Return of the 90-Day Stay

January 28, 2008
Panama City, Panama

It looks like the 90-day tourist visa is back…for U.S. citizens, at least. Last May, the Panama government decided that U.S. and Canadian visitors here on tourist visas were allowed to stay for a maximum of only 30 days rather than the 90-day stays that had been allowed before. Since then, local lobbies have been pushing for the return of the 90-day tourist visa. Business people, real estate associations, and others claimed that the measures were deterring retirees from moving here and were hurting tourism—including what they call "residential tourism," referring to snowbirds who spend up to six months in Panama without obtaining legal residency.

In the past months, rumors that the 90-day tourist visa is already back have been flying. We wrote in Panama Insider that, while many U.S. citizens were being granted 90 days, the government had not confirmed the change...so neither could we. In addition, Article 6 of Law 15 still says that the tourist visa is valid for only 30 days.

However, your Panama First Alert editors have continued to contact every possible source in an attempt to obtain official confirmation. This week, officials are openly admitting that, despite what Law 15 says, they are giving all U.S. tourists 90 days (Canadians still get just 30 days, though immigration officials we spoke to are unable to explain why).

You know our method…call again, and again, and again…and if every official we speak to says the same thing, then we report to you. Well, nine out of 10 people we spoke to say yes, it's true. Most importantly, these include officials at Tocumen International Airport and at the Panama-Costa Rica border…the ones that you will have to deal with on entering the country.

Border officials told us that they have not received any written documentation stating that the law is going to change. They are granting 90 days based on verbal orders, but say that they do expect to receive some kind of official communiqué "at some point." This is not surprising…in Latin America it's not uncommon for paperwork and official confirmation to take time. No one could tell us if and when Law 15 will be changed.

Bottom line: Every U.S. tourist we've spoken to in the past few weeks has been granted 90 days, and you are more than likely to receive the same.

In December, Panama's National Assembly granted President Martin Torrijos extraordinary powers to enact decree laws affecting banking, immigration, customs, and tourism. He must make any changes by the end of February, and we expect he will modify Law 15.

Best regards,

Jessica Ramesch
Editor, Panama Insider