You CAN Get a 90-day Tourist Visa for Panama

Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008
Panama City, Panama

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Last May, the Panamanian government passed a new law, completely out of the blue, reducing the amount of time tourists could spend in the country. U.S. and Canadian tourists, who were always accorded 90 day stays upon entering the country, were suddenly only given 30. Sure, many applied for and got extensions of up to 60 days, but what a pain…who wants to deal with red tape in a government office when you ought to be sipping cervezas on the beach?

Of course, local associations were up in arms, saying the new law was deterring retirees and tourists from coming here. The measure probably affected residential tourists—people living here part-time—the most. These “snowbirds” were accustomed to staying for six months at a time…they would wait three months and then either apply for an extension or leave the country and re-enter for another three months.

If you were considering moving or investing here, chances are, the new law miffed you too…after all, it's not easy to make a life-changing decision or find the perfect retirement home in just four weeks. Panama has a lot to offer…but it wasn't giving visitors enough time to really comprehend just how much.

The government never gave a satisfactory explanation for the change…but that might be a moot point, because now it looks like the 90-day tourist visa is back, albeit only for U.S. citizens.

Actually, rumors about the return of the 90-day stay have been flying for months now. I wrote recently in Panama Insider that, while I knew many U.S. citizens were being granted 90 days, the government had not confirmed the change...and neither could I. Scores of readers wrote to me about the rumors they had heard on this or that blog. And as if all these rumors weren't confusing enough, Article 6 of Law 15 remained unchanged…in fact, it still says that the tourist visa is valid for only 30 days. That's life in Latin America for you…

But I have a systematic method for dealing with government officials…I pester them as often and as much as possible to try to determine what is going on.

One chatty border official tells me she has no written documentation stating that the law is going to change, but that she has verbal orders to grant 90 days to U.S. citizens (Canadians still get just 30 days, though no official I spoke to could tell me why). She does expect to receive an official communiqué “at some point”…not surprising, as in Latin America, these things take their own sweet time.

Furthermore, nine out of 10 officials openly admitted to me this week that, despite what the law says, they were giving all U.S. tourists 90 days. Every U.S. citizen I have spoken to in the past two weeks has received 90 days.

Bottom line…come on down and the stay for 90 days…at least, that's the “unofficial” position.

Jessica Ramesch
Panama Insider, International Living

P.S. If you call a Panamanian embassy near you, it's quite possible you'll be told that you can only get a 30-day stay. Again, this is not surprising, as embassy officials are not “on the ground” witnessing what’s being done in practice. Just remember, the officials you'll deal with here in Panama are giving 90-day stays. By the way, I expect President Martin Torrijos to make this official by the end of February, since he is currently in the process of reviewing immigration policy.

Editor’s note: Jessica is the editor of Panama Insider and is constantly keeping her ear to the ground for law changes, tax issues, real estate bargains, and anything that may benefit or affect the expat or tourist in Panama. If you would like to hear why she believes Panama is the best place on earth to live, join us at the Ultimate Event in Cancun, Mexico, May 28 to 31.

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