean energy. Such investments reduce pollution while lowering energy costs. Panama’s green investment program is called the Reforestation Visa which is an immigration program designed to replant areas that have been deforested while providing investors an opportunity for permanent residency leading to full citizenship.

Panama’s Reforestation Visa attempts to save its forests by making one requirement for this popular visa, which is to replant new trees in areas that have been deforested for lumber, or in many cases, for cattle farming.

This unique Panama visa requires a minimum investment of $80,000 USD to buy 5 hectares (12.35 acres) in a government-approved certified reforestation project. An additional $2,000 USD investment allows one dependent to obtain permanent residency. The entire family can become citizens after being permanent residents for 5 years. The 5 hectares can also be purchased using a Panama legal entity such as a corporation.

(Or some alternatives — EscapeArtist has a listing that is offering Panama residency via a Panama teak investment and the friendly nations visa. Additionally, we have a Nicaragua timber investment in a teak plantation which leads to a Nicaragua investor visa….)

Saving the planet’s forests is one way to make a green investment by investing into projects which plant new trees, cultivate, trim and harvest them in 15 to 20 years and then replant more trees to take their place.

Teak is the most popular tree that reforestation investors invest in. One reason is that most certified reforestation programs in Panama plant teak instead of mahogany, which is also growing in Panama, because teak wood resists decay, is durable to weather changes, resistant to forest fires, and insects are repelled. For these reasons, teak is the first choice for building ship decks, and outdoor & indoor furniture. Teak is elastic with a solid fiber making it ideal for woodworking artists.

Teak is also profitable. Teak trees are thinned every 6, 12, & 16 years where the byproducts are sold, producing income for the investor. In the 20^th year, the teak trees are cut down for their lumber giving investors more profits. Teak is in high demand because the world’s supply is shrinking. The United Nations reports that around 27 million forests are destroyed every year around the world. Forests are disappearing in the Philippines, India, and Malaysia. On the other hand, teak trees grow well in Panama’s tropical climate.

Investors don’t have to become farmers, because most certified reforestation programs offer full-maintenance, including trimming, thinning, and cutting down trees when mature, cutting into lumber, and arranging to sell the lumber for the best prices offered on the market. With teak hardwood, value is consistently rising due to higher global demand and lower supply, teak reforestation investors have benefited from very attractive and consistent returns on their investments.

However, Panama’s Reforestation Visa is not limited to teak. The law provides this program for all species of hardwood trees that are planted in deforested areas. Mahogany and bamboo are also included in this residency program. Plants, which are not cut down, do not qualify, such as coffee whose beans are extracted, as well as cocoa because only its pods are removed. Fruit trees like banana, lime, lemon, papaya, and orange only have their fruits removed leaving the trees intact for future fruit harvesting.

Investing in Panama’s certified reforestation projects makes sense for long-term profit, obtaining residency and citizenship. This is a truly “Green” investment with benefits!

Contact our Panama Residency office for more information about this truly unique residency and citizenship program.