Panama Friendly Nations Visa

Panama Immigration | Permanent Residence Permits in Panama

What is the Panama Friendly Nations Visa?

Friendly nations visa program is a residence permit program in Panama, which grant Panamanian residency card to citizens of some specific countries (see Friendly Nations Visa Countries here) who meet all requirements. Is also called before the National Migration Service as a Permanent Resident Permit as National Foreigners of Specific Countries That Maintain Friendly, Professional, Economic Investment Relations with the Republic Of Panama, established in the immigration laws of Panama in Executive Decree 343 of May 16, 2012.

Benefits and Requirements of the residence permit by Panama Friendly Nations Visa

Foreigners who are nationals of any of the countries included in the list of countries friends of Panama and who can establish economic, labor or investment relations in the Republic of Panama may apply for a Panama Friendly Country Visa.

According to the immigration laws of Panama, the friendly nations visa program permit is within the permits that grant a permanent residence card to its applicants.

Friendly Nations Visa Countries

The friendly nations visa countries with which the government of Panama has signed the VISA TREATY OF FRIENDLY COUNTRIES of Panama are the following:

Reasons to apply for this permanent residence visa in Panama

To apply for a Panama friendly nations visa program, the applicant must be a national of one of the countries belonging to the agreement and must also demonstrate the main intention of the application through any of the following alternatives:

1. FOR WORK REASONS

The foreigner must have an offer or contract of employment within a Panamanian company, it should be noted that this company must be legally constituted in the Republic of Panama and must comply with its duties before government entities.

Can I apply for the visa of friendly countries of Panama with my own company?

Panamanian laws do not prohibit that the shareholders of a company can be hired and work within the same company as long as they fulfill all the duties before government entities, then we can say that if you could apply with your company.

Commented by Juan Rives, business specialist in abogadospanama.net

2. FOR REASONS OF INVESTMENT IN IMMOVABLE PROPERTY:

The foreign applicant must prove that he acquired a real estate, (in his name or in the name of a legal personality where he is the final beneficiary of the shares) valued at two hundred thousand US dollars (USD 200,000) or more, this purchase can be by bank or cash loan.

There are no restrictions as to the type of real estate that is used to apply in this visa, it can be a commercial or residential property, including: land, farms, commercial premises, buildings, houses, apartments, etc.

3. FOR REASONS OF FIXED TERM DEPOSIT:

With this option, the foreign applicant must demonstrate that he maintains a fixed term deposit in a Panamanian bank for at least two hundred thousand US dollars (USD 200,000) in his name or in the name of a legal personality where he is the final beneficiary of the shares and must be free of encumbrances and his term must be at least 3 years.

Visa of friendly countries of Panama, ways to apply

What are the requirements to obtain the Panama Friendly Nations Visa?

With the options available to opt for the Panama Friendly Nations Visa, dependents can also be included in the application, which are those people of the first degree of consanguinity (parents, children, spouses) of the applicant, who can also obtain a permanent residence permit in Panama based on the permission of the main applicant.

Dependent children can only apply if they are single and under the age of 25. Those over 18 years of age must be studying in Panama.

As of August 2022, the Government of Panama requests the following requirements to be able to apply for the Visa Of Friendly Countries of Panama

1. Power of Attorney through Panamanian Lawyer and Application drafted by lawyer.
2. Five (5) passport size photographs with a white background.
3. Duly collated copy of the passport before a notary public or corresponding Authority.
4. Police Record or Criminal Background Check of the country of the last 5 years of residence. This document must be “original”, “official”, “updated” and “authenticated” (see explanation of these terms below).
5. Health Certificate with at least 3 months of validity.
6.  Certified or management check fort in favor of the National Treasury.
7.  Certified or management check for B/.800.00 in favor of the National Migration Service.
8. Form of Affidavit of Personal Background (We process it in the signature).
9. Document that demonstrates the purpose to establish your residence (Job offer within a Panamanian company or purchase of a real estate or fixed term certificate)
10. In case of applying for a job offer the applicant must obtain the work permit before applying to the Friendly Countries VISA, consult us to talk about how to obtain this requirement.
11. Copy of your country’s identity card or id card (may be driver’s license, ID)

IN CASE OF DEPENDENTS:

1. Letter of responsibility (We do it at the signature)
2. Proof of kinship, APOSTILLED MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE or BIRTH CERTIFICATE OF YOUR CHILD APOSTILLED as the case may be, only children under 25 years of age can be dependents as long as they are single and are studying or their parents without age limitations.
3. Proof of Economic Solvency To satisfy this point, the applicant must prove that he has at least $4,000 US Dollars in a bank account in Panama, and an additional $2,000 Dollars for each dependent, if any.
4. This is solved with a letter of Bank Certification or statement of the last month that reflects balance not less than $ 4,000.00 thousand dollars.
5. For each additional dependent who wishes to enter the application, an additional $2,000.00 must be credited in the bank certification, for example, if it would be you and your spouse it would be $6,000.00 instead of $4,000.00 and if you want to include your two parents and 2 children you must verify that you have $12,000.00 dollars in the available account balance,  in all hypothetical cases explained this money can be used during the process, it will not be retained at any time.

IN CASE OF APPLYING WITH A JOB OFFER

1. Work letter
2. Job offer contract registered in mitradel
3. Copy of the operation notice (if applicable)
4. Public registration certificate of the company
5. Applicant’s work permit.

Or if you prefer priority attention then

Contact the lawyer with an email

Panama Friendly Nations Visa Benefits

The Foreigner who applies for the residence permit using the Panama Friendly Nations Visa will have the following benefits:

1. You can apply for the permanent residence permit in Panama in a few phases, (this permit will grant you the “CEDULA E”)
2. You will also be able to opt for the Panamanian passport through naturalization (once you obtain the E card and meet the requirements)
3. Obtain the work permit under the Panama Foreign Professional Visa.
4. You will be able to enjoy all the benefits enjoyed by Panamanian nationals in banks, shops and government entities.
5. Being a permanent resident of Panama You can apply for the certification of tax residence in Panama

What are the phases that must be traveled to obtain permanent residence with the Panama Friendly Nations Visa?

PHASE 1:

Day 1: Interview with lawyer

the meeting is held with the lawyer for the review of the requirements and the payment of the fees to initiate the immigration process.

DAY 2: (Requires only the presence of the foreigner)

The foreign applicant and the legal representative or his assistant appear before the offices of the National Migration Service of Panama to present the application for the processing of the Panama Friendly Nations Visa.

That same day they will give the first provisional residence card to the foreign applicant, with a validity of 6 months, they will also grant him a multiple entry and exit visa stamped on the passport that will allow him to enter and leave Panama without problems and without paying any exit tax.

PHASE 2: Application for the Permanent Residence Permit as Panama Friendly Nations Visa

After 23 months, the foreigner can apply for a permanent residence permit.

To apply for the permanent residence permit of Panama Friendly Nations Visa the applicant must provide all the requirements that they provided the first time (except the certified checks and the police record).

This time the complete process of DAY 1, DIA2 and DAY 3 of PHASE 1 is carried out again.

That same day they will give the provisional residence card to the foreign applicant, with a validity of 6 months.

Once the immigration resolution is approved, the lawyer is notified by the national migration service of Panama that the resolution has been issued and from that moment they can and should attend the immigration offices in Panama to obtain a new permanent residence processing card as Panama Friendly Nations Visa.

COST OF PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD FOR LIFE OF Panama Friendly Nations Visa

This new card is a permanent permit of the Married with Panamanian Visa, has a cost of 100 dollars.

A month later migration issues a note called “Note of Cédula”, with this note the foreigner must make an appointment before the electoral tribunal, this appointment is usually granted for a few business days after requesting it.

On the day of the appointment the foreigner must appear at the electoral tribunal of Panama to make the fingerprint and facial registration and a week later you can withdraw the Cédula “E” that will be your new legal identity document to circulate in Panama

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