Visiting Panama for up to 90 days?
People with passports from the following countries do not need a visa to enter Panama:Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay and the UK (except for persons who were born in Hong Kong, or if the UK passport was issued in Hong Kong).
Panama Tourist Card
People with passports from the following countries also don’t need a visa but they have to purchase 30 day tourist cards: Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Curacao, Ecuador, Greece, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Japan, Korea (Rep), Malta, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome & Principe, Surinam, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, USA, Venezuela and Vatican City
The tourist card takes the place of a conventional visa. One can be purchased at the departure airport terminal or in Panama at the Immigration area for $5.00. The tourist card is good for 30 days and there are provisions to apply for a 60-day extension at the sole discretion of the immigration authorities.
Apparently citizens of the US do not have to renew the tourist card and can stay for the 90 days without doing anything else. The immigration office can also renew the visa of a US or European citizen once for a further 90 days on their discretion.
Panama Tourist Card Extension
It is possible to obtain a 60-day extension for the tourist card. The application process includes the following:
- Valid passport good for six months
- Tourist Card and two copies of the Panama immigration stamp in your passport
- Return airplane ticket or voucher that is in effect for at least the sixty-day period
- Letter from a Panama Citizen or Panama Resident who will sponsor you and your visit and thus assume responsibility for you. This should be notarized along with a copy of their identity papers.
- Economic solvency documentation such as bank statements, credit cards, tax returns of the tourist or the Panama person sponsoring him or her is also required.
- Three passport-size photos
Formal Panama Embassy Issued Visa
People with passports from these countries must get a formal tourist visa: Czech Republic, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Peru and Philippines may only enter Panama if they have a visa.
Visas for retirees or pensioners in Panama
Panama’s immigration laws have created two types of visas, easily available to pensioned or retired foreigners who want to live their retirement in Panama.
Panama Pensioned Visa
This grants the right to reside in Panama, indefinitely, as long as you can prove you receive a pension, sufficient to pay for your expenses in the country currently set at a monthly minimum of $1000 or its equivalent in any foreign currency, plus $200.00 for each dependant.
These amounts may be increased after revision, according to cost of living indexes, by resolution of the Executive Body. This increase will not affect the rights of anyone who had already been granted the visa.
Panama self supporting Visa
If you put $203,000 in the bank in Panama you get residency for yourself and family plus you get $750 a month in interest. If you take the money out you lose the residency permit.
The Retired Pensioner’s Visa also offers the benefit of a special passport of the Republic of Panama but without granting the Panamanian nationality.
Permanent Residency
Apart from having a pension there are a number of other ways of obtaining permanent residency. One is buying a property valued at at least $200,000 or investing $60,000 or $100,000 in teak trees or by establishing a business with a minimum capital investment of $40,000.
Reforestation Visa - $40,000 Investment in teak trees
This is a unique program where one invests $60,000 in an approved Panama reforestation program. This allows you to obtain a Visa for yourself and your spouse as well as any dependent children.
The Visas are renewable annually and after either one ($60K) or five years ($100K) they become permanent residency Visas allowing you to reside in Panama permanently. After five years one can apply for citizenship, but this application process for citizenship must be signed by the President of Panama and can take years.
The reforestation program is a government program. You invest in forestry projects generally dealing with teak wood but other types of trees are also available. Some projects give you title to the actual land, usually about 2 hectares. It is impossible to live on the land however. The land is land locked and has no roads, no electricity, no water, no plumbing. It would be hard to get a permission to construct a home or close to impossible on this land. The reforestation project must be a government approved one.
These projects are supposed to generate a very good return after 25 years however if you were to liquidate the land say after 10 years your return would generate substantial losses. This is because it takes years for the trees to grow. If you wait 15 years the loss would be less or perhaps you’d reach break even. There are no guarantees though. Best to think of the money as the cost of citizenship and then if you make money later all well and good.
There are two levels of investment for the Reforestation Visa - $40,000 and $80,000. Both have residency and lead to the ability to apply for citizenship after five years. The larger investment leads to a permanent residency after one year, the smaller investment leads to a permanent residency after five years requiring the visa to be renewed each year until the fifth year.
Buying real estate
Buying $200,000 worth of real estate entitles you to residency for as long as you own the property which must be titled in your name.
Starting a small business
The small investor visa is another option. You start a business which involves hiring three locals for $253 a month each and invest $150,000 which would also include your car or SUV, computers, office furniture, website, etc.
Applying for a visa
Get a lawyer to help you.
To apply for any of the above visas you need a passport valid for at least 6 months, a police clearance report from last place of residence, marriage certificate, birth certificate for children dependents, medical clearance from Panama, application forms, pictures, proof of investment contract etc. You have to come to Panama to apply in person but you do not need to live here for this visa.
From the time of receipt of all documents and fees it takes 30-45 days to get a resident visa. Much depends on the workload of the immigration department at the time of your application.
The visa immigration processing legal fees are around $1,500 for first person and then $250 for each dependent for the initial application. The fees in the following years ($40,000 visa) are $795 for the first person and $250 for each additional person.
The Simple or Multiple return visa for residents
Apart from the two visas mentioned above, to travel outside Panama and return under equal conditions, all foreigners having resident status in Panama must obtain a Return Visa.
Therefore, after the main visa is granted, a Multiple Return Visa should be obtained when traveling abroad. This only takes two days.
The simple one will serve for one return entrance only, while the multiple one lasts two years. |
