Panama Instant Passport Program

The "Instant Passport Program" refers to the Rentista visa or Temporary Residence Visa as an Independent Retired http://mypanamalawyer.blogspot.com/search/label/rentista, which has maintained the advantage of an identification booklet whith the same cover as a normal Panama passport - it even reads "Pasaporte" in its front cover. You can see its content in See http://mypanamalawyer.blogspot.com/search/label/second%20passport Panama authorities clearly warn that this is not a passport and should not be used as a travel document, even though some anxious peddlers on the Internet call it a passport. It is meant more as a fancy picture ID and does not grant Panama citizenship. --- En date de : Sam 7.11.09, bryan88 a écrit : De: bryan88 Objet: Panama Instant Passport Program Date: Samedi 7 Novembre 2009, 1h01 To Mypanamalawyer There are various websites offering an instant passport from panama stating you only need to deposit money with the national bank of panama for 5 years and you get a passport and residency. I just wanted to find out if it applies and if so,what are the details. I am a South African citizen planning on relocating to Panama within the next year or so and wish to relinquish my South African citizenship but would lose my current passport if I do. If you could please be so kind as to advise me on what to do. Many Thanks

30-day countdown to new Immigration law requirements

In case you are still thinking about which visa to apply for, the Panama Immigration Spanish version has a handy reminder that "Effective August 26, 2008, [Law] Decree 6 of February 22, 2008, will be in force". The English version has not been updated since early 2007.

This means that in 30 days minimum investment and solvency requirements are likely to have been doubled and several visa categories (including the Rentista second passport) will have been eliminated.

* They forgot to word "Law"

More about the new Panama Immigration Law in:
Immigration and Visas
Regulations for Immigration Law are being drafted
2008 Immigration Law finally published
New draft Panama Immigration Law slows down.

Hot air and second passports

Much is advertised on the Internet about how easy it is to get a second passport from countries such as Panama, Cape Verde, Belize and others. The second passport frenzy had its high with the Chinese takeover of Hong Kong - when thousands of Hongkongese sought alternatives to the hard-to-get British Overseas and Peoples' Republic passport - and hit a brick wall with the post-9-11 world.

The current bottom line is:

1) Panama has never had a legal "second passport" based on investments. The Rentista visa granted to bank accountholders allows them to have an identification booklet which has the same blue cover as a passport but the pages inside specify that the holder has no Panama citizenship. It does not even have the bar codes of a normal Panama passport.

2) The only way to get a legal Panama passport is to undergo the naturalization process (after being a permanent resident for 3 to 5 years - not a pensionado), being born in Panama soil or from a Panamanian parent. Thousands of US citizens were born in Panama during the 90 years of the Canal Zone and qualify for Panama citizenship.

3) Currently, the only countries with officially sanctioned economic citizenship programs granting a second passport are Austria, the Commonwealth of Dominica, and the Federation of St. Kitts/Nevis. Section § 10 (6) of the Austrian Citizenship Act program requires investing millions of euros in an Austrian business, with no guarantee that a passport will be forthcoming. In contrast, when you apply for a second passport in either Dominica or St. Kitts/Nevis, you make the necessary US$75K+ or US$350K+ investment only after you receive approval for your application and background documents.

3) Descendants of countries with high-emigration rates, such as Spain, Italy, Ireland, Israel and others, can apply for citizenship and passport by showing the birth certificate of an ancestor from said country. Ironically, those countries have now high-immigration rates in part thanks to said passports. The duty to provide military service may be a concern depending on the country.

4) An interesting alternative being promoted are passports with Dominican Republic citizenship, granted after only 1 year of residence. A very important negative is that Dominican citizens are subject to many restrictions when travelling.

5) As explained in Afroyim v. Rusk and other court rulings, US citizens generally do not lose their citizenship when acquiring a second passport.

5) Second passports from other countries are likely to be stolen (thousands of Panama passports "lost" before the 1989 US invasion), expired or belong to fairy tale domains such as Dominion of Melchidzek, Anjouan and others. The ‘World Passport’ from the ‘World Government of World Citizens’ in 14th Street, Washington is a scam.

This can never be the last word on second passports as countries regularly change their laws and are subject to international pressure to revoke these documents.