IMPORTANT NOTES
Applying with dependents: The applicant of nationality in the list of friendly countries may include in the same application as its dependents: “spouses, children under 18 years, parents and children with disabilities.
Older children, from 18 years to 25 years may be requested as dependents provided they’re enrolled in a University in Panama and are under economic dependence of the principal applicant.
Required documents from Home:
1) Criminal history background check from the applicant’s country of origin or the country where he has lived consistently for the two past years. The Panama immigration department requires the applicant to provide an authenticated criminal history report issued by a “federal”, “central”, or “national” police force or criminal investigation authority. The criminal history records that do not have an expiration date will be valid for 3 months from the date of issue for immigration purposes.
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If the applicant is providing a criminal background report from a country where he is not a citizen, but a resident, the applicant must provide the legal residency identification which must be authenticated or Apostilled.
2) A copy of the applicant's driver's license or a government-issued photo-I. D. that has been authenticated by a Panamanian consulate or Apostilled.
3) 8 passport-size photos
4) Proof of legal residency if the applicant is not a citizen but is a resident of a friendly nation.
5) Birth and/or marriage certificates that prove the relationship between dependents and the applicant are required.
All documents must be authenticated by a Notary and the Apostille. The Apostille (The Hague Convention of 1961) is a faster way of authenticating documents and is normally obtained through the Secretary of State Department in your home state (in the USA) or through the Foreign Office (in UK and Canada).
IMPORTANT PROCEDURES
• Scheduling: Applicant(s) must contact us with at least 10 days prior notice to schedule appointments & coordinate documentation that is required for immigration processing. Please note that the immigration application process takes approximately 7 to 9 business days, so plan on being in Panama City for at least that time frame.
• Applicants with Dual Nationalities: If the Applicant has two (2) different Nationalities (Passports), then at the moment of "entry" into the Country of Panama (at the airport or border), the applicant must enter Panama using the same Passport that will be used for the Panama Immigration residency application.
The required documents for immigration processing that the applicant must provide must be issued in the same country of the applicants' passport, because if not then the applicant would need to provide proof that they are residents in the country where the documents are issued from.
• Document Validity: All required documents must be recently issued within 90 days (3 months) prior to the presentation of the Panama immigration residency application.
• Document Authentication: All required documents for immigration processing must be apostilled or authenticated by the Panamanian Consulate in the country of issue.
• Document Review: We recommend that all required documents for immigration processing are sent to us via scanned email for review and approval, at least 20 days prior to applicant(s) arrival in Panama.
• Document Preparation: For efficiency and time savings during applicants’ trip to Panama, we recommend applicants to send to our law office (by courier) all required and duly authenticated or apostilled documents, at least 2 weeks prior to applicants’ arrival in Panama. This will allow us to get enough time to process the necessary authentications of the documents at Panama's Ministry of Foreign Relations.
• Dress Code for Panama Immigration Office:
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For Men: Male applicants must wear long pants, collared shirt, and shoes with socks. Do not wear shorts, cut-off shirts or t-shirts, or any footwear that shows toes.
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For Women: Female applicants must wear a dress or long pants, collared shirt or top that covers shoulders, and formal footwear (shoes). No mini-skirts, shorts, cut-off shirts or tops showing shoulders or t-shirts, and no sandals or footwear that shows toes.