New Residency Law in Panama

Summary of the Executive Decree No. 343 of May 16, 2012 which created a subcategory of permanent residency in the capacity of “national foreigners” for residents of specific countries that maintain friendly, professional, economic or investment relations with the Republic of Panama. The Executive Decree 343 of May 16, 2012 was published in the Official Gazette No. 27038 of May 21, 2012. It is based on the Law 3 of February 2008, which created the Immigration National Service and specifically stated that the Government will be able to create immigration status sub-categories in order to facilitate cooperative ties with friendly countries. The Decree 343 creates new permanent residency subcategory referred to as “national foreigners,” who are residents of specific countries that maintain friendly, professional, economic or investment relations with the Republic of Panama.

The listed countries are: 1- Germany 2- Argentina 3- Australia 4- Austria 5- Brazil 6- Belgium 7- Canada 8- Spain 9- USA 10- Slovakia 11- France 12- Finland 13- Netherlands 14- Ireland 15- Japan 16- Norway 17- Czech Republic 18- Switzerland 19- Singapore 20- Uruguay 21- Chile 22- Sweden To apply the petitioner needs to comply with the general requirements established in Article 28 of the Law 3 as stated above, which are applicable to all the visa applications, specifically: 1- Notarized copy of full passport 2- Criminal record 3- Health certificate 4- Payment of $250.00 to National Treasury and $800.00 to the Immigration Service 5- Sworn Declaration In addition to the above, the petitioner will need to present the following documentation: 1- 3 carnet photos 2- Documentation that confirms the type of business conducted in Panama that proves the need to obtain the permanent residency, based on economic or professional activity of such entity. 3- Documentation establishing economic solvency, such as but not limited to: * Bank certification or statement of account of the last month which shows balances not less than $5000 or proof of property ownership in Panama. 4- Copy of residency document of the country of origin. 5- Responsibility letter if dependants are included in the application. 6- In case of dependants, certification that proves kinship. The petitioner can include dependant spouse and children under 18 years of age, family members with disability and depending parents. For children between 18 to 25 years, they can be included as dependants if they are studying on a regular basis and are economically dependent on the petitioner.