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Investor visa
The Business Investor visa is a slightly more complicated type of visa, which requires that you establish and operate a business here in . To begin a business, you must have a commercial license, a physican office or store front and minimun of three nian employees on the payroll (under labor contracts registered at the Social Security office in ). Your name must also be personally registered on the board of directors as the President of the corporation.
There are actually two types of Business Investor visas. One is the Small Business Investor visa, and the other is the Regular Business Investor visa. The difference between the two types is that the Small Busines Investor visa requries an investment of only US$40,000 in the business, plus you have to renew your temporary resident visa three times over a five year period before you can obtain the permanent resident visa. The Regular Business Investor visa requires an investment of US$100,000 and you can obtain the permanent resident visa after just one year of having a temporary resident visa. Your accountant will need to provide a financial statement showing that you made the required investment in order to qualify for either one.
The Business Investor visa offers the option tobecome naturalised, so you can obtain citizenship and passport after five (5 ) years of being a permanent resident. You can also apply for a work permit (so you can be emplyed unda a labor contract) under the Business Investor visa. The costs of processing the Business Investor visa can range from US$5,000 to US$10,000 or more depending on the nature of the business.
A nian attorney is required to process the dovuments, and will requre that you sign a power of attorney to represent you in the immigration process. Please note that all documentation originating from outside of must be original documents, dated no more than three months old, and must be authenticated either through the consulate or emabssy of , in the country of issue, or by apostil (an internationally recognized form of authetiction, normally obtained through the department of State or Ministry of Foreign Relations.
m also has very strict immigration rules in terms of what nationalities they will consider for resident visas. The immigration department has a list of restricted countries, including (but not limited to) Colombia, Pakistatn, Russia, China, India, among several others. Citizens of these “restricted” countries, must provide additional proof of economic solvency and they are screened thoroughly through Panam’s National Security Council. The majority of the applicants from these restricted countries are declined for resident visas unless that have particular circumstances, or a high-net worth that could work in their favor. Be sure to consult with your attorney to confirm whether or not your home country is among those on the restircted list, prior to applying for residency. However, if you are from countries, such as the United States, Canada, most of Central/Sough America, Europe, New Zealand or Australia, you should not have a problem.
Once you fully understand the various resideny and visa options, and have identified a match of your needs, then begin preparing the required documents, and try to be as organized as possible , otherwise, you may find yourself spending lots of time and money on repeated (expired) documentation. As always, be sure to research this subject in depth with a qualified and experienced attorney, one who clearly understands your language as well as, your personal situation and goals.
Please check with your attorney on the current residency laws. |
