No visa needed

Do citizens of Canada need a visa for Panama?

Citizens of Canada don’t need a visa for Panama and can stay up to 180 days. You need a valid passport; border officers may ask for a return ticket and accommodation. For a longer stay you need a visa or an extension.

For citizens of Canada: the passport opens 113 countries visa-free; Ottawa — Panama City: ≈ 4,070 km, about 5.5 hours of flying.

Checked by visa analyst Albert Brown, 13 years of experience · September 26, 2026

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 180 days

Can I travel to Panama without a visa on a Canada passport?

Yes, citizens of Canada don’t need a visa for Panama for up to 180 days. A valid passport is enough.

Panama visa rules at a glance

With a Canada passport you can visit 113 countries visa-free, 34 with a visa on arrival and 33 with an e-visa; 18 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the Canada passport ranks 37th of 199.
Canada passport: visa-free access to 113 countries; Panama passport: 88.
Citizens of Canada and Panama can travel together visa-free to 85 countries, for example: Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Saint Lucia, Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Iceland, and Barbados.
Citizens of Panama, in turn, need an embassy visa to travel to Canada. Canada visa for citizens of Panama

Travelling to Panama: good to know

Ottawa — Panama City: about 4,070 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 5.5 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: +1 hour.
Local time: Ottawa 12:00 — Panama City 13:00.
Local currency: Panamanian Balboa and US Dollar.
Languages: Spanish.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ PAB 1.00.
Panama is the 23rd closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of Canada.