immigration

Applications drop as new law arrives

Migración headquarters were quiet yesterday, the first day new immigration requirements took effect.

Applications for foreigners marrying Panamanians topped the list of those submitted at the 11th hour.

Just hours after the updated immigration law went into force yesterday, officials at the headquarters of the newly christened Servicio Nacional de Migración reported a noticeable slowdown in the amount of applications being submitted.

Tayra Barsallo, deputy director of Migración, confirmed the dropoff, indicating that only about 180 applications were processed, a figure significantly less than the agency saw in the weeks prior to the onset of the new regulations.

“In the past two weeks there was a 44 percent increase in applications,” said Barsallo. “On average, there were about 400 applications a day.”

Migración offices kept the doors open until 10:30 p.m. on Monday night, giving stragglers a few extra hours to submit their applications under the old laws, which hadn’t been changed since the 1960s.

Although the new laws were approved this past February, the government had granted a six-month grace period before they went into effect.

Between Aug. 1 and Aug. 25, the entity reported receiving 4,098 applications. But that number may increase, said Barsallo, after the documents submitted in the final hours of the grace period are entered into the system.

The largest number of applications received were those concerning foreign nationals who had married Panamanians. Once the information is processed, Migración officials will summon the couples for interviews to confirm the marriage’s validity.

Processing costs went up for all four categories of immigration status, including non-residents, temporary residents, permanent residents and those living as refugees in Panama.

The new law no longer requires multiple entry visas for all foreigners holding permanent and temporary immigration permits.

According to Barsallo, only foreign investors and those with business status should apply for these visas.

Despite the reduced business at Migración headquarters, complaints about the service continued.

The most common gripe was the lack of a window offering customers advice about the new requirements.

A new immigration office is expected to open sometime next year.