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Article Courtesy from Business Panama
For any country of the world tourism represents one of the most important economic drivers, one that generates direct and indirect profits in different economic areas with a domino effect, which encourages development. For Panama, the Tourism Industry in the last quarter of 2004 was about 8.9% of the Gross Domestic Product, occupying thus, one of the first places among the activities that better stimulates the Panamanian economy, and so its development should be a priority, as well as the creation of more policies that lead to the reinforcement of this service, since it constitutes one of the best ways for progress. In the last four years, according to the information supplied by the Panama’s National Directory of Immigration and Naturalization, approximately 1,609,794 tourists have entered our country, and though it is certain that the direct benefit of this service is caused by Visiting Tourists, it is not less certain that this modality just constitutes “one” of the many forms to exploit tourism, and it is the best reason for different countries to study new and better proposals. One of the new options that Panama has developed in this matter, and that is getting the attention of tourists around the world, has been “PANAMAS AS THE BEST PLACE FOR RETIREMENT”, and why not, if we have important advantages such as climatic variety, the use of the dollar as local currency, and an international banking center that has made us a very competitive country compared with other places in Latin America. And that is not rare that each day more foreigners decide to choose to Panama as a place to live. In light of the above, we should note that for those foreigners that desire to retire and live in our country, the Department of Government and Justice through the National Directory of Immigration and Naturalization offers different programs to obtain immigration stability in Panama, like the Pensioned Tourist Visa and the Retired "Rentista" Visa, being the last one, the most commonly used, for their easy way of processing.
Pensioned Tourist VisaIt applies to retired persons that receive pensions from a foreign government, international agencies or private enterprises, as well as his/her dependent relatives. Its main requirement is to possess a minimum pension of US$500.00, plus the sum of US$100.00 for each dependent and spouse. The procedure takes around fifteen (15) workdays and it must be requested through a lawyer. This visa gives the applicant an indefinite residence in the territory of the Republic of Panama, and grants them the following benefits: • Tax exemption for the importation of personal and household goods for up to US$10,000.00 • Total tax exemption every two years to import a car for personal or family use. In this sense we should indicate that only for the year 2004, about 468 Tourist Pensioned Visas were emitted, being United States our greatest applicant, followed by Colombia and Canada.
Retired Rentista VisaThis visa is considered a variation of the Retired Tourist Visa, and it is utilized for those persons who that after years of work, decided to retire in our country. The main attraction of this visa is that it allows you to obtain a special renewable passport issued by the Panamanian government for five (5) years. This passport is a valid travel document for the bearer, but does not offer Panamanian citizenship. The procedure to obtain this visa takes around fifteen (15) workdays and the request is done by means of a lawyer. Some of the requirements to obtain the Retired Rentista Visa are the following: Power of attorney, medical certificate of good health, police record of the country of origin (only when the interested parties have less than 2 years of continuous residence in Panama), original passport, with a minimum validity of six (6) months, four (4) passport size photographs, a certificate issued by the National Bank of Panama, where is states that the interested party yields a monthly minimum income of seven hundred fifty dollars (US$.750.00), originating exclusively from time deposits interests, free of any obligation or guarantee of any nature. The fixed time limit in mention should be for a minimum term of five (5) years. Although the procedure in the Panama Immigration Office is not easy, these two kinds of visas are specially designed to promote investments in this area, since they are of easy access, and have a different treatment in comparison with other immigration visas. At the moment there are very diverse tourist projects, directed mainly to the development of this new tourist modality, particularly in the provinces of Chiriqui, Colon and Bocas del Toro, and they promise million dollar earnings and therefore optimum economic performance for Panama. For these projects to succeed it is very important to inform the clients about all our advantages, how to obtain a legal immigration status, and all the benefits that come with those, since this could encourage tourists to choose Panama for a new home. We have all the advantages needed to successfully draw tourists to the country. So it is only a matter of time before this new trend, this new economic “boom” starts to benefit the country’s entire economy. Who could imagine, that this little country in the middle of the world would be not only a great place to visit but also a great place to call home.
RETIREMENT TOURISM STATISTICS
Roxana Rangel also provided Business Panama with some statistical information, originating in the Dirección Nacional de Migración, which shows that 1,118 retirement tourists immigrated to Panama between January 2002 and April 2005. The trend is accelerating rapidly, showing a 29% increase 2003 over 2002, and 99% 2004 over 2003. Nationalities of these 1,118 are as follows:
And 33 other countries – 129
Additionally, in the same period (Jan 2002 – Apl 2005), 92 retirement tourists with independent means of support settled in Panama, 34 of whom are Colombian nationals.
Article Courtesy of Business Panama |