Hello all,
My wife and I own a small beach restaurant in Aruba. We will be done with that within a year and are looking to move. I have been researching Boquete for quite some time and I have a few questions.
How much does it cost to get a residency permit? I think I saw somewhere that it was $8,000.00. That seems very high.
Can you get American products in the local grocery stores such as milk ect?
Is it legal to own a gun (pistol, long gun or shotgun? I see there appears to be more home invasions there and would like to protect my wife and myself.
Any other advice anyone can give would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Scott
Replies
Hi Scot. I am Dutch. I know Aruba and Curacao quite well. I lived also 12 years in Saint Lucia. The Caribbean is far more expensive than Boquete. Do you want to set up a business here? If you speak fluent Spanish makes thinks easier and faster in Panama. Juan Contreras is a good bilingual lawyer in Boquete, office building near the bridge. Local milk is excellent.
Thanks very much for the info. Not sure about starting a business. I think we are looking at more retirement than anything. We will hopefully be visiting for a couple weeks in Feb or Mar. to check it out. Unfortunately we do not speak Spanish. We are looking forward to seeing Boquete in person. I've seen many pictures and it looks beautiful. Thanks again!
You can apply for a pensionado visa. Feb. March are in the dry season with medium strong winds. Chilly in the mornings. We live in Santa Lucia (Volcancito) 7 minutes drive to Boquete.
You can do without a rental car as taxis and busses are inexpensive.
The only problem I see is getting from David to Boquete. We will have luggage so I don't think a bus will do. Thanks for the info.
You can take pick up type of taxi at the David airport.
You will want a rental car as it's much better for touring a very spread out area. Rent your car at the David airport and drive about 40 minutes to Boquete. You'll be glad you have a car while you're here.
However, at Dave's it is cash only.
For dependable, friendly transportation to or from the David airport, consider Ross Blankert. He drives a Suburban so there is always plenty of space for luggage. He provides his service for a very competitive price.(Cheaper than a taxi) You can reach him at (507) 6838-0894 to arrange for transportation to your hotel or to Cowboy Dave's or wherever to pick up a car.
If you use the search feature at the top right corner of the ning home page, you can look up a lot of past discussions that would be helpful. "Immigration attorneys" might be a good place to start so you can get accurate, up to date, info on the various visa programs. Renting is highly recommended for many reasons, one of which is the many micro climates in Boquete. I prefer a little less rain so I live in an area called Volcancito.
I agree with everything Judy and David say. I will add that it depends on what type of visa you want or qualify for- there are different ones and plenty of information here or on the internet about the different types of residency visas.
As far as a gun, yes you can legally own a gun. I am not 100% sure, but I don´t believe you can bring in a weapon but can purchase one here and then there is a lengthly process before your are legally registered. There is more to it than that, but that´s the high level overview.
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