If you are submitting a residency visa application in Panama, all of the adult applicants in your family will need to provide criminal history background checks from the country where you have been residing. You’ll also need to obtain an “apostille” for the criminal background checks, or otherwise have them “authenticated” before coming to Panama to start your residency application process.
The processes and institutions involved in requesting criminal history information are going to vary a bit from one country to another. In this article, we’re going to try to tell you everything you need to know to get this done and have a seamless experience in the United States.
Also, be sure to check out the short video at the end of this article where we use a shared screen to show you step-by-step exactly how to request your FBI report.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation
You won’t be able to apply for Panama residency using criminal background check results from a municipality, state, provincial or other local government. Rather, you’ll need to obtain a national background check. So, if you are coming from the United States, then this means you’ll need to request an FBI background check.
You are specifically going to be requesting an Identity History Summary from the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division, and it looks like this:
To clarify, this is what a squeaky-clean FBI report looks like. If you have blemishes on your report, then there are likely to be some additional pages!
By the way, we want to give credit where credit is due. As far as US federal government offices go, the FBI is about as nice and helpful as we have seen. If you need assistance from the CJIS Division, you can call them during regular business hours at +1 (304) 625-5590. It is relatively quick and easy to speak with a real person, and from our experience the person who answers has consistently been nice, sincere and helpful.
Requesting the FBI Report
The first step is to fill out a short application on the FBI’s website. You’re going to navigate to that first blue box on the left that says “Obtaining Your Identity History Summary” and you should click “Learn More“.
You will start by providing an email address. The will immediately send you an email with a link and a code that you should use to access the online form.
That online form is going to ask you to provide basic information like your first and last name, place of birth and social security number.
The FBI website will prompt you to make a payment at the end of the process (US$18 per report), and it will ask you for a mailing address where the report should be sent. The form will also ask you whether you’d like to receive an email notification when the FBI report is ready, and you should select “Yes”.
Once you’ve completed payment, the FBI will send you another email with a bar code, which looks like this:
You should print that email. You’ll need it for the next steps.
Fingerprint Submissions
To request an FBI report, you’ll need to provide a legible fingerprint sample. And there are numerous places throughout the United States where you can have your fingerprints taken. You can check with your local police station, or some business like UPS Store or Staples may be able to take your fingerprints. Or you may even be able to do it at your local post office.
Actually, the FBI website even offers a list of Participating US Post Office Locations, and you can search it by zip code to find the location close to you.
Apart from selecting where to provide your fingerprint sample, you’ll also need to determine how to submit your fingerprints.
Actually, when you fill out the FBI’s form online, you’ll have to select 1 of 2 different ways to submit your fingerprints to the FBI:
- You can send in black ink fingerprints by mail; or
- You can scan your fingerprints and send them digitally.
Ink Fingerprints
If you are doing this the old fashion way, by rolling black ink fingerprints across the page, then you’ll need to provide the fingerprint sample on the FD-1164 form or the FD-258 form. You can also download the the most updated versions of these form directly from the FBI’s website.
We suggest printing these on a nice, robust paper stock. We usually use a nice carton paper, which is typically white, cream or light beige in color. Our criminologist who does fingerprints for our clients here in Panama prefers that the paper has a matte finish, but smooth without dimples, threads or other texture.
If you are submitting your fingerprints this way, then you should send the fingerprint sample by mail the following address
and form together with a scanned picture of your passport to the FBI at the following address:
FBI CJIS Division
ATTN: ELECTRONIC SUMMARY REQUEST
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, West Virginia 26306
You should also be sure to include the printed email with the bar code + a photocopy of your passport in the envelope with the fingerprint submission.
Digital Fingerprint Submission
The FBI also allows you to submit fingerprints digitally. If you are submitting through the post office, then most of those US Post office locations charge around USD 50 for the digital fingerprint submission.
So, providing a digital fingerprint sample is going to cost a little bit more, but there are a couple of reasons you might consider it.
For one thing, the processing time for digital fingerprints is very fast. Our clients often receive their FBI reports via email before they get home from scanning in their prints. And if you don’t receive it the same day, then you’ll likely receive in max 1-2 business days. Meanwhile, the FBI will often take 2-3 weeks to process ink fingerprints submitted by mail.
For some people, the digital fingerprint option may also result in a more legible fingerprint sample than the black ink fingerprints. You see, when you request an FBI report, one weakness in the system is that it all depends on the applicant being able to provide accurate biometrics. For some people, their fingerprints become worn off as they get older, and the FBI doesn’t really offer much of a viable solution for someone who isn’t able to provide a legible fingerprint images. So the digital fingerprinting option be worth trying if you have had trouble providing a legible black ink fingerprint sample.
If you decide to submit your fingerprints digitally, then sure to bring the printed email with bar code when you go to provide digital fingerprints.
Receiving your FBI Report
When you filled out the form on the FBI’s website, you were asked to provide an address where you would like to receive the FBI report by mail.
But if you selected “Yes” when asked whether you wanted to receive an email notification when the report is ready, then you’ll be able to download the FBI report as a PDF the moment it is issued. If you provided digital fingerprints, then you may receive that email notification before you even get home from the post office.
Once you receive the notification and download the report as a PDF, you can print it and move directly on to the next step. You do not have wait until the paper copy arrives to you via snail mail.
Apostille or Authentication of FBI Reports
Once you have the reports, you can have them either apostilled through the State Dept or authenticated via one of the Panama Consulate offices. You can read more about how to get an apostille in this article.
However, we generally recommend that US clients instead get the authentication it through the Panama Consulate, as they tend to process documents more quickly.
There are 8 Panamanian Consulate offices in the United States:
You should call the Consulate office you plan to use to confirm exactly what they will require to authenticate your documents. But from our experience, it works like this:
- You draft a short letter listing the documents you are sending and explaining that you need them authenticated for your Panama residency visa application.
Download this FREE TEMPLATE for your letter (this one is addressed to the Panama Consulate office in Washington, DC). - You should obtain a USD 30 money order for each of the documents that you need authenticated.
You can get these at lots of places in the US, including most Walmart locations. - You should also obtain a self-address, pre-paid envelope.
This is so that the documents can be sent back to you once they have been authenticated. - You drop the letter, the money orders, the self-addressed return envelope, the docs to be authenticated and a scan of the info page of your passport into an envelope addressed to the Consulate.
Alternatively, if you are near a Panama Consulate, then you can probably make an appointment to take your documents in and have them authenticated same-day. But be sure to call them and ask about this.
Using a Channeler
If all this seems like too much of a pain, there are companies in the US called “channelers” who can take care of the whole process for you. Here is a link to a list of FBI-approved channelers.
But there are 2 things we want to point out here:
First, we have yet to speak with an approved FBI channeler will work with clients who are not physically in the US to give their fingerprint sample. If you are already in Panama, we can help you with the fingerprint cards. But from there, you’ll either need to run the process yourself, or have us do it for you.
Second, dealing with the FBI on this is relatively painless – especially if you are physically in the United States. While government institutions have a reputation for being robotic and bureaucratic, our experience with the FBI in requesting these national background checks has actually been pretty impressive. At USD 18 per report, the cost is accessible for most people. Their turnaround time is also pretty fast (within 10 business days, and usually faster). And they have a phone number on their website, which will easily take you to a real person who is able answer your questions (and usually with a pleasant and polite demeanor).
Getting your FBI Report to Panama
Once you receive your authenticated FBI report, just hold onto it until you are ready to travel to Panama to start your residency application process. We won’t be able to start that process until you are physically here, so there is no reason to spend money on courier costs to Panama ahead of your trip.
However, we will need to get an official translation of your FBI report (as well as some other documents, depending on the residency Visa program). That translation work has to be done by a certified translator in Panama. This is why we usually ask clients to scan the report and send it to us via email, so that we can get a head-start on the translations prior to your arrival.
Also – keep in mind that the FBI report should be issued within 6 months prior to submitting your residency application. So, be sure to time all of this to avoid letting it expire before you get down here to launch the residency process!
Having your Fingerprints Taken in a Foreign Country
Many of our clients start this process once they are already in Panama. If you find yourself in that situation, then we have a professional criminologist who can help you with your fingerprints.
From there, you can run the entire process yourself as we have explained above. The key difference is that you will need to use a courier service (DHL, Fedex) to send the FD-1164 form to the FBI CJIS Division, and also for the pre-paid envelope to have your authenticated results sent back to Panama. You will also probably need someone in the US to receive the FBI results for you and send them to the Panama Consulate with the USD 30 money orders.
Or, we can handle the entire process for you. Ask us about a quote.
Bottom Line?
If you are applying for residency in Panama, then you’ll need to disclose any criminal record by providing a national background check. And if you are coming from the United States, then that means you’ll need to submit fingerprints for an FBI report. You’ll also need to get an apostille from the State Dept, or have your FBI report authenticated by one of the 8 Panama Consulate offices in the United States. There are companies called “channelers” who can help you with the whole process, but the FBI is actually pretty efficient and pleasant to deal with in obtaining this report. So, we recommend that you consider doing it yourself.
As promised, here is a video where we share a screen and show you exactly how to request the FBI report:
Did you find this article helpful? Did we get something wrong, or did we miss a detail that you think should have been covered? Be sure to send us your feedback at info@theindependentlawyer.com.
