Panama Instant Passport Programme

This program allows foreigners to obtain immediate Panamanian Passport under the condition that they make a 5 year time deposit (certificate of deposit - "CD"), at the Banco Nacional de Panama, which earns a minimum of US$750 per month in interest income.

At current interest rates this would mean that the investor would need to deposit a minimum of about US$175,000 in the 5 year time deposit at the Banco Nacional de Panama. The monthly interest earned from the time deposit (CD), would be deposited directly into the applicant’s savings account, and the applicant can withdraw the funds in the savings account at any time.

Procedures for Applying for Panama Passport

1. Provide all required documents, and sign the Special Power of Attorney for our law firm to handle your immigration paperwork.
   
   
2. The bank account is opened, and you make the time deposit. The bank then provides a certificate of deposit, and a copy of the time deposit contract.
   
   
3. Our law firm submits your application and documentation to the Immigration Department of Panama, for the Panama Passport.
   
   
4. Within approximately 2 to 3 weeks, the Immigration Department will issue the Panama Passport. At this point, the applicant is required to go physically to the Immigration Department for picture taking and thumb printing, for the issuance of the Panama Passport.

* Note: It is not necessary for applicants to reside in Panama to qualify for or maintain the Panama Passport, however, a short visit to Panama is required for the processing of the passport. Also, the applicant does not obtain Panamanian citizenship through this program.

Required Documents (for Immigration processing):

1. Photocopy of valid passport of the applicant, including the picture page (that shows the picture, name, date of birth, passport number, place of issue, etc.), and all pages showing entry/exit stamps (all pages used in the passport).

2. Original Police record of the applicant, from the place of residence, duly notarized and authenticated by the Panamanian Consulate nearest you.

3. Original Birth Certificate of the applicant, duly notarized and authenticated by the Panamanian Consulate nearest you.

4. Original Marriage Certificate for the applicant (if applicable), duly notarized and authenticated by the Panamanian Consulate nearest you.

5. Six (6) passport sized photographs of the applicant.

6. Certificate of Good Health, issued by a licensed Panamanian hospital or clinic, signed by a registered, licensed physician, indicating that the applicant has no contagious diseases and is in good mental and physical condition. THIS MUST BE DONE DURING YOUR INITIAL VISIT TO PANAMA.

7. HIV Test results of the applicant, done by a licensed Panamanian laboratory, showing negative results. THIS MUST BE DONE DURING YOUR INITIAL VISIT TO PANAMA.

A Special Power of Attorney, signed by the applicant, authorizing our law firm to process the immigration applications and documentation will be needed in order to submit the application.

* Note: for authenticating documents through the Panamanian Consulate, please contact us to request the contact information of the Panamanian Consulate nearest you.

Required Documents (for opening bank account / CD):

1. Photocopy of valid passport of the applicant (and dependents - if applicable), including the picture page (that shows the picture, name, date of birth, passport number, place of issue, etc.), and all pages showing entry/exit stamps (all pages used in the passport). The photocopy of passport should be notarized.

2. Two Original Financial Reference Letters: These can be from any bank, brokerage firm, or credit union. They should be on the financial institutions letterhead, signed by a representative of the financial institution, and show the contact information (address, telephone, fax, email, etc.) for the reference to be verified.

3. Two Original Commercial Reference Letters: These can be from any company or professional (a company, attorney, accountant, etc.). They should be on the company or professionals letterhead, signed by a representative of the company (or the professional), and show the contact information (address, telephone, fax, email, etc.) for the reference to be verified.

4. Two Original Personal Reference Letters: These can be from any person that you know (a friend, family member, doctor, lawyer, accountant, etc.). They should be signed by the person, and show the contact information (address, telephone, email, etc.) for the reference to be verified.

Alternative Instant Passport Programmes

Panama like many Latin American programs vests a lot of discretionary approval with the immigration minister and as a result if you have investigated some of the offers on the web you may have come across these offers purporting to be available from countries such as Nicaragua and Venezuela.  Most are totally fraudulent offers and could cause serious complications in your life if you try to travel on one of these passports.

Officially only two economic citizenship programs exist in the world that offer instant passports - those of St. Kitts/Nevis and Dominica.  Both are British Commonwealth countries and their passports offer excellent visa free travel to over 100 countries.  However, both are expensive now with the St. Kitts/Nevis option requiring a qualified investment in real estate there of at least $350,000 in addition to at least $75,000 in legal and governmental fees.  This program has been around since the 1980’s and because of its expense has only seen probably a few hundred take up.  The passport takes 30 days to deliver once the real estate has been purchased.

Dominica is cheaper and runs now at about $150,000 and does not require any real estate purchase but about 2/3 of the this amount must be invested into a qualified investment on the island for a period of 10 years.  The whole process takes about 90 days to accomplish and the vetting and due diligence is quite strict. 
If interested in either of these programs we can provide the necessary introductions.

Panama does not officially offer any such instant citizenship programs, however as stated above much discretionary authority is vested with the minister of immigration and our government contacts up to that level can allow certain qualified individuals to have the normal 5 year (or more) residency requirement waived in return for a one-time up front payment. If you are interested in obtaining a Panama passport either with or without citizenship please contact us for a personal consultation to discuss what options may be available to you. In all cases Panama must be visited and a personal appearance be made at the Immigration governmental offices in order to obtain any type of passport or residency permit.