No visa needed

Do citizens of New Zealand need a visa for Panama?

Citizens of New Zealand don’t need a visa for Panama and can stay up to 90 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 New Zealand: the passport opens 113 countries visa-free; Wellington — Panama City: ≈ 11,970 km, about 15.5 hours of flying.

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

At a glance

No visa needed

Stay: 90 days

Can I travel to Panama without a visa on a New Zealand passport?

Yes, citizens of New Zealand don’t need a visa for Panama for up to 90 days. A valid passport is enough.

Panama visa rules at a glance

With a New Zealand passport you can visit 113 countries visa-free, 36 with a visa on arrival and 34 with an e-visa; 15 more require an embassy visa.
By the number of visa-free destinations, the New Zealand passport ranks 37th of 199.
New Zealand passport: visa-free access to 113 countries; Panama passport: 88.
Citizens of New Zealand and Panama can travel together visa-free to 85 countries, for example: Kiribati, Micronesia, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Chile, Thailand, Argentina, Uruguay, Peru, Paraguay, Bolivia, Mexico, and Ecuador.
Citizens of Panama, in turn, need an embassy visa to travel to New Zealand. New Zealand visa for citizens of Panama

Travelling to Panama: good to know

Wellington — Panama City: about 11,970 km in a straight line; a direct flight takes roughly 15.5 hours.
Time difference with your country’s capital: −18 hours.
Local time: Wellington 12:00 — Panama City 18:00.
Local currency: Panamanian Balboa and US Dollar.
Languages: Spanish.
Exchange rate: $1.00 ≈ PAB 1.00.
Panama is the 57th closest of 197 destinations open to citizens of New Zealand.