On February 15, 2017, the Ministry of Labor issued a new work permit requirement for foreigners with either a Friendly Nations or Professional Foreigner visa.
To apply for a work permit, those visa holders must now have an approved and stamped employment contract with a Panamanian company and be enrolled in the local payroll system.
This is a big change. Before you did not have to have a job in order to get a work permit, at least not for holders of a Friendly Nation visa.
This is a big set back for people who simply wanted to work in their own business. For instance, a foreigner can open a restaurant in Panama. But if you also want to wait tables at your restaurant, you need a work permit. (Please consult a good lawyer to get a full picture on how this new regulation may impact you.)
Of course, there are other ways to get a work permit.
The Friendly Nations visa was originally created in 2012 to attract more skilled workers to Panama. There simply were not enough skilled Panamanian workers to meet the need of local companies. To remedy this, government created the Friendly Nations visa and explicitly linked it to an expedited work permit process.
But the recent uproar over rising number of illegal workers in Panama has put a halt to that. Recent and significant changes to Panama Tourist visas have also been made to help stop the influx of foreigners working here illegally.
The Friendly Nations Visa itself doesn't give you the right to work, so it may not get caught up in this drive to curtail foreign workers. However, given the public sentiment, it may go away. If you were thinking of applying for one, it is better to apply sooner rather than later - or too late.
The official government site explains what you need for a work permit with the Friendly Nations Visa. However, what that site says or the exact wording of the law may not determine how your work permit application is treated. There is an interpretation that the law, and that interpretation is still in flux. But for now it seems that unless you had your work permit application in before March, you won't be getting one. That is, unless you have a job offer from a qualifying Panamanian company.
Find out more about the Friendly Nations Visa here
The good news is that Friendly Nations and Professional Foreigner visa holders will still not be considered in calculating a company’s foreign-to-local worker ratio. This is still true even though these visa holders must now have a local employment contract and be paid through a local payroll.
This means that those visa holders will still have an edge on getting a job with a local company since they won't impact the company's ratio numbers.
(FYI, Panamanian laws establish that only 10% of a company’s work force can be foreign (non-Panamanian); exceptions include if a worker is married to a Panamanian, or if the worker has lived in Panama for 10 or more years).
This easy link between the Friendly Nations visa and a work permit is an innocent victim of public outrage.
Panama has experienced an alarming rise in foreigners, on a tourist visa, who are working in Panama. It is illegal to work in Panama if you are on a tourist visa. Until very recently, these foreigners, mostly from other Latin American countries, only needed to hop over the border to renew their tourist visa. And then go back to their jobs.
Panama has now made changes to tourist visa regulations to eliminate this easy visa renewal border hop. It was a good move.
However, this work permit change seems like a knee jerk reaction to the public outrage over the illegal workers. Making it harder for holders of these 2 residency visas to get a work permit does not help eliminate illegal workers. Foreigners who apply for a work permit, obviously want to work legally. By further restricting the ability of foreigners to get a work permit, they only make it more tempting for them to work illegally in Panama.
The easiest way to make money while living in Panama is to earn it outside-of-Panama. You can work online in various capacities, work your job remotely from Panama, and other ways.
In a previous post, I wrote up some ideas on how to make money in Panama .
Check out these beautiful & affordable properties
These properties have some of the lowest per meter prices you will find in Puerto Armuelles – or in Panama.
Updated March 2017
Getting A Friendly Nation Visa Makes Getting A Work Permit Much Easier
Keep in mind you can legally work in Panama, and not get a work permit, if your income comes from outside Panama.
For more info, go to how to make money in Panama.
You should consult an attorney to ensure you know about any new or modified work permit options.
I used a number of sources for this information. The 2 main sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
If that is the case, you (the foreigner) can be hired, since the company is under the maximum threshold (10%) for foreign employees. But they must pay you at least $850 per month. You can work for them for a maximum of 6 years. However, you still have to apply for a work permit. Your permit cannot be used at a different company.
The City of Knowledge is located inside the former U.S. Army Base of Fort Clayton in Panama City. Foreign investors owning a company located within Panama’s City of Knowledge can have 5 special work permits for their foreign employees. This work permit is for up to 6 years for foreign businessmen, researchers, professors, students, and technicians. For the City of Knowledge website & its list of job opportunities, go here.
After you marry a Panamanian you can apply for a work permit.
This visa was created to help ease the lack of skilled workers in Panama, and therefore, friendly nations visa holders had a fast track to a work permit. However, that all changed in early 2017. Now Friendly Nations visa holders can only get a work permit if they are hired by a qualified Panamanian employer.
Read more about updated information on work permits for Friendly Nations Visa holders.
Under this new work permit category, which is exempt from quotas and local sponsorship requirements, there is no minimum level of professional experience that the applicant must possess. Applicants must hold a bachelor's or post-graduate degree. The Highly-Skilled Worker Permit can be renewed annually. After two years, the work permit holder can apply for permanent residence.
Based on a treaty between Panama and Italy, work permits are now available to Italian nationals. The Italian National Work Permit is exempt from quota and local sponsorship requirements and will be issued with indefinite validity.
Parents of children, who were born in Panama and are at least five years old, are eligible to apply under this new work permit category. The work permit can be renewed annually, and after two years, the permit holder may apply for permanent residence. This work permit is also exempt from quotas and local sponsorship requirements.
A company must apply for special treatment/exemption above the 10% maximum quota. Again, they must pay you at least $850 a month with a maximum stay of 6 years.
This is a relatively new visa that comes with a work permit for a maximum of 9 months. The National Service of Immigration will create a registration of businesses dedicated to activities of specialists inside the Republic of Panama. No one knows what a “Specialist” is until the immigration department issues rules and regulations defining what type of job titles or functions qualify as being “special”. Due to the 9 month maximum stay; this is intended as a temporary specialist position.
Immigration law allows companies to hire a foreigner to work for a single occasion carrying out cultural, technical, musical or artistic, sports, educational field, professional, or scientific work. This visa is for a maximum of 3 months.
This is a new immigration law allowing a Panamanian citizen, or a permanent or temporary resident, to hire a foreigner to work as a domestic worker. This includes maids, cooks, chauffeurs, gardeners, nannies and butlers. The employee can then apply for this Panama Foreign Domestic Workers Visa. It is good for one year and can be renewable four times.
These visas are also new and allow for up to a 9 month stay. This visa/work permit applies to foreigners who want to establish business subsidiaries; investigators and scientists conducting research for embassies or governments or foreign businesses; investors or businessmen entering Panama to analyze investment possibilities or to perform transactions in the Food Processors Zone for Export, Call Center, or special areas appointed for the development of the Audiovisual and Film Industry.
treaty is for temporary workers intending to live in Panama for a maximum of 5 years. This visa is only available to companies employing between 3 to 10 employees earning at least the minimum wage. Only one foreigner is allowed to be employed and they must be paid at least a $1,000 a month.
This permit is another new immigration law allowing a foreigner to live and work here for 6 years. It applies to an employee of the government, semi-autonomous companies, small business contracting with the government, executives or management for a Colon Free Zone company, non-diplomats working for a foreign government or international agency or news media correspondents.
This is a new immigration visa providing temporary residency for 6 years for all employees in the film or audiovisual industry, including producers, directors, actors, and technical support; Panama Canal workers; Panama-Pacifico Special Economic Area workers (like the former Howard U.S. air force base); Foreigners hired by businesses inside the Food Processors for Export Zone; Foreigners employed by Call Centers for commercial purposes; Foreigners hired as executives for an international business with a subsidiary in Panama.
Click here for how to find a job in Panama.
If you get a Pensionado visa, you are not permitted to work. By getting that visa, you are declaring to Panama that you are retired. For more information on the Pensionado visa, go here.
If you want to legally work, you should not a get a pensionado visa. I have written about the 4 most common types of Panama visas.
Don't worry, once you are 60, if you are a man, or 55 and a woman, you will get all the benefits of a pensionado visa, regardless of what type of visa you have.
Sources:
11 of these ways are listed on Panama-Off shore Services website.
3 more ways were list on faegrbd.com.
