Second Passport

Legislation of the Republic of Panama provides foreign nationals with the possibility of obtaining special second passport (so-called Rentier Investor Passport) and, as a consequence, a special immigration status, which opens up a number of possibilities:

• to travel to the countries, which have concluded with Panama agreements on the exemption of visa requirements (including all Schengen countries and a number of Latin American countries);
• to reside in Panama;
• to declare foreign income at a zero tax rate;
• to facilitate the obtention of the same passport by the spouse and children under 18 years of age (or under 25 years if they are students of higher educational institutions and are dependent on their parents);
• to hold certain positions in their state (in particular, in civil service, in executive, legislative or judicial department at the federal and regional level), since the passport of rentier investor does not establish a second citizenship and is does not give a residence permit in a foreign country.

Registration of your rentier investor passport takes about 1.5-2 months. The main requirement set by Panamanian law is to deposit money on a five-year certificate of deposit with the National Bank of Panama, to yield at least $850 U. S. dollars a month (minimum cost of living in Panama). Given the current bank rate, the deposit shall be not less than $390,000 U. S. dollars, and these funds cannot be burdened with any obligations. The account should be opened on the name of the future owner of the special passport; and if other family members also intend to obtain Panamanian passports, the account shall be opened on the name of the principal applicant. The deposit interest is placed in a savings account and can be withdrawn if necessary in any branch of the National Bank of Panama or through an ATM on the territory of Panama or abroad.

To open an account with the National Bank of Panama will need to provide the following set of documents:

• a notarized copy of the passport;
• banking form completed as per example;
• two letters of recommendation issued by a broker, bank, financial or credit institution;
• two letters of recommendation written by the applicant’s business partners;
• two letters of recommendation written by individuals.

All letters of recommendation must contain a name, signature, address and contact information of the person (or a company) issuing it. All documents must be translated into English and apostilled.

List of documents required for special passport issuance

• request (application) to issue a special investor rentier passport and power of attorney granted to a lawyer practicing in Panama (it should contain such applicant’s information as address, phone number, name and nationality of the parents, as well as lawyer’s general data: law office address, phone, fax);
• medical certificate confirming the absence of serious infectious diseases, issued not later than 3 months prior to the filing of the request (must contain the name and registration number of the medical institution, doctor’s name, signature, seal and document issue date);
• certificate of no criminal record in the country of residence (not required for applicants living in Panama for at least 3 years at the time of request formation);
• two notarized copies of the applicant’s passport;
• original of the passport, valid for at least 6 months at the time of applying for a Panamanian passport;
• set of applicant’s photos;
• confirmation from the National Bank of Panama of existence of the applicant’s deposit and of its regulatory compliance (validity of the certificate cannot be less than 5 years);
• a copy of a bank certificate or an original of the deposit contract, certified by the National Bank of Panama;
• applicant’s profile, certified by an authorized representative of the Panama National Directorate of Migration and Naturalization;
• two extra copies of all the documents attached to the application (except for the passport).

Same sets of documents must be provided by each dependent family member, included in the principal applicant’s request (e. g. by a spouse or minor children).

All certificates and documents issued by the competent authorities of the country of nationality of the principal applicant must be apostilled. It is also allowed to certify the documents in the Panamanian Embassy of the mentioned country, followed by certification of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama.

Midland Counselors will gladly assist you at all the stages of application for a rentier investor passport.

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