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May
30
panama tells tourists - go home!
Filed Under Immigration |
felicidades costa rica!
break out the guaro costa rica, it’s time to party. it’s being reported that panama, your slow-witted neighbor to the south, has done it again. now tourists coming to panama will only be allowed a stay of one month. they can apply for another 60 days. but there’s no guarantee they’ll be allowed to stay 90 days.
this is indeed good news for tourism in costa rica. these new changes in panama’s immigration policy ensure that tourists will continue to choose costa rica over panama, no matter how badly they get ripped off. pura vida!
why is panama limiting tourists to such a short stay?
are they awash in cash? are all the hotels and casinos swollen with high rollers? have they sold all the homes, already paid for that big-ass canal project? dear god - are the whores getting tired?
no, don’t be silly. panama still needs tourist dollars. but if you want to stay in panama, test the waters, see if you’d like to make this wonderful country your home, forget about it. they don’t want you here.
this is not the case in costa rica, panama’s ugly neighbor to the north. there, you can stay for 3 months, then 3 more. i know many people who spend the chilly northern winters in costa rica on a tourist visa. for the last couple of years i’ve been telling them to come to panama. i can’t tell them that anymore.
there’s a good reason crime plagued costa rica has been kicking Panamanian ass for years. and it’s not the beautiful people, the breathtaking scenery, low cost of living, or first world infrastructure. on all those counts panama is far ahead.
its simple, costa rica knows how to lure visitors into their country. sure they may stab them, rob them, or just give them a horrible case of the clap, but at least they don’t make it hard for tourists to enter and stay in their country.
problem in paradise -
what’s behind the rules change? there’s been an influx of illegals into panama lately; mostly Chinese, Colombian and Venezuelan. the locals are angry. they feel these illegals are taking their jobs, committing crimes, not paying taxes. so in order to deal with all the illegals the government has decided to punish legal immigrants.
huh? of course it doesn’t make sense. logic and common sense are in short supply in panama. illegal immigrants are illegal. they don’t enter legally. legal tourists enter legally. they have money, apply for extensions, and follow the rules. they rent and buy apartments, start businesses, eat in restaurants, and stay in chi chi hotels. why punish them? why send them to costa rica?
i know one gringo, lets call him cojito. cojito was lured into the country, in part, because of the 3 months, then 3 more months immigration rule. he bought into the housing market, he spent money around town, he renovated and furnished an apartment.
cojito’s not rich. but he’s the sole support for his girlfriend. he pays all her medical and dental bills, helps her family. all this, while trying (laughably) to be an artist. and how does the government say thanks? they change the rules making it expensive and difficult for him to stay on.
it’s been noted by one of my readers, this is nothing new, immigration rules change all the time in panama. this could change back next week. but tourism minister Ruben blades been trying to put a stable, tourist- friendly face on panama for years. this makes him look foolish.
fact is, there are those in the government who want you to stay. they understand that your money is critical for panama’s survival. but panama has a splintered psyche. there are some who just don’t want you here.
what does this all mean?
it means until this law is changed, i will no longer recommend panama as a place to visit, or retire. it means as an artist/writer i must reconsider whether i can afford to stay. it means my girlfriend is fearful i will leave. it means my friends who like to stay several months at a time, will no longer come to panama.
and it means unless you have a wheel barrow full of cash, and like getting messed with, you should go somewhere else. as much as i love the country and people, until this government gets its shit together, panama is not the place to call home.
if you intend to ignore my warnings, leave your money behind. its not safe here. if you want to buy property in panama - don’t, its not safe here. if you want to become a resident - don’t, it’s expensive, time consuming, and the hurdles for residency are absurd.
i predict this change (if permanent) will have a negative impact on tourism, panama’s economy, and the r.e. market. tourists will take their dollars elsewhere. be advised, if you do come here, you are swimming with crocodiles.
you can check out this immigration website for legal ways to stay in panama.
join the cult of cojito. just drink the koolaid.
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You know cojito you raise some good points… why would a country that relies so heavily on tourism, shoot it self in the foot by limiting tourism?…. why not just crack down on illegals?… This is starting to make me think of more sinister motives… Like… the US wanting to kill the growing popularity of Panama and limit the exportation of US retirement tax dollars…..Make it so that ordinary people can’t just up and go.. to panama a more desirable place than CR…..What you think?… Could the US have had a hand in this? could they be that desperate?
YeahDogg
Yes, it’s all BushHitler’s fault.
You’re an idiot.
I remember when they invented the multi entry exit visa requirement and I wondered if that would stay and it did.
Cojito,
Excellent points are raised in your commentary. Third world countries are by their very nature volatile in many respects - and immigration policy is a prime example.
Immigration is currently a “hot button” topic and will figure prominently in the 08 election. Uncle Sam can’t figure this tricky issue out and neither can Panama.
I agree that tourism and investment dollars are important sources of income; why penalize everyone for illegal immigrants?
Keep up the good work.
yeahdogg - i’ve heard that theory before. i know the u.s wants tighter controls on immigration and the flow of drugs. but i dunno, i think all those folks leaving means there’s less burden on social security and the health care system in the u.s. that’s a good thing for the u.s government.
i have to agree with patriccio. third world countries are volatile. i really believe this is panama’s doing. they don’t know how to deal with their immigration problem. i doubt they have the money, training, and manpower to round up illegals. there is fear and anger. they feel they must do something. this is what they came up with. and it sucks.
vieja - what exactly is the multiple entry/exit visa?
Patraccio - thanks. i agree. the u.s hasn’t figured this out either.
I don’t know about Panama’s multi-entry visa, but back in ‘89 I got a job as captain of a large sailboat located on the French Riviera (hey, somebody was going to do it, why not me?)
what I got from the french consulate in miami was a five-year multiple-entry visa. That meant that for five years i could enter france but could only stay for 45 days at a time. then i had to leave and re-enter and could do it as many times as i wanted for five years.
since the boat was located in antibes, a town between cannes and nice, it wasn’t any hardship. hop on the train and take a scenic hour-long ride, to ventimiglia, italy on the border, have a wonderful lunch and be home in the afternoon. no big deal.
If you have residency in Panama and you are a foreigner you must have the entry/exit visa stamp in your passport to leave and reenter Panama. Now it is for 2 years and costs $100. You can go and come as many times as you like in that 2 years. This did not exist when I came to Panama. You can imagine how angry some foreigners who had been in Panama for 20, 30 or 50 years, were about this new requirement.
Good article here…puts the correct spin and dark humor on a very sad situation in Panama. How do you think this will affect the BILLIONS of dollars being invested in high rises and seasonal housing? There was already a question concerning WHO is going to buy and live in all these condos in Panama? Now…this hideous, ridiculous immigration move could bring the whole thing crumbling down. I dont believe there are enough boomers and foreigners ready to RESIDE in Panama full time. So…I too have to now sweat my investments and time spent in Panama until someone powerful in the country comes to their senses and changes this policy. Otherwise you will see planes of foreigners exiting…and not entering…this potentially beautiful country. Sad that so many Panamanians have their heads in the sand on these realities.
you back to where you came from jerk
so is there any way around this?? ive ben thinking of relocating tpo Panamá for years but havent found a way i am not rich my father is from P anamá i have always wanted to go please help me
the law’s been changed again.
right now you can stay for 3 months only. you can’t renew your visa. but i think you can still take the bus to san jose for a long weekend, and then come back for another 3 months.
if your dad is from panama it might be easier to become legal. talk to a lawyer.
so which visa are you currently sporting Cojito?