The Republic of Panama has received the prestigious Samoter 2008 International "Most Significant Project in the World" award for the Panama Canal Expansion Program.The Samoter International award honors those that contribute to the development of construction at both national and international levels, through significant works and technologically advanced projects.

The official ceremony and presentation took place yesterday in Verona, Italy, where the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Administrator/CEO Alberto Alemán Zubieta was presented with the award. "We are honored by this recognition and I share this with the best asset of the Canal - our hard-working world-class work force. We are making great progress with the Panama Canal Expansion Program and look forward to its continued success," said Mr. Alemán Zubieta. Expansion will build a new lane of traffic along the Panama Canal through the construction of a new set of locks, which will double capacity and allow more traffic and longer, wider ships.

The Samoter International award is a highly-regarded and sought-after global honor assigned by Verona Fiere since 1973 to distinguished figures whose work on behalf of development and success in building and site activity, have helped consolidate major entrepreneurial systems on an economic and social scale. The Award may be granted to a country, a public or private company or a machine builder or draftsman.

By Panama Legal

Panama passed a new law regarding immigration. The way Panama works legally is a law is passed which sets out the general guidelines and then later on regulations are passed which sort of provide the fine points of the law. We have the final version of the new law but the regulations that define it have yet to be written. We will cover some of the points of the new immigration law here as best as we can from the information we have to work with.

Start Date – Six months, so estimated start date of Sept 1, 2008 (approx). This means the old laws are still in place until then and this is important for some of you, as you will soon see. If you are thinking of applying do so as soon as possible since the old laws are way more advantageous as you will see.

Previously Granted Residencies and Visas – There will not be any retroactive changes to the visas already granted. Someone is going to ask if my application is in process when the law changes which set of laws will I be under? We are not sure but we heavily favor that you will be under the old set of laws, which you applied under. This is generally how the system operates and we see nothing contrary to this in the law but no one has seen any regulations yet. Under the Panama Constitution retroactive changes to laws are forbidden.

Student Visas, Maritime Workers and Tourist Visas – Under the new law one will be able to apply for these two specific visas at the Panama Consulate or Embassy closest to them without using a Panama attorney. This is a new change for Panama and probably a good one.

Permanence of Visas Removed – Under the new law if one leaves Panama for more than two years they lose their visa unless they obtain prior approval from immigration before leaving the country. We do not know what a good reason is for this yet. We would assume pursuing an education, health care, taking care of sick relatives etc should work but we do not know for sure yet.

Additionally one must maintain the conditions required for the granting of the visa or residency. For instance if one was required to put $200,000 in the bank then this $200,000 will need to stay in the bank for as long as they have the visa which could be the rest of their life. The bank account is required to be in the person’s personal name. Same applies with getting a visa by putting $200,000 hard cash equity into a residential piece of real estate. They will need to keep the home and the title in their personal name for as long as they have the residency or visa. It was proposed that the $200,000 amounts for these two visas be raised to $350,000 and then was removed from the actual law. We need to see the regulations to determine what the new amount is or if it is the same amount. We expect it to be raised but are not certain. A similar scenario applies to the small investor visa and the investor visa. They were proposing the small investor visa be raised from $40,000 to $75,000 but again we need to see the regulations when they come out which should be soon. So with any visa or residency the conditions required for you to get the visa or residency must be maintained for as long as you have the residency or visa under the new law.

Fees – The fees for applications will be increased from $100 to $250. In addition there will be an $800 refundable repatriation fee to guarantee that one can return home if the application is denied.

Approval Times - Under the new law the immigration department is given 60 days to approve or deny any applications that have been accepted. If a determination has not been made by the 61st day then the application is automatically considered to be approved. Nice change here.

Discussion – It appears that Panama is tightening their immigration laws. And going after a more affluent class of people, which is consistent with the boom in real estate prices. Visas and Residencies are still obtainable but the permanent nature of them has been removed. Getting a citizenship from Panama is something that is not going to happen. If one lives in Panama for 18 years under the new law and leaves the money in the bank to get the residency and then dies then the surviving spouse would need to file her own visa application with her own bank deposit or else would lose her status in the country. If you wish to live in Panama it is still not hard to get a residency just will not have any permanence to it.