What happens if you end your qualifying Panama investment early?

Panama’s qualifying investment must remain in place for at least five years, with annual evidence submitted through your legal representative. If the investment ends early, you must notify the Ministry within 30 days and have up to 90 days to reinvest, or the residence is cancelled. Presence and renewal expectations need confirmation at application.

How much time do you need to spend in Portugal?

Portugal’s ARI requires at least seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each later two-year period. New applications based on real estate purchases have ended. Investment amounts are set in euros and need confirmation when you apply, so assess current programme terms before committing funds.

Residency First, Move Later: Programs That Do Not Require You to Relocate Yet. FNC

Q: Can you claim the foreign earned income exclusion while keeping your US home?

A foreign residence card alone does not qualify you for the foreign earned income exclusion. You need a foreign tax home and either bona fide residence or physical presence abroad for at least 330 full days in 12 consecutive months. You have no foreign tax home while your abode remains in the United States.

In short

You can pursue residence abroad while still living in the United States, with Panama’s Qualified Investor route requiring at least $300,000 of your own foreign-source funds under its revised rules. Each option carries investment, presence or renewal obligations. The UAE Golden visa and Portugal’s ARI offer different conditions, while Georgia’s extended visa exemption provides no residence status. Confirm current terms with counsel; a foreign permit alone does not change your US tax position.

You do not have to sell your house to start an international plan. Several residence routes let you secure status abroad while you still live in the United States, then decide later how much time to spend there. Not relocating yet does not mean no obligations, though. Each route asks for something in return: an investment held for years, a minimum number of days, renewals, or all three. The useful comparison is what each one requires of you between now and the day you might move.

This is general information. Your CPA and counsel confirm the details for your case.

Panama: permanent residence built on an investment

Panama replaced its Qualified Investor rules with Executive Decree 17 of 8 September 2026, published in the official gazette on 16 September 2026. ¹ Panama's currency is listed at 1.0 to the US dollar in the Treasury's reporting rates, so the figures below are stated in dollars. ²

The decree requires an investment of at least $300,000 from foreign-source funds that belong to you. You can invest personally or through a legal entity of which you are the beneficial owner, but gifts and other free transfers from third parties do not count toward the minimum. ¹ For real estate, the minimum is $300,000 for a new, unoccupied, first-sale property transferred by the developer and $500,000 for a property on the secondary market. ¹ A fixed-term deposit is another route: $750,000 at a private general-license bank, or $500,000 if it is placed only at Banco Nacional de Panamá or Caja de Ahorros, in each case for at least five years. ¹

The investment must stay in place for at least five years and be proven to the Ministry of Commerce and Industries every year through your legal representative. If it ends early, you must notify the Ministry within 30 days and have up to 90 days to reinvest, or the residence is cancelled. ¹ The decree's conditions center on the investment. Confirm any presence and renewal expectations for your case at application.

UAE: a Golden visa that tolerates time away

The UAE Golden visa is a renewable residence visa valid for 5 or 10 years depending on the category, with no sponsor needed. Its holders can stay outside the UAE for longer than the usual six months without losing the visa. ³ Eligible applicants who are abroad receive a six-month, multiple-entry entry visa, renewable for six months more, to complete the process. ⁴ Investor requirements are stated in dirhams, and entrepreneurs form a separate category. ³ The term that applies to your category is confirmed at application.

Portugal: a light stay requirement, a narrower program

Portugal's investment residence permit, known as the ARI, requires a minimum stay of seven days in the first year and fourteen days in each later two-year period. ⁵ That is a light presence requirement. The program itself has narrowed: Law No. 56/2023 ended new applications based on real estate purchases. ⁶ Any investment amount is set in euros and needs confirming when you apply.

Georgia: a year to look before you commit

Georgia lets US citizens enter and stay without a visa for one full year. ⁷ That is not residence status, but it gives you a long, low-commitment window to test daily life, banking and costs before choosing a permit anywhere.

What residency first does not change

A permit abroad does not change your US tax position while you live here. As a US citizen, your worldwide income stays subject to US income tax wherever you live. ⁸ The foreign earned income exclusion is not available just because you hold a residence card: it requires a tax home in a foreign country and either bona fide residence or physical presence abroad for at least 330 full days in 12 consecutive months, and you have no foreign tax home while your abode remains in the United States. ⁹ Residency first is a status decision. The tax change, if any, comes with the actual move.

What this means for you

Choose the route by what you can comfortably sustain. Panama asks for capital held for five years. The UAE Golden visa asks you to qualify in a category and tolerates long absences. Portugal asks for a few days of presence. Georgia offers time without status. Line those requirements up against your budget, your travel pattern and how soon you might actually move.

What to do this month

Decide whether you want status now, a trial period first, or both.
Estimate how many days a year you can realistically spend in each shortlisted country.
Check that the funds you would invest are your own and can be traced to their source.
Ask qualified counsel to confirm current terms, renewal steps and presence rules before you transfer money.

Common mistakes to avoid

Treating a residence card as a change in your US tax position.
Counting gifts or other third-party transfers toward an investment minimum.
Selling or replacing a qualifying investment without checking the notice and reinvestment rules.
Relying on program terms from before a country rewrote its rules.

The FNC angle

FNC compares residence routes against how you actually plan to live, travel and hold your money, then connects the permit to the banking and structure it needs. One of FNC's completed engagements combined a Panama SA company and residency card with a Georgian account. Qualified counsel confirms the immigration terms and your CPA reviews the US tax side. Our part is making sure the route you choose fits the next five years, not only the application.

General information only, not personal tax, legal or investment advice. Rules depend on your circumstances and the applicable year. No outcome is guaranteed.

Residency First, Move Later: Programs That Do Not Require You to Relocate Yet