PANAMA RESIDENCY PROGRAMS
The Fast Track Panama Passport Program
Small Business Investor Program
THE FAST TRACK PANAMA PASSPORT PROGRAM
This plan requires a five-year time deposit (CD) in the Banco Nacional of Panama; the deposit must accrue at least $750 worth of monthly interest. According to today’s figures this would mean a total deposit of $180,000. The interest from the time deposit or CD will be put in a personal saving’s account from which the passport applicant can draw monies from at any time. The principal investment of, say, $175,000 will be held by the Banco Nacional for five years, the life span of the time deposit.
What Is Needed To Apply
1. For the immigration process to be started all documents must be given to our firm. The client must also sign a power of attorney, so that we can represent he or she in the court process that must be followed in the filing of documents for a passport.
2. Applicant needs to open a bank account and make initial deposit of at least $175,000. Bank will give the depositor a deposit certificate, which will be needed in order to start the residency process.
3. Our law firm will then submit paper work to the office of immigration so that the fast track process can begin.
4. Within two to three weeks a passport will be issued to you. You must physically go to immigration with an attorney to pick up your passport. At immigration you will be thumb printed and your picture will be taken.
What Documents Will I Need?
1. You will need all the pages of your passport photocopied, including the photo page.
2. You will need police records from your current location; a Panamanian consul in your home country must notarize all police records.
3. Marriage certificate; it too must be notarized by a Panamanian consul in your current location.
4. A Panamanian counsel in your current location must also notarize your birth certificate.
5. Six photos of yourself
6. A physical exam by a Panamanian doctor and a signed statement by the physician saying you have no contagious diseases and are in good mental and physical health.
7. HIV test done by a Panamanian laboratory.
8. A Special Power of Attorney signed by you giving our firm the right to represent you in Panama.
Documents Needed For Opening A Bank Account
1. A notarized copy of all pages in your passport.
2. Two Original Personal Reference Letters. These letters should be written by someone who knows you, or someone you have worked with in the past. The letter should be signed and have contact information for the person signing the letter so as to verify its authenticity.
3. Two Financial letters from a financial institution whether a credit union, bank; the letter should be on the institutions letterhead and be signed by a representative of that institution. The letter should have that person’s contact information, fax, telephone, email, address etc and job title.
4. Two Original Commercial Reference letters. Again the letter should be on the company’s letterhead and be signed by a representative of the company and contact information must also be given.
Reforestation Visa
The Idea – The Panamanian reforestation investment plan is a great way for the investor to obtain residency in Panama for themselves and any dependents, and, also, to make a return on their initial investment and to promote reforestation in Panama. To qualify for the reforestation visa the investor must invest at least $40,000 in an approved Panamanian reforestation program. The residency program takes five years to complete, with each year requiring the investor to renew his/her visa with the Panamanian immigration office.(If you invest $80,000, then you only need one renewal of your visa) After five years the investor will have Panamanian residency and a Panamanian passport. As you can see, this is an extremely affordable way to obtain residency in a foreign country. The important point to remember is that the reforestation program is written law in Panama; it is not something which will be revoked or something that is being presented as a temporary benefit that can be taken away, or something that is the invention of a lawyer or government official.
Your Investment – You are investing in forestry projects that are growing tropical species, say, teak or mahogany. Many, but not all, of the reforestation projects give investors title to actual land: normally 2 hectares. It is important that the reforestation project you decide to invest in is approved by the Panamanian government so that you recieve all the residency benefits. Normal return on investment takes about 25 years, the time needed for trees to mature - though you will see return on your investment before 25 years pass.
What Are The Benefits And How Do I Apply For Forestry Visas
Economic Benefits
The economic benefits of reforestation are obvious to anyone after you realize there is an increasing demand for tropical hardwoods and a decreasing supply of tropical hardwood trees around the world. The benefits become even more obvious when you know that there is increased pressure being placed on governments from ecological groups to stop the importation of tropical woods that are not cut from sustainable resources; this means that one of the few ways to get tropical woods sold in the industrialized world is by producing hardwoods in sustainable reforestation projects. In the end, tropical reforestation projects offer the investor two very important incentives: one they allow the investor to help contribute to global reforestation, which is a concern to everyone whether they know it or not; and two, they allow the investor to increase his/her money.
Environmental Protection
Natural forests in countries like Brazil, Madagascar or Panama are disappearing at an alarming rate. In the case of Madagascar the damage from deforestation might be irreversible. For forests in these countries to be preserved and maintained it is very important that we find alternative ways of producing trees for manufacturing. And the best alternative to cutting down natural forests is to produce trees in sustainable reforestation projects. Of course, it is important to be sure these projects are environmentally acceptable. So an investor in Panamanian reforestation wants to preserve trees in their natural state, but wants to increase trees inside sustainable projects; by doing this demand and supply for timber can reach a healthy equilibrium. It was with this idea in mind that Panama’s government passed laws in the 1990s which allowed people to invest in reforestation so as to benefit themselves and tropical forests.
How To Do It
In Panama There Are Two Types Of Forestry Investor Visas
Small Forestry Investor Visa: This visa requires a minimum investment of $40,000.00. Small forestry investors are able to apply for permanent residency in Panama after five years – the normal time period for all foreigners seeking residency. During the five years before residency is given the investor receives a one-year renewable visa. During the process of obtaining permanent residency the applicant must present themselves to the immigration authorities in Panama with their lawyer. The initial application will take 5 working days. After this Panamanian immigration officials will issue the applicant a 3-4 month provisional visa. You need to return to Panama on the date of the expiration of the 3 to 4 month provisional visa. Following this, you can apply for your one year immigrant visa card.
To apply for your one year immigrant visa card you will need to be in Panama for 3 working days. After registering with immigration and presenting all the required documentation, immigration will issue a 1 year residency card.
The 1 year residency card will have to be renewed every year for the next three years.
On the fifth year the applicant applies for a permanent residency card and a Panamanian cedula. The applicant can also apply for Panamanian citizenship and a Panamanian Passport.
If the applicant is not living in Panama, he/she will have to travel to Panama 7 to 10 times over 5 years in order to appear in the offices of Panamanian immigration.
Large Forestry Investor Visa requires a minimum investment of $80,000.00. The Large Forestry Investor has to apply for permanent residency as soon as his or her first immigrant visa card expires.
Application process for the Large Forestry Investor Visa is as follows:
Applicants need to present themselves to the immigration authorities in Panama for the initial application process and the issuance of a 1 year immigrant visa. However, unlike the Small Forestry Investor, the Large Forestry Investor’s one year immigrant visa card does not need to be renewed. Rather, you will be issued a permanent card and cedula after one year. This means less time in Panamanian immigration
Initial application: Applicant needs to be in Panama at least 5 working days. After registering with immigration and presenting required documentation, Panamanian immigration will issue investor a 3-4 month provisional visa. You need not return to Panama on the exact expiring date of the provisional card, but should not wait any longer than 3 months after the expiration date before returning and applying for the one year immigrant visa card.
1 year immigrant visa card: On the second trip, the applicant will need to be in the country 3 working days. After registering with Panamanian immigration and presenting all required documentation, immigration will issue a one year Resident Immigrant Card.
After the 1 year immigrant visa card is expired a permanent residency card and a cedula will be issued to the investor. 5 years after the initial application was filed, the applicant can apply for citizenship and Panamanian passport.
There are a number of very well-established reforestation projects in Panama and the investment opportunities in these projects are real.
Contact us for more information!
SMALL BUSINESS INVESTOR PROGRAM
This program allows foreigners to obtain Panamanian residency as long as they invest a minimum of $40,000 in a new business or an already established business in Panama. The business must employ at least three Panamanian citizens and also pay Social Security benefits to employees as well as pay the minimum wage of Panama.
TAX PROCESSING ZONE INVESTOR
This program requires the investor to rent a property within a tax free zone in Panama for at least 10 to 20 years in order to export products from Panama. Having shown proof of this, the investor will be given Panamanian residency.
RETIRED OR PENSION PROGRAM
To be eligible for this program of residency, the applicant must be retired and have a pension of at least $500 a month. If the applicant has any dependents he or she must add $100 dollars to the minimum requirement ($500).
Panama Movie Industry Visa
Why you should invest in the Movie Industry in Panama
The cost of living in Panama is lower in comparison to other countries. Panamanian laws benefit foreign investors; the interest generated by savings accounts and CD accounts is tax exempted, Panama has the best banking center in Latin America with over 85 international banks, excellent infrastructure, modern shopping centers, modern hospitals, tax exemption of goods imported to develop an industry, mega ports on both the Pacific and Caribbean side. Panama is a growing democratic nation that respects private property and where private investors can find a secure investing environment. Besides, Panama offers a diversity of landscapes that go from the cosmopolitan city to mountains, beaches, rivers, lakes and islands that reflect a true paradise.
During July 2007 law 36 was passed granting permanent residency to foreigners investing in the movie industry in Panama. With the idea of attracting investors in the field the law allows foreign investors to invest a minimum of USD$150,000.00 (one hundred thousand dollars) to obtain the Permanent Resident Visa. This amount includes the expenses to constitute the corporation, staff contracts, equipment, domicile, electricity, telephone, advertising, legal fees, accountant, etc.
What you need to do
The first step is to contact us and explain the project that you want to develop and how many partners will be involved in it with the idea of constituting a Panama Corporation according to the requirements outlined by the immigration department. When creating the corporation it is important to be careful as per how much the capital to invest will be since this amount will be recorded in the Registry Public and the Ministry of Finance and this information is key to qualify for the visa. You have to also have a physical address in Panama: office and foreign or local staff.
Now, it is important to appoint that the capital for the corporation must be superior to USD$150,000.00 (one hundred and fifty thousand dollars) and if two investors are applying for the visa that amount has to be specified in both of the investor’s paperwork and of course the investment has to be proved.
In other words, if Pete invests USD$150,000.00 (one hundred and fifty thousand dollars) in Corporation X, he can apply for the visa for as long as he can prove that he invested that amount through accounting books and if John wants to apply using the same corporation he’s got to invest another USD$150,000.00 (one hundred and fifty thousand dollars)to prove that there are two investors in Corporation X. For this reason the corporation has to specify in the deed that its social capital is superior to USD$300,000.00 (three hundred thousand dollars).
Now, if you are interested in a bigger project you can gather several investors with similar amounts and make clear that the investment for this type of visa has to be reflected individually. This means that every investor has to present documents proving that the investment was made.
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