U.S. State Dept. Confirms 90 Day Panama Visas

For six months or more there has been a lot of justified confusion, even anger, over a drastic change in the length of time for visas allowed for foreigners visiting the Republic of Panama. And that confusion continues even now (see below) -- but at last there seems to be some official clarification, at least from the U.S. government

Until last summer a foreigner's visa allowed 90 days in Panama. Abruptly, for reasons never fully explained, the Panamanian government's Law 15 dropped it to only 30 days. That produced major criticism from Panamanian real estate and tourism promoters, as well as annoyance for visiting Americans and other nationalities, especially "snow birds" who spend the winter in Panama.

When International Living dropped Panama from first to fourth in its annual list of "Best Places to Live," a demotion that got a lot of media coverage, the visa change was cited as one of the reasons.

Now the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Panama has issued an official "Consular Information Sheet" setting out the official requirements for visas to visit Panama. It confirms that the Panamanian government now issues visas for a full 90 days. In fact, for several weeks now Immigration Officials at Tocumen Airport near Panama City and at the Costa Rican border entry point on the InterAmerican Highway have been issuing 90 days visas for arriving American passport holders.

The U.S. Embassy statement says that as of November, 2007, tourists are being given visas to stay in Panama for a full 90 days. If persons want to stay longer, an extension for up to 60 days (for a total of 150 days in country) from the Panamanian Migration Office is required, at that office's discretion. Panamanian law requires that travelers must either purchase a tourist card (visa) from the airline serving Panama or purchase one upon arrival at Tocumen Airport or other ports of entry, and these are good for 90 days.

Law or No Law!

This, in spite of the fact that Article 6 of Panama's Law 15 states that the tourist visa is valid for only 30 days. Panama officials are openly admitting that, despite what Law 15 says, they are giving all U.S. tourists 90 days, (but Canadians still get just 30 days, though Immigration officials are unable to explain why). Some officials say they have been given "verbal orders" to allow 90 days. But that informality in applying laws, sadly, is all too typical of Panama.

Based on American laws, U.S. citizens traveling by air to and from Panama must present a valid U.S. passport when entering or re-entering the United States. (Before the 9-11 terror attacks, Americans needed only a valid U.S. state drivers license or other picture ID to visit Panama). Sea travelers also must have a valid U.S. passport (or other original proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a certified U.S. birth certificate with a government-issued photo ID) to enter or re-enter the U.S.

Embassy Out of the Loop

Usually I would recommend that a visa can be obtained from the Panamanian embassy or its consulates before traveling to Panama. But as of today (Jan. 28, 2008), employees of the Embassy of Panama in Washington, D.C. were still telling callers that 90 day visas are not issued -- that only 30 days visas are available. In my personal experience this is not be the first time that Panamanian government agencies did not know what each other are doing.

More worrying is the fact that Panama's National Assembly gave President Martin Torrijos extraordinary powers to decree new laws affecting banking, immigration, customs, and tourism. He must make these changes by March 1st and it was expected that Torrijos would modify Law 15.

But today we learned that President Torrijos has decided against issuing a decree of immigration law reform, instead passing it back to the National Assembly for consideration as a usual legislative proposal. The reason given in La Prensa was that the draft law changes were so extensive that it was deemed better to allow the full National Assembly to consider it. Until final official action is taken it is reasonable to conclude that a lot questions will remain unanswered.