Update on the 30-Day Tourist Visa Issue

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Today I interviewed Lic. Karen Zamora, the Chief of Investigation for Panama's Department of Immigration, regarding the recent changes to the tourist visa law. She said they can instantly check the status of any tourist in Panama using a new and sophisticated computer system. They capture the tourist movement data at entry points such as Tocumen Airport and Paso Canoas for every entry and exit, and they have the technology to instantly check on the status of any tourist in the country at any time (pretty cool). She demonstrated the technology using a mock suspect, and said "he last entered in January and has not left, so he's currently illegal." They can also now easily see the multiple tourist entries and exits over time, so they know who are the "perpetual tourists." She added that anyone who enters Panama after 22 May 2007 falls under the new law and regulations, and that anyone who was in the country prior to that date will be treated under the old regulations. She said that they know this is a period of transition and that there are people who have gotten "caught in the change" to the new law. (more)

"No Resources to Knock On Doors" Lic. Zamora explained that "we don't have the resources, space, personnel, or time" to go out and chase down every tourist who has overstayed their tourist visa. She added that according to Article 62 of Law #16 of 30 June 1960, any police officer can ask any person to identify themselves. Of course Panamanian citizens will present their cedula, and tourists will pull out their passport. Police officers are supposed to make a quick check of the passport and if they encounter a tourist who has overstayed their tourist visa they are required by law to bring that person to immigration for processing. So, while the immigration office is using their new motorcycle patrols to make spot-checks of suspicious characters, they are not going out to comb through the beaches looking for people. They know that sooner or later you will come to them. And the National Police act as filters on the streets to help immigration find those who are overstaying their welcome.

"We Will See Them After Thirty Days" The National Sub-Director of Immigration Lic. Garcia Tobar said that under the new system, tourists will now have to check back in with immigration after having been in the country for just thirty days in order to apply for an extension. At that point they can issue an extension for up to 60 additional days, but they are no longer required to do so. This gives them a greater ability to filter out anyone who they might think is not actually in the country as a tourist. So, your request for an extension might be denied if there's a reason to think you're abusing the system. But the thrust of his message was clear - it's time to get legal. "Tourists are those people who come here to visit for a short time, not to live here as a perpetual tourist. Those days are over." Panama wants you to come here and stay, and their arms are relatively open, but you are going to have to qualify for one of the programs, or leave after having visited this wonderful country. Remember to stop by our gift shop on your way out. Those refrigerator magnets are nice...

Trying To Get Legal: I ran into a guy at the immigration office this afternoon who was trying to straighten out his status. He has been in Panama for awhile and was planning on staying until the end of June for a wedding, and he would have been fine under the old rules. But now he was confused (and so were the guys at immigration.) He applied for an extension, they were going to give it to him, then they said no, then they said come back on Thursday for an answer. The problem is that today he is still formally legal, has not overstayed his visa, and can leave without having to pay a fine. If he says until Thursday, he will have overstayed his visa, will have to pay a fine when he leaves, and was concerned that there might be some kind of a "black mark" in the system that could hamper future entries. At the end of the day he was left without a clear answer, which generally means that the kind folks at the Immigration Office didn't know what to do with him. But it's also important to note that there wasn't a flood of panicked tourists lined up with sweaty passports in their trembling hands. "I thought the place would be packed." I guess that while a lot of people are talking about the issue, few have been driven to act, yet.

Lawyer's Feeding Frenzy: According to Carlos Newman from the Panama Relocation Attorneys, "we are getting a lot of inquiries from people who are concerned about their status." There are many different options and immigration programs available, including some new programs and other programs that have historically seen little use but now might become more attractive.

It's Not About the Gringos: I keep hearing the same thing from immigration officials - "it's not about the gringos." And in the same breath they explain that "the change was made primarily due to a need for us to improve our internal security posture with regards to illegal immigration from South Americans, and those persons historically involved in drug trafficking." But there's no doubt that the change will have a profound impact on the transient culture of the snow birders and other temporary residents who have been getting by just fine under the old rules, and who will now have their style cramped a little bit by the new rules.

Gringo Creativity: I've already seen some people using their big, fat heads to try to come up with work-arounds. Assuming they don't qualify for any other visa, they are doing things like "trying to find someone with more than ten employees who would be willing to hire me." Err... Good luck with that. The idea being that companies with ten employees can have one foreigner on the books. Maybe a cottage market as a "visa broker" is in the works? I doubt it. Too many complications and potential pitfalls for the business owner.

Let's Play "Who Wants To Marry A Panamanian!" Bad (really bad) idea. I know a Colombian girl who married a Panamanian guy just for immigration reasons. Immigration denied their application - saw right through their plan. Also, getting residency status as "married to a Panamanian" is one of the hardest routes to take. It's a two-year process, it's relatively costly, slow, and there are two interviews (at least) at immigration to make sure that you are actually married to the other person. There is also a requirement to submit a comprehensive police report from your country of origin and lots of documentation requirements. And, Panamanian immigration authorities are also making better use of their new international integration and communications with elements such as Interpol to filter out wanted criminals who would move to Panama to avoid prosecution in their home country.

Sweating Bullets: I ran into a guy who was in a real estate office and looking at new construction options. He was about to move from Costa Rica to Panama. We started off talking about post office boxes and mail options, and ended up talking about the tourist visa issue. I told him about the new filtering processes. "Man, if they ever implemented that system in Costa Rica there would be a mass exodus; there are scumbags who are on the lam hiding practically behind every banana plant up there. You see them sneaking around all the time and they are obviously trying to keep a low profile." I bet. In any case those kinds of people are not going to be able to use Panama as their base of operations anymore. Before you could stay in Panama for long periods of time and then just pop across the border for a weekend to "reset" your tourist visa. Repeat for ten years. Now, you have to return to your "country of origin" for 72 hours or they won't let you back in. See, they've thought of everything. You're screwed.

"They're Going To Kill The Golden Goose" I doubt it. Remember that the Golden Goose has golden eggs dropping out of their ass at regular intervals, and they generally have the resources to be able to apply for and get some kind of a permanent status. For those people with enough resources to buy a part-time condo overseas generally have enough money to either fly back after three months or to qualify for a pensionado visa. I'm sure this program will deter some people from coming to Panama as a retirement destination, but if the end result of this program is a significant increase in internal security then the overall net result could actually be an increase in incoming immigration flow. There will be other kinds of people running around. I wonder if the famous con man "Randy," a gringo who preys on newly arriving gringos with a "I lost my passport" sob story, has a legal immigration status. I doubt it. Get the hell out, Randy. Leave the nice Golden Geese alone.

Wanna Buy Some Teak? It looks like the reforestation visa is starting to emerge as one of the best options for those who don't qualify under any other program. This program was killed a couple of years ago, and has since been brought back to life. The numbers are good from an investment point of view - you only need to drop in $40,000 to qualify. And, for that you get your visa and a couple of hectares of reforestation teak. If you decide that you want to bail out of Panama in ten years or so your investment will be easy to sell because the value of reforestation teak does not go up very much early in the investment, and it's worth more as it gets closer to maturity. So, if you've been sitting on a couple of hectares for ten years then your teak is going to be worth a lot more. And according to Lic. Ricardo Faraudo "there's also the issue of carbon credits which is just starting to get going and is likely to be much more important in a few years."

I'm Really Enjoying This (Sorry): I'm sorry if this change in law is going to make things hard for you, especially if you're generally a nice person who contributes to your newfound community in a positive manner. But I gotta tell you, there are a couple of people who I know are running around on expired tourist visas who have been pains in my ass for years, and it's been my pleasure to point them out to immigration authorities. I say that by way of disclosure to help you recognize the bias in my writing. So, I guess coming down to Panama, flying with a very high profile, and breaking a whole series of Panamanian laws and spitting in the face of local authorities was generally a bad idea. Oh, well. Must suck to be you. Let's see how the whole thing pans out in the long run. And again, I'm only talking about two or three people here who detract more than add. If there's anything I can do to help the rest of you guys just let me know.

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.