Relocating To Panama - Immigration & Naturalisation
By Beth Anne Gray, Fri Dec 9th

/p>

Relocating to Panama - & Naturalisation

Relocating to Panama must be done through a Panamanian lawyer orlaw firm (like most other administrative matters in Panama). Formost visitors, the options are confusing, as are the benefitsand requirements of each visa type. As if that were not enough,Panama's law is not found in just one section of thelaw. Unlike the commercial or civil law, there is not anImmigration Code which regulates the entire area.

Because much of this body of law was passed piecemeal, many ofthe requirements differ slightly from one type of visa toanother. This can sometimes be a nightmare for lawyers inPanama. For example, you must present a report from the policedepartment from your previous resident (which covers the last 5years) for most visas, but this requirement does not exist forthose under the City of Knowledge program. Generally you willneed a certificate of health and a negative HIV test to get anysort of visa (although theoretically the HIV test has now beenwaived as a requirement and a simple health certificate from adoctor is sufficient).

This also means that there are many laws having little to dowith which contain provisions to attract immigrantswho will invest in farming (agriculture), tourism, scientificresearch and other worthy goals. Some of these laws provide forpermanent residency within one year after the visa has beengranted following the initial application, while otherprogrammes require various visa renewals before permanency isgranted. The goals in Panama's policies (such asattracting investment) are achieved by granting or denyingvisas.

There are two principal types of visas: immigrant andnon-immigrant visas. Non-immigrant visas are primaryissued to tourists and temporary business visitors, althoughhere

in Panama they are also issued to certain categories ofworkers or specialists, as well as to missionaries, students orreligious persons. Only a few categories of non-immigrant visasallow their holders work in Panama, and quite often this workpermit is limited to a specific workplace. Immigrant visaspermit their holders to stay in Panama permanently (oncepermanent residency has been granted) and ultimately to applyfor naturalisation and citizenship.

Decree Law 16 (1960) - which we shall refer to as TheImmigration Act (1960) - is the principal law whichregulates and the status of foreigners in Panama.

Under this law, its amendments and regulations, foreigners whoenter 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 asresidents with the least amount of hassle and paperwork, thepensioner visa is probably the easiest option. However, this isnot the only alternative for residency in Panama, and isobviously only available to those persons who receive pensionsor social security payments.

If you're a citizen of Spain or one of several Latin Americancountries, Panama has reciprocal agreements that will make iteasier for you to live and work here. The basic policy is thatthis is a Spanish-speaking country with laws designed to make iteasier for Spanish-speaking immigrants.

There were some changes to Panama's basis law in1999, with those accretions adding to a body of law that datesback to the 1920-1940s, when the country passed laws more thananything else designed to exclude blacks, Asians and people fromthe Middle East. The 1999 changes went into effect in March of2000. Among other things, they changed tourist visas from 30 to90 days, which can now be extended to six months; easedrequirements on musicians and other "transients," and mostlyabolished the need for legal resident aliens to get a paz ysalvo every time they leave the country. Instead, residentaliens are given a multiple entry-exit permit valid for 1-2years (depending on the type of residency status which theyhave).

However, in 2003 further changes to many of the immigrant visaswere introduced, increasing the amount of investment required byimmigrants in order to qualify. Further, greater supervision andchecking is done by the Department to ensure thatimmigrants are actually complying with the general requirementswhich have been submitted on paper.

About the author:

Beth Anne Gray is the principal partner of Gray & Co., alaw-firm in Panama. Their website is www.lawyers-abogados.net, where you may find muchinformation regarding relocating and living in Panama.