Docs you MAY Need to Obtain for a Panama Visa Application

The Republic of Panama is on the map these days!  We have one of the most attractive Retirement and Pensioner Visas in the world right now.  The President recently signed Executive Decree No. 193 keeping the minimum investment for Panama’s Qualified Investor Visa (the “Golden Visa” program) at $300k (USD). Not to mention a stable political environment, no taxes on foreign-sourced income, a growing dollar-based economy, mountains, beach, a cosmopolitan capital city with direct flights all over the world, and high-quality and affordable health care.  

It’s no wonder that Panama has become a super relevant destination for international investors and foreign nationals seeking permanent resident visas! 

If you have chosen to relocate or obtain residency in Panama, then this article is for you. It is going to explain some of the different documents that you MAY be asked to obtain for your residency application package.  Enjoy!

Why Do the Residency Requirements Change Depending on Who you Ask?

If you are applying for a permanent residency permit or even temporary residency, you will be provided with a different list of required documents, depending on which visa you are pursuing.  That seems obvious enough.

But it is also true that you may be provided with a different list of required documents, depending on which attorney you choose. That seems a little strange… Why would Panamanian attorneys give conflicting information on something like this that should be cut and dry?

It’s an interesting question. And we actually wrote about it in one of the first articles we published on our website: Why do Panamanian Attorneys Give Conflicting Legal Advise?

But I think it happens for a couple of reasons in the context of immigration law:

First, not all attorneys have the same level of experience in immigration law, or with every single visa program.

Second, the the interpretation of the requirements for a particular visa may evolve slightly over time, even if the legislation has not necessarily been updated. If your attorney is not sure about the current requirements for a particular visa, he or she may throw an additional document or two into the list just in case the immigration office asks for it.

This is why one of the first (and most important) steps in your residency process should be to secure a solid immigration lawyer. One who actually knows knows what’s going on, and one who knows how to communicate.

These types of legal services are not a commodity. Not all lawyers are the same. And who you choose to work with in Panama usually matters.

So, if someone you care about chose their lawyer by going with the absolutely least expensive quote they could find, then share this article with them.

Table of Contents

This article contains a list of the documents you MIGHT be asked to obtain for your Panama residency application, depending on which via option and residency strategy you are pursuing.

Here is a quick Table of Contents for items we will be explaining. Remember that immigration laws change at the legislative level, and also in the way they are interpreted and applied. So, this list will inevitably have to be updated from time to time. If you see something that appears outdated or contrary to your recent experience, then let us know so that we can consider updating the article.

We are also including a bunch of helpful links to other articles and resources that provide additional info on these and related items.

The following documents are listed in alphabetical order:

1. Apostille or Consular Authentication
2. Bank Statement
3. Birth Certificate
4. Bank Reference Letter
5. Certificate of Existence
6. Certificate of Fixed-Term Deposit from a Local Bank
7. Certification of Investment (in Panama’s Stock Exchange)
8. Certification of Enrollment
9. Court Order of Adoption or Legal Guardianship
10. Driver’s License (or another 2nd form of ID)
11. Lifetime Income Affidavit
12. Limited Power of Attorney
13. Marriage Certificate
14. Medical Diagnosis
15. Passport
16. Police Report
17. Public Registry Certificate
18. Retirement Benefits Letter
19. Single Status Affidavit
20. Share Certificate for a Panamanian Corporation
21. University Documents

Apostille or Consular Authentication

Some of the documents in this list can be obtained locally here in Panama, but most of them will come from outside of Panama. And for the most part, foreign-issued documents that you submit for your residency application will need to come with either an apostille or a Consular authentication. What do we mean by that?

Well, practically speaking, both the apostille and the Consular authentication serve the same purpose. Think about it – the immigration officer in Panama is looking at potentially hundreds of documents from foreign jurisdictions such as the US, Canada, Europe, Israel, South Africa, Asia. All of these documents are of importance for the application, and all of them are being presented as official and authentic. But how can the immigration officer simply accept the documents as credible? How can he or she recognize that they are what they claim to be?

Well, this is the purpose of an apostille, which is generally issued by the State Department (in the US), the Global Affairs or Official Document Services office (in Canada), or a Ministry of Foreign Relations office or similar from numerous countries around the world who have signed on the to the Hague convention. We have written about the apostille on our website:  WTF is an Apostille.  

But many countries have not signed on the Hague convention, and therefore they do not issue the apostille. Actually, Canada only signed onto the Hague Convention in January of 2024.  

And other countries may issue the apostille, but the process and expedience may not be altogether consistent. An example is the United States, where the process may vary depending in which of the 50 states you are located. That’s why in the United States, we generally recommend that applicants consider authenticating their documents through the Panama Consulate (the “Consular authentication”).  

Panama currently maintains 8 different Consulate offices in the United States. And they are generally pretty small offices, meaning that you can reach someone by phone in case there are questions or any unexpected issues. Click here to read more about how to get an apostille or Consular Authentication in the United States.

The US State Dept issues the apostille, and the Panama Consulate in the US issues the Consular authentication. Both serve the same purpose. Practically speaking, the immigration officer is looking at hundreds of docuemnts from foreign jurisdictions like the US, and the apostille or Consular authentication tells him/her that the documents in question are what they claim to be.  But, in short, both are equally valid for your residency process. 

Bank Statement

If you are applying for the Pensionado Visa based on benefits that you receive from a private pension program or an annuity from a private insurance company. In that case, you will probably need to provide a recent bank statement showing the monthly income actually coming into your account. The bank statements should either have an apostille from the country of issuance, or be authenticated by the Panama Consulate located in the country of issuance.

Birth Certificate

Pretty much any residency visa program will require you to provide a birth certificate for any son or daughter applying as your dependent. This applies if they are minors, but it also applies if they are over 18 and applying as your dependents.

Or, if you happen to have been born in Panama, then you will need a copy of your birth certificate in Panama to include in your request to recognize your Panamanian citizenship.

One thing to note about a birth certificate from outside of Panama is that unlike many of the other documents, it does NOT have to be freshly issued for a residency application process. However, the apostille or Consular authentication of the birth certificate should be from within 6 months prior to submitting your residency application.

Most people have an original birth certificate from when their children were born sitting in a drawer somewhere. So, you can send that original off for the apostille or Consular authentication to use in your family’s residency application. We can even request to get it back once your application has been processed.

Or, most people prefer to just request an updated copy. And that works fine as well.

Bank Reference Letter

Some visa applications will require you to provide a bank reference letter from a local Panamanian bank. As archaic as it sounds, this type of bank reference letter typically comes up to demonstrate economic solvency to support a dependent spouse or children. So, the reference letter is usually going to state your average balance over a previous period. Since this letter comes from within Panama, it does not require an apostille or Consular authentication.

But when you go to open your Panama bank account, some local banks may also ask you for a reference letter from your bank back at home as a part of their due diligence on you as a client. Click here to read more about this and other documents you may need to provide when applying for a new bank account in Panama.  

Certificate of Existence

This often comes up within the context of a Pensionado Visa application where the applicant is applying based on either a pension from a private company, or an annuity from a private insurance company. The purpose is to demonstrate that the company in question is a real and active company.  

This should generally be a document from the government institution that regulates the company in question, or where the company is located. For example, for a company in the United States of America it could be a certificate of good standing from the Secretary of State where the company is constituted.  

As this is a foreign document, it should be submitted with an apostille or Consular authentication. 

Certificate of Fixed-Term Deposit from a Local Bank

This may be necessary if you are applying for an investor visa residency program. More specifically, there are 3 popular visa programs that allow foreign investors to qualify based on fixed-term deposits:  

1. The Friendly Nations Visa ($200k USD 3-year deposit); 
2. The Self-Economic Solvency Visa ($300k USD + $2,000 USD for each dependent 5-year deposit); and
3. The Qualified Investor (“Golden”) Visa ($750k USD 5-year deposit)

We get this from the bank where you have made the time deposit. Your attorney can help with this.  And since the certificate of deposit will be issued here in Panama, it does not require an apostille or Consular authentication.

Certification of Investment (in Panama’s Stock Exchange)

There are also some visa programs that allow applicants to qualify based on an investment in the Panama Stock Exchange through a licensed brokerage agency approved by the Panama Stock Exchange Market Superintendant. The most popular is the Qualified Investor Visa (AKA Panama’s “Golden Visa”) program, which requires a securities investment of $500,000 USD.

If you are applying this way, then you will need to request that the brokerage agency provide documentation to certify your qualifying investment. And since the certificate of investment will be issued here in Panama, it does not require an apostille or Consular authentication.

Certification of Enrollment

This is a requirement when a family applies with a son or daughter as a dependent who is already over 18 years old. In short, a child is presumed to be a dependent of his or her parents until age 18.  But to qualify as “dependent” beyond age 18, he or she still needs to be enrolled full-time in an educational program. By the way, your son or daughter will no longer qualify as your dependent once he or she reaches age 25, unless he or she has been diagnosed with a permanent disability. Here is where you can read more about applying for residency with an adult son or daughter as your dependent.

The certificate of enrollment does not have to be from a school in Panama. But if it comes from an educational institution from outside of Panama, then it should be submitted with an apostille or Consular authentication.  

And, in any case, it should establish that he or she is a.) a full-time student and b.) a regular, daytime student.  

Court Order of Adoption or Legal Guardianship

If you adopted your son or daughter, legally assumed the role as his or her legal guardian, or for any other reason do not appear on his or her birth certificate as the parent, then you will need to provide some additional documentation to establish that he or she is indeed your legal dependent.

The way this evidence is presented may vary a bit case by case, but a standard submission would include a court order. And if the certificate of deposit will be issued from outside of Panama, then it should be submitted with an apostille or Consular authentication.

Driver’s License (or another 2nd form of ID)

This comes up in a few different contexts when applying for residency.

For one, if you apply for the Italy-Panama Treaty Visa, then you should specifically plan to provide a Certificato di Cittadinanza. This document will should be provided with an apostille or a Consular authentication.

But you also may need to provide a second form of ID if you are submitting a police report from a different jurisdiction from the one that issued your passport. For example, if you have a US passport, but you have been living in Mexico for the last 10 years, then it may be easier and less expensive for you to provide a Mexican police report rather than an FBI report. That’s fine, but you should plan to provide a second form of government-issued photo ID from Mexico to accompany your Mexican police report. In this case, your 2nd form of ID generally does not require an apostille or Consular authentication.

Lifetime Income Affidavit

This one comes up all the time when our clients are applying for the Pensionado Visa. As numerous Panama immigration lawyers’ websites will tell you, the main requirement to qualify for the Pensionado Visa is that the applicant is receiving a pension, annuity, retirement plan, or similar program that pays at least $1,000 per month as a lifetime benefit. And the $1,000 minimum monthly income increases by $250 USD for a spouse + another $250 USD for each additional dependent applying for residency with the primary applicant.

Many people qualify for the Pensionado Visa based on a program like Social Security, Veteran’s Affairs, the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), or Canada’s Old Age Services (OAS) program. But more often than not, these retirement benefits letters do not explicitly state the lifetime benefit.

One solution is to contact the provider and ask them to add a line to the letter stating that the payments are for the beneficiary’s lifetime. But another (and often easier) solution is to execute a simple 1-page affidavit swearing that your benefits are for life. You will sign the affidavit, have it notarized, and then have it apostilled (or authenticated by the Panamanian consulate) in the country that sponsors your government pension program. And that affidavit will allow the officer at the Panama immigration department to check the “lifetime benefit” box on your permanent residency application. Read more about this here.

Limited Power of Attorney

When you come to Panama to start your residency application process, your immigration attorney will need to register your passport, validate your docs from Canada with Panama’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, and submit your application package to the Immigration Office before you can go in to get your provisional residency card. So, your attorney will probably ask you to sign a limited PoA addressed to Panama’s Immigration Office authorizing him or her to make the submissions, and also to receive notifications related to your application on your behalf.  

The term PoA sometimes makes people notice, but it should generally be a limited power of attorney. It is probably less than a single page long, and it is usually quite specific in scope. It generally should not provide any authorization beyond the residency application.

You will generally sign it in Panama, so it does not usually require an apostille or Consular authentication.

Marriage Certificate

This is required for pretty much any Panama residency application where one of you is applying as the main applicant, and the other is applying as a dependent spouse.

This copy of your marriage certificate needs to be issued within 6 months prior to submitting your residency application. These days, many municipalities, counties, or other local jurisdictions offer a service online to request a copy of your marriage certificate.  

If your marriage certificate was issued by a jurisdiction outside of Panama, then it should be presented with an apostille or Consular authentication.

Medical Diagnosis

This comes up most often when an adult family member has a condition that renders them permanently dependent on their parents. This document should be issued by a licensed medical professional. It should clearly outline the nature of the medical condition, its impact on the individual’s ability to live independently, and state that the condition causes permanent dependency.

If the medical diagnosis was provided outside of Panama, then it should be presented with an apostille or Consular authentication.

Passport

Whether you are applying for a temporary residence permit or permanent residency status, the visa programs we process will all require that you make your way to Panama. That means you are going to need a valid passport.

To enter Panama, your passport must have at least 3 months of validity remaining beyond the date of entry. This is a general requirement for most travelers and ensures that your passport does not expire while you are in the country. But some airlines may enforce stricter requirements, such as 6 months of validity. So it’s best to confirm with your airline before traveling.

Generally, you will need your passport in original to submit a residency application, and in any case you will need it to enter the country.

Your attorney will also want a scanned image of the info page of your passport relatively early in the Panamanian residency application process, as we will want to get the your name right in the documents we are preparing.  

Generally, a passport does not require an apostille or Consular authentication. One exception is if you are submitting it for a Equivalence or Homologation process with the University of Panama, which is a precursor step to applying for the Foreign Professional Visa.

Police Report

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 their home country or country of residence. And to be clear, the reports should come from the national or federal level: 

• If you are coming from the United States, then you’ll need to request an FBI report. A local or even state-level report won’t work. The report you need will involve providing a fingerprint sample to the FBI in West Virginia. In this article we tell you exactly how to do it: How to Get your FBI Reprot for a Residency Application.
• If you’re coming from Canada, you’ll need a report from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). This is also going to require providing a fingerprint sample. A Criminal Records and Judicial Matters Check (CRJMC) or CPIC will not be sufficient.
• For applicants requesting a police report from the UK, you will specifically need the Acro Report.

Keep in mind that your police report will generally need to be issued within 6 months prior to submitting your residency application. I say “generally”, because if the police report from your country states on its face that it only valid for 90 days, then it will only be treated as valid for 90 days here in Panama as well.

Also notice that I said the report can be either from the applicant’s home country (meaning the country that issued their original passport), or it can be from a country where the applicant currently has residency (or a second passport, for that matter). Going back to our previous example of the guy with a US passport who has been residing in Mexico for the last 10 years – it may be easier for him to get a Mexican police report (so long as he has a 2nd form of ID such as a permanent residency card in Mexico). However, if he has recently gotten into some mischief in Mexico, then he might consider the FBI report instead!  Check out our article about Blemishes on your Police Record.

Finally, any police report issued by a jurisdiction from outside of Panama should be presented with an apostille or Consular authentication.

Public Registry Certificate

This comes up as a requirement for several different investor visa programs, such as the Friendly Nations Visa and the Qualified Investor Visa, if you apply based on a real estate investment.

For example, you can qualify for the Panama Friendly Nations Visa based on a $200,000 USD investment. If your investment is in Panamanian real estate, then you will need to provide a certificate from Panama’s Public Registry as evidence of the qualifying investment.  

Similarly, if you are applying for the Qualified Investor Visa based on a purchase of real estate investment exceeding $300,000 USD, then you will need a Public Registry Certificate demonstrating an investment or ownership of real estate property valued above the minimum amount.

Companies in Panama are also registered on Panama’s Public Registry. So, if you apply for a program such as the Friendly Nations Visa based on a work contract, then you will need a Public Registry Certificate for that company. The same goes for the Italy-Panama Treaty Visa, where applicants can apply either based on a work contract or ownership of a Panamanian company.

Your attorney should be able to obtain this for you. And since the Public Registry Certificates are issued here in Panama, they do not require an apostille or Consular authentication.

Retirement Benefits Letter

The main requirements to qualify for the Pensionado Visa are that a.) the applicant is receiving the requisite monthly minimum amount from a pension, annuity, retirement plan, or similar program and b.) that it is a lifetime benefit. So, you will need a letter from the provider proclaiming your benefits, which should be dated within 6 months prior to submitting your residency application.

These days, lots of people qualify for the Pensionado Visa based don their Social Security benefits, Canada Pension Plan (CPP) or Old Age Services (OAS) benefits, or Veteran’s Affairs benefits. For these kinds of government-sponsored programs, the letter itself is sufficient, so long as it checks the 2 boxes (the minimum monthly payment and stating that it is a lifetime benefit). If your letter is missing the reference to the lifetime benefit, then we can supplement your retirement benefits letter with a Lifetime Income Affidavit.

But if you are applying for the Pensionado Visa based on a private pension or an annuity letter from a private insurance company, then you will also to provide a Certificate of Existence for the company as well as a bank statement showing the amount referenced in the benefits letter actually being deposited into your bank account.

All of the documents referenced in this section will require an apostille or a Consular authentication.

Single Status Affidavit

If your son or daughter is over 18 years old and is applying as your dependent, then in addition to providing a certification of enrollment or a medical diagnosis, they should provide a single status affidavit from their home country or country of residence. This is a formal document that certifies that the person is not legally married in the jurisdiction that issues the certification.

Since the certification comes from a foreign jurisdiction, he should be presented with an apostille or Consular authentication.

But some countries do not issue a certification like this. In this case, your son or daughter can sign a sworn affidavit here in Panama before a notary. And it will not require an apostille or Consular authentication.

Share Certificate for a Panamanian Corporation

This may need to be included if you are applying for the the Italy-Panama Treaty Visa based on ownership of a Panamanian company. The share certificate demonstrates that the company belongs to you.

Or, if you are applying for an investor visa like the Friendly Nations Investor Visa, the Self-Economic Solvency Visa, or the Qualified Investor Visa (the “Golden Visa”), and you hold your investment through something like a sociedad anónima, then you may need to provide a share certificate as evidence that you are the shareholder and ultimately the owner of the investment.

Since the share certificates will generally be related to companies constituted in Panama, it will generally not require an apostille or Consular authentication.

University Documents

Here, we are talking about your University-level diploma, course descriptions, syllabus and transcripts. Possibly even a final project or thesis.  To be clear, none of these will generally be directly relevant to your Panama residency application. However, these will likely be required for an Equivalence and/or Homologation process with the University of Panama, which is a precursor to applying for a Foreign Professional Visa.  

If issued by a university from outside of Panama, then most of these documents will require an apostille or a Consular authentication.

Bottom Line?

Whether you are applying for a short-term residency or a permanent residency visa, there is a list of documents that your attorney may ask you to provide. Some of these are directly related to your residency application and will vary depending on which type of Panama residency visa you are are pursuing. But you may also need to provide some documents that are not directly related to your residency application, but that will be required in order to open a bank account or to fund a time deposit that allows you to qualify for a particular residency visa.

The truth is, the documents that you are asked to provide may depend on which lawyer you engage. Some attorneys may not have much direct experience with particular visa programs, so just to be safe they may ask you to provide a document that turns out not to actually be necessary. But the good news is that if your application goes through, you’ll probably never know the difference!

You will probably have some questions about some of the documents you need to provide. Hopefully, this article answers a lot of them. But if you have questions that were not addressed here, then please write to us at info@theindependentlawyer.com.