After a year or so of investigating which countries (other than the United States) to live during our future retirement years, we decided on Panamá. The decision was based on many reasons with the top three being: #1. Location, as it is less than a 3 hour flight back to our present home in S.W. Florida to visit family. #2. The low cost of living and #3. The ease of obtaining our permanent residency status by using the countries Friendly Nations Visa program.
Obtaining the Friendly Nations Visa required obtaining the services of a referred Panamanian Lawyer. We contacted her, Yolany, in February 2016 and discussed the required procedures with her and planned our first trip to Panamá for late April 2016. Yes, that's right.....OUR FIRST TRIP TO PANAMÁ.........ever. We must be brave souls. Yolany took our information via Skype, WhatsApp calls and emails that February & March and upon arriving April 2016, she had our Panamánian corporation active, took us to Creiditcorp Bank to guide thru the process of opening a bank account for each of us and took us to the Immigration Office to start the paperwork for the Friendly Nations Visa.
From April 2016 on, the Immigration Office continued reviewing additional required paperwork and after Yolany notified us they had given us conditional approval, we returned in September 2016, visited the office and had our pictures taken for our temporary residency visa's called Temporary Carnets. And we wait some more........nothing happens quickly in Panamá.
From September 2016 on, the Immigration Office goes thru their final approval procedures and then in March 2017, Yolany contacts us with the great news.........our Residente Permante applications have been approved!! We returned late April 2017, and exactly 1 year to the day of our first day ever in Pamaná we went to the Immigration Office, had our pictures taken and walked out with our Panamnian Residente Permante Cards!! Our picture with Yolany.
But wait............not done yet, these cards are only good until we renew our passports as they are connected to our passport number. Our passports do not renew until 2025 and are given a new number. So the next step was to apply for what is called a Cedula which was done immediately after we received the previous card. Last week Yolany informed us this procedure has also been approved by the the Immigration Office, so 1 more trip to Panamá is in our near future to visit the Panamanian Tribunal Electoral Office to received our Cedulas which are good forever!! So after a little over 1 year and a few months since our first day in Panamá we can live there legally as full time residents. After 5 years we can apply for a Pamamá passport and have citizenship status.
ES MUY BUENO!
