Current thresholds
Real estate remains at USD 300,000 until October 15, 2026 under Decree 193. Securities require USD 500,000 and fixed-term deposits require USD 750,000, both generally for five years.
This note focuses on one of the most technical parts of the Panama Qualified Investor route: the fiduciary structure required when the investment is tied to a promise to purchase or an under-construction asset.
The fiduciary is not a cosmetic decision. It affects banking flow, timing, trust documentation, perceived solidity, and the coordination between the buyer, the developer, the law firm, and immigration execution.
Context: Executive Decree No. 193 of October 15, 2024 extends the reduced real-estate threshold of USD 300,000 for the Qualified Investor route until October 15, 2026. After that date, the minimum threshold reverts to USD 500,000. This note is for strategic orientation only and should be checked against current legal counsel before execution.
For under-construction property, Panama requires a trust administered by a fiduciary licensed by the Superintendency of Banks of Panama. That means the investor is not only selecting a property and a legal route. The investor is also selecting the institution that will intermediate the trust structure behind the investment evidence.
Real estate remains at USD 300,000 until October 15, 2026 under Decree 193. Securities require USD 500,000 and fixed-term deposits require USD 750,000, both generally for five years.
The route is positioned as permanent residence for qualified investors. In practice, market-facing guidance commonly highlights fast processing and light physical presence, but execution should always be checked against current legal counsel and migration practice.
Best-known specialist for Golden Visa and PSA-oriented trust logic.
Best Fit: Golden Visa Real Estate CasesMore useful when the buyer wants a bank-linked ecosystem and may compare real estate with securities or deposit routes.
Best Fit: Integrated Financial EcosystemStronger for clients who value institutional depth, legal backing, and broader private-client sophistication.
Best Fit: HNWI / Complex Structuring| Criterion | Assets Trust | UniTrust | MMG Trust | Other Relevant Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institutional profile | Independent fiduciary with long-standing non-bank license | Bank-affiliated fiduciary through UniBank | Part of the MMG Bank / Morgan & Morgan ecosystem | Prival Trust, BG Trust, Central Fiduciaria, LAFISE, Scotia Panama Trust |
| Licensing comfort | Listed by the Superintendency of Banks as a licensed fiduciary | Listed by the Superintendency of Banks as a licensed fiduciary | Listed by the Superintendency of Banks as a licensed fiduciary | These names also appear in the current SBP fiduciary-license registry |
| Golden Visa visibility | Most visible public positioning around Golden Visa and PSA cases | No strong public Golden Visa positioning | Institutionally strong, but not publicly retail-positioned around Golden Visa | Usually accessed through law firms or banking relationships rather than public Golden Visa marketing |
| Execution angle | Best when the case is clearly PSA or under-construction and the buyer wants a specialist narrative | Best when the client values one ecosystem across bank, fiduciary, and potentially securities relationships | Best when institutional depth and broader private-client comfort matter more than retail Golden Visa positioning | Often relevant through existing banking relationships or law-firm referral networks |
| Main strength | Specialization and practical Golden Visa fit | Integrated bank + fiduciary + securities ecosystem | Institutional depth and stronger HNWI perception | Varies by banking relationship, private-client profile, and structuring needs |
| Likely tradeoff | May feel more specialized than diversified | Can feel more bureaucratic and less Golden Visa-specific | May feel more institutional than tailored for retail investor-visa cases | Less standardized market narrative for Qualified Investor buyers |
| Best case use | PSA / under-construction Qualified Investor property | Clients comparing multiple capital routes inside one financial group | Higher-net-worth clients with broader private-client or corporate complexity | Case-by-case, depending on bank preference and advisor network |
Assets Trust is the clearest natural fit when the deal is specifically a Golden Visa real-estate structure with PSA mechanics. It has the strongest public market narrative for this niche and therefore often feels easier to explain to buyers and counsel alike.
The strength is specialization. The tradeoff is that specialization itself may not be the preferred answer for every client profile.
UniTrust becomes more compelling when the client values an integrated financial ecosystem and wants the option to think beyond real estate alone. It can make sense where the investor is comparing property with securities or bank-linked capital routes.
The tradeoff is that the public narrative feels more institutional and less explicitly tailored to the Qualified Investor real-estate case.
MMG Trust benefits from the broader MMG Bank and Morgan & Morgan institutional ecosystem. That gives it stronger private-client and legal-structuring weight for buyers who care about institutional comfort, not only migration mechanics.
The tradeoff is that it can feel less productized for the Golden Visa buyer who wants a straightforward PSA trust solution.
Prival Trust, BG Trust, Central Fiduciaria, LAFISE, and Scotia Panama Trust can all be relevant depending on the buyer's banking relationship, private-client profile, and the law firm's execution network.
These names matter, but they are usually less visible in a Golden Visa-specific public narrative.
The strongest execution model is usually not to depend on a single fiduciary for every client. A better structure is to keep relationships with two or three fiduciary profiles, then match the case according to property type, banking needs, complexity, and the speed-versus-institutional-depth tradeoff.