Massive Changes to Panama Friendly Nations Program

This is interesting. Do you happen to have a link to the law or proposal of law that outlines these changes? I checked https://www.migracion.gob.pa/permisos-y … igratorios but there's no mention of recent changes to the friendly nations visa there.

Yes. As we have many long time friends in these departments and have tried to warn for some time that under the new President that these programs were going to get stricter it is finally officially here.

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You have around a maximum of 2-3 months remaining to get in under old rules. Please message us if you have more questions about the changes.

Also we would like to share that there is going to be a new 9 month Digital Nomad visa as well.

https://www.centralamerica.com/opinion/ … announced/  There's a lot of talk on the various forums that say the same thing, big changes coming

Well yes, of course people will be talking about it now since an official announcement has already been made and word spreads of the news. We were trying to warn people months before this since the new President took office that strict changes were coming to some of the programs and little paid heed thinking they could put things off and had more time to wait. Under the new rules it will also involve the labor department in the application process which if anyone knows anything about this it will add difficulty. We were told directly from long time friends who are people who were considering these changes to start warning people in advance unofficially before the official announcements were made.

Unfortunately, now there is going to be a mad rush of people trying to get in these next few months and we will all be limited in who we can select to help. We can take a handful of applicants under priority 1 month processing instead of the normal standard 3 month processing. But if you can't get in line from today to about August you will probably be stuck with the new requirements.

By the way, here is the official Spanish language announcement.
https://www.gacetaoficial.gob.pa/pdfTem … 210520.pdf

Thank you! That's really bad that they decided to basically end the friendly nations visa 😥 -- Panama is (or used) to be one of the few Countries in the world where it is (or was) relatively easy to obtain permanent residency.

I don't understand the reasoning behind this. Are too many people looking for jobs that should go to Panamanians? Does this mean that digital nomads are out of luck? They wouldn't qualify for the pensionado program, so they'd have to go elsewhere instead of living and spending their money here. Oh well, it is what it is, and this is yet one more good reason to enjoy being old and retired.

Will this affect the pensionado residency program  as well?
Thanks, Keith

Hello Kris,
Under the new rules qualified people can still apply for work permits and even residency in time while living and working in Panama for a local company, but the process will be strict. Digital nomads will need to apply for the Digital nomad visa unless they want to apply for permanent residency through the new investment option.
Hello Keith,
No, there are no changes to the Pensionado program. Retirees are safe.

Another reminder. If you are considering to apply, you need to be working on your police background check and other documents that require an Apostille NOW to have them ready as soon as possible as these can take some time.

For immigration:
Police record
Marriage certificate
Birth certificate for children
For bank:
Tax return last year

Good to hear there is a digital nomad option. I have quite a few friends who work like that. Thanks for the info.

If you've already gone through the US's TSA background check and gotten the new ID's, will this suffice the background check for panama?

i tried to email u about using ur service to get grandfathered in before changes made the email is not working , thxs

Hi there,

We are resident in Panama sine 2019 and so went through the process not so long ago.

Here is a comprehensive details webinar replay from a reputable and popular firm of attorneys in Panama: Kraemer and Kraemer FNV changes replay

Time running out for those wanting to still get this going with the old rules!

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Cheers,
Daniel
Boquete, Panama

Hi there.  No worries.  And I am aware of the changes, but my house is in the process of being sold to come to Panama so I hope I make it for the deadline.   I wanted to ask, if I don't make the deadline, what other visa can I apply for and what is it like to stay there on the 180 day cycle?  A friend from Costa Rica told me about that...

Hello Laurika,

Without knowing your exact nationality, plan, timeline, budget, overall goals etc. it will be difficult to offer quality advice. You can send us a message anytime. We are happy to help answer your questions.

Hi,

I think they are working on some digital nomad visa, but this won't typically lead to permanent residency so it's a temporary thing. Perhaps Google that digital nomad visa in Panama for more info, it was recently announced.

Look, the FNV visa might still be doable for many folks, it's just going to be a bit more challenging going forward for some people on a budget.

The demand is quite high still, so I think they will somehow create some sort of workaround regarding the job offer scenario. I'm not sure how exactly , but I'm sure many attorneys are already working out how to tackle that somehow as this visa is and has been a good income generator for them.

As a SAFFA you can come for 6months and ideally you'd need to be ale to show a return flight or onward travel at the end of your stay.

Some spend the money, others buy a return leg JUST before they arrive and cancel it for a full refund on Expedia
(think they have a 48hrs cancelation policy)...but this can all be a bit tricky and you'd have to do what you feel is best.

We bought bus tickets to Costa Rica as proof of onwards travel, although they never checked this when we arrived in 2019...so I guess were lucky as there was mixed opinions a out that at the time.

All said, we arrived in Panama coming from Vietnam ( we were there for about 6months) via Turkish Airlines with an overnight stay and connecting flight the next day. II heard some worries about folks not being allowed to fly from SA without a return flight from wherever they're going.

We had a similar one-way ticket issue when we 1st left SA going to Thailand in 2018 , but I just put my foot down and said we don't know how long we're going, and we're traveling the rest of SE Asia (which was true) and it's nobodys business where wr go and how long we go for...we'll see for ourselves.

But again, just make sure as every country has their own procedures...and more often then not, people who do give you hassle are just ignorant, uninformed or arrogant. It goes without saying that it's best not to lose ones "cool" at airports as they have the "power" to refuse you boarding, but also don't just let them walk all over you telling you what you can and can't do, unless it's a law and written somewhere.

The safest route is to show a return flight...ie typically after a few weeks, and if you can get a refund by booking the return leg LITERALLY on the day you leave SA and canceling it the moment you're through Panama immigration, then you can save quite a bit of money.

Anyway, that's my 5cents worth.

It seems like Panama is making it harder and harder to get residency. I got my residency in the year 2000 under the economic solvency program. I had to keep a CD in Banco Nacional of 100K for two years to qualify. They paid me 8% interest monthly. Then in 2013 I was naturalized as a Panamanian citizen. Just recently I was able to get my wife residency based on being married to a Panamanian but it was quite difficult. And expensive because she had entered the country illegally. She is from the Dominican Republic. All I can say is there are other nice places in Latin America where it is easier. And they might be happy for you to spend your money in their country. It favors a country's balance of payments to have money coming in from abroad. People from Europe, the US and Canada are bringing money into the country. People from other Latin American countries maybe not.  Panama used to be quite a banking center. Now they are paranoid about giving you an account. Banistmo is giving me a hard time about adding my wife's name to an account I've had for 20 years. They want me to pay an accountant to certify that she has a certain amount of income. Seems crazy as we are not asking for a loan. And it is not just Banistmo. The other banks are just as difficult.  I can't see how the new rules will be good for business.