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More immigration changes may come in a near future

As you are all aware, 3 nationalities had their tourist visa stays limited to 90 days down from 180 days. These were the Colombians, Dominicans and Venezuelans. This law contradicted reciprocity agreements and it has bee challenged in the CSJ (Supreme Court) by an independent attorney.

Rumor has it that his lawsuit has no merit as the Department of Immigration, the Department of National Security and the President can impose laws that will overwrite any constitutional rules or reciprocity agreements, however, in the end, those 3 nationalities have no effect on our community, except

A new Bill was introduced in the legislature that aims to limit all tourist visas to a maximum of 30 days with an option to extend for another two 30 day terms, meaning, if approved everyone will be allowed 30 days entry as a tourist, and may have the option to go the Department of Immigration and apply for an extension. The guidelines for this extension are not yet disclosed.

So, if you do not have your residency papers in process, now is the best time. There are no longer any other options but the regular visa applications and all regularization fairs have been terminated.

There are scheduled protests throughout this month and into next month pressing for the government to tighten the immigration process and tourist visa stays. Pressure is on and the government is in a tight spot, something will come up, what? is anyone's guess but it is best to be prepared. Speak to a lawyer if you are considering or already live in Panama as a tourist

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  • Yes, I have but only briefly entering or exiting the country for Colombia or Ecuador or the States.......I have had some xperience with the tourist police in Pty and I believe it was before the Martinelli era.....I think the T.P. were founded during the Torrijos Administration but I could be wrong.....With the amount of Flor de cana that I consume my memory is not xactly impeccable, if it ever was..........But to get to the point of the issue, Ive never been a big fan of Pan City......The skyline is impressive, Miami style.......mostly built by laundered cocaine money of course........it is a citadel to mercenary capitalism.......Virtually no culture at all outside of the culture of commerce and dollars......Not my cup of tea......I much prefer Cartagena or Medellin or Quito or Cuenca.........And Panama City has gotten soooo expensive one may as well be in Honolulu......which is a lot cleaner and nicer and safer............The city is completely disproportionately xpensive compared to the rest of the country.....

    • Alan, Have you been to Cartagena?  I'm looking at that also as a next destination.

  • A few months ago you were talking about the Decree 157 and 145 and that it costs $571.  I have not heard of anyone getting this. The details were not clear either.  What's going on with this?

    • Gail did you have any problems returning from your border run?

      • No, the usual stuff like a plane ticket, but didn't ask for a bank statement.  Costa Rica didn't ask for anything.  I met a woman there and she tried in Bocas to cross after 3 days and was turned away and she tried in Paso Canoas at day 29 and was turned away.  She was told by agents, she speaks Spanish, that if she flew into Tocuman then she would be able to return after a week or less. 

        • I flew into Albrook with less than 30 days out in April.

          Panama is an outlier as far as needing attorneys for residency. None of the neighboring countries, or the US, Canada, or Mexico requires them. The more hoops one has to jump through the more they make. So how does this help the people of Panama versus those other countries?

          NB: You can use your $1,000,000 (or less) IRA/401K in other countries to qualify, but not Panama. What's with that?

          PS: those are rhetorical general questions, and not to you specifically.

        • he said she said............

      • Looks to me like Panama is bound and determined to scare away as many tourists and expats as possible.......They dont really comprehend or grasp the concept of tourism here, and for that reason there are not many. I just got back from Nicaragua where I spent my obligatory month out of the country, and it was full of tourists.....All over the place.....ON the southern beaches, Granada, Masaya and all the way up north close to the Honduran border.......Despite its reputation as the second poorest country in the Western hemisphere (I dont believe that one either) it has made great strides and is moving on up........still has high unemployment, and wages are low......a business owner can have 3 or more employees there for the price of one here........and they move.....they actually work.........having said all this, in response to the question above not directed at me.......I got back to the Pana border at nite (always the best time) and there was no line, and was greeted by a great big warm welcome home smile by the guapa joven working in the migra office there, no questions asked, nothing required, just stamped back in and good for another 6 months...........

        • Alan, I sent you a friend request so I can ask you questions about Nicaragua. I'm looking at this place as my next destination.

        • Great to hear that Allan..... and yes Nicaragua is up and coming and something to keep an eye out for if you want to be an expat without committing to getting permanent residency in a country.

          The sentiment of the locals is simple, because of the abuse by Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Colombians, Dominicans etc. working without work permits, crime increase, prostitution, and cost of living increase, especially in the City, the nationals want the definition of tourist to be just that. In principle a tourist is someone who is traveling for leisure, and they feel that asking $500 and allowing a 3 or 6 months stay does not define tourism. In their minds a tourist is someone who travels to one specific country for a period no longer than 30 days, they want to establish this, with an option to extend for another 60 days, a maximum of 90 days. A tourist will also need more than $500 to stay even one month in a country. This will then reduce the amount of "tourists" who come for 6 months showing $500, meaning they are here to work or make money otherwise avoiding taxes and taking the jobs from the nationals.

          Panama offers a wide variety of visas, for medical treatments, for investments, for retirees, friendly nations, etc., those interested in living in Panama, either permanently or semi-permanently will then have to apply to one of those visas, which makes sense.

          The regularization processes, the crisol de razas, and those programs resulted in many people with questionable backgrounds to come into the country and stay for ever in that temporary status without necessarily contributing to the economy. The often work for less money than the nationals would, therefore driving down the salaries in many capacities.

          So, it may need a few more tries before they get it right, but definitely their immigration system and their definition of tourist should be reviewed, for some nations more than others, agreed, but by default a law affects all involved.

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