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.
That video got quite a bit of attention. So, if you have a ding or two on your police report, then know that you aren’t alone!
So, this article is meant to supplement that video with a bit more details about how this works and what can be done.
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 just from the last few months. 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.
There are basically 2 points when your residency application could be flagged:
First – an application could be flagged at the intake stage when we actually submit the application. This office reviews the application package to make sure that all of the required element are included. This includes a quick look at your police report. And if they see a charge there that is clearly going to be problematic, then they may not even allow us to submit the application.
Second – an application could be flagged during the internal review process that the application undergoes during the next couple of months after we submit.
The good news is that the folks at intake office have a pretty good idea of what a residency application should and should not include. And they are a pretty reliable barometer when it comes to whether or not a a charge on your police report is likely to present a problem.
The Visto Bueno
So, if you are concerned about something that appears on your police report, then here is how we have typically approached it:
- We’ll provide an internal review of your police report.
That just means that we’ll take a look and give you our honest assessment based on our experience processing other reports. This often puts 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. On the other hand, a string of bank robberies from last summer is probably going to be an issue. - We can request informal feedback from the immigration office.
More specifically, we’ll have the specific language around the charges in your report translated to Spanish. Then we’ll have a short discussion with the head of the immigration office’s intake department about whether the any charges are likely be an impediment to submitting the application.
The informal feedback from the immigration office will usually be either:
a. No problem, you can proceed!
b. This could be a problem….
c. Ay yay yay! This is is likely to be a problem!
“No problem, you can proceed” is actually the most common answer. Then our clients can proceed with the preparation of their residency application with some confidence. - If we get either of the second or third responses, we used to submit a request for what was called a “Visto Bueno“.
This is a bit more involved.
For one thing, we’ll need you to sign power of attorney (PoA). It will need to be notarize, and you’ll also need to obtain either an apostille from the country where you notarized the PoA or a Consular authentication by the Panama Consulate in that country.
We’ll also need to commission a full translation of your police report by a certified translator here in Panama.
If you wish, you can also provide a short letter providing any context that you would like the immigration office to consider.
The formal request is elevated to the Director of Panama’s immigration office and should be subject to a bit more scrutiny as to whether the blemishes that appear on the report will be an impediment to applying for residency.
This process used to take around 30 days.
Is the Informal Feedback Sufficient?
Most of our clients initially pursue the informal feedback that we described above, and they only go for the more formal Visto Bueno if the immigration office’s intake office tells us that a blemishe(s) in a police report will likely present a problem.
But some people prefer to go straight for the Visto bueno.
That’s because the informal feedback from the intake office is — well, it’s informal. There is not really an opportunity to provide context around the incident(s), and it doesn’t provide the more substantial and substantive review of the Visto Bueno. It also doesn’t come in a conclusive document like the Visto Bueno.
But the informal feedback also tends to be pretty reliable. In fact, we have never had an application flagged based on a police report after the intake office gave a green light to proceed with the application.
Still, the immigration office is processing a lot of residency applications these days, and there is bound to be some rotation and staff turnover. So, we generally recommend going ahead with the residency application relatively quickly after receiving positive informal feedback.
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):
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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