immigration

Foreigners will need new ID card

Immigration officials are depending on new technology to help them implement changes in the country's law regarding foreigners.

Tayra Barsallo, subdirectora of Migración, said that the law calls for the use of "biometric technology," which identifies people based on physical features such as fingerprints.

The changes to the country's immigration laws go into effect on Aug. 26. One of the primary changes enables individual officers to grant visas varying in length between 20 and 90 days. This will apply to visitors from country's that do not have visa agreements in place with Panama, such as Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru and Ecuador.

More border checkpoints will be opened in the country, and more stringent rules will be applied for checking the validity of travel documents, Barsallo said.

The new law also calls for eliminating the requirement of a cedula for foreigners residing in the country. Instead, foreign residents will have a term of one year to obtain a new identification document to be issued by the Tribunal Electoral (TE).

It is not yet known whether this ID card will cost. "The cedula lends itself to confusion because it is difficult to differentiate between those given to Panamanians and those given to foreigners," explained Barsallo.