Retiree Visa

This certificate must be duly Apostilled or legalized before the Panamanian consulate in your country of origin. Apostille is preferable.

All documents written in a language other than Spanish must be translated by an authorized translator in Panama. We take care of this. 

We prefer the authentication of documents issued abroad to be Apostilled, since authentication before the Consulate implies that these documents must comply with an additional requirement of authentication before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Panama City, which naturally implies additional time and costs.

We begin the process at the National Immigration Service. The whole process takes about six months. In the meantime, you will be issued a provisional migration card, valid for six months, certifying that you have applied for a visa. With that ID you will be able to apply for a driver's license, also valid for six months. 

Once the visa is approved, the “permanent resident” notification and identification will be issued and your presence is required to take the permanent resident identification photograph from the immigration service.

Once you have the permanent resident ID, you will need to return to Panama City, in approximately two months later, to take the “permanent resident” ID photo from our Civil Registry, in Panama City, completing the process. This ID is issued within two to three weeks after the photo is taken, and it will be sent directly to you.