Becca F. Says:
Panama City sounds like a great place to live, but I don’t know the first thing about how to move there. What should I do to get a visa? Do I need to hire an attorney to help me?
Panamanian Lawyer Rainelda Mata-Kelly Says:
Hi Becca,
Panama is indeed a great place to live! For Americans and Canadians, it is easy to travel to Panama as tourists for up to six months without a visa.
However, if your intention is to remain in the country longer or make Panama your home, then you would need to hire an attorney to assist you in identifying your best residency visa option and filing and processing the application for you.
The fastest, easiest and least expensive option, by far, is the Pensioner Residency Visa. To qualify, you must be receiving a lifetime pension (such as Social Security, VA, Teacher’s retirement, etc) in the amount of at least $1,000 net per month.
If you are not receiving a pension yet, then there are a number of other options you can explore in a consultation with a lawyer.
Also it is very important that you make sure with your lawyer, that you have all necessary and correct documentation prior to coming to Panama to apply for your residency visa. I’d be happy to talk you through it all in February at the Fast Track Panama Conference in Panama City.
I look forward to meeting you here!
Got a Question?
Send your thoughts to mailbag@internationalliving.com. We’ll post and respond to as many of your emails as we can right here in the e-letter.