immigration

Reforms increase costs and revenues

Structural changes in the office of immigration will affect the payroll and cost of services.

The proposed reforms to immigration policy, which President Martín Torrijos and his Cabinet will discuss by the end of February, are expected to change the administrative structure of the Dirección Nacional de Migración substantially.

One change will be reflected in immigration’s payroll . Subdirector of Migración Tayra Barsallo said that, with the implementation of the new law, at least another 112 people will be required to staff the institution. Thus the number of employees will increase from 588 to at least 700.

Migración's budget will be affected, too. The current annual budget is around $3.7 million, while it raises about $7 million a year. With the new law, Migración hopes to have a budget of around $5 million and raise $10 million as a result of increases in the cost of some services. "We have had the same prices for the past 45 years," Barsallo said.

The number of immigration offices throughout the country will increase, and it is expected that immigration headquarters will be relocated to Tumba Muerto this year.

The immigration reform stipulates that the current Dirección Nacional de Migración y Naturalización would be transformed into the Servicio Nacional de Migración and function as a decentralized institution with autonomy to manage its own assets.