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To grant Immigrant’s Visa and Residence Permit as Resident’s Relative Dependent Status.
Who may apply to this visa and its correspondent residence permit?
The only persons that may apply to this visa are the ones that comply with the relationship degree established by Article 2 of Executive Decree 52 of February 19 of 2003 which are:
a. Parents of the principal petitioner.
b. Spouse
c. Single children under 18 years of age.
Only by exception, the National Director of Immigration and Naturalization may authorize the inclusion as a resident’s relative dependent, children under 25 years of age, single, without children, according to the established policies of the Family Code. Students must comply with the regulation of attending studies in a regular basis in an Educational Centre recognized at the Ministry of Education. Additionally, it must be taken in account that the resident’s dependent is not authorized to work in the country and the violation of this prohibition will cause the cancellation of the Resident permit.
Letter in which the Resident accepts responsibility for the relative claimed as dependent, and assume all the obligations of providing the petitioner with food, house, health, education (if this is the case) and other general expenses, including the commitment of assuming the repatriation expenses, if it is necessary. This letter must include the telephone numbers, home address and place of work where the responsible resident can be located.
Relationship’s evidence [.Marriage certificate or Birth Certificate, according to the case]
Resident’s economic evidence of solvency: [.The resident can prove the mentioned solvency in the following manners: a) An updated and authenticated Tax Income Form issued by the Internal Revenue Service including the payment receipt. The Resident must have a minimum monthly gross income of Five Hundred “Balboas” plus an additional Seventy Five “Balboas” (B/. 75.00) per each dependent. b) Updated work certification letter and the Social Security payment stubs, showing the minimum monthly gross income of Five Hundred “Balboas” plus the additional Seventy Five “Balboas” per each dependent c) Updated Bank reference letter, only if a less than one year time deposit is presented, and the interest earned on such time deposit is for a minimum monthly income of Five Hundred “Balboas” (B/. 500.00) plus the additional Seventy Five “Balboas” (B/. 75.00) per each dependent.
Photocopy of the one year carnet or photocopy of the personal identity card of the responsible resident authenticated by the Civil Registry.
A Petitioner of legal age and under twenty five (25) years old [. . . must provide: a. Study certifications of approved institutions by the Ministry of Education that confirm the regular university student’s condition. The certification must supply the Ministry of Education resolution that approved the above mentioned educational centre (except if there is the University of Panama or the Technological University of Panama. b) Provide proof of the civil status (Single’s certificate). C) Penal and Police record for the last two years, from the country of origin.
Legal Base:
Law-Decree 16 of 1960 and its amendments. Executive Decree 52 of February 19 of 2003.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Americans have never taken much to living abroad, at least not to the same degree the British have. Some 5.5 million Brits, about 10 percent of that nation's total population, now live as expatriates, with 200,000 more every year.
For Americans, though, most other countries were too far away to tempt us. Some Yanks did buy second homes in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, but the majority were content to shop within the nation's borders.
That's changing.
Today foreign lands are drawing more Americans than ever. According to State Deparment estimates, some 6.6 million Americans live abroad, a larger number than the Brits claim, but, at 2.2 percent, still a smaller percentage of the U.S.'s total 300 million population.
There are many reasons for the big build up. More Americans work for multi-national companies, which often take them for long stints overseas. And foreign vacation travel is booming as well. This means a lot more exposure to other countries and cultures.
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In the meantime, the National Council of Housing Promoters (CONVIVIENDA) claim that they will submit to the Authority a model promise agreement meant to be free of abusive clauses. We went to their webpage and asked for a copy of the agreement. Maybe the agreement will take the CON out of CONVIVIENDA...
We truly believe that taxpayer moneys would be better spent in immigration control technologies which do not require prospective buyers of US$250K homes to spend 4 hours every 30 days sitting at the overcrowded Avenida Cuba facilities of the Immigration department, if these controls are truly necessary to deter illegal immigration.By Adam Thomson
Think of Panama City and one of the first images is the crescent-shaped bay, defined on one cusp by the growing sky-rise residential area of Punta Paitilla and the picturesque old centre of 19th century pastel-shaded waterfront buildings on the other.
But if London and Regional, a UK-based construction company, gets its way, the city could soon outgrow its traditional boundaries to occupy a huge area of land just across the Bridge of the Americas spanning the Panama Canal: Howard, the former US Air Force base.
This month, the company, together with Jaime Gilinski, the Colombian banker and entrepreneur, signed an agreement with the Panamanian government to build what it hopes will become a new business and residential hub within just a few miles of the existing capital.
The company has three months to present its master plan for the 1,400ha site and, as yet, few details are known. But London and Regional has pledged a minimum investment of $405m during the first eight years of the 40-year concession. A further $300m will follow during the remaining years.
This month, after paying the government a one-off fee of $20m to seal the contract, Ian Livingstone, who heads the company said: "We hope to exceed the spending limits established with the government quite dramatically."
Indeed, Mr Livingstone and Mr Gilinski believe the value of the finished project could top $10bn, equivalent to more than half Panama's gross domestic product. The idea, they say, is to construct a large industrial park, a media village, a downtown area with plaza, restaurants and shops, a showcase building to mark the nearby entrance of the canal and a swathe of residential buildings – for both the wealthy and low-income segments of the population.
"Our intention is to create a community, and that won't work unless you have a representative mix of society and a critical mass to achieve a stable and permanent population," says Mr Livingstone.
That is a far cry from how the area looks today. Large white houses adorned with red-tiled roofs and built up on stilts line grassy streets named to make the US soldiers to feel right at home.
On one side of the area lie a 3.2km runway and four huge hangars which served as centres of aviation maintenance and storage up to 1999 when the US packed its bags and went home.
Economists and town planners say that one of the measures of success will be the amount of interest and the number of firm offers from companies looking to use Panama as its centre of regional operations.
Mr Livingstone says he has already initiated detailed talks with many multinationals. "We have had between 20 and 30 serious approaches from companies whose names everyone is very familiar with," he says.
If they end up moving to the site, it is likely to be for two main reasons. The first is Panama's increasing emergence as a logistics hub for the wider region. Since the government of Martín Torrijos came to power in 2004, it has set in motion a plan to encourage shipping and transport companies to use its strategic position as a centre of distribution.
The second could be a series of tax benefits. Officials say companies involved in industries such as aviation and related activities, and information technology, will not have to pay any taxes or import and export duties.
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Charles and Sharon Erwin, two semi-retired residents of Mobile, Alabama, have spent much of the past few years travelling the world in search of a second property to which they can escape during the colder months. Between leisurely holiday trips and more active searching, the couple have visited more than 40 countries so far. But tonight, they are sitting in a cosy family restaurant in the hills of Panama and they sense that their quest for the ideal spot has come to an end.
"Have you ever met somebody you just liked immediately?" asks Mrs Erwin, an elegantly dressed woman with fine features and an intoxicating southern drawl. "Well, the Panamanian people are mostly like that."
Now 71 and 62, respectively, Mr and Mrs Erwin are part of an invasion of foreigners who are snapping up Panamanian real estate in every shape, size and location imaginable as part of what has turned into the most vigorous property boom in decades. "It is as if they were rediscovering America again," says Lourdes Fabrega, the restaurant owner who says an increasing number of her customers are foreigners on a hunt for property.
In Panama City, the capital, real estate developers have responded to the foreign interest as well as to strong local demand by building tower blocks of luxury flats on just about any plot of land they can get their hands on. Last year, construction permits surpassed $1bn, growing more than 10 per cent compared with the previous year. Iván Carlucci, president of Acobir, the national association of estate agents, says Panama is the target for 175 high-rise apartment blocks, which are either under construction or in the pipeline.
The surge has been so great that the government has had to establish special courses to cater for the growing demand for plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other construction-related skills. Diomedes Concepción, who heads the programme, claims that about 200,000 Panamanians will receive such training this year alone.
The fundamental reasons for the interest in Panama seem clear enough. Investors, particularly foreigners, are reassured by the fully-dollarised economy, the country's stable government, rapidly expanding economy, proximity to the US, hot climate and good healthcare provision. In addition, prices are relatively competitive in relation to those of neighbouring Costa Rica, which has been attracting foreign buyers for years. Juan Francisco Pardini, president of Business Panama Group, a one-stop investment shop, says property prices about five years ago were between eight and 10 times cheaper than those of Costa Rica: today, they are just three times cheaper.
Mr Pardini also points out that buying property in Panama is straightforward in terms of paperwork and bureaucracy. Typically, he says, charges related to purchasing real estate regardless of value are roughly $3,000 plus an optional fee of 1 per cent of the property's value for title insurance.
Inevitably, however, all the interest has produced inflation. The cost of steel went up 40 per cent at one point last year. Meanwhile, the availability of cement at the start of this year became critical. In February, Ms Fabrega, the restaurant owner, could not ensure a reliable supply for the small house she was building on her land. "If I wanted 10 sacks I could only get five," she recalls. "It felt as if there was no cement in the entire country."
Property prices have also risen. Mr Carlucci says that land prices have increased on average 100 per cent in the past two years alone.
Such rises have spawned talk of a bubble forming in the real estate market. The feeling has been reinforced by growing evidence that some investors – from the US but also, it appears, from Venezuela and neighbouring Colombia – are buying pre-sale condominiums in bulk to "flip" or sell them on as little as six months later.
On top of that, three highly publicised high-rise projects in Panama City have run into problems – though apparently for different reasons – and have either been cancelled or significantly altered.
All this has led many experts to express caution about whether the market can continue to expand at today's rates. As Guillermo Chapman, an economist and a former finance minister, says: "You should look at the housing part of Panama's growth with a critical eye."
Not everyone agrees, however. Mr Carlucci of the real estate association, rejects the idea of a bubble, arguing that the sector is both healthy and sustainable thanks to Panama's strong economy and real demand both from locals and foreigners.
Héctor Alexander, the finance minister, agrees. "The few projects that have run into problems are the exception to the rule," he says. "The construction sector is sustainable."
True or not, it is unlikely to make much of a difference for families such as the Erwins. Even with the price increases they still think it is cheap. And that, as Mr Erwin admits, is important to a man of his background. "I was brought up kind of frugal, and I just hate to spend money," he says with a smile.
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It is early evening on a Wednesday night but Manolo Caracol is buzzing just the same. A group of more than 20 well-dressed Panamanians fills one side of the spacious, ethno-chic restaurant, and the sangria at their table has been flowing for a while. To the left, against a backdrop of primitive oil paintings and oversized buckets brimming with tropical fruit, a young woman cooks furiously while waiters skip between the tables in an attempt to keep up with demand.
Not so long ago, you could turn up unannounced at this cool, Colombian-owned restaurant in the best part of Panama's historic centre and be confident of getting a table. Doing that today might lead to disappointment: Panama's economy is expanding at the fastest rate in almost a generation, and business is booming virtually everywhere you look. "We're experiencing growth across the board, not just in one particular sector," says Héctor Alexander, Panama's finance minister.
During the first quarter of this year, the country's fully-dollarised economy expanded at an annual rate of 9.4 per cent after growing 8.1 per cent during 2006, and both government and private-sector estimates suggest that the end-of-year figure will surpass 10 per cent.
Exports grew 15.1 per cent last year in nominal terms, and strong growth in government revenue – during the first quarter of this year it was expanding at more than 19 per cent year-on-year – helped notch up a non-financial public sector surplus equivalent to 1 per cent of gross domestic product. In the financial sector, credit is growing apace and levels of capital and reserves are building up fast.
Crucially for Panama's newfound dynamism, prime lending rates are below 9 per cent, the lowest in years.
One clear motor driving growth is the robust world economy – in spite of the US deceleration – and in particular, the heady expansion of the global shipping trade. That has boosted activity for the canal by between 5 and 6 per cent in recent years. It has also spawned the growth of related sectors such as tourism and rapidly expanding re-export trade. According to Samuel Lewis, the vice-president, the movement of shipping containers this year through Panama will reach 3m units, up from just 700,000 at the start of the millennium. He expects that figure to increase to 7m by 2009.
Guillermo Chapman, an economist and a former finance minister, describes the second engine of growth as a sort of "the world has discovered Panama" phenomenon. The country's geographical location, stable political system, the dollarised economy, still relatively low levels of inflation – the rate has fallen slightly since reaching a two-decade high of 3.9 per cent in 2005 largely as a result of high oil prices – and benign interest rates have spawned a wave of foreign direct investment. Mr Chapman says FDI this year is set to hit $2.5bn up about 20 per cent on last year.
The most obvious sign of this is in construction. Look out from the 19th century waterfront buildings of the capital's historic quarter across the bay and the rate at which the skyline is changing suddenly becomes apparent.
Another is the sparkling sports cars and shining SUVs that fill Panama City's already crowded streets. Drive down Balboa Avenue, the road that links old and new Panama City, and you will see the latest Lexuses and Lamborghinis vying for space with fat-tyred Fords and Toyotas.
The trouble is that this ostentatious wealth is not quite everywhere. Look beyond the investment figures, glass skyscrapers and the fancy restaurants and poverty more reminiscent of the seamier side of Haiti comes into view.
In Panama City's old neighbourhood, wizened men eke out a living selling loose cigarettes from roadside stands improvised from cardboard boxes and planks of wood. Families live in dingy, airless rooms that, as often as not, serve as kitchen, sitting room and bedroom all in one. Go out into Panama's lush tropical countryside and it is a similar – and sometimes even more miserable – story.
"The gap between rich and poor here just gets wider," argues Miguel Antonio Bernal, a well-known lawyer and critic of the government. "Sure, there's growth but none of it filters down to the poor." Mr Bernal insists, for example, that unemployment is running at between 20 and 23 per cent of the country's economically active population.
The administration of President Martín Torrijos dismisses such assertions, insisting that the percentage of jobless is more like 6 per cent, a historic low. But it does recognise that many Panamanians continue to live in extreme poverty. The government also says it is working overtime to try to solve the problem. Mr Lewis insists that the Opportunities Network, providing a direct subsidy of $35 a month to families that can show that their children attend school regularly and turn up to doctors' appointments, is making a significant difference for 38,000 of the 78,000 families it claims live in extreme poverty. By 2009, when the administration's term ends, Mr Lewis claims the remaining families will be receiving similar help.
Two further shadows – the fear of a bubble in the vigorous property market and a slowdown in the global economy – could also loom in the coming months and years. Mr Chapman believes that a continuing softening of the US housing market would be likely to produce less demand from US baby boomers who have been snapping up retirement homes and second properties in Panama.
Meanwhile, Mr Chapman points out that a change of fortunes in the global economy is simply a question of time – though exactly when that will happen is clearly guesswork. So what does all that mean for Panama in the medium term?
With no clear sign of an impending slump in world growth and with China's emergence as an economic superpower continuing to underpin shipping activity – China is now the second most important client of the canal after the US – many private economists believe that the country can maintain growth rates of between 6 and 7 per cent. It is a rate that almost any government in the world would be more than pleased with.
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