Cedula Visa,s Both or Neither

Ask your Panamanian Lawyer what is best for your circumstances.

Hi Rod L,

Welcome to expat.com

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@sailcmpania > It would be great also if you could give some information about the OP's questions / post or sharing your expat experiences and opinions

Thank you for your participation,
Christine
Expat.com

Rod - you will need a visa permitting permanent residence before applying for a cedula. Which visa to apply for depends on your circumstances and there is an over-abundance of sources on the net explaining the requirements for each. Start by doing a little basic googleing to decide if you qualify for a pensionado visa or a Friendly Nations visa for example.

Very good point Steve. A lot of the answers are on the internet.

Yes -agreed with both comments above. Not saying that a forum such as this isn't good resource but you have to do your own due diligence!

I guess this is a point of frustration for us- nobody led us by the hand and at the time, the message boards were scary - I was afraid of being attacked - sort of like I am now doing to you but I am being polite!

Here for Life,

I,m not afraid to ask for help, i,m not afraid to make mistakes.I just don,t trust to ask a lawyer and expect the answer to be in my best interest,I think the reason for this forum is for people like you to help people like me  and down the road i will hopefully be able to pass forward the information you helped me to gain

No matter your opinion of lawyers, you may still need to speak with one, as none of us are lawyers and laws do change from time to time.

David

Rod L.
You are going to need a lawyer if you plan on living here. Even only for a short time. There are more excellent layers here then bad... just like any other country.
I would say that of all the expats that we know and the stories we have heard there are very good lawyers here that will look out for your best interest. Sure there are bad ones  everywhere.
Do your home work and get referrals for an attorney to find the right one for you.
This is AFTER you decide where in Panama you want to live.

We sent out a list of questions regarding getting our Visa's, Medical Directive, Foundation verses a Corporation, ( for buying property ) wills, marriage certified by Panama, to nine different lawyers.
Two of them we never heard back from.
Five others immediately went into how much it was all going to cost and the requirements on our part,
one was jumping at the bit to get our business,
and the one we went with, pointed all the pros and cons of each step/requirement's and what to do and wait to save cost. We went with her because she also had the most recommendations from other expats. And she is awesome!!

A few other things:
Don't be in a rush to buy a home.
Or in a rush to get your Visa... try Panama on for size for at least 6 months.
And remember it's their country, so be very careful on how you dress and what you say.

Your comment:
"I think the reason for this forum is for people like you to help people like me  and down the road i will hopefully be able to pass forward the information you helped me to gain"

Your right about that, but there is a LOT of very good useful information on the web, blogs, and forums to get a lot of your basic questions answered.

Don't just rely on this site or any others.

Best of luck to you!

BTW... we do not have our VISA's, waiting till I start collecting SS next year to get the much less expensive Pensionado Visa... our lawyers recommendation. Saving us $2400.

We make the Border Runs fun.

Please send me  the name of the attorney you used and her phone number and address, email address also if possible. Thank you.

I will be glad too.... but I don't believe this forum allows it. Send me a PM and I will reply with her info.

Cheers,

Thank you  Sailcompania, this is exactly the type of feedback i am looking for i also would like to have your lawyers contact info if you would be so kind, unfortunately when my wife see,s that home and i see the look in her eye it will be a done deal, what can i say i,m not the boss so i need to be prepared:)

Can you rent for a year before you commit to buying anything? You're likely to do much better when you know the area well, know what prices are fair, and get leads from the locals.
I like having a cedula but it's not necessary. It just a bit more credibility and saves you from changing your ID number all over town when your passport is renewed. As for a Visa, like the others said, that's a lawyer question. We used Marcos Kraemer and were very very happy with him. If the link doesn't make it through use kraemerlaw dot com to find his website
http://kraemerlaw.com/en/

Hi Rod,
Send me a PM and i will send her contact info.

Hello there, contac Carmen Arguelles , she could help you about your questions, Office 507 3150910  Cel. 507 66175465.
Regards,

I am due to arrive October 1, 2016 for good.  I did sign a rental for 2 years until I get the "lay of the land", etc.  I have been deperately looking for a Visa attorney and liked Marcos Kraemer of Kraemer and Kraemer in Panama City  (also has an office in David I believe).  I think he knows his business and he has an exellent website if you are looking for answers to the most basic questions about procedures, etc.  As a single person who qualifies for the Pensionado Visa, he quoted $1500 which seemed the going price (except for Reineda Mata-Kelly who wanted $2300 for just myself!  I Guess being linked to "International Living" she's raising her price expedentially!).  I was originally referred to an attorney who hardly answered my initial questions by email.  I could only wonder how frustrating it would be after he received payment!  I'm still going to interview at least 1-2 more attorney's before I make a final decision.  Being single, I want to make sure I am in safe hands and not frustrated and manipulated to death! 
I agree with the others, you definitely need to do a lot of your own due diligence but having some advice or opinions from others is both greatly appreciated and insightful.  Thanks to all who have contributed.  It's a "life move".

I agree with most of the posts so far.  To emphasize the point, however, I must say again: rent, rent, rent before buying!  Rentals are available in nearly every location for anything from a month to a year and will provide a realistic picture of the locale.  We rented for over three years in many areas from Volcan to Boquete to Gamboa to Panama City to Cerro Azul before buying our mountain top home.

As for the E-cedula, though it's expensive, it sure simplifies things in the long run when purchasing cars and houses and getting Drivers Licenses etc to have an ID that doesn't change with passport renewal.  Sadly E-cedulas weren't available when we bought and now we have had to go through the process of updating records to reflect a permanent ID number.