What Could Prevent You From Getting a Visa in Panama?

Tourists are allowed to stay in Panama for 180 days. But if you want to live in Panama, you are required to get a residency Visa. Since 2012, the two most popular visas have been the Pensionado Visa and the Friendly Nations Visa.

To qualify for the Pensionado Visa, you need to prove a lifetime income (from Social Security, military retirement, or pension from a job) of $1000 for one person plus $250 for each dependent. Some annuities are accepted bu not all. For the Pensionado Visa, Panama does not accept 401k, IRA, or rental income. To qualify, the income must be a lifetime income. The Pensionado Visa is the most affordable visa because the government fees are waived for retirees.

The Pensionado Visa is also what’s called a fast-track visa because you get a permanent Visa in usually less than 6 months.

If you don’t qualify for the Pensionado Visa, you can get a Friendly Nations Visa which requires on of four things:

*Get a job in Panama
*Put $200,000 into a 3-years CD at a Panama Bank
*Buy titled real estate worth at least $200,000
*Set up a corporation that issued you a labor contract.

If you have a college degree in a profession that is not a protected profession for Panamanians only, you may qualify for the Professional Visa.

The most important requirement for any visa application is your national criminal report, like an FBI report if you’re a US citizen or an RCMP report if you’re Canadian. Even if you have some dings on your criminal report, you can usually get a visa UNLESS you have a felony. If you have a felony on your criminal report, you will not be able to get a residency visa in Panama. Even if these charges were 20, 30, or 40+ years ago, Panama will not allow you to get a visa.

If you have multiple DUI’s or misdemeanor drug charges, immigration may require you to provide a blood test to determine if there are drugs or alcohol in your system. If the test is clean, you can get a visa.

If your national criminal report is not completely clean, your attorney will need to request permission from the Director of Immigration for you to apply for a Visa. This process is called a Buena Vista and can take 2-4 months for approval. There is an additional charge for a Buena Vista. Once the Director of Immigration gives the green light, your attorney can help you apply for a residency Visa. Just because you apply for a Buena Vista, there is no guarantee that it will be approved.

If you suspect that you will have dings on your national criminal report, we recommend that you get your national criminal report now then consult with a Panama immigration attorney about getting a visa before you make plans to move to Panama. Search for companies in your area that do electronic fingerprints to get the results in about 30 minutes.

Keep in mind that without a permanent visa, you will not be able to take advantage of any of the Pensionado discounts.