Panama Visa's - Executive Order 343

Day 254 Tuesday (Martes) - Panama City

Interesting how Panama has shown open arms to 22 different "friendly" countries and their citizens to come to Panama, become a permanent resident, and work if you want to. Executive Order 343 which controls their immigration law has added a subsection which makes it extremely easy to stay here permanently - Legally. Here is the list of "friendly" countries.

Germany, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Spain, the USA, Slovakia, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, Japan, Norway, The Czech Republic, Switzerland, Singapore, Uruguay, Chile and Sweden.

We sat with an attorney yesterday here in Panama to go over this law, as much has been written about it since it became real on May 16, 2012. We wanted verification of the process, what was needed and how much it costs, what if any ramifications, etc..  So here is a simple list.

1) Police Record from where your from and notarized by Panama Consulate from where you are from
2) 3 Passport sized photos
3) Some utility bills showing the government that you have been here already legally. (If you are just beginning to come here then of course this will not apply - but it sure does help your cause)
4) One bank statement showing at least 4 digits in the account to show you can self-sustain (to me this one seems low as how can anyone just have 1-2 or 3 thousand in the bank and live) but that is the law
5) If married a signed letter of responsibility saying you will take care of your spouses expenses (remember Panama does not have people on the government doles handing out money)
6) Fill out the immigration application

All of the above needs to be submitted along with a copy of your current passport all in one package to immigration along with some money. Here is what we know so far about the expenses involved.
1) $1050 each person
2) $8.00 for each page that needs to be officially stamped in your file by the government here (I do not have an accurate page count yet)
3) Then what ever fee your attorney charges for his/her time

The immigration process can take months, maybe more. Once you submit your completed file you will receive a Temporary Resident Card which will stay active until you receive approval or denial of your permanent request.