Can anyone give us an update of the border crossing at Rio Sereno. We know of the problems that have been going on at the main crossing. When we used the Rio crossing three months ago there were no issues with the Cuban migrants.
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Has anything changed re: the border run issue in the last few days as we are now into June and an effort has been made to fly the Cubans out of Panama?
Yes, lots have changed.
I have reported it in my news updates and some other have posted about it.
There are only 187 Cubans in Panama, none of which afe in Paso Canoas and will likely be sent back to Ecuador or Colombia or even Cuba as they did not have either the proper paperwork or the funds to purchase their ticket to Mexico as per the agreement between Panama and Mexico and therefore missed their deadline.
That said, there are some Africans on the Costa Rica side, but none in the immediate crossing areas.
Remember, you have to stay outside of Panama 3 days, have your proof of funds by either showing $500 cash, or a bank statement or cc statement that are very recent. Also you need to have a purchased return ticket, not a reservation when checking back in. Spirit has a 24 hr cancellation policy that is 100% free, so I recommend buying your ticket the morning you are crossing and cancelling immediately after, or the night before late at night and cross early in the a.m. then cancel. If you have a pain in the rear agent at the window, they will check for the ticket's validity.
Thanks for the info. I only personally know of 2 deportees, one to the US and one to Germany. Those govts paid for the tickets. I did see some years back that the annual Panama budget is under $700k, so deportations would generally be to neighboring countries. I have been trying to get solid evidence for years if deportions have been to Europe and N.A. have been funded by Panama. So far nothing definite on that front.
Glenn, you are wrong on the two year probation card. There is no such thing. I was speaking of not leaving the country for no more than thirty days within two years and using a local police report. The pensionado card is treated the same as a person that does it with the FBI check from the states. Usually permenant within 4-6 months. Check with a lawyer if you still don't understand. This is NOT the same as the old crisol program. It's normal procedure for permenant residency. I got my Temporary Carnet in April and will have my Permenant Carnet and Ecedula in July. Also, the Multientry visa is for leaving the country while your pensionado visa is being processed. If you leave the country without it you are denied your Permenant Visa. None of this is probation. It is the legal route. The time between permenant and final pensionado is because of Panama City's being slow. Not because of a probation. You are talking about the old Crisol program where as you didn't need an attorney and the visa was good for two years and renewable for 10 yrs. Totally different applications. And, The Crisol program has been stopped for over a year. Sorry you misunderstood.
Glen, do you know what info is available on the transito hand held device. I believe the vehicle insurance isn't, which is why they ask to see your ins. docs.
Also, do you know of any deportations that Panama has paid for to send expats back to North America.
Thanks in advance.
Marie, get a local police check in David at the DIJ. It's free. It works with the two year program. No finger prints required.
You need a Social Security or other pension for life of $xxx. (I think it is currently $1,000/month for one person)and it has to be authenticated by either a Panamanian Consul or the Secretary of State (apostilled) in your home state.
You need a clean bill of health
You need an FBI report, or if you have resided in Panama for 2 years without leaving for 30 days in a row, you can bring your passport to the local DIJ office.
It costs about $1500 for the required lawyer to process, including the approximately $200 in govt fees.
As soon as your paperwork is accepted (David or PC) you get a 1 year temp visa.
After the paperwork clears in PC (3-5 months typically) you travel to PC for your fingerprint/photo.
That's basically the process.
@bt. If one has lived as a permanent resident for over 5 years in another country than your nationality, a police report of your country of residence will do. Of course apostilled by the ministry of foreign affair in the revelant country of residence. We are Dutch passport holders and lived 12 year in St. Lucia (Caribbean). Certificate of marriage is also required and must be apostilled. Everything must be in Spanish or translated. Juan Contreras will do the job correctly.
My wife had that same issue with her fingerprints which the FBI at first rejected. We used an office that did LiveScan which was the ONLY way to go. They called us, made a 2nd appointment to redo her live scan prints and they were accepted. We got her results (the FBI report) the VERY next day by simply going on line to a secure FBI site and downloaded her report which we printed and brought with us to Panama. If you choose the old-fashioned ink fingerprints you will be waiting for a very long time for your report to come back in the mail.
I just recieved my pensionado under the two year program. I could not leave the country for more than 30 days TOTAL within two years. And, when you get your temporary pensionado you can NOT add days on the passport without a MultiEntry visa or you will be denied your permenant pensionado when you turn in your passport to be checked for additional days out of the country. Adding days without the multientry is a sure refusal. So, if you plan on leaving the country while in wait for the permenant visa get the multientry visa. All this is done in David. Panama is the last stop for the permenant pensionando visa and ecedula if you choose to get one. Anyone choosing this option check with an attorney. Two years is a long time to wait and be denied.
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