A couple of months ago, we posted a video about what to do if the police report you submit for your Panama residency application has a few blemishes on it. We explained how our team can check whether old charges are likely to be a problem before our clients dive head-first into the residency application.
Well, since posting that video, the process has changed a bit. Now it is actually more efficient than it was before, but it’s also a little less satisfying. I’ll explain what I mean below.
Blemishes on your Police Report
Are you worried about how blemishes on your police report might affect your residency application?
You’re not alone. Actually, I asked Ryan to search for the word “blemishes” in his email, and it pops up in more than 30 different email threads during 2024. All from people wondering if some slip up or even a misunderstanding from 10, 20, or even 30 years ago may impact their eligibility for Panama residency.
That’s because pretty much any residency visa application in Panama require all adult applicants to provide a federal police report from their home country or country of residence. If you are coming from the United States, then you’ll need to request an FBI report. And if you’re coming from Canada, you’ll need a report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).
Both of these reports involve submitting biometric data (i.e. your fingerprints), and they both tend to go all the way back.
Surprise Findings?
For most of our clients, these blemishes tends to be from an isolated incident (or some times a couple of isolated incidents). Or, there could have been multiple charges that stemmed from a single incident. In any case, our clients are usually more or less aware of any blemishes that are likely to appear before requesting their federal police report.
But sometimes there are surprises. For example, in some countries like the United States it is common for people to have minor charges “expunged” from their record after a certain amount of time. But it seems that while the expungement process removes the charge from your local record at the local level where the incident occurred, the charge may still appear in the federal police report.
Actually, this can create a real challenge. For example, we have worked with clients who got a DUI (or a DWI) many years ago, which was eventually expunged from their record. They are surprised to see it still reflected in their FBI report, and so they contact the FBI to explain that this shouldn’t be there. But when the FBI contacts the local police where the incident occurred, there is no longer any record about the charge or the expungement one way or another – especially if the incident arose in the era pre-computers. So, now the FBI cannot get the confirmation it needs to remove the charge from the federal police report.
We have even seen this happen with a charge that was “dismissed” at the local level before even going to trial!
Understanding the Impact of Blemishes
Ok, are the “blemishes” on your federal police report likely to be an impediment for your residency application?
As usual, the answer is that it depends.
As a general rule of thumb, it depends on the severity of the charges, the number of charges, and how long ago they occured. I’ll explain what we mean by each of these considerations. But you should be aware that there may be a bit of discretion in this part of the residency application process.
Severity of Charges
At the Panama immigration office, serious charges are likely to be taken . . . more seriously.
Generally speaking, a charge that was considered a “misdemeanor” in the United States or what is called a “conviction offense” in Canada is generally likely to be less problematic that arises to a “felony” in the United States or an “indictable offense” in Canada.
But the immigration office also seems to weigh certain types of charges differently than others. For example, in recent years we have clients submit reports that show a driving under the influence offense or even some type of assault charge with no problem whatsoever. Meanwhile, we have seen charges that have an element of theft or fraud be taken more seriously.
Number of Charges
Multiple charges may be interpreted as a propensity toward illegal behavior.
This one is kind of obvious. A single incident is probably less likely to be an impediment than a string of repeated incidents and recidivism that indicates a pattern of undesirable behavior.
How Long Ago the Charges Occurred
Again, this is probably self explanatory, but temporal proximity matters.
Something that happened 2 years ago may be taken more seriously than something that happened 20 years ago or when you were a teenager.
Is it Going to be a Problem?
As we said, this is one part of the residency application process that involves some discretion and interpretation on the part of the immigration office. That is understandable. But this makes for some ambiguity in the application process. And it can be pretty kind of scary when you are trying to make plans for you and your family. So, knowing where you stand is crucial before you proceed with your residency application.
Here is how we have typically approached this:
FIRST – we explain everything that we have explained in this article up until now. Often times, our experience allows us to put our clients at ease. For example, a misdemeanor weed possession charge from 20 years ago is unlikely to be a problem for your Panama residency application today in 2024. The string of bank robberies from last summer could be an issue.
SECOND – we request informal feedback from the immigration office. More specifically, we get an informal opinion from the office that receives the application file as to whether the police report in question is likely be an impediment to the person’s application for residency being considered.
This does require actually getting a copy of your federal police report. Still, it is less expensive and burdensome than preparing the entire residency application package only to find out that your application won’t be considered. This can typically be accomplished within just a day or two.
THIRD – the informal feedback from the immigration office will usually be either:
- No problem, you can proceed!
- This could be a problem….
- Ay yay yay! This is is likely to be a problem!
“No problem, you can proceed” is actuallly the most common answer. Then our clients can proceed with the preparation of their residency application with confidence.
But if we get either of the second or third responses, we used to submit a request for what was called a “Visto Bueno”. This involved signing a power of attorney (PoA) to request a formal consideration and a written letter from the immigration office indicating how they will treat the police report in question. This process used to take around 30 days.
By the way, here is a link to the video we posted a few months ago explaining this process (which is now a little outdated):
What Changed?
In the past couple of months, there have been changes in how the immigration office handles these requests. In short, they are no longer issuing the “Visto Bueno” letter.
Instead, they have empowered their front-line folks to provide the more immediate – albeit informal – feedback on these requests.
This seems to be an effort to streamline the process. And I guess it does . . . by completely eliminating part of the process.
But it is not as satisfying, because it would appear to leave less room for in-depth reviews of individual cases. For example, in requesting the “Visto Bueno”, we used to sometimes submit explanatory evidence and details about of the charge(s) in question. Now, there is not really much opportunity provide this type of context for the immigration office’s consideration.
How This Affects Our Clients
For our clients, this means a slight shift in strategy.
For one thing, applicants can no longer count on that formal, written “Visto Bueno” from the immigration office. That creates ambuity, and we hate that.
Also, in the absence of that formal, written assurance, clients may feel some pressure to go ahead submit their residency application shortly after receiving the informal feedback.
Why? Well, in any government office there is bound to be some rotation and turnover. So, if you’ve got an undocumented green light to green light to proceed, it probably makes sense to go ahead and move pretty quickly.
Bottom Line?
Pretty much any Panama residency visa application will require all of the adult applicants to provide a federal police report from the country where they have been living. And this can be cause for some anxiety, as a lot of people have blemishes on their records from years past.
This is one of the few parts of the residency qualification process that could be subject to some discretion and interpretation on the part of the immigration office. So, we often try to help our clients to get some assurance whether they are likely to have any problems before assuming all the costs of the residency application process.
But the law is constantly evolving – especially in its interpretation and its application. Up until a few months ago, there was a clear path to request a formal, written opinion from the immigration office on any client’s police report. Today, we are still able to get individualized feedback – but it is less formal, unwritten, and therefore may be less satisfying.
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