Additional Information on the Visa Issue

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - This afternoon I interviewed Lic. Tomas Garcia Tobar, the National Sub Director of Panama's Department of Immigration regarding the recent change in requirements for tourist visas. I told him there are many people living in Panama who have been taking advantage of the lax tourist visa requirements, and wanted to know how this change would effect those people. Specifically I asked about people who have been living in Panama for years basically as an "extended tourist." He said "no way, that does not exist in any country. With this change change we are trying to establish better controls in the country, and people who are in the status that you describe need to normalize their immigration status. For those people from the United States and Canada there are many viable alternatives. People have to normalize their status - and tourists should be here to realize activities related to tourism." (more)

There Are Many Programs: Lic. Garcia went on to explain "If you buy a house, if you want to live in Boquete, if you're retired, there are lots of alternatives through which you can obtain a legal immigration status, and these people fit within those programs perfectly. I understand that it's easier to just hop on a plane and to enter with a 30 day tourist visa and stay for two years, but that's not legal. People who have been doing that are going to have to find the immigration program that is the best fit for them."

Information Is Available: Anyone who wants to know more about the various programs can enter the website of Panama's Immigration Department at www.migracion.gob.pa where they have all of the requirements for the different programs available on-line and in English. Lic. Garcia said "there are many different options, and for those who wish to retire to live here there are programs that are both easy and comfortable." He reiterated that there are programs for investors, retirees, as well as special permits and programs, "but as a tourist or a temporary visitor, we are going to require people to register and to normalize their immigration status under one of these programs."

30 And Then 60 More: Lic. Garcia clarified that under the new law anyone who enters Panama as a tourist can stay for 30 days, and then if they wish to stay they can request a one-time extension which Immigration can grant for a maximum of up to 60 days. They do not have to grant the extension and every case is considered individually. This is the real change behind this law. Before anyone that came into the country could count on a minimum 90 day stay no matter what. Now, tourists who want to stay are required to register and apply for an extension. And, after a total of 90 days (the original 30 and max 60 day extension) then Immigration can not give another extension. The person either has to apply for a more permanent condition under one of the other programs, or leave the country.

Gotcha... Lic. Garcia Tobar pointed out that there are currently six cases of persons who are wanted in the United States who are detained in Panama for crimes such as tax avoidance and fraud, and that "with this new program, anyone who is in Panama will have to register with us and that will give us the opportunity to review their criminal background, no matter what country they are from." He explained that even though the thrust and intent of the program is directed primarily at security issues in Panama stemming from the flow of drugs and money, tighter immigration controls mean greater overall security for the country.

And FBI Background Check? There has been a persistent rumor that Immigration is now going to require a federal or FBI background check, and Lic. Garcia Tobar said that's not true. He said that they require a police report from the town or county where you lived in the United States and they can quickly and easily check with their counterparts in the United States at the federal level in any case that they suspect there might be a possibility of a hidden problem or pending federal charges. But for the run-of-the-mill pensionado visa then a local police report works just fine. Lic. Garcia Tobar went on to say that the easiest way to catch his attention is to bring in a police report from Alaska when you live in Miami (or something else absurd). He will then investigate you in depth because he felt you tried to slip something by him.

The Bottom Line: Get legal. There is no grandfather clause. If you're on a 90-day visa you're illegal now. And while the tone and tenor of this interview left it perfectly clear that the government of Panama is not targeting gringos with this new program, they also left it clear that they want you to be in compliance with the law, and that means that you need to get off your duff and get with (one of the) programs.

Update - 30 May 2007: Someone just sent me an email posted by Susan Guberman-Garcia on Panama Forum regarding this article. Her comments merit a response and clarification on a couple of points.

• Basis In Law: First of all, these changes are not being done on a whim, but rather come as a result of a change to Panamanian law. Specifically, as posted in the Gaceta Oficial 25799, Law Number 15 of 22 May 2007 and published in the Gaceta Oficial on 25 May 2007. This law is a compilation of changes to existing laws, and there is only one article which applies to immigration.
  
  
• Article 36: This article of Law 15 says "El numeral 1 del artículo 1 del Decreto Ley 16 de 1960 queda así: Artículo 1. Los extranjeros que ingresen al territorio nacional serán clasificados como turistas, transeúntes, viajeros en tránsito, viajeros en tránsito directo, visitantes temporales e inmigrantes: 1. Son turistas los que llegan con fines exclusivos de recreo u observación por un lapso de treinta días, prorrogable hasta por sesenta días."
  
  
• Which Translates To: "Number 1. of Article 1. of Decreed Law 16 of 1960 will remain as: 'Those foreigners who enter the national territory classified as tourists, transients, travelers in transit, or travelers in direct transit, temporary visitors and immigrants: 1. Those who arrive with the exclusive purpose of recreation or tourism are tourists for thirty days, which can be extended for up to sixty days."
  
  
• Questions Of Enforcement: Immigration is not going to go out and hunt you down. But this law took effect on 25 May 2007, five days ago. Immigration officials know there are lots of people in the country right now who arrived before the 25th with 90 tourist visas. As of 25 May 2007, tourists are allowed to stay in Panama for 30 days, and then anyone who wants to stay can apply for a single 60-day extension.
  
  
• Applied Retroactively? No, simply applied. If you arrived in Panama on 20 May 2007 and were handed a 90-day tourist visa, and you are reading this article, then you now know that you have to go to immigration to apply for an extension after you have been here 30 days. You also know that the 90-day tourist visa in your passport is no longer valid according to current Panamanian law. Here they like to say "ignorance of the law is no excuse." In other words, immigration officials know there are people out there who are getting caught in the change-over to the new law, and they are not going to come kicking in your door to haul out out of the country. They also know that in three months this entire issue evaporates. Next...
  
  
• Susan Says: "Not an idle threat, considering that every time you board a plane from one part of the country to another, your passport is checked before you board the plane and sometimes after you debark as well (just in case you switched identities while in the air)." I expect that immigration officials will be informing people that they run into in these kinds of cases that they will have to go to immigration to apply for an extension. Hauling the random confused tourist who is actually here as a tourist off to the border seems a little draconian. Now, if that person has been living here for years as a "quasi-tourist" then that's a whole different matter.
  
  
• Susan Says: "60 day extensions will not be granted automatically but only for "touristic" reasons. He did not define what that means, but the inference drawn by the article is that it does not mean closing on your property or buying a business, etc. etc. etc." Right. If you want to go see the Miraflores Locks, fine. Go look at some beach property, fine. Buy a condo, fine. Open a Bed and Breakfast and sell real estate on the side, not so much.
  
  
• Susan Says: "Furthermore, he states that the government of Panama has now stared detaining American citizens accused of "tax avoidance" by Uncle Sam. If that is true, it represents a change in policy, since previously, Panama did not cooperate in enforcing other countries' tax laws, and would not extradite people for not paying taxes back home but only for crimes like money laundering, narcotics, fraud, terrorism, etc. etc." Lic. Garcia Tobar told me there are currently six US Citizens in custody awaiting deportation back to the United States for a variety of crimes committed there, and tax evasion was one of the string of crimes he mentioned. Panama's policy is clear - if there is an arrest warrant in the United States pending for you and they find you here in Panama, then you will be arrested and deported back to the United States to face those charges. You can not come to Panama to avoid prosecution in the United States. This is not a deviation from past policy, but rather an application of existing laws and treaties.
  
  
• Susan Says: "You an take this article for what its worth. While Don Winner's information is not always reliable when he has a personal involvement in the subject matter, here he's quoting a Panamanian government official, one Tomas Garcia Tobar, the National Sub Director of Migracion and this is what the man allegedly said." Susan, my email address is don@panama-guide.com, and my cell number is 6614-0451. If you have any further questions about the accuracy of this or anything else I publish then feel free to contact me directly and ask the questions. Or, you can continue to question my ethics in a public forum and generate speculation that maybe I wrote something other than what Lic. Garcia Tobar "allegedly" said. Or even better, ask him yourself. But do me a favor, before you question my ethics in public, please give me the chance to respond privately first. I will be more than happy to provide any additional information you might require, but I really don't appreciate the inference.
  
  

Copyright 2007 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. As usual, go ahead and use whatever you want as long as you credit the source. Salud.