The cards you receive, step by step
When you file, Immigration gives you a processing card valid for six months, with a fee of B/. 30. To travel while you wait, you need a multiple entry and exit visa, which is a separate application.
Once approved, you hold a two-year provisional residency, and after that the permanent card. The cédula for foreigners, the E ID card, belongs to the permanent stage, not to the provisional one.
The day you file
Processing card
Everyone who files a residency application receives a processing card valid for six months. The fee table lists B/. 30. Some firms quote B/. 50: the official figure is 30. We found no rule that renews this card, so we keep your file moving before it expires.
Executive Decree 320 of 2008, articles 16 and 315
If you will travel while you wait
Multiple entry and exit visa
The processing card alone does not let you leave Panama and come back freely. Whoever applies for residency must request this visa, and it has its own fee: B/. 50 for less than a year, B/. 100 for the first year and B/. 25 for each additional year. Ask for it at the start if you have trips planned.
Executive Decree 320 of 2008, articles 264 and 315
After approval, for two years
Provisional residency card
Immigration grants a provisional residency permit for two years to those who apply for this permanent subcategory. You receive a card for that period. The fee table has card fees, but it does not name this exact card, so we confirm the amount when we file.
Executive Decree 416 of 2012, article 3, as worded by Executive Decree 226 of 2021
After the provisional stage
Permanent residency card
When you move to permanent residency, you are registered with a permanent number and receive your permanent card. This step is described on the Immigration requirements sheet, not in the Friendly Nations decrees.
National Immigration Service, requirements sheet PPT-PE
As a permanent resident
Cédula for foreigners
The Immigration Law says the identity document for foreigners is equivalent to the permanent residency card. The law does not give provisional residents an ID card from the Electoral Tribunal, so do not count on a cédula during your first two years. Its fee is set by the Electoral Tribunal.
Decree-Law 3 of 2008, articles 139 and 140
- There is no legal grace period for an expired card. If a card is about to expire, contact us before the date, not after.
- A permit granted from abroad must be used within its term: you have three months to enter with the visa and six months for the permit.
- Your permit can be cancelled if the reason for it ends, such as selling the property or losing the job. Tell us before you change either.
Decree-Law 3 of 2008, articles 31.8 and 140; Executive Decree 320 of 2008, article 14
Not sure which card you need next? Send us a photo of the cards you hold and we will tell you.
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