If you’ve decided that Panama is the place for you to settle down, and your 90 day tourist visa is about to expire, what do you do now? Well, if you want to reside in Panama on a permanent basis, you need to establish permanent residency. This means, applying for a Panamanian Residency Visa that will allow for permanent residency.

Panama offers a variety of Visa options for those seeking to reside there permanently, such as, the Pensionado Visa, Reforestation Visa, Investor Visa, Person of means Visa, Small Business investor Visa, to mention just a few. Most types of visa are designed to promote investment in the type of visa you choose. We advise that you clearly understand the documentation requirements, all costs or required investments, the time frame associated with each particular visa and of course, how it will benefit you and your
situation.

Several visa types offer permanent residency, but not all of them. If your goal is to ultimately become a citizen (dual‐citizen), and obtain a passport, you need to confirm whether or not the visa you are applying for actually grants a passport option. Just because you obtain permanent residency in Panama, doesn’t necessarily mean that you will become a passport‐holding citizen.

A Panamanian attorney is required to process the documents, and will require that you sign a power of attorney to represent you in the immigration process.

Please note that all documentation originating from outside of Panama must be original documents, dated no more than three months old, and must be authenticated either through the consulate or embassy of the country of issue, or by apostil (an internationally recognized form of authentication, normally obtained through the department of State or Ministry of Foreign Relations.

Panama also has very strict immigration rules in terms of what nationalities they will consider for resident visas. The immigration department has a list of restricted countries, including (but not limited to) Colombia, Pakistan, Russia, China, India, among several
others. Citizens of these “restricted” countries must provide additional proof of economic solvency and they are screened thoroughly through Panama’s National Security Council.

The majority of the applicants from these restricted countries are declined for resident visas unless they have particular circumstances, or a high net worth that could work in their favor.

Prior to applying for residency, be sure to consult with your attorney to confirm whether or not your home country is among those on the restricted list. However, if you are from countries, such as the United States, Canada, most of Central/South America, Europe, New Zealand or Australia, you should not have a problem.

Once you fully understand the various residency and visa options, and have identified a match to your needs, then begin preparing the required documents, and try to be as organized as possible , otherwise, you may find yourself spending a great deal of time and money on repeated (expired) documentation.

As always, be sure to research this subject in depth with a qualified and experienced attorney, one who clearly understands your language as well as your personal situation and goals.

Also, please check with your attorney on the current residency laws.