Before Executive Decree No. 21 of 28 May 2019 was issued, some foreigners with permanent residence status, such as the dependents of permanent residents, were not allowed to officially work in Panama because they could not apply for a work permit that corresponded to their migration residence status.
As a result, such Executive Decree created the Work Permit for Permanent Residents, allowing foreigners who stayed in the Republic of Panama under such a migration status to apply for a legal work permit.
Since its introduction, this work permit has brought benefits for various reasons, both for permanent resident foreigners and for employers who regularly need foreign workers in Panama's territory.
Benefits and elemental details of the permanent resident foreigners:
First: It is a work permit issued for 3 years and is renewable. Typically, work permits are valid for 1 to 2 years and can be extended depending on the quality.
To apply for an extension of this permit for another 3 years, the applicant's work stability needs to be demonstrated with the following documentation:
1. Evidence of payments of nine consecutive installments to the Social Security Fund (Caja de Seguro Social) or,
2. Evidence of an income tax return with the corresponding document (Paz y Salvo) for income tax issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Second: It is a flexible work permit as the following requirements are easy to fulfill:
1. Power of attorney granted to a lawyer duly certified before a Panamanian notary.
2. Certificate of immigration status (required for all work permits, costs $10 dollars, and takes about a week to be issued).
3. Copy of the Permanent Residence Card (cedula E) duly certified by the National Directorate of Cedulación (Dirección Nacional de Cedulación) of the Electoral Tribunal (Tribunal Electoral).
4. Four passport-size photographs.
Third: Foreign workers hired on the basis of permanent residence permits are not considered part of the maximum limit set by labor law for hiring foreign workers. In other words, when counting foreign staff hired within the 10% of regular staff, those with permanent work permits are excluded from this maximum quota.
Fourth: The cost of this work permit, which is paid directly by the foreigner to the Ministry of Labour, is $250 dollars. This payment shall be made when the work permit resolution is issued. In practice, it takes about 3 months to issue this decision.
Based on the above, we believe this is a highly recommended work permit for those foreigners who wish to legalize their working status in Panama.
At GMS, we are here to advise and assist you in applying for the most suitable and convenient work permit.
Contact us at info@gmsatlaw.com or through any of our social networks.