Panama Real Estate Investment Travel Information


Tourist Visa Cards in Panama

(0 votes)

Written by Andrew Cowan

Sunday, August 24 2008

Panama is an amazing country and it’s appeal has been growing steadily. Because of its peaceful populace, incredible climate and close ties with the United States, more and more people have been visiting Panama, to explore everything it has to offer and also to invest. People entering the country as tourists are those people who are in Panama for the “exclusive purposes of recreation or observation”. These people will be required to obtain a tourist visa card.

The Tourist Visa Card

Although it may sound like a competitor for MasterCard, the Panamanian Tourist Visa card is required for entry into Panama. For people from the United States, this card can be purchased for $5.00 at the Panamanian point of entry, either at the border or at the airport. Every person entering Panama is required to have a tourist visa, so if you are bringing children, you will need to fill out a card for each child. The card requires you fill out your full name, date of birth, passport number, place of residence, country of origin, how long you plan on staying in Panama and your foreseen location (hotel, apartment building, etc.) while here.

The tourist card permits a visitor to remain in Panama for ninety (90) days without having to leave. This ninety (90) day period can be extended to one-hundred-eighty (180) days with the help of a lawyer through the Panamanian Immigration Department. At the end of the ninety day period, if you wish to remain in Panama for a longer amount of time, you must leave the country for seventy two hours (3 days) before returning. At the time of your re-entry, you will need to pay for and fill out another tourist card.

The tourist card does not permit the bearer to work or undertake in any paid activity while in Panama. This is to protect jobs for Panamanian Citizens and force people who wish to work in Panama to enter the country legally using another form of visa. If you are caught working while only having a tourist visa, you can and will be deported from Panama. Panamanian authorities take this very seriously, so if you plan on working in Panama, contact a lawyer to help you sort out your options for living and working legally in Panama.

The following is a list of countries that require a tourist card. This can be purchased either at the airport or border, or at the closest Panamanian Embassy or Consulate. They are: Antigua & Barbuda, Monaco, Aruba, Netherlands, Antilles, Australia, New Zealand, Bahamas, Norway, Barbados, San Marino, Belize, San Tome and Principe, Bermuda, South Korea, Bolivia, St. Kitts & Nevis, Canada, St. Lucia, Colombia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Granada, Suriname, Guyana, Sweden, Iceland, Taiwan, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Japan, United States, Malta, Venezuela, Mexico, Western Samoa.
The following countries do not require a tourist card: Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, El Salvador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Holland (the Netherlands), Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, The Vatican, United Kingdom (Great Britain & Northern Ireland), Uruguay.

This information about tourist visas and immigration in Panama is constantly changing. We recommend that you contact a lawyer before making any real moves on your own to be 100% up to date with information.