Relocating to Panama - Immigration & Naturalisation

Beth Anne Gray
filed under "Legal"

Relocating to Panama - Immigration & Naturalisation Relocating to Panama must be done through a Panamanian lawyer or law firm (like most other administrative matters in Panama). For most visitors, the options are confusing, as are the benefits and requirements of each visa type. As if that were not enough, Panama's immigration law is not found in just one section of the law. Unlike the commercial or civil law, there is not an Immigration Code which regulates the entire area. Because much of this body of law was passed piecemeal, many of the requirements differ slightly from one type of visa to another. This can sometimes be a nightmare for lawyers in Panama. For example, you must present a report from the police department from your previous resident (which covers the last 5 years) for most visas, but this requirement does not exist for those under the City of Knowledge program. Generally you will need a certificate of health and a negative HIV test to get any sort of visa (although theoretically the HIV test has now been waived as a requirement and a simple health certificate from a doctor is sufficient). This also means that there are many laws having little to do with immigration which contain provisions to attract immigrants who will invest in farming (agriculture), tourism, scientific research and other worthy goals. Some of these laws provide for permanent residency within one year after the visa has been granted following the initial application, while other programmes require various visa renewals before permanency is granted. The goals in Panama's immigration policies (such as attracting investment) are achieved by granting or denying visas. There are two principal types of visas: immigrant and non-immigrant visas. Non-immigrant visas are primary issued to tourists and temporary business visitors, although here in Panama they are also issued to certain categories of workers or specialists, as well as to missionaries, students or religious persons. Only a few categories of non-immigrant visas allow their holders work in Panama, and quite often this work permit is limited to a specific workplace. Immigrant visas permit their holders to stay in Panama permanently (once permanent residency has been granted) and ultimately to apply for naturalisation and citizenship. Decree Law 16 (1960) - which we shall refer to as The Immigration Act (1960) - is the principal law which regulates immigration and the status of foreigners in Panama. Under this law, its amendments and regulations, foreigners who enter Panama can be classified as: Tourists; Persons passing through - "transients" (transeuntes); Travellers in Transit or Travellers in Direct Transit; Temporary Visitors (Visas); and Immigrants (Immigration Programmes) For those who simply wish to move to Panama or live in Panama as residents with the least amount of hassle and paperwork, the pensioner visa is probably the easiest option. However, this is not the only alternative for residency in Panama, and is obviously only available to those persons who receive pensions or social security payments. If you're a citizen of Spain or one of several Latin American countries, Panama has reciprocal agreements that will make it easier for you to live and work here. The basic policy is that this is a Spanish-speaking country with laws designed to make it easier for Spanish-speaking immigrants. There were some changes to Panama's basis immigration law in 1999, with those accretions adding to a body of law that dates back to the 1920-1940s, when the country passed laws more than anything else designed to exclude blacks, Asians and people from the Middle East. The 1999 changes went into effect in March of 2000. Among other things, they changed tourist visas from 30 to 90 days, which can now be extended to six months; eased requirements on musicians and other "transients," and mostly abolished the need for legal resident aliens to get a paz y salvo every time they leave the country. Instead, resident aliens are given a multiple entry-exit permit valid for 1-2 years (depending on the type of residency status which they have). However, in 2003 further changes to many of the immigrant visas were introduced, increasing the amount of investment required by immigrants in order to qualify. Further, greater supervision and checking is done by the Immigration Department to ensure that immigrants are actually complying with the general requirements which have been submitted on paper. About the author: Beth Anne Gray is the principal partner of Gray & Co., a law-firm in Panama. Their website is www.lawyers-abogados.net, where you may find much information regarding relocating and living in Panama.