Avoiding fraud in immigration processes requires diligence and caution. Here are some steps you can take to minimize the risk of encountering fraudulent activities in immigration processes in Panama:

1. The client must come to the country to be able to present the file in the immigration offices, since the lawyer must provide documentation where the date of entry to the country of the applicant is reflected. Also, the applicant must present himself/herself at the immigration offices to obtain the card of process of his/her application which is for a period of 6 months, which is the regular time that immigration can take to analyze and/or approve the application of legal residency.

2. The documentation that comes from another country cannot be a simple photocopy since it must be legalized by Apostille, or authenticated through the Panamanian Consulate that is closest to your location. However, when it is authenticated through the Consulate, the authentication process is completed in Panama before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Likewise, if it is in a language other than Spanish, it must be translated here in Panama by an Certified Public Translator to be accepted by the National Immigration Service Office.

3. In the cases where the applicant receives, for example, a pension or retirement payment from a private institution, it is necessary to present additional documentation since the existence and the status of the private institution that makes said payment must be proven.

4. The client must come back to Panama to obtain his/her legal residency card when the immigration process has been completed, and the written resolution formally granting the residency is delivered.

Having said the above, the applicant must come to Panama at least two times during his/her immigration process. The lawyer cannot present an immigration process without the person not being physically in the country.

5. In cases where permanent legal residency is obtained, there is no need to renew anything else before immigration, and the only way for the person may lose his/her residency, is if he/she does not come to the country for two consecutive years.

For further information, kindly contact us through our web page at www.julisajaramillo.com or by whatsapp (507) 6738-6253.