YOU CAN BE A PERMANENT RESIDENT OF PANAMA, BASED ON AN INTERNATIONAL TREATY SIGNED WITH ITALY IN 1966!
Recently, it has been announced the re-application of the International Convention between Italy and Panama according to the Law 15 of 1966, which ratifies the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the Republic of Panama and the Italian Republic. This treaty grants citizens of Italy the benefit to enjoy a national treatment in Panama related to business or professional activities of any kind, with the exception of the exercise of the retail business, reserved for Panamanian citizens. You only need to proof your future business intentions.
With the last president of Panama being of Italian descent, and through the efforts of the Embassy of Italy in Panama, and several local law firms, the National Migration Service of Panama restored the effects of the Treaty signed between Panama and Italy, which shows the commitment of the Panama Government to meet its International affairs.
Simply… you can apply for a permanent residency status in Panama just by being an Italian passport holder!
Read these FAQ’s:
1. You can apply regardless if you have other nationalities or citizenships, simultaneously.
2. You can apply independently from your current residency.
3. You can apply jointly with your spouse and kids as dependents, no matter what nationalities they have.
4. Tourist visa is not required for citizens of Italy, so you could stay up to 6 months for your application.
5. In a swift period of 2 weeks you'll be able to submit your visa as Italian citizen in Panama.
6. As soon as you apply, (with the proper permit) you can fly back to your country. There is no compulsory minimal period to stay in the country upon application.
7. Upon the granting of your PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS, you do not need to apply ever again for any immigration paperwork.
8. As a Panamanian resident, it will be only compulsory to visit the country for a weekend (as much), within a period of 2 years. There is no need to stay several months to keep your permanent residency status.
How to apply… just follow these steps:
1. You need to fly with your ITALIAN PASSPORT.
2. Bring a NON CRIMINAL RECORD certificate (apostilled or legalized)
3. Bring a copy of ANY of the following ITALIAN DOCUMENTS: Your personal Italian ID, an Italian Tax Card, Italian Birth Certificate or a Italian citizenship certificate from the nearest Italian consulate of your current country of residency.
Important: You do not need to bring all these documents, just one of them).
4. You need to open a bank account in Panama with an initial deposit of at least US$ 5,000.00 to proof economic solvency.
Important: The authorities will not touch your money; they only need a bank reference letter.)
5. You need to create a Panamanian Company to fulfill the above mentioned treaty requirement of local future business intentions.
Important: A company can be created in a matter of four days and only the name of the company is needed to file it. The Panamanian authorities do not request you to start up any kind of business with the company. It just needs to be incorporated)
Information related to dependents: If you apply jointly with "dependents", you need to include additional non-criminal records for each one of them, as well as birth and marriage certificates. Children from 18 to 25 years old can apply jointly, as long as they start school at a local college.